By Adam Till

As always, I’d like to start the term by giving you the latest news from the Writing for Film & Television Diploma program.

Toronto Film School is now a Designated Partner for Telefilm’s ‘Talent To Watch’ Program.  This program gives first-time filmmakers $125,000 grants to make a first feature film or web series.  Eligible graduates submit first to TFS, then we submit our top selections (up to three) to Telefilm each year.  This is an exciting opportunity for our grads, who will be eligible for the program for their first 5 years out of school.

Alumnus Greg Jackson‘s (2013) short film Growing was an official selection of the Toronto Short Film Festival, screening at the Carlton last month.  Greg also continues to work on his feature film Excelsis; a trailer for the film has now been shot and Greg is hard at work on yet another draft of the script.  The team is planning for production later on in 2018 when they expect to receive completion financing.

New Writing for Film & Television Instructor Adam MacDonald will be directing the third season of the Netflix series Slasher.  Adam is set to direct 8 episodes of the anthology horror series, which will, unfortunately, take him away from Toronto Film School for a term or two.  We look forward to having him back in the fall, with lots of stories from the summer shoot.

Alumnus and new Writing for Film & Television on-line Instructor Brad Vermunt (2013) will continue as a writer on the new season of The Next Step this summer.  Brad has 7 credited episodes on the series so far and has recently been promoted to the role of Co-Producer.  Brad also continues to work on original projects, including a web series entitled The Thrifty Traveler, currently in development.

As his current feature The Go-Getters continues with its release, Writing for Film & Television Instructor Jordan Walker is already set to shoot his next feature, James vs. His Future Self, in the coming weeks.  James vs. His Future Self is written by (and will star) fellow Writing for Film & Television Instructor Jonas Chernick and will be directed by long-time creative partner Jeremy LaLonde.

And finally, Alumnus Mika Rekai (2016) has just finished a stint as a Researcher on the Cineflix true-crime documentary series, Secrets Of The Morgue.  The series explores high-profile murder cases from the perspective of the medical examiners, as they work with detectives to bring justice to the victims and their families.  Mika also continues to work on her feature film A College Girl’s Guide To Pornography, being produced by Walker Entertainment.

Welcome back Writing for Film & Television , all the best for the coming term!

Adam Till is the Director of the Writing For Film & Television Diploma programs at Toronto Film School as well as a producer and writer, known for Billable Hours (2006), Perfect Sisters (2014) and Too Late to Say Goodbye (2009).