Speed Mentorship for Underrepresented Creatives
Meet decision makers and leaders in Ottawa’s film and tv industry to ask questions and receive advice on your career. Scroll down to check out the mentors! RSVP required, limited spots so please reserve early.
This mentorship opportunity is reserved for those who have been traditionally underrepresented by the film and tv industry and identify as: BIPOC or racialized, Women+ (including trans and non-binary folks), LGBTQ2SIA+, Persons with Disabilities and Francophones.
Gayle Nakamoto-Jancewicz (Eng)
Business Affairs Consultant/Production Management/Professor Film and Media Production
Gayle has worked in broadcast television, digital content, business affairs for over 15 years. Her expertise covers budgeting, finance plans, reviewing license agreements, Canada Media Fund applications, film and television tax credits, and digital media tax credits. She has teaching credits in production and business management for Algonquin College’s Broadcast Television and developed courses and taught in the Film and Media Production programs. Additionally, Gayle makes Affinity Production Group a part-time home where she adds to the team of creatives who make and support Ottawa's vibrant production industry. With line-producing credits for over 275 Broadcast shows that have aired on HGTV Canada, W Network, OWN, APTN, and Cottage Life, Gayle has also contributed to digital media projects for CBC Comedy, and the children's website Totally Random.
Sandrine Pechels-De-Saint-Sardos (Eng/Fr)
Ottawa Film Commissioner
As Ottawa Film Commissioner, I work to position Canada’s capital as an affordable, boutique destination for filmmakers. With over 20 years in the global entertainment industry, I bring extensive experience in film, television, production, co-production, and content distribution across North America and Europe.
Before joining the Ottawa Film Office, I held leadership roles at CBC/Radio-Canada, TFO, and Bejuba! Entertainment, and co-founded Rocket Launch Media and Sanden Media. My career has focused on building partnerships, developing content, and championing diverse storytelling. I remain an active contributor to the international screen community as a juror, mentor, and panelist, dedicated to fostering a vibrant and sustainable film industry in Ottawa.
Lisa Meuser (Eng)
Founder, The Meus Talent Agency & Meus Productions
Lisa is a filmmaker, playwright, and talent agent dedicated to elevating Canadian storytelling on screen and stage. As founder of The Meus Talent Agency and Meus Productions, Lisa represents and nurtures a thriving roster of actors working across film, TV, and commercial markets. Her creative work includes films and plays such as Dirt Town, Drinking With Plants, and the upcoming feature Ten. Lisa’s mission is to build platforms where artists can create boldly, work collaboratively, and inspire audiences everywhere.
Jason Brennan (Eng)
President, Nish Media
Jason Brennan is a member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg. As the head of Nish Media, he has managed the production and direction of more than one hundred hours of television programming and several feature films that have achieved recognition both domestically and internationally. In 2022, Mr. Brennan produced "Dear Flora," the first fully Indigenous drama series created in Canada. The series received significant critical acclaim, earning a Prix Gémeaux, the top award at the 2022 MIPCOM Diversify TV Awards, and Best Mini Series at the C21 Content London Drama Awards in 2022.
Christopher Giroux (Eng)
Independent Producer/Director
Christopher Giroux is a Canadian film producer with credits on more than 50 feature films across multiple genres. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Advanced Television and Film program, he began his career producing ten back-to-back genre features with Black Fawn Films and Breakthrough Entertainment.
His recent projects include The Christmas Charade, Christmas Island, Learning to Love Again, Anything for Jackson, and the TIFF-selected The End of Sex (2022). Giroux has also directed Uphill for Christmas, slated for a 2026 release. His work has appeared on Netflix, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime, Prime Video, Crave, and Showtime, among others.
From 2023 to 2025, he served as Senior Vice President of Production at Vortex Media, overseeing 37 films before returning to independent producing. He is President of the Hamilton Film Board, a member of the Producers Roundtable of Ontario, and co-creator of the comic Doctor Awesome Woman. His work has earned multiple accolades, including a Certified Fresh trophy from Rotten Tomatoes and two 2023 Canadian Screen Award nominations.
Max McGuire (Eng)
Director
Max McGuire is a writer and director whose projects have been financed or distributed by Netflix, Bron Studios, Telefilm Canada, Hallmark, Lifetime, Tubi, CBC, UPtv, and others.
His most personal film, Foreverland, produced by Bron Studios and Screen Siren Media was distributed theatrically by EOne, and screened internationally and helped raise over $250K for cystic fibrosis research, which Max also lives with. It stars Max Thieriot, Laurence Leboeuf, and Oscar nominees Juliette Lewis, Demian Bichir.
He has since directed numerous thrillers, romcoms, and holiday movies, including Midnight at the Magnolia (CSA nominee tour vest MOW, and a Netflix Top 10 worldwide).
Max is currently developing Wounded, a wilderness survival thriller supported by Telefilm and the OMDC, which was invited to the TIFF International Film Finance Forum and IFP No Borders Market in New York.
Matt West (Eng)
Creative Director, KatMat Media
Matt West is an accomplished Canadian director and editor with over two decades of experience in film and television. Having worked on more than 800 episodes of broadcast content, Matt has developed a reputation for crafting visually engaging, emotionally resonant stories that connect with audiences around the world. His work spans food, lifestyle, and documentary programming, with series that have aired internationally across major networks.
Most recently, Matt directed and produced The Taste Adventure, a six-part docu-series celebrating local food culture, community, and craftsmanship in Carleton Place, Ontario. Known for his strong storytelling instincts, sharp editorial eye, and collaborative spirit, Matt brings a rare blend of creative vision and production expertise to every project he leads.
Adrian Langley (Eng)
Independent Filmmaker
Adrian entered the film industry as a script reader at age nineteen and graduated “Directing for Film” at the Vancouver Film School. A provocative and unique creator, his talents cover almost every angle of film production.
A director, writer, producer, editor, cinematographer, actor and artist, Adrian has been able to combine nearly every element of cinema across hundreds of hours of film and TV work, and has now delivered over twenty feature length films as director.
Christine Maki (Eng)
Producer, CBC’s Ottawa Creator Network
Christine Maki is an award-winning producer leading CBC Ottawa's creator network, first person and content diversification unit. What this means is she works with storytellers across the community to bring forward new voices and tell stories in different ways, from video storytelling through your own lens, to first person written pieces in your own words, to everything in between.
Before this, she spent 10 years putting together CBC radio's Ottawa Morning show, and before that she worked for a smattering of programs for CBC in Toronto and Quebec City and community radio stations in Canada and the UK.