Emerging TV Producers Program
Program Overview
The Emerging TV Producers Program (ETVP) provides training and mentorship for up to ten women and gender-diverse creators, with the goal of providing business skills, training and connections to break into the complex Canadian TV production system.
NEW! For the 2025 edition of the ETVP program we are welcoming applications from emerging TV producers in Alberta and the Yukon.
Key Dates
May 14, 2025
Program Announced
May 26, 2025
Info Session
May 29, 2025
Pitch Deck Workshop
June 2, 2025
Applications Open
July 11th
Deadline Extended! Applications Close (at 11:59 PST)
August 1, 2025
Selection Notification
September 24-28, 2025
Phase 1: Foundations Workshops
Phase 2: Mentorships
Program Outline
PHASE 1: Foundation Workshops
September 24–28, 2025 | In-person | Vancouver, BC
Participants will attend a five-day, hands-on business training intensive designed to equip emerging TV producers with the foundational knowledge they need to navigate the Canadian television industry. Led by the Lead Instructor and guest speakers, these workshops focus on practical, actionable insights that will help participants move their projects forward.
Topics include:
- Understanding the Landscape: Who and where the Canadian broadcasters, streamers, and TV funders are; how they work with emerging producers; what they’re looking for; and how to determine if your project is a good fit.
- Navigating Funding Applications: How to research and interpret fund mandates, create accurate budget estimates, complete standard budget formats, and secure letters of support and mentors.
- Pitching and Promotion: Where and how to pitch your project; tips for market attendance, networking, and building lasting professional relationships; how to effectively promote yourself and your work.
- Financing Your Project: How to design a viable financing plan, apply for funding (including CMF), understand broadcast licenses, leverage tax credits, and combine different sources of support.
- Budgeting: How to create scalable budgets suited to your project’s scope and funding level.
- The Legal Side: An introduction to company structures, financing contracts, license agreements, deal memos, rights clearances, and chain of title.
- Alternative Sources of Support: Exploring additional opportunities such as international broadcasters, distributors, crowd-funding, and grants—how to find them and how they can support your project.
PHASE 2: Mentorships
October–December 2025 | Remote | One-on-One Mentorship
Over three months, participants will continue developing their projects with the support of an experienced industry mentor. Each participant will receive 6 hours of individualized consultation, tailored to the needs of their project and professional goals. Mentors will offer guidance on packaging projects and preparing for the market.
Possible mentorship topics include:
- Pitching materials and strategy
- Financing plan development
- Budget refinement
- Funding applications
- Career planning (short- and long-term goals) d
Costs
There is no cost to apply or participate in the program. Financial assistance for travel, accommodations, and meals will be provided to out-of-town participants. Financial assistance is also available for childcare and accessibility needs upon request.
Applicant Eligibility
You are eligible to apply if you:
- Identify as female or gender-diverse.
- Reside in British Columbia, Alberta, or the Yukon.
- Are a Canadian citizen or have a permanent resident status, and are aged 19 or over.
- Do not have a credit as a producer or showrunner on an existing Canadian TV series project (Telus Storyhive project producers are eligible to apply).
- Have an eligible project in development, for which you have already completed the pilot script.
- Own or have optioned the intellectual property of the submitted project.
It is the program’s mandate to have a diverse cohort that includes women and gender-diverse persons from the IBPOC, LGBTQ2S+, Neurodivergent and Disabledcommunities. Sign language and mobility accommodations can be made available as-needed.
Only one person per project may apply. If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact etvp@gemsvancouver.org
Program Eligibility
We are seeking narrative projects with strong potential for success in the Canadian television market. Eligible projects will feature authentic storytelling and present bold, original perspectives. Submissions must include a clearly developed pilot treatment and season outline.
Please note: ETVP is not a story development lab. It is a business skills training program designed for emerging producers. However, in Phase 2 of the program, participants will work with mentors to package their projects for market, so it is essential that each project’s narrative foundation is already in place.
Eligible projects must be:
- Narrative live-action series (not eligible: reality, lifestyle, animation, variety, or sketch comedy).
- Structured as limited series (6–8 episodes) or recurring series.
- Either half-hour, hour-long, or short-form in length.
- Aligned with the budget and production scope typical of the contemporary Canadian television landscape.
- In any language; however, application materials not in English must be accompanied by English translations.
If you are curious in learning more about what some Canadian broadcasters are looking for, please take a look at these guidelines outlined by CBC, APTN, Bell Media, and Crave.
Application Requirements
To apply, please complete the online application form (a link to this form will be available on June 2, 2025). You will be asked to upload the following materials:
- Pitch Deck (maximum 10 pages, submitted as a single PDF)
This document should clearly outline your project’s story, themes, and creative approach. It must include:
- Project details: format, genre, episode length, and number of episodes
- Series synopsis
- Character descriptions
- Target audience: who the project is for, and any plans to reach or engage with them
- List of creatives attached to the project, if applicable (e.g. writer, director)
- Letter of Intent (maximum 1 page, PDF)
Tell us who you are, your career goals, and why you’re interested in participating in the Emerging TV Producers Program. Please explain how this opportunity will help you grow as a producer and advance your career.
- Applicant CV (maximum 2 pages, PDF)
Please note: Each of the required materials should be named using the format APPLICANTNAME_COMPONENT (for example: JANEDOE_PITCHDECK, JANEDOE_LETTEROFINTENT).
Meet the Team
Deborah Osborne
Lead Instructor
Deborah was involved with the curricula development and as the lead instructor for the last three year’s Emerging TV Producers Program. For over 30 years, she has worked with creators, performers, crews, professional organizations, theatre and opera companies, government institutions, equipment manufacturers, broadcasters, and students. Her career began in theatre and opera stage management, evolving to production of films, TV series, documentaries, and live-to-air programming. Deborah’s wide range of experience in executive, creative, administrative and crew positions has supported many live productions and a variety of award-winning programming for major networks and distributors in North America and Europe. In addition, she has worked as the Post Production Risk Manager with the Motion Picture Bond Company, Production Manager for IMAX DMR projects, as an evaluator for media funding organizations, a Production Planning Executive at CBC, and the Western Programming Manager for APTN. She has authored articles for industry publications and has taken leadership roles in innovative training initiatives, curricula development and teaching, as well as producing seminars and workshops across Canada. Throughout her career Deborah has sat on advisory committees for colleges and universities and worked with volunteer organizations, such as Women In Film and Television (Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver), Salt Spring Island Chamber of Commerce and currently as Chair of Salt Spring Arts (Council). In 2016 Deborah was honoured with a Women In Film and Television ‘Crystal Award’ for mentorship. Deborah is originally from Toronto, Ontario and comes from a mix of European and Caribbean descent. She has lived and worked in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Connecticut, before moving to Salt Spring Island in 2015.
ETVP 2025 Cohort
Kelsie Andries, The Rage
Kelsey Andries (she/her) is an award-winning queer writer, producer, actor, and stunt performer based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary), Alberta. As the 2014 IFMA Muay Thai World Champion and a mother, she infuses her work with strength, vulnerability, and physical storytelling. Her credits include the award-winning short comedy Rerouted, the documentary New Horizons, and three AMPIA-nominated films through Azzume Productions. As a stunt
performer, she’s appeared in The Last of Us, See, Wynonna Earp, and Black Summer, earning SAG and AMPIA Awards. Her latest project, The Rage, is a deeply personal exploration of identity, motherhood, and hope in an unforgiving world.
Tamara Black, Pilled
Tamara Black is an award-winning Canadian-Italian director, producer, and writer known for striking visuals and creative versatility. She’s a BANFF Spark Accelerator and WIDC alum, who has received support from MVP Project and Canada Council for the Arts. Her work has screened internationally and appeared in outlets like ET Canada and Booooooom. She’s produced for clients like HBO, Instagram, Hello Sunshine and iHeart Radio, including the Webby-winning podcast Supreme: The Battle for Roe. Currently in post on The Afterschool Club, she’s also developing the original series Pilled.
Tamara brings grit, humor, and heart to everything she creates. She holds a BA in Criminology.
Uga Carlini, The Man Manual
Uga Carlini is a multi-award-winning director, screenwriter, producer and actress, celebrated for bold, emotionally charged stories centered on women. As founder of Towerkop Creations, an internationally acclaimed, female-led production company with offices in Vancouver and Cape Town; she has been pioneering heroine-driven storytelling since 2010. Her films, including Alison (Amazon Prime), Angeliena (Netflix), and Beyond the Light Barrier (Amazon Prime, narrated by John Kani), have garnered global acclaim. She is also a nominee for the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women and the Chicken & Egg Award.
“My mission has always been to tell stories that help us remember who we are, and who we still have the power to become.
Lisa Genaille, The Deal
Lisa Genaille is an Indigenous producer and screenwriter from British Columbia, dedicated to bringing underrepresented stories to the screen. With training in technical theatre, design, and motion picture production, she has worked across departments from camera to craft services, shaping her collaborative approach. Her work has screened at VIFF and ImagineNative, and she has secured development funding from APTN, Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, and others. She produced the feature Rehab (2022), earning two Leo Award nominations. Current projects include her feature River Home and series The Deal. She is also adapting Sense and Sensibility into an Indigenous reimagining.
Jimpinu, New Roots
Jennifer Wophill (Jimpinu) is a Vancouver-based photographer, filmmaker, and creative director who centers Black and Afro-Diasporic stories through striking visuals and storytelling. Founder of Jimpinu Productions, jpeg photography, choplifevancity and the creative collective Jama’a, she blends cinematic imagery with community-focused projects that celebrate resilience, identity, and healing. Her work spans portraiture, music videos, short films and cultural events, always with an emphasis on authenticity and empowerment. Jennifer is also a dedicated mentor and community leader, fostering spaces where marginalized voices thrive and creative innovation flourishes.
Naomi Mark, Last Bite
Naomi Mark is a Yukon based filmmaker who works across genres writing and directing short and long form films in both fiction and documentary. Her work spans the gamut from super silly comedies about serious social issues to emotive character driven documentaries that explore family bonds and the nature of grief. Naomi’s films include the mid-length documentary The Arctics (winner of the 2021 Yorkton Film Festival’s Golden Sheaf Multicultural Award) and the feature length documentary How To Bee ( winner of the 2019 RIIFF Marilyn Mason Award). Naomi is an alumni of the Hot Docs Accelerator, CMPA Mentorship and Women in the Director’s Chair programs.
Panta Mosleh, Faking Halal
Panta Mosleh is a queer Middle Eastern/West Asian writer-director and graduate of The Groundlings, as well as a 2021 NBC SNL Scholarship recipient. An alum of Warner Access x BIPOC TV & Film show runner program, Reelworld Producers program, Reelworld E20 program, Women in the Director’s Chair, NSI EAVE, Sundance, Netflix Diversity of Voices, and Amazon MGM programs, she’s directed films for NBC Peacock, Amazon, Apple, Hallmark, and Lifetime. Panta recently completed two mini series as director and is currently booked back-to-back on two more. Her original comedy series Pass the Salt is heading to camera in Q4 2025. She is passionate about bold, joyful, and inclusive storytelling.
Felicia Simone, Dating App Chronicles
Felicia Simone is a Vancouver-based actor, writer, and emerging filmmaker. She’s held numerous roles in film & television, and co-stars in the upcoming Providence Falls trilogy. Her work explores themes like addiction, identity, and race through genres like comedy and thriller. Felicia created The Dating App Chronicles and received a Canada Council grant to produce its TV pilot, now on the festival circuit. She is a 2025 Reel Change Producer Resident with Black Women Film Canada, an alum of the Anthony Q. Farrell Showrunner Bootcamp, and will attend the Access Canada Summit through the BSO’s Festival Initiative.
Ching Yu, Earth Mama
Ching Yu runs DioDio Studio like a mad scientist with a camera, part geophysicist, part artist, full-time chaos coordinator. She studied geophysics in Alaska because warm weather is for amateurs, then trained in science filmmaking at the UK’s National Film and Television School but left early to carve a creative path beyond the limits of a male-dominated system.
Her films have danced, climbed, surfed, and skied across continents in search of stories or dumplings. When not producing or wrangling two tiny humans, she chases deep snow and manages spreadsheets as treasurer for Girls On Ice Canada.
Selection Process
Applications will be scored heavily on the strength and originality of the proposed project, on the applicant’s potential and goals as an emerging producer, and on the project’s suitability for the Canadian TV landscape. The selection process will be influenced by the program’s intent to select a diverse group of participants, who are not all based in Vancouver. The jury will aim to select participants from all three provinces (BC, AB, YK).
2025 Jury
Aden Abebe
Aden Abebe is a Writer, Producer, Community Leader and Mentor whose passions lie at the intersection of art and social justice. A trained Photographer, turned Writer – Director, Aden’s work has been presented in art exhibitions, film screenings and on television. With a degree in International Development studies and 10+ years experience working in the not-for-profit sector her work is grounded in identities and perspectives not often seen on screen that she had always yearned for; culturally diverse and nuanced characters leading aspirational and relatable lives.
She is the Creator, Writer and Producer of CBC Gem’s hit series, virgins! (2022). A dramatic comedy about four first-gen African women in Toronto awkwardly navigating adulthood as millennials and love & relationships as virgins. And on September, 27, 2022, the official first season of virgins! was released exclusively on CBC Gem to rave reviews and audience demands for a second season.
Sarah Alma Angelle
Sarah Alma Angelle is an award-winning actor, producer, and founder of Lilix Media. She has been featured on CBC’s Here and Now and The Early Edition for her work.
Trained in theatre, Sarah now focuses on film and television. Recently, she produced Our Long Goodbye (Crazy8s), Rina and the Demons (MAMM), and secured funding from Bell Media’s Slate Development Program and Creative BC to develop three scripted series with Orange Knapsack Productions and Elevation Pictures. Sarah is passionate about exploring mental health through art that is weird and whimsical. She currently runs FML (Funny, My Life), a comedic storytelling series at Little Mountain Gallery in Vancouver.
A proud 2024 ETVP alum, Sarah is thrilled to welcome the next cohort of producers.
Nimisha “Mish” Mukerji
Nimisha “Mish” Mukerji is an award-winning producer/director best known for Hulu’s Emmy nominated limited series Under The Bridge, the hit CBS action series Tracker, and David E. Kelley’s crime drama Big Sky for ABC. She marked her debut as a producing director on CBC’s flagship police procedural Allegiance, and is back as the EP/Director on season 3 (currently in production). Other episodic credits include directing the Emmy-winning episode of Life By Ella for Apple TV+ and the Netflix original drama series My Life With The Walter Boys and The Imperfects. As a critically acclaimed filmmaker Mukerji’s work has premiered at Tribeca and the Toronto International Film Festival and received awards recognition at both. Through her company Shotglass Productions she has produced projects for Hulu, HBO, PBS, ABC, ARTE, and CBC. She has received award nominations from the CSAs, IDAs, and DGC Awards, and won a Banff Rockie for her debut feature 65_RedRoses. In 2023 she was recognized with iSAFF’s Award of Excellence for Leadership in Film. Mukerji is represented by The Kaplan Stahler Agency and Writ Large.Frequently Asked Questions
I have no previous experience as a producer. Can I apply?
Yes. We don’t require applicants to have previous producing credits. We want to see a strong project proposal and a clear desire from participants to pursue a career in TV production, regardless of what your experience to date has been.
I have produced a feature film. Can I apply?
Yes, as long as you have not produced a TV series project.
Can the writer and producer of the project both apply?
No. Only one person per project can apply. The applicant must own the Intellectual Property of the project.
I am not available for the Foundation Workshops. Can I apply?
No. Full participation is required. Applicants will have an opportunity to declare any barriers to their full participation such as childcare, travel or accommodation, when applying. If selected, GEMS will provide funds to assist with barriers.
What should I include in my Letter of Intent?
Tell us more about who you are and your desired career path. Please outline why you want to participate in ETVP and how this program would help advance your career.
Do I retain the rights to my project if I participate in this program?
Yes. All copyright remains with participants.
I am applying with a project and I am not the writer, what do I need to submit to prove that I have permission to use the project?
You do not need to provide any evidence, but you will be asked to confirm you have the rights to the IP in your application. We strongly encourage you to have some written evidence in your records that the IP owners are allowing you to apply to this program with their material.
Do I require an option agreement for my submission?
We do not require a formal option agreement, but any writers or owners of the IP should give you written permission to use the project for this program. This does not have to be sent to us, but it is good practice to keep these records.
Do I have to submit a pilot script with my application?
While we are not asking you to submit a copy of your pilot script, we do require that projects have at least a pilot draft in order to participate. We feel that producers with projects at this stage will get much more out of the program than others with projects in very early stages with no script at all. That being said, you will only have to upload the pitch document for your application.
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