Workshops

Workshops are generously supported by Yukon Film & Sound Commission and Northern Film and Video Industry Association.

Pitch Like a Pro Workshop With former CTV Executive Producer, Louise Clark

Sunday, Feb 7 and Monday, Feb 8, 9am–4pm, Old Fire Hall (1st and Main)

Hone your film and television idea-pitching skills. Registration by Monday, Feb 1.

Register: contact Edward at yfs@yukonfilmsociety.com or 867-393-3456 for details.
Cost: $80/$70 YFS Production Members.

Directing Actors Master Class with Carl Bessai

Thursday, Feb 11, 9am–4pm, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

Carl Bessai (Cole) is a prolific Vancouver-based writer and director who produces at least one feature film per year. His rediscovered appreciation for working with modest budgets and a stripped-down production approach make him an ideal instructor for Yukon filmmakers who have experience with drama, but have yet to make a feature drama. The afternoon session of this master class will involve working with two actors, camera and sound as Carl demonstrates his approach and observes and offers feedback as participants take turns working with the actors in attendance.

Register: through YAC Box Office in person, or by phone: 867-667-8574.
Cost: $60/$50 YFS Production Members. Class size is limited.

Editing Documentary with Omar Majeed (director of Taqwacore)

Saturday, Feb 13, 11:30am–3:30pm, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

Documentary films become well told and dramatic stories through the editing process. With the move to digital video production for documentary, filmmakers are shooting much more material (typically up to 100 hours for a feature film) than filmmakers used to shoot with celluloid film. How do the editor and director shape a documentary through the editing process? How does the story change when filmmakers confront the actual footage, and what are the some of the different processes one uses to find the essential story? Omar Majeed has an extensive background in picture editing. He will discuss and examine these ideas for half the class and then turn rushes from his doc, Taqwacore, over to the class to shape their own cut of a documentary scene. Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop that is operating Final Cut Pro, or equivalent, editing software.

Register: through YAC Box Office in person, or by phone: 867-667-8574.
Cost: $20/$15 YFS Production Members.

Info Sessions

Info Sessions are free admission. All are welcome!

Digital Campfire with the NFB

Tuesday, Feb 9, 8pm–10pm, Old Fire Hall (1st and Main)

Like sharing stories around an outdoor fire, this is an opportunity to share fun stuff around a digital storytelling machine! Sue Biely will host and facilitate an evening of entertainment that is audience sourced from the web! Audience members at any time can put their name and an interesting website into a hat. Sue will pull from that hat to spontaneously create the entertainment line-up for the evening. Presenters will be pulled from the hat until we run out of time. Please keep in mind that all content should be appropriate for a general audience.

Digital Opportunity at the NFB

Wednesday, Feb 10, 9:30am–12:30pm, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

As a unique creative and cultural laboratory, the NFB is eager to explore what it means to “create” and “connect” with Canadians in the age of the Internet. We are looking to work with a wide range of Canadian artists and media-makers interested in experimenting with the creative application of digital technologies and interactivity as it relates to story, expression and community. We are currently looking to produce new works that help us achieve our mission, including interactive documentaries, mobile and locative media, interactive animations, photographic art and essays, data visualizations, physical installations, community media, interactive video, etc. To put it another way, we are striving to produce things we haven’t yet imagined, with technology that hasn’t yet been invented.

Telefilm Canada Industry Day at ALFF 2010
Telefilm Canada Funds and Programs

Friday, Feb 12, 9:30am–10:30am, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. This session will include an overview of Telefilm funds, eligibility criteria, and application processes.

Panel Discussions

Panel Discussions are free admission. All are welcome!

Panel Discussion: Film Development and Financing in Canada, Docs and Dramas

Friday, Feb 12, 11am–12:30pm, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

This panel will look at how feature films get made in Canada. Beginning with options and programs available for developing a story idea—documentary or fiction—the discussion takes us through various models for, and stages of feature film development and production. Panelists will provide anecdotal insights and practical advice towards an understanding of this process—a must for anyone trying to turn their great idea in to a film. Supported by Yukon Film & Sound Commission and Telefilm Canada.

Panelists: John Galway, Sherry White, Carl Bessai, Selwyn Jacob, Telefilm Canada representative
Moderator: Daniel Janke

Panel Discussion: Film Licensing and Distribution in Canada

Friday, Feb 12. 3pm–4:30pm, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

Digital technology has changed the way in which we make and experience motion pictures – from the big screen to home viewing. High quality digital projection is creating exciting new opportunities for Canadians to see Canadian films, and also for Canadian filmmakers to have their films be seen around the world. How have these changes impacted how and what theatrical distributors are licensing? Supported by Yukon Film & Sound Commission.

Panelists: Robin Smith, Omar Majeed, Carl Bessai, Nimisha Mukerji
Moderator: Michael Vernon

Harold Greenberg Fund Day at ALFF 2010
Panel Discussion: Evolution of the Story, and Approach, in Documentary Filmmaking

Saturday, Feb 13, 9:30am–11am, Yukon Arts Centre, Production Room

There are many sub-forms to the documentary genre. Observational, essay, point of view, current affairs and investigative to name but a few. Listen in to these filmmakers and join in the discussion about how they chose to tell their story and what forces and factors shaped the approach and changed the story they set out to tell. Supported by Yukon Film & Sound Commission and Harold Greenberg Fund.

Panelists: Omar Majeed, Leanne Allison, Nimisha Mukerji, Dennis Allen
Moderator: Lulu Keating