Meet the directors of Traveling While Black, In Bakassi and They Should Be Flowers. These first-time virtual reality doc filmmakers with works premiering at Hot Docs open up about the journey from selecting an idea, to designing for the medium, to launching their final product onto the international film circuit.
Sponsored by Netflix. Educational partner Centennial College.
MODERATOR
Gabor Pertic, Senior Programming Coordinator & International Programmer, Hot Docs
Gabor Pertic attended the University of Toronto as a specialist in Cinema Studies, graduating with an Honours B.A. For several years, he worked in the programming department of the Toronto International Film Festival, four of those years working as Programming Associate to former TIFF Director & CEO Piers Handling. Gabor is currently the Senior Programming Coordinator & International Programmer for Hot Docs. Needless to say, over the last decade, Gabor has had the privilege of curating a diverse, international selection of films for Toronto audiences.
SPEAKERS
Joel Kachi Benson, JB Multimedia Studios/VR360 Stories
Joel Kachi Benson produced his first documentary, Cry for Mercy, in 2009, and has since gone on to produce docs that have been featured Lights, Camera, Africa! Film Festival, iREP Documentary Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and the British Film Institute. His 2018 VR doc that is playing at Hot Docs, In Bakassi, is Nigeria’s first virtual reality documentary on life in an IDP Camp. Joel holds a certificate in information Systems Management and a diploma in Software Engineering from the Software Technology Park. He lives and works in Nigeria where he manages a production studio, JB Multimedia Studios/VR360 Stories.
Karen Chapman, Writer, Director, Smallaxx Motion Pictures
Born to Guyanese parents, award-winning filmmaker Karen Chapman has screened everywhere from planes, classrooms and international film festival. A graduate of Emily Carr University, Chapman is an alumna of the Banff Centre, a Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow, and was named one of Playback's "Five Filmmakers to Watch" in 2018. Currently she is preparing to shoot her first feature film, Village Keeper, through Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch Program. Chapman is currently honing her craft in the Directors Lab at the Canadian Film Centre.
Ayesha Nadarajah, Co-Director, Traveling While Black
Ayesha Nadarajah is a documentary producer and director. Ayesha started her career as a production assistant on Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams's Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award–winning documentary Life, Animated. Traveling While Black, a virtual reality documentary in collaboration with Felix & Paul Studios, is her directorial debut. She also produced the film and the Sundance installation. Most recently, Ayesha co-produced the feature documentary American Jail for CNN, which explores the forces that fuel America's sprawling prison system. Since its premiere, the film has screened in over 190 countries around the world.