Wednesday November 29, 2023 – 12:00pm to 1:00pm MT
Do you need to increase and diversify your workforce, staff, contractors, membership, programming and audiences?
Would you like to know how to authentically connect with underrepresented individuals and communities?
Then join us for this special event, that will publicly launch our “Guidelines for Engaging Equity-Deserving Organizations and Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility Expertise“.
An important tool for our cultural sector, that’s been collaboratively created by equity-deserving organizations and individuals from underrepresented communities in specific regions across Canada.
DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE COPY
PANELISTS
Samantha Kaine | CEO, Directrice Exécutive, I.M.P.A.C.T
Samantha Kaine is a Jamaican-Canadian, award-winning independent film and television creative producer, mentor, and AR-EDIA leader committed to the advancement of emerging under-represented voices and talent. Throughout her production career of 20+ years, Samantha has successfully advocated for fair, safe, and equitable access to funding and work environments. In 2020, she founded I.M.P.A.C.T, a national, Federally incorporated non-profit organization to combat systemic and anti-Black racism, that serves a growing group of 100+ members across Canada. As a board member, Samantha brings extensive expertise in championing talent, innovation, and excellence, while advocating for proper and truthful representation on screen. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Independent Screen Fund (CISF) for BIPOC Creators and is actively involved in four of Telefilm’s committees: Diversity & Inclusion Working Group, Diverse Languages Subcommittee, Authentic Storytelling, and Industry Advisory. Most recently, Samantha partnered with I.M.P.A.C.T members to write The Producer Pledge that was signed by 175 production companies and raised $300,000+ that allowed BIPOC producers and creators to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 lockdown. She has created several successful programs, including a foundational building program in French “Empowering Black and Racialized Women” in partnership with the University of Montréal and CBC/Radio-Canada, to help Black female-identifying university students establish themselves in Quebec’s television industry. With her articulate leadership, Samantha steers complex conversations and transforms organizations by integrating inclusion into mindsets and behaviours.
Nilesh Patel | Producer, Roaming Pictures Inc.
For over 20 years Nilesh Patel has focused on producing the stories of us coming together. Through his company, Roaming Pictures, he has focused on supporting the development of racialized creatives in film & television. His first broadcast work, the one hour narrative 7 TO 11 INDIAN was broadcast nationally on Citytv in 2004. From there he produced a series of dramas for CityTv. Following this he directed the multiple award winning documentary feature BROCKET 99 – ROCKING THE COUNTRY (preserved in the National Archives of Canada). This provocative film explored racism in Canada,specifically towards Indigenous peoples. During this time he completed his MFA in Film at Concordia (MFA2014) where he focused on gender roles of men and women through his WHAT IS A MAN? series of short documentaries. Nilesh is currently producing OUT OF THE STANDS and #SKODEN for Telus Originals and TVO and EXODUS 72 through Arts Council funding, while also continuing to advocate for racial equity in our film and television industry.
Karen Remoto | Co-Founder & Programmer, FascinAsian Film Festival
Karen Remoto is one of the co-founders and Programmers of FascinAsian Film Festival in Winnipeg. She has worked in the film industry for over ten years as a freelance sound recordist and participated in three award winning 48-Hour shorts along with various features (I Propose We Never See Each Other Again After Tonight, Winner and Deaner 89). Karen was the Production Coordinator for Winnipeg Film Group from 2019-2021 and has worked with several non-profit organizations such as Freeze Frame Festival and Artbeat Studio. In 2023, she wrote the contemporary rock opera The Mansplaining Division which premiered for the Manitoba Underground Opera at the Pyramid Cabaret. She also teamed up with other Filipinx creatives for Marissa Bellemit’s Winnipeg Pag Ibig, performance film for Plug In ICA this past summer. Her artistic collaborations focus on highlighting women/non-binary and BIPOC individuals to express their creative, personal stories within the local community.