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YMA TAAFI JOHN ROONEY CREATOR SCHOLARSHIP
In memory of John Rooney the Youth Media Alliance and TAAFI have established the John Rooney Creator Fund to support LGBTQ2S+ talent in children's, youth and family animation.
TWO STREAMS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
One outstanding Canadian candidate will be selected for the content development stream while up to two (2) candidates will be selected for the scriptwriting stream. The Fund enables scriptwriting stream recipients to participate in a writers’ summit for a television series, and for the content development winner to pitch their content at conferences of their choosing throughout the year.
- CONTENT DEVELOPMENT (1 Creator): The winner will receive $5,000 (CAD) for mentorship from industry professionals for creative development which can be spent on contracting professional resources for the creation of their concept and for travel and registration costs which will allow the winner to network at conferences that align with their career goals. The objective of this stream is to expedite the winner’s journey to becoming an established content creator.
- SCRIPTWRITING (2 Writers): Each successful candidate will be placed in a writing room for a show in production. The purpose of this placement is for the candidate to gain an understanding of the script writing process, how stories are developed for series, and if possible, contribute to the room creatively. The Fund will cover a maximum of 10 working days, at $250 per day, for a total allocation of $2,500 per writer. The objective of this stream is to expose a writer to a professional writer’s room to experience the dynamic between writers, story editors, commissioning broadcasters and other participants in the scripting process.
At the completion of each project, all grant recipients may be asked to write a brief overview of their experience, for use in reporting or as a YMA blog post.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Opens Dec 18 2024 to January 19 2025
Submit an application - scriptwriter Submit an application - content creator
Alex Pires is a creator and screenwriter with a passion for educational and entertaining storytelling for young audiences. With a varied background in television writing, he worked on the How to Survive and What If? series for Underknown Inc. where he conceived over 30 episodes combining humor, punchy dialogue and factual content in science and history. His talent for developing original projects has also led him to create a preschool series for Muslim Kids TV, Discoveries with Math! Alex wants to turn his Felix's Feelings Safari illustrated book into an animated series for young children. Through this project, he aims to offer concrete tools to help children better understand and manage their emotions, combining immersive storytelling, humor and teachings on emotional intelligence. With the support of the program, he hopes to refine his concept, develop it into a solid pitch and present it at various festivals and markets to reach a wide audience.
Olivia is an emerging screenwriter with a passion for creating inspiring content for young audiences. With a degree in television writing and production, she gained valuable experience as a writer for the preschool series Tiny & Tall, where she integrated educational elements into her scripts while ensuring that young viewers' attention was captivated. Her career has also taken her to work in production and marketing for theatrical institutions such as Theatre Gargantua and Theatre by the Bay, and in communications and social media management for George Brown Theatre School, where she devised promotional strategies for student productions. As director and producer, she staged Another Word for Pomegranate at the P.E.I. Fringe Festival, managing staging, production and logistics. She hopes to enrich her skills by joining a professional writing room, an essential opportunity to deepen her mastery of storytelling, collaborate with other creators and hone her ability to construct engaging narratives for young audiences.. 
Nattasha is an emerging screenwriter from Southeast Asia, whose stories deftly blend drama and comedy to explore profound and universal themes. With an international background that has taken her to five continents, she brings a unique and honed perspective to television writing. After studying at UBC and the Vancouver Film School, she worked as a story editor for several festivals and productions, before collaborating with Netflix as part of the Women in Animation program. She will take advantage of our grant to enrich her experience in children's animation, a field she has always been passionate about. Currently in development on several original projects, including a preschool series with Kickstart Entertainment and an animated short with Netflix, she aims to create inclusive and impactful stories for young audiences. Through her work, she seeks to infuse stories with values of authenticity and representation, and voices under-represented on screen.
Cindy holds an MFA from the Columbia University Film Production Program (Creative Producing Concentrate) and has been the writer and producer of several creative projects including advertising, corporate videos, short films, and animated productions in Taiwan, China, the US, and Canada. Her main inspiration comes from the touching response the five-year-old niece of a friend had when she gave her a DVD copy of her own puppetry short The Lion Paradise as the child was going through the traumatizing experience of her parents’ divorce. Moving to Canada at the age of 17, Cindy is blessed with an outsider’s perspective, cultivating a perpetual yearning for a sense of belonging that resonates with so many immigrant children in Canada. 
