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Production Safety and COVID19

  • 18 Jun 2020
  • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Zoom

Registration is closed

An open dialogue about the film industry in the time of COVID-19

How do storytellers stay safe when it comes to their craft and dealing with a very contagious disease? We will have a discussion about how some film and media makers are already working around these new conditions, what the future holds for larger film sets, and the support systems being developed.

Women in Film and Video of New England along with WIFT-US are honored to host this discussion.  We welcome our members and invite the general public to learn about Women in Film organizations and how we support female storytellers.


Meet the panelists


Dr. Laura M. Burke is the founding dean of the School of Health Sciences at Regis College in Weston, MA. Since joining Regis, she has served in many roles at the college, including associate professor, director of the Public Health Program and associate dean. She launched Regis’s Public Health Program and has collaborated on the development of several majors. An epidemiologist by training, Dr. Burke has conducted research in nutritional and genetic epidemiology. She has presented her research at both national and international conferences.


Ann Marie Charland is a Senior Producer and Head of Production for ECAST Productions with more than 25 years of expertise in live television and digital content production. Ms. Charland is the winner of two New England Regional Emmy Awards for Outstanding Live Special Event Coverage for her work on WCVB’s “Holiday Lights.” Her work has also been nominated for additional Emmys including a National Primetime Emmy Award. 


John Cini is President and Co-Founder of High Output, Inc, a lighting and technology company for film, TV, theatre, and events. Serving on several entertainment industry boards including PERG (Production Equipment Rental Group) and the Massachusetts Production Coalition, John has been at the forefront of production safety guidelines during the pandemic.






Scott Lebeda can most often be found behind the camera as a member of the International Cinematographers Guild IASTE Local 600. Scott has experience in all areas of filmmaking including narrative movies, documentaries, and commercials. He has been the camera operator for such feature films as Proud Mary, Slender Man, Ghost Light and many more. Scott also has experience shooting for National Geographic and Discovery Channel. He recently finished filming Coda with Marlee Matlin, where most of the principal cast was deaf.



President of Reel Kasting Productions, LLC, Nancy McBride has a natural gift for recognizing talent. It was no surprise years ago when from her own experience as a parent of gifted child actors she founded the largest parent network of child talent. She soon became an authority, serving as an advocate for parents with kids in the industry. That lead her to the role she loves today, as a Casting Directing to both children and adults. Nancy also serves as the President of WIFT- US and President of Women in Film and Television for the state of Florida.



After graduating from Bard College, Wendy Raad spent 17 years gaining valuable experiences, contacts and skills in a variety of roles in the New York television industry.  In 2016, she made a life change by accepting her current role overseeing Operations & Client Services at Animus Studios, a full-service video strategy and production company based in Rhode Island. Wendy also served as Producer for two short films that made the 2019 film festival circuit:  Memory Video, had its World Premiere at Hot Docs and its US Premiere at Montclair Film Festival; the short scripted film, Burning My Tongue, had its World Premiere at the Provincetown Film Festival. Wendy is a long-standing member of BAFTA-East Coast, NYWIFT, WICTNY, BAM and is the Rhode Island State Chair for WIFVNE.


Taryn Walsh has been a costumer for 34 years. She is a member of IATSE local 705 in Los Angeles and is the costume craft rep on the executive board of New England IATSE Local 481.

Her credits include Little Women, Patriots Day, Nell, Contact, and many more.




Moderated by 

Alecia Orsini is an award winning multi-media professional with 12+ years’ experience working in the film industry. She is a prominent voice in the region’s film community as President of Women in Film and Video of New England. She also uses her marketing and development skills at NPR station WCAI, a service of WGBH. She also devotes time to Save MA Film Jobs, working behind the scenes for the grassroots organization. She was named one of the Cape & Plymouth Business 40 Under 40 for her volunteer work & entrepreneurship and is a lifetime member of the Girl Scouts.




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