Rob Elsworthy Featured on Pair of Special Virtual Panels at OCAD & Interactive Ontario This Week

Toronto Film School’s Rob Elsworthy will be a featured guest on a pair of exciting virtual panels organized by OCAD University and Interactive Ontario this week.

Elsworthy, the director of Toronto Film School’s Video Game Design and Animation Diploma program, will first take part in The Role of Black Joy in the Imagining of Black Futures – a discussion centred around the representation of Black people in the arts and media.

During the 90-minute virtual event, Elsworthy will join fellow Black creatives Theo Gibson, Sharine Taylor, Isabel Okoro and Kern Carter in sharing their thoughts on how the depiction of Black people in positive and negative settings can effect their psyches. They’ll also brainstorm ways to “flip the switch and normalize this.”

Organized by the OCADU BLXCK Association, the panel will take place on Thursday, Feb. 18 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. (EST) at www.ocadu.ca/live

Then, on Saturday, Feb. 20, Elsworthy will be featured during a pre-recorded talk for Interactive Ontario’s Digital Dive ­for the Black Youth Action Plan – a virtual learning space for Black high school students to gain digital skills and learn more about the video game/interactive digital media industry.

Participating students are invited to attend and complete workshops at their own pace, in order develop skills in writing for interactive storytelling and design – all while learning more about the career paths and options available to them after high school.

Elsworthy, who has more than a decade’s worth of experience in the video game industry under his belt, will discuss his life and career path – including his experience working at Rockstar Games on such projects as Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne and Red Dead Redemption – as well as offer the students some advice.