Introducing our 2023 AIFF filmmaker lab cohort!
This year, we are pleased to premiere the Atlantic International Film Festival Filmmaker Lab, presented by RBC Emerging Artists. Participating in this lab are 11 multi-talented, unique filmmakers from the Atlantic region. Some of these filmmakers are emerging, others are established, and many are even award-winning. However, all the participants this year are united by the same desire: to use their respective voices to tell important stories through the medium of film.
presentING the 2023 AIFF Filmmaker Lab Cohort!
AKSHAY SHIRKE: Born in India, Akshay is an emerging filmmaker in Halifax who recently produced his debut short film, Entrée, which was part of AFCOOP’s FILM 5 program. By blending his Indo-Canadian background with his passion for filmmaking, Akshay’s work aims to bring to light the everyday crises at the intersection of identity and loneliness.
MAN LONG “NORMAN” HO: An award-winning writer/director from Nova Scotia, Man Long “Norman” Ho has completed four speculative screenplays spanning across several genres. His debut short film, Spud Island?, is nominated for Best Documentary (Social/Political) at the Yorkton Film Festival and his short story I Beg Your Pardon won the IRSA Newcomers to Canada Award at the 2022 Island Literary Awards in PEI.
DANIEL BROWN: A filmmaker out of PEI, Daniel has three short films under his production company, Neato Films. One of these films – The Ol’ One Two – was the recipient of the Classics at City Cinema Emerging Filmmaker Award. 2023 will see the release of another short film, as well as an 8-episode interview series directed and edited by Daniel.
VERONICA DYMOND: A writer, comedian, cartoonist and filmmaker from Newfoundland, Veronica’s writing and performance work has been featured on CBC, Cracked.com and the Toronto Sketch Festival, among others. Known for her wit, charm, songs and puns, Veronica has written, produced and directed several short indie films and her latest film, Ghost Roommate, was made in partnership with the Newfoundland Independent Film Co-operative.
PAUL ROSSITER: Born and based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Paul is a director, writer, and actor. He attended Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Community College where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Acting/Film Studies and a Screen Arts diploma, respectively, both with honours. Having worked in the Nova Scotia film industry for the past 5 years, Paul aims to tell stories that speak truth to power from a working-class perspective.
CHELSEA INNES: A multi-talented artist working in mediums such as writing, producing, directing, cinematography and composing, Chelsea has shot award-winning student short films in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They bring 2 new Halifax-based shorts to the screen this festival season: Mello, Judd, & Tooth Floss and Mickey. Their focus is to tell powerful stories with women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ identities at the helm.
BARRETT HOOPER: A self-described “recovering film critic”, Barrett attended film school in Toronto before moving back to the Maritimes and committing to work in Nova Scotia with local actors and local crews to tell local stories. His short film, Nova Scotia’s Man of Steel premiered at the 2022 Lunenberg Doc Fest. Barrett is currently in post-production on 2 narrative shorts that he wrote and directed: a sex comedy called THE M3NAGE as well as a family horror called Remnants.
KATE DEVLIN: Kate is a casting director and stylist originally from Montreal, QC. For the past 4 years, she has worked as stylist for Accomplice Content, a Halifax-based commercial production/post-production company. Kate has also produced writer-director Barrett Hooper’s 2 latest short films on her own time and, by learning about festival strategies and the film distribution process, looks to build her career as a producer.
NICOLA HAWKINS: With roots in several disciplines including choreography, stage design, costuming and visual art, Nicola has focused primarily on short films since 2019. Living in rural Admiral’s Cove, Newfoundland has become fundamental to her creative work life. With a process of conceptualization before a film’s production, Nicola aims to make art films that say something meaningful about humanity.
MADISON HUGHES: Living in Halifax by way of New Brunswick, Maddy has completed a degree in film studies after a lifelong obsession with movies – especially those in the horror genre. While writing about films on an academic level, Madison made the shift to writing her own stories to bring to the screen. She wrote and co-directed her first horror film during her final semester at university and aims to convey personal experiences through a blend of metaphor and realism in her work.
The 2023 AIFF Filmmaker Lab will see these participants meeting one another to discuss and familiarize themselves with each other’s work. What will follow is a summer-long series of “Virtual Panels” led by established members of the film industry. This year, the first Virtual Panel will be led by Film Festival Strategist and founder of Festival Formula, Katie McCullough. Katie will then join us from the U.K. to attend the 2023 Atlantic International Film Festival in person where she will meet with each of the lab filmmakers and offer one-on-one insight into festival strategy.
We look forward to fostering local filmmakers of the Atlantic community through this project with hopes that they will give back by way of producing cinema that they – and we – will be proud to present.
The AIFF Filmmaker Lab is designed to welcome emerging filmmakers from Atlantic Canada to the world of festivals and film distribution, helping to demystify the festival experience and forging connections with established members of the film industry. Presented in partnership with RBC Emerging Artists, the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative and Warner Brothers Discovery Access Canada. Learn more about the program here.