Trans Film Mentorship
About the TFM
The mission of the Trans Film Mentorship (TFM) is to increase the presence of trans and non-binary professionals, filmmakers, creatives and crew in the film and television industry by creating work and training opportunities for emerging and entry-level professionals. We work in partnership with production companies to create work-integrated training opportunities on productions from trans and non-binary creatives. Our programs are tailored to each production and can include mindfulness-based soft skills development, production training and wellness coaching. All our programs conclude with career planning support that aims to help participants with industry way-finding and planning their next steps.
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The Opportunity
The Trans Film Mentorship (TFM) is partnering with Shaftesbury and the City of Toronto to offer a paid work-integrated training opportunity for emerging trans and non-binary professionals within select departments on Slo Pitch, a comedy series following a scrappy queer softball team trying to make it to the beer league championships, produced by Shaftesbury, Bell Media, and PAGEBOY Productions.
This is a half-hour adaptation of the hilarious webseries created by J Stevens, Karen Knox, and Gwenlyn Cumyn that you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyxt_GS_rFo&ab_channel=KindaTV
Dates: September 22, 2025 - November 14, 202
​Paid Training Rate: $250/day
Locations: Training will take place within Toronto. Production will take place in Hamilton and Toronto. Mentees will be responsible for their own lodgings and transportation during production and must be able to travel between Toronto and Hamilton.
***Must be an Ontario resident to apply***
Program Details
The TFM Production Training Program is a work-integrated training program where participants will be placed to train and work in selected departments on set.
Phase 1: Production Preparedness
Participants will participate in production preparedness training and soft skills development workshops led by the TFM team and guest instructors.
Phase 2: Train & Work on Set - 5 weeks (4-day work week + 3hr check in on Friday)
Participants will train and work within their respective departments for five weeks, gradually increasing responsibilities, working towards full integration into crew. Standard on set days are twelve hours.
Phase 3: Career Pathways Support
Participants are further supported with career planning sessions aimed at helping them define their career goals, plan their next steps, and learn how to leverage this unique experience to open doors to more opportunities.
Departments for Placement
In the application, applicants will be able to identify which department(s) they are interested in.
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Camera
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Sound
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Costumes
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Grip
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Hair & Makeup (license required)
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Lighting
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Props
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Set Dec
​This is a competitive program. We highly recommend that you research the departments you are interested in to familiarize yourself with the function of the department, the key roles and assess whether it’s a good fit for you.
Who Is This Program For?
The ideal candidate is someone who has some crew experience (ie. entry-level roles on shorts, low budget features, and/or webseries) but has yet to find steady work on indie or union productions.
This program is intended for folks who identify as trans and non-binary and who are:​
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Over 18 years old
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Passionate about pursuing a career in film and television production
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Self-motivated, eager to learn and able to take direction
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Available to work full-time from September 22, 2025 - November 14, 2025
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Can work 12-hour days on your feet and in the office as needed
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Capable of remaining flexible to last-minute changes in schedule with less than a day’s notice
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Can engage in repeated physical labour (eg lifting up to 25lbs) without compromising their health
Candidates with a driver’s license (G2 or G) are preferred given that the program requires travel outside the GTA.​
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The TFM & Sphere Media are prioritizing candidates who are racialized or identify as Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Colour.
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Who this program is not for:
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People hoping to shadow directors, writers, ADs, or post-production roles
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People who already have experience in NABET and IATSE productions
Application Process
Interested applicants must fill out an application form, submit a resume/CV, and link to an example of any related work (portfolio, project, sample, reel, short film, theatre, etc). Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.
If the application form presents a barrier for any reason, please contact A.C. Birch at programlead@transfilmmentorship.com prior to the application deadline.
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You can preview the entire application form here:
Deadline to apply: August 22, 2025 at 6pm EST
Questions can be directed to programlead@transfilmmentorship.com
Meet the Team
A.C. Birch (he/they)
Program Lead
A.C. Birch is a comedian, writer, and filmmaker based in Toronto, ON. His feature documentary, A Queer's Guide to Spiritual Living, premiered at Inside Out in 2023, and in 2024 he was one of nine participants selected for Spindle Film Foundation's mentorship program for trans and gender diverse writers and directors. A recent graduate of The Second City Conservatory, A.C. has been awarded "Best Newcomer" at Sketch to the Death 2025 for his solo sketch performance, "Best Writing - Category: Romance" by IndieX Film Fest, and "Most Improved - Category: Hotness" by friends who knew him in high school.
Domini Anderson (she/her)
Program Coordinator
Domini Anderson is a Production Designer and Art Director for film and television, originally from Perth, Western Australia. Domini is known for Art Directing major television series such as Star Trek: Discovery, (2020), Designated Survivor (2019), and In The Dark (2019). In 2023, Domini was nominated for a Director’s Guild of Canada Award for her Production Design of the first season of Jane (AppleTV+). Domini’s development has included professional training in Post Production, (2020, Film Fest Lab). Leadership (2018, Director’s Guild of Canada) and Media Management (2018, WIFT, Corus & G. Raymond Chang School). Domini has always followed new opportunities to grow and learn, and in 2023 she launched the film mentorship podcast The Shore, as a way of sharing information, fostering community and building a brighter and more inclusive future for the industry she loves.
Ronnie Ali (she/her)
Sil Hernando (she/her)
Wellness and Diversity Consultants
Ronnie and Sil are a team of queer and trans, neurodivergent, immigrant professionals who are sensitive to the issues that often come up in entertainment production and are resourceful in addressing them. We are sought after under a variety of titles, including on-set listeners, cultural sensitivity coordinators, on-set welfare coordinators, and wellness consultants, among other roles. In addition to our professional expertise, our lived experiences provide unique perspectives and fuel our synergy. We have a combined experience of 45+ years in IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) and have worked together since 2017.
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Ronnie is a Registered Psychotherapist with 15+ years of experience in diversity and inclusion consulting, involving design and delivery of training, social programming, executive/leadership coaching, and critical incident debriefing. She also has 10+ years of clinical experience as a psychotherapist working with communities marginalized by oppression and discrimination, and 5+ years of experience in clinical supervision, education, and training the next generation of therapists.
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Sil is a Registered Psychotherapist with 30+ years of experience in consultation, design, and delivery of equity, diversity, and inclusion training from a trauma-informed, intersectional lens. She has trained 10,000+ professionals on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Sil has 18+ years of clinical experience as a psychotherapist and 10+ years of providing clinical supervision to mental health providers. Sil speaks Spanish (first language) and English.
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury’s current primetime slate includes 18 seasons of the international hit series Murdoch Mysteries for CBC Television, Ovation TV, ION Plus, Acorn TV, and Alibi Channel, and 7 seasons of Hudson & Rex for Citytv, ION, UP Faith & Family, and Alibi Channel. Both series are available in over 150 countries worldwide. Other projects include: the acclaimed horror anthology series Slasher on Shudder and Hollywood Suite, with Emmy® Award-winner Eric McCormack starring in the fifth season; three seasons of the acclaimed six-part event series Departure for Global starring Emmy® Award-winner Archie Panjabi and the late Academy® Award-winner Christopher Plummer; and SisterS, a new Irish-Canadian co-production by and starring Sarah Goldberg (Barry) and Susan Stanley, for Crave, RTÉ and IFC
In collaboration with
