Sheridan’s SIRT showcases international collaboration at ICFF Industry Days

Sheridan’s Screen Industries Research and Training (SIRT) Centre will once again host the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) Industry Days on December 6-7, 2022. Taking place at SIRT’s Pinewood Toronto Studios, this industry event will be the biggest to date, bringing together key players in the Canadian and Italian film and media industries for a series of panels, presentations and knowledge-sharing opportunities.

SIRT’s two presentations will explore achievements and possibilities in the fields of virtual production and digital humans. SIRT is a leader in the emerging virtual production field, a technique that combines physical and digital aspects of filmmaking. In May 2021, SIRT launched Ontario’s first Virtual Production Innovation Hub that is enabling the next generation of content creators to learn and apply virtual production techniques.

SIRT Technologist Stephan Kozak will host ‘Artificial Intelligence and Digital Humans: A Conversation About the Future of Entertainment’ with David Usher, founder of Reimagine AI. Kozak and Usher will discuss SIRT’s partnership with Reimagine and how their work on digital humans was awarded a patent and recently entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for contributions to the creation of the first digital human citizen of Malta. The conversation will expand on new breakthroughs in the digital human creation process, while reviewing the possibilities and uses for digital humans in content creation and immersive engagement.

SIRT Production Leads Spencer Idenouye and Jason Hunter have curated the ‘Virtual Production: Has It Transformed the Way We Make Content?’ panel, which will feature a review of leading virtual production applications along with need-to-know tools and techniques. A group of industry experts including Edward Hanrahan (Director of Virtual Production, William F. Whites International), Matthew Nayman (Virtual Production Supervisor, Immersion Room), and Pasquale Croce (Virtual Production Supervisor, EDI Effettidigital Italiano) will discuss how virtual production is a critical technique for today’s content creators and will share knowledge about what current and future workflows and best practices look like.

“Location-transcedent production forms like virtual production and digital humans will only increase the working opportunities for industry partners in the Canadian and Italian film and media industries,” said David Dexter, Director of SIRT. “Partnering with ICFF and hosting its Industry Days again allows SIRT to continue to demonstrate our innovation expertise while building relationships with domestic and international partners.”

The ICFF, presented by IC Savings, is one of the most highly anticipated cultural events of the summer in Toronto and across Canada. It is one of the leading and most successful festivals of its kind, and the largest Italian film festival outside of Italy.

The 2022 ICFF Industry Days is SIRT’s tenth year of involvement with the ICFF and underscores SIRT’scommitment to innovation growth and impactful engagement locally, nationally and internationally.

To learn more about the program line-up at the 2022 ICFF Industry Days at SIRT, please visit: icff.ca/industry-days-2022/