BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sandie de Freitas Founder/President

Sandie de Freitas is the president and founder of COMMFFEST GLOBAL COMMUNITY FILM FESTIVAL 2005. The idea spawned whilst working at a film distribution organization 1992 and seeing a great number of unappreciated films of independent filmmakers  works shelved and unavailable to the public.

She is also the founder /director of COMMFFEST Radio an on online radio show that speaks to the community on social and relevant issues as well as interviewing participating filmmakers of COMMFFEST and more recently the Art exhibition.

 In addition to being a Festival Director she is Writer/ Producer,/director/artist hailing from Seneca College with a Design Arts diploma. Her entrepreneurial skills were honed earlier on as the owner of a fashion boutique in Yorkville as well as a small marketing firm.

 

Norman Hart VP

Norman Hart born 9th October 1941 Luton Bedfordshire UK.6 GCE certificates of education, winner of the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh's Award Gold medal for challenge, employed with Granada TV Corporation in cinema, theatre management, and Coronation Street Tv script dept.  1967 overseas volunteer peace duty, 1969arrived Canada. 2 years as Tip Top Tailor's window designer maintaining locations across Ontario. 3 years Project Manager with Optima Communications. Various successful self employed retail and media businesses including Metro Showcase Company featuring 'Elevision' (elevator advertising), Hartline Sofa Company (manufacturing and retailing) ,  , presently vice-president with Commffest Global Community Film Festival which has spawned into the Arts, Photography, Filmmaking, Print and the internet.

Norman also hold several management positions within the Performing Arts Lodges Toronto including Pal Archivist.

 

Dirk McLean

Dirk is the Children’s Author of Steel Drums and Ice Skates (Groundwood Books, Toronto) and Play Mas’! A Carnival ABC and Curtain Up: A Book for Young Performers (Tundra Books, Toronto & Tundra Books of Northern New York). New Young Adult novel, NOT OUT (James Lorimer & Company, Publishers)

The CBC produced The House On Hermitage Road (Morningside Radio Drama) which Dirk adapted from his Trinidadian Childhood Memoir. The script was published in the Anthology, Canadian Mosaic II, by Simon & Pierre (Dundurn Group).
His Plays for Young Audiences, Shall We Call A Teacher? and The Real McCoy (with Amah Harris and Itah Sadu) have Toured Elementary Schools in Ontario.

I desire to work with individuals creatively helping them towards their goals and to realize their potential on this journey.

Specialties:Mentoring. Recruitment. Facilitation. Presentations. Reporting. Team Building. Interviewing Role-Play for Business and the Arts.

 

Monty Goren

Monty Goren is a lawyer and has been practicing law in the City of Toronto since 1982.  Earlier on in his career Monty worked closely with the community offering legal aid services. He is also the producer of the critically acclaimed Canadian touring production of the one man play “Einstein” which has been staged in numerous cities. He produced the T.V. pilot, “The New Movies”, and has the written four feature length screenplays.

Monty brings with him his legal skills to the organization.

COMMFFEST ADVISORY BOARD

Dini Petty

Dini Petty is a Canadian television and radio host. At 22, wearing a trademark pink jumpsuit and working for  Toronto  radio station  CKEY she became the first female traffic reporter to pilot her own helicopter. She clocked 5,000 hours as pilot-in-command of a Hughes 300.

Later, at CItyTv Toronto, she worked as a writer, reporter and co-anchor, with Gord Martineau, of evening newscast Citypulse at 6. There she hosted an afternoon program, Sweet City Woman. Petty also anchored CITY-TV's short-lived 5:30 p.m. news and current affairs program CityWide from May 1987 until 1989 when she left for CFTO-TV.

On Citytv's daily  talk show City Line Petty established herself as one of Canada's foremost television talk show hosts. She left her news anchor position to concentrate on CityLine.

In 1989, Petty moved to CFTO and the Baton Broadcasting System  Her hour-long general interest talk show, The Dini Petty Show, aired until 2001.

In the 2000s, Petty hosted Weekends with Dini Petty, a syndicated weekly radio program focused on health and wellness for baby boomers.   Sheila Copps succeeded her as host of Weekends.

Petty has written a children's book, The Queen, the Bear, and the Bumblebee.

 

Ann Marie MacDougall

Ann Marie is the Founder and President of LeaderBoom Inc., a globalleadership consulting and development firm based in Toronto. Ann Marie is a life strategist who has a passion for continuous learning and for supporting leaders and communities to actualize their full potential.

Ann Marie has more than twenty years’ experience successfully managing national and diverse teams in multi-cultural, multi-generational andmulti-channel environments and feels her most important work is inspiring her clients to contribute well beyond their perceived limits and to rally around a strategy that demonstrates values, and generates meaningful impact.

Ann Marie has an MBA from the Rotman School of Management in Toronto where she received the Directors Award for Women Managers and a global eMBA from St. Gallen University in Switzerland. She is thrilled to participate in the planning of this years festival and invites you to learn more about

her company at www.leaderboom.com.

 

Suzanne Vanstone

Arts consultant Suzanne Vanstone has been involved in the arts field for over 30 years, both as a performer and senior administrator. She was a member of the acclaimed Canadian Opera Company Chorus for 20 years as well as a freelance opera/classical music singer across Canada and the United Kingdom. Ms Vanstone has served as a Director on the Board of the Actors’ Fund of Canada and their interim Executive Director, a negotiator with Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, and has been a member of various committees supporting both artists and arts management.

As Senior Communications Manager, Editorial, at the Canadian Opera Company (COC) she was involved with managing publications, including writing, interviewing artists, collaborating with designers and graphic artists, editing and overseeing all written material the company produced. She has served as a freelance editor and writer for various publications including the COC house program, Prelude magazine, Arias magazine, and the COC Ring Cycle book. An avid theatre, opera, concert, gallery and festival attendee, Ms Vanstone values what traditional theatre offers, but is particularly interested in new works or re-interpretations of classic repertoire. She enjoys exploring ways to creatively link all art forms so that they complement and enrich each other.