June Spotlight | Amazing TFS Alumni Accomplishments
At Toronto Film School, we never cease to be amazed by the accomplishments of our awesome alumni who are out pursuing their dreams in the creative industries – be it landing leading roles in web series, earning armloads of accolades for their short films, or being in the running to become Maxim magazine’s latest cover girl.
Here are some of June’s standout highlights from Toronto Film School’s talented community of graduates:
Class of 2018 Acting for Film, TV & the Theatre valedictorian Mélie B. Rondeau recently landed a lead role in Théâtre français de Toronto’s new web series, Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Correspondances Inédites.
Released on June 15, the series is a reimagining of the infamous 1988 period drama, Dangerous Liaisons – albeit with a feminist twist. The story of intrigue and sexual manipulation revolves around two former lovers and narcissistic rivals: the Marquise de Merteuil (Caroline Raynaud) and the Vicomte de Valmont (Philip Van Martin). Rondeau plays the Présidente de Tourvel, a religious and chaste wife who’s seduced by Valmont.
“After two years of lockdowns, being on set felt like the most perfect gift! Everyone involved was dedicated and happy to be there. We all gave our absolute best! Being able to work in French, my first language, even though I’ve now been living in Toronto for 5 years means a lot to me,” Rondeau said of the experience.
“This project brought some of the most challenging scenes of my career. For the first time ever, I had the opportunity to work with an intimacy coordinator and it changed the way I approach my craft. Despite the emotional challenges, I felt free, confident and peaceful. Moving forward, I’ll always recommend producers and filmmakers to bring in an intimacy coordinator if they can.”
Rondeau’s fellow TFS alumnus, Marie-Soleil Kielec (Film Production, 2019), also worked on the set of the web series as a 1st/2nd AD.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses: Correspondances Inédites is available to stream on le Théâtre français de Toronto website here. The first three episodes are free, and the complete series can be purchased for $15.
Reeth Mazumder-Roberts, who graduated from the Writing for Film & Television program in 2019, has been named a Top 20 finalist in Maxim magazine’s 2022 Cover Girl Competition. This year’s winner will not only grace the cover of the international men’s magazine, but will also get to star in a spectacular photo shoot in France and take home $25,000 in cash.
“Being in the Top 20, it feels like there is no limit to accomplishments,” Mazumder-Roberts said.
“An old friend of mine from France got me into participating in the Maxim’s Cover Girl competition, which is very big in Paris especially, because they are raising money for disabled veterans.”
Indeed, the Maxim Cover Girl Competition is touted as one that not only “showcases beautiful women full of individuality and ambition,” but also aims to raise awareness for veterans in need through its support of Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors. Through that organization, the former NFL player builds and remodels handicap accessible homes to suit the individual needs of injured veterans.
You can cast a vote for Mazumder-Roberts as Maxim‘s 2022 Cover Girl here.
This isn’t the first time Mazumder-Roberts, who starred several Bollywood movies before coming to Canada to study at Toronto Film School, has been featured in a major international magazine. Back in 2013, she made it onto FHM’s Top 100 Sexiest Women in the World list.
Class of 2018 Film Production graduate Yeimy Daza was recently promoted from Casting Assistant to Casting Associate at GroundGlass Casting.
In her new role as a Casting Associate, Daza acts as the right hand of Casting Director Andrew Deiters, helping to assist in the everyday operations of each of his projects and facilitating each one’s success. Her tasks include liaising with producers and talent, running callback sessions, and handling bookings and communications.
“I have worked for huge brands like Google, Champion, Indeed, Olay, TikTok, and Walmart, and I’ve also met some big directors and producers in the world of commercials. It has been an enormous opportunity to see them work closely in the casting process,” Daza said.
“But the best part of working at GGC is working with Andrew Deiters, the casting director, who has mentored me to keep building not just my casting career, but also my directing career.”
In addition to her promotion at GGC, Daza also recently celebrated her admission into the MFA program at York University.
Watch her director’s reel and clips from some of her recent projects here.
Nathaniel Rudichuk, who graduated from Toronto Film School’s Online Video Game Animation program in 2019, recently started a new position as Senior Concept Artist at CD Projekt Red.
In his new role, Rudichuk is tasked with realizing creative direction and design goals by creating production designs, illustrations and providing research to influence visual solutions for various departments within an organization, such as asset production, level design, narrative, animation and marketing.
“CD Projekt Red has been an amazing company to work for so far. They are open to unique ideas and always enjoy creative challenges. I enjoy showcasing new design approaches and leveraging my knowledge of game production from different perspectives to create more effective designs,” he said.
“TFS has taught me game production from the perspectives of Animation and 3D modelling, which has proven invaluable for my career thus far.”
In addition to his new role of CD Projekt Red, Rudichuk has also co-founded a start-up that uses game technology and game production for the real-estate and home development industry.
Chido is a real estate technology provider that builds fully interactive digital twins of any residential, commercial or office space using a mixture of game and 3D technology, accessible from any modern computer. All of this can be created pre-construction.
Watch a demonstration of Chido’s services here:
Congratulation, Nathaniel!
Class of 2013 Film Production grad Mousa Ghodratifard’s film, Bite the Bullet, has taken home lots of hardware over the last few months.
The five-minute short won Best Experimental Short Film from the Only the Best Film Awards, Best Director from the Brazil International Monthly Independent Film Festival, Best Experimental Film from the Rome International Movie Awards, Best Production Design from the Tokyo International Monthly Film Festival, and Best Experimental Short from the New Jersey Film Awards.
“Thank you, New Jersey Film Awards for this wonderful trophy,” Ghodratifard said in a video message posted to his Instagram page. “Thank you jury members, thank you all my cast and crew who helped me out with this project – my dream project…Without you all, I wouldn’t have been able to win this award.”
Congratulations, Mousa!
You can watch the trailer for Bite the Bullet here:
***Are you an alumnus or student who would like to share your latest accomplishment with the TFS community? If so, please reach out to our Alumni Relations Coordinator at alumni@torontofilmschool.ca
