Producer, Showrunner, Writer, Director, Actor
Moderator & Award-winning Content Creator
She is the face and force behind Out There with Melissa DiMarco, which is one of the country's longest-running comedy/variety series, also syndicated in international markets. For over 15 years, Melissa has produced ground-breaking television with a trademark for innovative shows. She has created hundreds of hours of content for networks including Rogers Media, Global, CHCH, FOX, and OUTtv.
As an experienced content creator from all sides: writing, directing, showrunning, editing and on-camera. Highlights include: An Evening with Oliver Stone, Out There with Melissa DiMarco, Dreamseekers, Confessions of a Go-To-Girl, and Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. As an actor/host, Melissa has also interviewed hundreds of A-list celebrities from Brad Pitt and George Clooney to Julia Roberts and Lady Gaga. Melissa has long acted in a number of North America’s most memorable productions. She starred in the Emmy-winning drama, Degrassi: The Next Generation, CBC's Riverdale, as well as films like Red Green’s Duct Tape Forever and Hustle: The Pete Rose Story.
Melissa and her production company Out There Productions Inc. has won the U.S. International Film and Video Festival’s Outstanding Achievement in Creative Excellence Award, and has been nominated for 2 Banff Rockie Awards for Best TV and Variety Show and 2 Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Writing and Best TV Series.
Anthony Q. Farrell
Showrunner
Anthony Q. Farrell (he/him) is a BAFTA-winning, Emmy-nominated writer/producer who has worked in Canada, the US, and the UK for over 15 years.
He is currently the creator, showrunner and executive producer of CTV's half-hour comedy Shelved. He has served as executive producer and showrunner of CBC's Run the Burbs, Overlord and the Underwoods, The Parker Andersons/Amelia Parker, and the BAFTA-winning Secret Life of Boys. Anthony's writing credits also include NBC's The Office, Nickelodeon's The Thundermans, and Little Mosque on the Prairie.
Anthony was honoured as Showrunner of the Year at the Writers Guild of Canada Awards in 2022, after receiving the same title from Playback in 2021.
Lauren Whitelaw
Head of Programming at OUTtv
Lauren Whitelaw is the Head of Programming for OUTtv, currently with services in Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
With servicing multiple territories, she has successfully negotiated contracts with companies worldwide. Lauren is part of the development team at the network and continues to work closely with Producers globally to find the best LGBTQ+ programming.
Kim Derko
Director of Photography
Kim Derko csc is an award-winning Director of Photography and a full member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, IATSE 667 and the Directors Guild of Canada. She also has directed numerous music videos, independent films and episodic series: The Next Step / Winging It.
Currently DP on episodes for S5 of What We Do In The Shadows, she is also known for lensing recent series episodes of Sex/Life S2 for NETFLIX, In Contempt for BET, Save Me for CBC GEM, Take Note for NBC, 5 seasons of The Next Step, and tandem unit eps on Suits.
Recent feature film credits include Soska Sister’s RABID and second unit on TRIGGERPOINT 2021.
A director of music video for many artists and series director of The Next Step, Odd Squad, Winging It and second unit DP/Director on numerous shows.
Derko garnered an GEMINI Award for cinematography on YOUKALI HOTEL in 2004. And a MMVA for Shadowy Men on A Shadowy Planet’s “We Don’t Call Them Chihuahuas Anymore”.
A graduate of Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, Kim Derko csc studied art history and colour theory which combined with a passion for music led to a career as a Music Video cinematographer and later to series and feature work.
Producer
Jennifer Pun is a partner and producer at Edge Entertainment, a Sault Ste. Marie-based film and television production company. Jennifer’s producer credits include the award-winning tween series HOW TO BE INDIE, tween action/adventure series CONNOR UNDERCOVER, Canadian Screen Award nominated feature FALL and cult horror THE VOID. Most recently she produced Edge Entertainment’s survival thriller CASCADE starring Sara Waisglass and Joel Oulette, and the Mexican Canadian psychological horror SACRIFICIOS.
In addition, Jennifer has acted as Business Affairs and Production Consultant to leading film and television companies on projects including SIMULANT (starring Sam Worthington and Simu Liu), WANDER and PAW PATROL. Prior to this Jennifer held management positions at Heroic Film Company and Capri Films. She is an alumna of the Canadian Creative Accelerator Women in Film, EAVE on Demand Access Program (NSI), Banff Spark, Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative, and the Bell Media Executive Producer Accelerator Lab, among others.
She holds an HBA and MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Sherren Lee
Director
Sherren Lee is a Writer-Director born in Taiwan, bred in Montreal and currently based in Toronto. Her work is purposeful and poignant while simultaneously feeling like a private moment you were fortunate enough to stumble upon.
Her first feature film FLOAT will be released by Lionsgate in 2023. Adapted from Wattpad’s wildly successful novel of the same name, Sherren co-wrote and directed this beautiful beach romance, shot in British Columbia.
As a writer, Sherren co-wrote the feature CODE 8: PART II for Jeff Chan and Robbie Amell’s company. Sherren directed poignant short films BENJAMIN (TIFF 2015) and THE THINGS YOU THINK I’M THINKING (SXSW 2017), which has screened at over seventy film festivals across the globe, won a dozen awards, was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick and has over 2 million views on YouTube’s Omeleto Channel.
In television, Sherren was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series for Kim’s Convenience in 2021. Her other TV credits include Murdoch Mysteries (CBC, Acorn TV), Coroner (CW, CBC), Hudson & Rex (CityTV) and Run The Burbs (CBC).
Sherren is a member of the Director's Guild of Canada, is a 2014 Alumna of the CFC Directors Lab and was named as one of Hollywood Reporter’s Fifteen Canada’s Rising Stars of 2018.
Unit Publicist
Lisa Ghione is a well-respected entertainment publicist in Canada focussing on the promotion of film and television projects for production companies, studios and broadcasters including A24, CBC, CTV, Cameron Pictures, Canal+, Citytv, DCTV, Fremantle, HBOMax, NBC/Universal, Netflix, New Metric Media, Serendipity Point Films, Shaftesbury, Showtime, Sphere Media, Starz, Sundance Channel, and Syfy.
As a seasoned unit publicist with over two decades of experience, Lisa has managed the publicity and marketing needs of feature films, television series and movies, from the start of principal photography to production wrap, often remaining involved through the project’s launch or premiere. Her credits include the series American Gods, Sort Of, Queer as Folk, Spectacle: Elvis Costello With…, and Workin’ Moms, and the feature films Flashback, Code 8 and Atom Egoyan’s Adoration.
Lisa is member of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and of IATSE 667, serving on its Executive Board.
Roman Neubacher
IATSE 667 Business Representative
The International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is a North American labor union representing over 160,000 technicians, artisans, and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, including live theatre, motion picture and television production, and trade shows in the United States and Canada.
IATSE Local 667 in Toronto represents all camera related departments in Eastern Canada from Ontario to Newfoundland, including Publicity, Stills Photographers and Behind the Scenes (BTS) camera and sound. As we face ever-changing trends and advances in technology, we continually adapt and grow our membership to meet the needs of studios and producers. In recent years, we've seen a growing demand for social media content creation by our signatory productions and it is a skilled position we are currently in the process of adding to our membership. Local 667 considers social media content creation a key component to the strength of any publicity, marketing and advertising campaign.
Editor
After graduation from Ryerson (Toronto Metropolitan) University in Toronto in Media Arts, Dona began her film editing career cutting for The Discovery Channel; a mini-series on the Ocean and Climate Change. Soon after, Dona moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant editor on The Mask of Zorro and while there was hired to go to Vancouver to edit Ninja Turtles, The Next Mutation and The New Addams Family. Dona made her home in Vancouver for the next 4 years and edited for Fox Family Channel, Lifetime, ABC Family and Disney. In 1998 Dona cut her first feature called Dangerous Attraction and it was nominated and won a Leo Award. In 2000 Dona edited Screech Owl a tween show that was nominated for a DGC Award. In 2003 Dona edited a pilot for MGM Studios called Dead like Me, which was nominated for an Emmy and became a cult hit. In 2003 Dona moved back to Toronto and edited The Great Polar Bear Adventure that consisted of 900 hours of stock shots of wild polar bears in the arctic. Dona created OTS shots, W.S.and E.C.U shots of wild polar bears mouths animated to appear like they were speaking with one another or to a sympathetic fox. "In this show you had to think out of the box to create the emotional moments scripted" The Great Polar Bear Adventure was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. The Jane Show was also nominated for a DGC award as well as the Good Witch Family, for a CCE award. In 2016 Hello It's Me was nominated for a CCE and DGC award. Dona edited 5 seasons of The Good Witch, which was Hallmark #1 show. In 2019 Dona edited The Marijuana Chronicles, for Amazon when a group a women in 1972 are used in a clinical study to investigate the side effects of extreme high level THC in marijuana use. In 2022 Dona edited the Accused, an Anthology Series created by Howard Gordon that is set to be released on Fox TV/ Sony in January 2023.
Gary Lam
1st Assistant Editor
Gary Lam is a First Assistant Editor and VFX Editor based out of Vancouver, BC, and Los Angeles, California, with over 20 years of experience in feature films and television.
He has worked on such films as District 9, Elysium, Skyscraper and Terminator: Dark Fate. He also Post Produced Neill Blomkamp’s Oats Studios series of short films.
Gary is currently in his fourth 3-year term as the co-chair of the IATSE 891 Editing Department, and is involved in training and education across the post-production community
Sound Editor
Claudia Pinto (She/Her) is an award winning DGC sound editor with over 8 years of professional experience in the film and television industry.
She studied Media Arts at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario and moved to Toronto shortly after graduating in 2014.
She is best known for her role as a sound effects editor on projects such as FROM: Season 1, Sex/Life: Season 1 & 2, 8-Bit Christmas, Paw Patrol: The Movie, Pyewacket, and Tulipani.
Adam
Pal
Director, Writer, Producer
Twenty-five years ago, Adam Pal was coined, ‘a small-town boy with worldwide gusto’ doing live shows from Toronto to China, Las Vegas to Israel. Pal was willing to do anything in the business. “If all the world’s a stage, I am the best boy key grip” -Pal
Pal is the owner/operator of Glass Ceiling Productions, producer, and creator of 4 short union films, producer of digital content, online radio shows, national tv, theatre content and social media.
Pal has taken time to create short stories and is reviewing publishers for a partnership to promote his Novella, Novelette, and said short stories.
Mo Ghodratifard
Assistant Director/Director
Mo Ghodratifard is an entrepreneurial Writer, Director with a wide spectrum of internationally recognized projects. With film origins in Iran and Turkey, he has gone onto work on Canadian productions becoming a part of the Director Guild of Canada working as assistant director with big budget TV shows and movies.
His credits include Hallmark’s The Way Home, CBC/Netflix’s Workin’ Moms, Warner Bros’ Shazam!, Apple TV+’s See, Hulu’s The Hardy Boys, FX’s What We Do In The Shadows, Amazon Studios’ The Boys, HBO Max’s Titans, and more.
Patrick
Sue-Chan
Production Assistant/
Assistant Director
Patrick Sue-Chan has worked in Toronto's film industry since 2012 in a wide variety of roles from the production office to set.
Some of the highlights including Umbrella Academy, Nightmare Alley, Cabinet of Curiosities, Jupiter's Legacy and many more.
When not working in film you can find him at the racetrack shooting photos for NASCAR.
