NC’s Acting for Film and Digital Media program’s first annual Graduates Showcase made its debut on May 4.
Twenty-two graduating students of the two-year program were a part of the inaugural event, which showcased the best of student projects throughout the year.
Since the film and media industry is largely based in Toronto, the event was intentionally hosted in the city at the Carlton Imagine Cinema to support industry attendance and buy in from casting directors and agents.
Held for students, their families and industry partners, the showcase was created to celebrate NC’s Acting program grads while also providing networking opportunities to help them break into in the industry post-graduation.
Program Coordinator and Professor, Lori Ravensborg also hopes the showcase can become a flagship event opportunity that grows in scope and scale.
“Our goal was to celebrate our grads and the amazing work they completed during their time in the program,” said Ravensborg. “My hope is to continue growing the Graduates Showcase each year and leverage it as an opportunity to further promote NC and the School of Media programs.”
The event kicked off with a welcome speech from Ravensborg followed by a 69-minute screening of various student projects created throughout the year.
Vice President, Academic, Fiona Allan, Interim Dean, Media, Trades and Technology, Leo Tiberi, and Associate Dean, School of Media. Charles Kopun, were also in attendance to support grads and celebrate their accomplishments.
For student Kayla Neves, being able to participate in the first-ever Graduates Showcase was an unforgettable experience she will carry with her after graduation.
“Getting to watch myself act on a movie screen was such a dream come true and was a great way to wrap up the past two years in the program,” she said. “Having the opportunity to network with alumni and industry professionals and get our names and talent out into the world is something that I am extremely grateful for.”
One of the projects showcased was a short film Neves helped create as part of her final project for the Actor as Entrepreneur course. The short film was developed over the course of the program’s final semester in which students were responsible for the entire film-making process including writing or adapting a script, working on paperwork for production plans, and directing, editing, and acting in the film.
“I am super proud of this project that my partners and I put so much time and effort into, and the positive reaction from classmates, instructors, and guests was super rewarding knowing our hard work paid off,” said Neves. “This was my favourite project I got to work on throughout the entire program, so it was exciting having the opportunity to showcase it during the event.”
Graduating student Jacob Furmanov has dreamed of being an actor since middle school. He was drawn to NC because of the College’s great reputation and how well the Acting for Film and Digital Media program aligned with his passions and interests.
Now that Furmanov has reached the end of the program, he is confident in his decision to pursue an education at NC.
“One of the reasons I think the program is so great is because its passionate professors,” he said. “They helped us learn so much in such a short amount of time, and I feel fully prepared to immerse myself in the film industry thanks to NC. I have learned how to edit, script write, conduct various kinds of voice overs and market myself as an actor, which is one of the most important things an actor should be able to do.”
Furmanov’s project included in the showcase was based off a short script partially adapted from a scene in the film Gia, and he is proud of the reception it generated at the event.
“The project was incredibly fun to work on and getting to travel to Toronto and see myself on-screen in a real movie theatre was such a cool experience,” he said. “It was also exciting having agents and casting directors attend to watch our projects. I was able to get my name out there and now, some of my film experience has been seen by industry professionals, which is a great way to kick off my career.”
