
TORONTO – The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Bell Media have unveiled the four participants selected for the 2014 Bell Media Showrunner Bootcamp.
The participants are:
– Sherry White, a Canadian-based screenwriter and filmmaker who is currently writing and producing for CTV’s hit series Saving Hope, and is the co-executive producer on the ABC/Global series Rookie Blue. Sherry has also written for Rookie Blue for five seasons. Previously, she has written for series such as MVP: The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives, 18 to Life, and Hatching, Matching & Dispatching. Sherry is currently developing series for both ABC Studios and Warner Horizon. In addition to writing and producing for television, Sherry has written the feature films Down to the Dirt (2008), The Breadmaker (2003), and wrote and directed the Genie Award-nominated feature film Crackie (2009), which screened at over 30 festivals worldwide, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary, and the Torino Film Festival, where it took home the jury prize. Crackie was also named one of the top ten films in Canada for 2009, and screened at the MOMA in New York City in March 2010. Sherry’s award-winning shorts Diamonds in a Bucket and Spoiled have also screened nationally and internationally.
– Sarah Dodd, an experienced screenwriter and story editor whose varied television credits include: Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranorma, Code Name: Eternity, BeastMaster, Shoebox Zoo, Blood Ties, Falcon Beach, The Border, Endgame, Primeval: New World and Motive. Sarah developed the popular book series The Saddle Club for television and helmed the story department in its first season. After two seasons as the executive story editor and writer on the YTV series Zixx, for which she won a Leo Award for Best Screenwriting, Sarah was promoted to act as showrunner for its third season. While working continuously in television since 1995, Sarah also co-wrote the award-winning short film The Sparkle Lite Motel with director Cory Kinney, and participated in the NSI Features First program with her horror feature, Extinction. As a story editor, Sarah has worked on such feature films as Defendor, Weirdsville, and Hank and Mike. Sarah just completed her third season on Arctic Air as a writer and co-executive producer.
– Sandra Chwialkowska, an alumna of CFC’s Bell Media Prime Time TV Program, has been working non-stop as a writer and her output has spanned television comedies and dramas, feature films, and even novels. In just four years, Sandra has produced or story edited some of the most popular series in Canada, including Remedy (Global), Cracked (Reelz/CBC), Rookie Blue (ABC/Global), and The Yard (Hulu/HBO Canada). Sandra began her career as a story editor on the third season of Lost Girls (Syfy/Showcase), and returned as a senior producer for Season Five just two years later. Sandra currently has features and television series in development at such major production companies as eOne, New Metric Media, Shaftesbury Films, and Temple Street Productions, including a half-hour comedy that was developed with TMN and Movie Central called The Educated Pervert and a one-hour drama with Rogers called Between.
– Matt MacLennan, an accomplished writer with 13 years of experience writing for television, feature films and video games in the genres of comedy and drama. Since 2001, he has worked as a staff writer on 14 seasons and over 170 episodes of series television, penning more than 40 episodes of comedy and drama, and serving as a producer for six years. Some of Matt’s recent credits include the award-winning shows The Listener, Rookie Blue, Call Me Fitz, Life With Derek, and Degrassi. Matt has written several feature films, including Irvine Welsh’s Ecstasy, which premiered in 2012. He has recently branched out into video games, writing Ubisoft’s latest instalment of its multi-national, blockbuster franchise Splinter Cell: Blacklist. A firm believer in giving back to the writing community, Matt is an active mentor to emerging talent through Durham College, the New Brunswick Film Co-op, the Toronto Writers’ Centre and mentorship programs such as the NSI Totally Television Program.
Now in its third year, the Bell Media Showrunner Bootcamp invites up to four senior-level television writers who have been peer-nominated by key members of the broadcast community as “showrunners to watch”. Each participant has extensive writing credits, has worked on numerous shows in various capacities, has solid producing experience, and possesses both strong management and creative leadership qualities.
The showrunners participate in a series of high-level discussions, meetings, and workshops in which key aspects of creating and running shows are discussed with some of the best professionals in the business. The Bootcamp runs part-time over several months, working closely with each of the individual showrunners, to further advance their knowledge and better position them for success at the helm.
“We are delighted to have such a talented pool of candidates to choose from for this program – it is truly a testament to the strength of our industry,” said Trish Williams, director of independent production, Bell Media, in the announcment. “These four writers have strong voices and impressive track records, and we see a world of possibilities in the future for them, and as a result, for Bell Media.”