Cinéfest Sudbury ramps up industry panels to help grow homegrown talent

As the film industry in northern Ontario continues to grow, the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival is ramping up its panel offerings for people who work in the industry.

"We've seen the industry grow so much in northern Ontario in the last number of years and we've seen homegrown talent grow with it," said Michael Scherzinger, managing director of  Cinéfest Sudbury.

Scherzinger said the festival's Cinema Summit panels provide information for that homegrown talent to move on to the next level in the industry. 

"Last year was a big pilot project and testing out a more robust panel lineup, sourcing more guests from the industry at large," he said.

That included hosting all the panels online on the Cultural Industries Ontario North (CION) website.

This year's panels include a discussion about how northern Ontario crew members can advance to key roles in productions, a talk about environmental sustainability on set, and a presentation from the creators of the CBC show Essex County.

Scherzinger said industry members and media arts students can register online to attend the panels for free.

Cinéfest Sudbury runs from Saturday, Sept. 16 to Sunday, Sept. 24. The panels take place the same week.