In association with BIPOC TV&Film
In celebrating the tapestry of voices in our industry, we acknowledge and honor Nathalie Younglai, recipient of this year’s Humanitarian Award, for her successful efforts in diversifying the writing room. In this dynamic panel we will hear from Nathalie and an exceptional group of BIPOC writers and creators to connect the threads of their journeys in and out of writing rooms in Canada.
Moderator:
Marsha Greene | Showrunner, Mary Kills People
Marsha Greene has written for Global’s hit series Private Eyes, ABC’s Ten Days In The Valley, and was the showrunner for the third season of Global/Lifetime’s critically-acclaimed drama Mary Kills People, for which she’s earned two Canadian Screen Award nominations. Marsha is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre Prime Time Television program, holds an Honours BA in Creative Writing from York University, and has a graduate certificate from Humber College’s TV Writing and Producing program, where she was awarded the Brian Linehan Award for Outstanding Artistic Promise.
Panelists:
Michelle Latimer | Showrunner, Director, Producer, Trickster
Michelle Latimer is the showrunner and director of the breakout Indigenous resistance series RISE (Viceland), which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and won the 2018 Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Series. Her latest film Nuuca (Field of Vision) premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and Berlinale Film Festival, and was shortlisted for an IDA Award. Her films have played internationally, including Sundance Film Festival, Tiff, ImagineNATIVE, Cannes, Oberhausen and Rotterdam. She is currently showrunning and directing the six part scripted series “Trickster” (CBC/Sienna Films), adapted from Eden Robinson’s best-selling Trickster trilogy, as well as adapting to documentary Thomas King’s book, “Inconvenient Indian” (Bell/NFB). In 2018, Michelle was the only Canadian awarded a Field of Vision Fellowship. In 2020 she was one of six women awarded the international Chicken and Egg Breakthrough Award and was named the inaugural Artist in Residence at the Sundance Institute Screenwriter’s Labs. She is an alumna of both the Toronto Film Festival’s Talent Lab and Producers Program and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University. Playback Magazine selected her among Canada’s Top Ten Filmmakers to Watch, and the Canadian Broadcasting Company recently named her among the “Great Canadian Filmmakers of the Future”. Michelle is of Métis/Algonquin descent and much of her work is dedicated to the pursuit of Indigenous rights and sovereignty.
Vivian Lin | Writer, Producer, Hudson and Rex, Killjoys
Vivian Lin is a Toronto writer, producer and director. She is currently co-executive producer on Holly Hobbie on Family Channel and Hulu. Her previous writing credits include CityTV’s Hudson and Rex, Killjoys (SyFy/Space), Carter (WGN/Bravo), Universal Kids/DHX’s series Bajillionaires. She is a recipient of the Telefilm New Voices Award and the Bronze Prize at the Page Awards.
Nathalie Younglai | Writer, Director, Community Activist
Nathalie Younglai has gone from being a professional harpist to reality TV Director, to Writer for children’s TV and primetime drama.
Nathalie founded BIPOC TV & Film, a grassroots organization advocating representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in front and behind the camera. She received the ACTRA Diversity’s Sandi Ross Award, Ben Watkin’s Breakthrough Award, and Reelworld’s Trailblazer Award. Her nominations include an Ontario Colleges Premier Award, and a Daytime Emmy nomination for her writing on Dino Dana.
Nathalie is a Writer/Co-Producer on CBC’s hit drama, Coroner, and is honoured to be receiving the 2020 CSA Humanitarian Award.
