Working in the Film industry (2023)

Interested in getting your foot in the filmmaking door? Want to hear about exciting local film opportunities? Looking to make meaningful connections will industry professionals?

INTRODUCING OUR PANELISTS


BRIAN D. VERHOOG

Brian D. Verhoog is an award-nominated Designer and member of the Directors Guild of Canada. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, he immigrated to Toronto, Canada as a child and  eventually studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.

He started as a production assistant in the film and television industry and graduated as an assistant director. While on set, he observed the roles of the art department and how they played in the productions and he could apply his OCADU skills to that department.

Collaborating with Directors, DOPs, Writers and Producers, Brian helps develop the project's unique visual style from concept to final execution.

His work was essential in designing numerous film and television projects that have become successful in North American and International markets. Some popular series  include The Hardy Boys (Hulu), Blood and Water (Omni TV), The Good Witch Series 6 & 7 (Hallmark), Anne of Green Gables (PBS Movies), Soul Food (Showtime) and Art Direction on Titans (Warner Bros), and American Gods (HBO). He recently completed season three of the Hardy Boys and Peter Tolan's FX Pilot  ''Belated'' starring Kal Penn. 

Brian is nominated for a 2023 CSA Award (Academy of Canadian Film & Television) for Production Design for his work on Hardy Boys Season Two. 

He is starting a new CBC project, a comedy series for the coming year.


GREGORY BENNETT

Gregory Bennett, Associate CSC Member, is a Toronto, Canada based cinematographer whose credits include legendary Canadian director Don Shebib's feature 'NIGHTALK', which premiered at TIFF 2022, Peter Hitchcock's feature 'A SONG FOR US', about the 1960's Yorkville folk scene and CSC-nominated horror film 'IT'S ME, BILLY'. Gregory recently shot director David Fernandes' horror series 'CREEPY BITS' which has been picked up for Season 2 and indie short 'LUNACHICKS' directed by Jess Joy, winner of many awards in festivals worldwide.

A keen observer of light and mood, Gregory has lensed numerous shorts, commercials and music videos and is comfortable in a wide range of styles and genres. His work has been nominated three times for CSC (Canadian Society of Cinematographers) awards and he won the best cinematography award for the feature 'THE BAD MOTHER' at the Hamilton Film Festival.

CHELSEA ATTONG

Chelsea Attong is a production designer, art director, and installation artist. In 2016, she placed first at the Sleepenvie Art Installation Competition against four experienced artists and won the  TD Mosaic Art Battle in 2017. She showcased her interactive art installation “Embrace” to 4000 guests who attended the annual four-day exhibition, Come Up to My Room 2018 at the renowned Gladstone Hotel. At the end of 2018, Chelsea discovered her interest in production-design, and eagerly delved into the film and television industry. Within one year, she was hired on twenty-two projects in the art department.

She has production designed notable projects from the Juno’s, Nike, Luna Li, the Legacy Awards, B.E.T., Appleton and Sean Brown, The Raptors, and recently had work published in Complex Canada with photographer Oshane Howard. This past year, she production-designed work for The Bay x Raptors campaign that took over Union Station, and also designed the recent UGG X Fred VanVleet rollout that was featured at Yonge and Dundas.

Her work is purposeful, provocative, and unregrettably raw. She leaves sentimental impressions that guide viewers to open up and get in touch with the most vulnerable parts of themselves; all while striking them visually.


RODRIGO BARRIUSO

Rodrigo Barriuso is a Cuban-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. His short film, For Dorian (12), screened at festivals worldwide, receiving awards at Inside Out, Mix Copenhagen and the Torino LGBT Film Festival. His debut feature film, Un Traductor (18), premiered at Sundance Film Festival as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition and won the award for Best Director at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival and the 17th Pune International Film Festival, among other accolades. Un Traductor was Cuba’s official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020. Barriuso is an alumnus of different talent development programs including TIFF Filmmaker Lab, Berlinale Talents and the Sundance Institute's Feature Film Program Labs. He was selected to participate in the 40th session of Cinéfondation's Résidence du Festival de Cannes in the spring and summer of 2020, as well as in the Nipkow Programm Fellowship in the autumn of 2021, where he began developing his second feature film, Neverman. Barriuso holds a BFA in Cinema Studies and a MA in Contemporary Art History from Toronto Metropolitan University and OCAD University respectively.

Winter Challenge (2023)

THANKS TO THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE 2023 WINTER CHALLENGE AND CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS!

Introducing our Winter Challenge! Create a short film over the winter break and get the chance to win $100, free equipment rentals, and a screening at our next Monthly Meetup! 

IN SOME SHAPE OR FORM, FILMS MUST INCLUDE: 

  • “... the greatest thing since sliced bread”

  • Vehicular transportation 

  • Jumping 

  • A wink

  • A reference to a pop culture figure

CONDITIONS

  • Must be a short film (anything under 45 minutes!) 

  • Send your submission to hhfb.info@gmail.com with the subject line, “HHFB Winter Challenge Submission”

  • All members of the Hart House community (students or members of the community) are welcome to participate

PRIZES

  • First place: $100 grant AND complementary Film Board rentals for a two week period AND a screening at our January Monthly Meetup

  • Second place: $50 grant AND complementary Film Board rentals for a two week period

  • Third place: complementary Film Board rentals for a two week period

 New Filmmakers Project (NFP)

The NFP is an annual group project led by one or more experienced Film Board members who act as mentors to the volunteer crew.

CALL FOR SCRIPTS: We’re looking for any script 5 pages or under.All genres welcome! We’ll be shooting the selected script over a weekend. The best script will be picked for the next New Filmmaker Project.

All scripts will be considered, but our limited budget and tight timeline means that how easily shootable the script is will be a factor in our decision.

CALL FOR CREW: The NFP is a group project led by one or more experienced Film board members who act as mentors to the volunteer crew. To sign up, send us an email regarding the 3 roles you would like to work as (Boom operator, Gaffer, Camera operator, First AC, etc). *No experience is necessary.

 

Submit your script to hhfb.info@gmail.com with the subject line: “NFP SCRIPT: (Title of script)” or “NFP CREW: (Your name)”