The Reelworld Screen Institute has unveiled the inaugural cohort for its Reelworld Training Lab.

Presented by Amazon MGM Studios, the Lab is a new skills development program intended for racially diverse and Indigenous production and writing talent in Canada, created to foster Canadian production talent and support Amazon MGM Studios’ projects in Canada.

The virtual program, which gets started this month, will conclude with one week of in-person training at the Amazon offices in Toronto.

The program is divided into two streams, one focusing on line producing and another working in a writers’ room.

This year’s producer cohort consists of Malachi Ellis, Tanis Parenteau, Tamiko Potts and Vanessa Caceres. The writers line-up is made up of Linda St. Pierre, Allison Wilson-Forbes, Nattasha Shrestha, Panta Mosleh, Ramin Eshraghi-Yazdi and Moniquea Marion.

Tonya Williams, founder and executive director of the Reelworld Screen Institute, said at the time the program was launched that it is meant to “establish a concrete path to actual jobs” to achieve inclusion and equity in the Canadian screen sector.

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