Mentors

Frances-Anne Solomon

A trailblazer in the film and television industry, Frances-Anne Solomon is a Toronto based award-winning writer, producer, director, curator and distributor in film, television and radio.

She started her professional life at the BBC and had a successful career as a TV Drama Producer and Executive Producer in England before moving to Canada where she founded the CaribbeanTales Media Group. She has worked internationally including in Canada, the U.K.  South Africa and Ghana.

Her third feature film as a director, HERO – Inspired by the Extraordinary Life and Times of Mr. Ulric Cross, has received wide critical acclaim on its worldwide tour, that includes theatrical runs in both Canada and U.K. She is a voting member of the director’s branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Directors Guild of Canada and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

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Nick Davis

Nicholas Davis is an accomplished journalist and writer. He’s currently the Executive Director of Engagement and Inclusion at CBC. Previous to that he was Manager of Program Development for CBC, where he was responsible for the ongoing development of local programming in radio, television and online.

 

Nick has worked in radio, television and print for the past 33 years covering everything from current affairs to the arts. He has won many awards for his journalism, including a 2006 Gabriel for a story he did on Holly Jones. He’s worked at CBC for the past 23 years as a reporter and producer — most notably as Senior Producer for Metro Morning, where Nick was part of the team that made the program the number one morning show in Toronto.

 

Nick has published and edited magazines, been a crime reporter, hosted TV and radio programs. He has covered two Olympic Games (Nagano and Sydney) and has taught radio skills to new journalists across the country for CBC. He’s also lectured on journalism at Ryerson University, Seneca College, Sheridan College and Centennial College.

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Barbara Emile

Award-winning producer, Barbara Emile, set up Douglas Road Productions with Sir Lenny Henry in 2014 working on high end content with experienced and emerging diverse talent both in front and behind the camera.   With the backing of Endemol Shine UK, Barbara Executive Produced a range of programmes across the slate.

She started her career at EASTENDERS where her talent was spotted early on and she was soon promoted to Series Producer.   She then moved to Executive Producer in BBC Drama Series where she developed several successful singles, limited series and returnable dramas. She produced the episode of HOLBY CITY which won the 2008 BAFTA for Best Continuing Series.  

Barbara has worked as a Consultant Executive Producer for production companies in North America, Germany, the Middle East and UK. Last year, she produced primetime ITV drama, “Generational”, in the UNSAID STORIES strand and is currently developing a slate of projects for the international market.

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Anthony Farrell

Anthony has served as showrunner for THE PARKER ANDERSONS, AMELIA PARKER, and the BAFTA-winning CBBC series SECRET LIFE OF BOYS, which he also created. Currently Anthony is the Showrunner and Executive Producer of the sci-fi primetime comedy OVERLORD & THE UNDERWOODS. In the past, he has written for NBC’s THE OFFICE, Canada’s international hit LITTLE MOSQUE ON THE PRAIRIE, and Nickelodeon’s THE THUNDERMANS. He is in active development on several other shows that he hopes to share in the near future. He lives in Toronto with his amazing family.

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Tamara Dawit

Tamara Mariam Dawit is an Ethiopian-Canadian producer and director. Her most recent film is the award-winning documentary Finding Sally which premiered in 2020 at Hot Docs. She is currently producing the feature documentary Made in Ethiopia and two Ethiopian feature dramas.

In addition to producing, Tamara works as an advisor in the screen sector on programming and policies to address equity and inclusion. In Canada, she is a founding board member of the Racial Equity Media Collective and in Africa of Ethiopia Creates and the East Africa Screen Collective. Tamara was a resident in Docs in Progress, the Logan Non-Fiction Residency and is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Durban Talents, Doha Producers Lab, Rotterdam Lab, Apost, and EAVE.

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Moe Rai

Moe Rai is a Line Producer and Production Manager currently residing in Toronto, Canada. Since 2008, Moe has had the privilege of working locally and abroad with Canadian and International talent on a variety of productions including; feature films, TV Movies, series and new media. Moe’s diverse background has been shaped by his upbringings in Damascus, Syria and by immigrating to Toronto, Canada, which has influenced his choice of work on the screen and his management style off the screen. His recent feature films work includes Deepa Mehta’s film ‘Funny Boy’, Hellen Shaver’s psychological thriller ‘Happy Place’ and the US comedy ‘Buffaloed’ starring Zoey Deutch, Jai Courtney and Judy Greer. His latest series work includes CBC Gem ‘Tall Boyz’, Crave Canada ‘New Eden’ and Rogers multi language series ‘Blood and Water’. Being a big believer in helping people grow their skills to create positive change within themselves and their communities, Moe’s second passion in training and coaching grew tremendously. He currently develops and conducts training sessions and programs for several non-for-profit organizations as well as film/tv unions such as The United Nations, Trust Foundation and Director Guild of Canada.

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Nicole Brooks

Nicole Brooks is a critically acclaimed television and multiple Dora nominated producer whose production work began as story editor on Canada’s first multicultural sitcom Lord Have Mercy (VisionTV/Showcase/APTN/Toronto|One). Since then, Brooks has established a reputable 20+ year career with over 100 hours of content in film & television as a producer, director, writer and story editor, having her work broadcasted on Canadian platforms such as CBC, OMNI, Bravo!Fact, VisionTV, and internationally on TVOne (USA) and Flow (Caribbean). Brooks’ credits also include Executive producing CaribbeanTales international pilots through its flagship Incubator Program now known as Creators of Colour Incubator.

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