Instructors
CAMILLE BEAUDOIN
CEO, Mosaic Entertainment
Camille co-founded Mosaic Entertainment in 2006. Under her creative guidance, Mosaic’s productions have been nominated for multiple national and international awards. Most recently Camille has opened Spesch, a new division of Mosaic Entertainment focusing on smart, empowering content for teen and tween girls. Camille is a proud alumnus of the National Screen Institute and has served as a board member for the Alberta Media Production Industries Association. Camille was featured in Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 under 40 and was named YWCA’s Woman of Distinction in Arts & Culture.
ELISE GRAHAM
Director of Operations, GIFT
A production veteran with more than 16 years of experience in film and television, Elise has loaned her talents to all types of projects, from features to commercials, live shows to corporate videos. Her eclectic resume highlights technical and logistical roles with some of the strongest companies and productions in Alberta.
Some highlights include working for world renowned Karvonen Films, and on the television series CAUTION: May Contain Nuts, Blackstone, and Tiny Plastic Men.
Elise is thrilled to bring her experience to GIFT as Director of Operations and Lead Instructor.
CHANTAL PERRON
Actor
Chantal Perron offers 15 years of experience, specifically, in the Alberta film industry. Easily one of the provinces top bookers, she also has worked as a Stand In on set, and works for Casting Directors as an experienced, trusted reader in the audition room.
An educator in her field from 2005 to present, Chantal has lectured at Red Deer College, SAIT, various regional high schools, been a facilitator and teacher for the Ultimate Audition Workshop out of Vancouver. Her small company, The Camera Loves You has developed film audition workshops and intensives for all age groups. It has grown into a very popular set of classes and when one is offered, it fills within hours. Chantal taught public speaking to elite young athletes at the National Sports School and taught Film Studies at Playhouse North for 3 years. She is the recipient of the 2005 AMPIA Award for Best Actress for CHICKS WITH STICKS. Chantal is also an accomplished theatre actor working on professional Alberta stages since 2000. She has been nominated for three Betty Mitchell Awards for her work in The Dazzle/2005 and SCORCHED/2007 and AVIATRIX/2012.
TAMARRA CANU
Director & Cinematographer
Director and cinematographer, Tamarra Canu is one of the most recent recipients of a Telus STORYHIVE digital shorts grants allowing her to complete her first commercial project as the woman in charge. She began shooting for CBC News Edmonton and it wasn’t long before she jumped into documentary. Her first experience in film took her cinematography skills into the operating rooms of the University of Alberta hospital for CBC’s The Nature of Things documentary ‘Vital Bonds’. Soon after she signed on as a Production Coordinator and additional camera to another CBC documentary titled Equus- Story of the Horse airing September of this year. Tamarra has spent the last year working on commercial projects and documentaries in Alberta meeting some of the industries best along the way. Her love of film will soon take her across Canada as one of the Cinematographers on an APTN documentary this fall. She is also hoping to get a few of her own projects into production.
SARAH TAYLOR
Editor
Sarah Taylor is an award winning Editor with 16 years of experience. Her recent credits include the sketch comedy series Caution: May Contain Nuts and Delmer & Marta airing on APTN, Cowboy Urbain airing on UNIStv, as well as the Superchannel comedy series Tiny Plastic Men. She has also worked on several documentary series and short films throughout her career. Sarah is a Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) member, on the board of directors for the Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) and is the host of the CCE podcast The Editor's Cut.
MARGAUX MCWATT
Digital Creator
Margaux McWatt is a multi-disciplinary creative with a focus on videography, photography and graphic design. With over 10 years of experience in visual branding and communications, Margaux brought her passion for storytelling and aesthetics behind the lens. Shooting and editing since 2016, she has worked as Second Camera for CBC Arts and Accessible Media Inc, created promotions and online programming for numerous organizations, and has created an online baking series - Chelsea’s Kitchen - where she shoots, produces, directs and edits. Margaux has taught over 50 businesses and individuals how to shoot, edit and purpose videos for social media through Modern Muse Media. Her diverse skill set gives her a unique perspective and an ability to build and maintain meaningful narratives.
KRYSTAL MOSS
Editor
Krystal Moss is a sought-after editor with over a decade of experience in both English and French-language productions. She honed her craft through commercials, corporate video and music videos, and discovered a passion for documentary editing. Her work has aired on CBC, PBS Nature, UnisTV, and featured on Vimeo Staff Picks. Her recent projects include the nature series "Equus: Story of the Horse", "How to Be French en Alberta", "The Dinosaur Echo" and the touring stand-up comedy show, "D'un rire à l'autre" from Just For Laughs. When she is not in the edit suite, Krystal teaches swing dance in her home town of Edmonton.
MARLENE RODGERS
Screenwriter/Producer
Marlene Rodgers loves to collaborate on telling great stories. She has worked as a writer, story editor, development exec, writing instructor and producer on projects ranging from feature films, to shorts, to factual and documentary television.
Marlene has story edited feature films for production companies across Canada, and has taught screenwriting for institutions including the Canadian Film Centre, Telefilm Canada, the NSI, Film Training Manitoba and the SFU School of Contemporary Arts. As a production executive at the CBC Movies and Mini-series Unit and the Ontario Film Development Corporation, she had the opportunity to help realize films made by some of Canada’s foremost filmmakers.
In the arena of factual television, Marlene has worked as a writer, story editor and story producer on television series for broadcasters such as CBC, HGTV, The Food Network, OWN and Discovery ID.
In her own filmmaking, Marlene gravitates to character-driven stories that blend drama and dark humour. Her screenplay, SKIN TO SKIN, participated in the Praxis screenwriting workshop and was shortlisted for the Sundance Writers’ Lab. Her short films include the award-winning FOXY LADY, WILD CHERRY and CLEVELAND WOOD’S LAST DAY ON EARTH. Her documentary short, DREAMS OF THE DEAD will be released in 2019.
MIRANDA WHITE
Post Production
Graduating from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Film Video program in 2006, Miranda White has steadily worked in Calgary post production. From news, corporate video, to docu-series, her worked has been broadcasted on all the major Canadian networks. Between 2015 to 2018 she returned to SAIT as the post production instructor of film/video production. Keeping active teaching, she has workshops with the University of Calgary’s NUTV.
MONICA COLLINS
Editor
Monica graduated from the University of Lethbridge in 2018 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in New Media. She has worked on several short film projects, including her own documentary "Ataraxia" which was included in Lethbridge Animation and Motion Picture Showcase in 2017. She is currently working as a school photographer, and working freelance videography, and other arts and design on the side. Her filmic interests lie in documentary narratives and the cinematography and editing that goes with that.
CHINARA ADHOFER
Photographer & Cinematographer
Chinara has a deep passion for all things photo and video, and aims for excellence in all projects. She has a background in film and digital photography from a young age, with a love of expression and storytelling propelling her into a love of filmmaking.
She is currently completing her B.F.A in New Media at the University of Lethbridge, with a focus in cinema studies and production. Her works look at vulnerability and internal emotional landscapes. A passion for female empowerment informs her upcoming short film about bodily autonomy that is currently in pre-production.
GIANNA ISABELLA
Director, Producer
Gianna Isabella is a Director & Producer who started up her own company, Gate 67 Films Inc. Her first project was a VFX Plates Unit for Disney's A Wrinkle in Time. She is currently producing her first feature film, The Ballad of Audrey Earnshaw, which is set to be filmed in Ireland and Canada late winter.
JANA O’CONNOR
Writer, Instructor, Performer
Jana O’Connor is an Edmonton-based writer, instructor and performer. She is best known for her work as a writer and cast member on TV’s CAUTION: May Contain Nuts (Mosaic Entertainment) and CBC Radio’s sketch comedy series, The Irrelevant Show. Jana is also an accomplished playwright, and was awarded a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award in 2010. She is honoured to be writing her first full-length screenplay for the GIFT Feature Film Program in 2020.
HOLLY MAZUR
Freelance Filmmaker
Holly Mazur has been working as a full-time freelance filmmaker since 2014. Holly started working in the industry as part of the camera department on local Edmonton TV shows, independent productions, and feature films. After working on an assortment of projects, Holly transitioned to leading her own productions and operating as her own filmmaking business. She has since created a wide range of short documentaries, music videos, and promotional content for clients ranging from large and small businesses, arts organizations, artists, charities, and local municipalities. Holly’s style often reflects heartfelt stories with a touch of whimsy or folksiness. She is inspired by capturing the beauty of everyday surroundings in the films and videos she creates.
Along with filming and creating projects, Holly has spent much time mentoring and teaching others. Holly has been working with the St. Albert Amplify Festival since 2016, in which she coaches youth through the creation of music and poetry videos. With the Amplify project, Holly has facilitated upwards of 15 music videos for local youth artists. Holly also regularly teaches and runs workshops at the Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta (FAVA), as well as guest instructing and leading workshops for a variety of other organizations.