Women in Film and Television Vancouver’s established ongoing Actor Career Mentorship Program returns this year with a new cohort of diverse Vancouver actors, who will have an opportunity to grow their careers in acting despite the challenges posed by the current pandemic to the health and growth of Vancouver’s film and television industry.
Founded by its current Program Director, Krista Magnusson, the Actor Career Mentorship pairs successful mentee applicants with veteran mentor actors currently active in the local industry, to work toward the mentees’ specific acting career goals. Although a smaller applicant pool than in previous years, this year’s applicants and successful mentee cohort build on last year’s diverse mentee group, with 25% of applicants self-identifying as a person of color and overall 25% of selected mentees identifying as people of color. Applicants are required to submit a detailed application, and the successful mentees are selected by a jury of industry professionals. The mentors are hand-picked by Magnusson to pair with each mentee, in response to specific mentee goals and needs.
Given the current pandemic-related restrictions, this year’s program will run completely virtually. After an initial kick-off meeting conducted by Magnusson, mentees will meet with their respective mentors for one hour, once a month, for six months. Mentees can expect to receive insights from their veteran mentors in relationship building, developing and sustaining long-term acting careers, creating their own projects, branding, and work/life balance.
This year’s jury included Actor Career Mentorship Founder and Program Director/Actor, Krista Magnusson (Woke, Away, The Baby-Sitters Club); Kara Eide, CSA (Two Sentence Horror Stories, Overboard, Wonder); and Elena Kirschner, Founding Agent, RED Management.
“It was exciting to participate in a program that helps build community between women and mentors in the film community,” says Kirschner.
The 11 selected mentee/mentor pairings for the WIFTV Actor Career Mentorship Program 2021 are:
| Mentee Serena Bickerstaff Stephanie Jaskot Aixa Kay Sarah Marchand Andy Marie Christina McInulty Lori Schock Erika Thompson Kyra Weston Kirsten Wight Leysan Timirboulatova |
Mentor Gabrielle Rose Chelah Horsdal Catherine Lough-Haggquist Carly Pope Carmen Aguirre Luvia Petersen Tammy Gillis Jennifer Copping Sonja Bennett Ali Liebert Camille Sullivan |
Women In Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV) was incorporated in 1989 as a not-for-profit society registered in British Columbia and is committed to addressing the systemic barriers to women’s equal participation in the production and dissemination of screen-based media. For further information on WIFTV and the mentor/mentee pairings visit https://www.womeninfilm.ca/
Krista Magnusson photo by Kyle Casste, Courtesy of PenderPR
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