Getting a Reel Start: OISE Alumna's Nonprofit Opens Film Industry Doors for Diverse Students

Bright lights and the red carpet were rolled out at the TIFF Lightbox on July 9 for the premiere of the movie Peppermint Spiral. However, the stars of the show were not Hollywood heavyweights; they were students on their summer break.

Students from George S. Henry Academy, a high school based in Toronto’s Graydon Hall neighbourhood, enjoyed a glitzy premiere for their short film. This event marked the exciting culmination of their participation with Reel Start, a film and education nonprofit that seeks to empower and develop a more equitable generation of film and television professionals.

Peppermint Spiral is an animated film written and developed by students in the Reel Start classroom that addresses the pressure and anxiety they personally experience. The script follows a high schooler who confronts an intimidating, ghastly creature while dealing with his family’s high academic expectations. As the pressure mounts, Angel embarks on a dangerous path to find relief rather than asking his loved ones for help.

For Reel Start’s co-founder, OISE alumna Adrienne Slover, it was the perfect time to write and produce a story like this.

Peppermint Spiral is the second short created in collaboration with animation non-profit Exceptional Minds and supported by Paramount Nickelodeon Animation. Reel Start participants engage in a variety of roles, including writing, storyboarding, casting and sound design. Over a year of production and across 22 sessions, film professionals run various workshops about their specific jobs and roles in the industry, providing students with valuable real-world training.

“We expose the Reel Start students to the various careers and elements of the industry that come into play when making a film. In addition to workshops with different industry professionals, we have the students work in a writer's room under the guidance of a screenwriter. They develop their own script about a social issue that matters to them. We give the students the tools and a platform to use their voices to tell a story of their choice,” explained Slover.

Being able to observe each cohort of students evolve throughout their time at Reel Start is a real privilege says Slover. Witnessing the beginning stages of brainstorming and conceptualizing their own ideas, observing them being given professional feedback, and then sitting back and watching all of them celebrating their incredible accomplishments at the premiere is the most rewarding and meaningful experience a teacher can ask for, she says.

“We work hard to find a diverse group of specialists to run our workshops. These industry professionals are people that the students can look up to, who are high achieving and sometimes have shared lived experiences. These interactions often validate the students and help give them the confidence to share their own voices,” she says.

‘I’m not a film person’

Slover loves film but education is her first love. Her mother taught ESL to high school students and to adults during her career,  and Slover would volunteer with her whenever possible. Her parents also exposed her to different cultures, a practice she continued during her studies at OISE.

It was during her undergraduate studies at McGill University where she met her Reel Start co-founder, Evan Goldberg, and  friendship has endured ever since.

As her career blossomed at Renee Gordon Health and Wellness Academy, Slover established and nurtured partnerships with the nearby George S. Henry Academy. She arranged for students from the school’s leadership course to partner with her elementary students each week, and also hosts Henry high school co-op students each semester.

Slover kept Goldberg informed about her work, and one conversation eventually sparked the creation of Reel Start.  

“Evan would talk about how there were so many jobs on set that most people didn't even know existed. He had this vision of bringing local kids who might not be aware of these career opportunities to active sets. Evan felt that this could open up doors and provide more opportunity to students and were available in their own backyards,” she said. 

Goldberg, renowned as the creative partner of actor and producer Seth Rogan and the creator of the Prime television series The Boys, saw an opportunity open up. “Seth and I grew up in Vancouver and throughout our childhood we saw shows filming all over town, shows like Highlander and The X-Files, as well as tons of movies,” he recalled. “Seeing them make films and knowing other kids whose parents worked in film is one of the reasons we believed we could make film.

“When I moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood, I was surprised to learn that a lot of people who live just a few miles from Hollywood were completely unaware of the opportunities that were available in the industry. Adrienne and Goldberg were talking about it one day and she suggested we try to bring these job opportunities to the people who weren’t getting them.”

Slowly but surely that conversation involved into the first Reel Start short film, he says.

Reel Start operates in Toronto and Los Angeles, where writers, production designers, actors and directors stop by to lend their insight and expertise. The program has produced eight short films, including three animated features.

Since Reel Start got off the ground, Goldberg has seen Slover come into her own as a dedicated educator. “Adrienne’s students adore her and seem genuinely grateful for the guidance and support she has provided over the years,” he said. “I know I had teachers who changed my life for the better in serious ways, and it’s evident that Adrienne does that for her students.

The co-founders have built something up that they are truly proud of. It means the world to engage with and inspire kids, they say.

“It’s something Adrienne and I are both very passionate about,” says Goldberg. “I’m extremely lucky to have come from a film town and had the right inspiration at the right age. I met the right people and stumbled into the right scenarios.

“Not everyone is so fortunate. Helping kids see the opportunities that are available to them and how to access those opportunities is something we both believe in and work towards.”

The co-founders are now focused on expanding the program to other schools and after school programs over time. “Every year we have more incredible film and TV professionals involved and as our network expands so does the opportunities we hope to provide the next generation of filmmakers,” says Goldberg.

For now, Slover is feeling every moment.

“Reel Start is such an important part of my life because I get the same sense of pride and joy that I get from teaching in my regular classroom,” she says. “Reel Start is just another avenue that I get to mentor students and watch them grow.”

Meet the filmmakers

OISE asked three of the makers of Peppermint Spiral to recall their experience with Reel Start and the film premiere this past month.

Anum K.
18 years old

Why did you want to take part in this program? Did it meet your expectations?

Initially, I wanted to take part in Reel Start to step outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to learn how to be adaptable, gain and apply my knowledge, and gain skills that I hadn't mastered at that point in time. Although I knew nothing about the film industry, it fascinated me. I was interested in learning how an idea originates in someone's mind and becomes a film, an artistic creation. I was completely blown away to be a part of this program, and my experiences have gone above and beyond all of my expectations. Meeting renowned filmmakers, performers, and authors who share our youthful enthusiasm was incredible.

Being surrounded by such a caring, professional group of adults who were assisting us in making sure our stories were heard was an unbelievable feeling.  Being a part of this program has taught me so much invaluable knowledge, and seeing Peppermint Spiral come to life as a student has felt like a dream come true.

Shahid E.
16 years old

Why did you want to take part in this program?

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been interested in movies, specifically making them. When I started high school, I already knew by then that I wanted to go into film. I did everything to ensure that my dream would come true, already searching up universities with the best film programs. But I wanted to get hands-on experience in making a film. So when I first found out about Reel Start, I was ecstatic. I mean the fact that my school happened to have a program where you make a short film alongside professionals in the film industry is insane. I’ve never been happier in choosing to go to George S. Henry.

Due to my interest in film and wanting to become a filmmaker, I obviously decided to apply for the Reel Start program and was beyond excited when I got in. I figured that this would be a great opportunity for me to get the experience that I wanted and needed for the future. As well as meeting and learning new things from people involved in the film industry.

Being a part of Reel Start made me realize the amount of different careers that revolve around making a film. I was only interested in directing but after making Peppermint Spiral, I’m now thinking about cinematography and enthusiastic about learning more on cameras and the different shots you can do in just one scene.

Reel Start helped open my eyes to new things, which is why I wanted to join the program and why I’ll forever be grateful that I went through with it.

Cassie S.
18 years old

How has this experience changed you?

My experience with Reel Start has reminded me to expect the unexpected, as the program gave me so much more than I can say. It was surprising to see the wide range of people I've met through this program and how much it helped me open up and express myself. It widened my curiosity about creating film and seeing it through to the end. There's something so special about sitting down and creating something with people who want to share something with the world.

The experience has quite literally flipped my life around. I've always known I adored film in all its mediums, but I hadn't entertained the idea of going into filmmaking as a career until the program. Part of the reason was that it had never been an option that someone would bring up whenever I questioned people's career paths. At a young age, I'd only ever known the other career paths people had taken, such as being a doctor, a teacher, and a police officer. You need exposure to different career paths to know what you really want to do with your future. That was how it was in my experience, anyway. Without the program, I would've ended up in a completely different program from my current life. Going into Art for a career had been an option, but it was never specific enough for me, so the revelation of a filmmaking career was something I couldn't pass up.

Alongside changing my career, the experience the program taught me was to understand that what you start with is sometimes different from what you end with. An example of this is the first ideas we had when we wrote Peppermint Spiral. One of the main changes were our protagonist, who had originally been a girl, was changed into a male protagonist near the end as we finalized the script. When you're set on something your entire life, any change can be jarring, and it's easy to forget why you chose to follow the direction you took in the first place. Being able to accept that things will change and go along with it was something I kept close to me as I entered my first year of university.

What was the red-carpet experience like for you?

Being on the red carpet was a fun experience! It put into perspective just how busy these events can be because everybody was trying to get pictures on there but was still respectful of others. Since everybody was crowded in the space, I had thought I would get overwhelmed, but I felt comfortable because of the excited atmosphere.

It was very social there, especially as more people arrived. People greeted each other, some for the first time and others with familiarity. Both were interesting to watch. It took some pep-talk, but my classmates and I eventually found the courage to get out there and introduce ourselves. It's not as scary as one might think, because once I started chatting with someone, I found it hard to stop. It was mostly because I was nervous meeting someone new, but also because I was excited to talk to people. The floor got really loud, so, at times, I felt like I was yelling at the person I was talking to, and I really hoped I wasn't!

With so many people wanting photos on the red carpet, it was cool to have a photographer on-site. He did a great job capturing photos and encouraging people to get on the carpet and have their photos taken. I saw a lot of group photos being taken! He was friendly, and I think I caught him taking candid photos during the reception. There wasn't a moment where he wasn't smiling while taking photos of others, and the crowd control was well done, too, as some people were making space for those who haven't had their photos taken yet.

Besides the photographer, there were people on the side of the red carpet who were doing some small interviews. I didn't get a chance to meet them, but they seemed like cool people. It was pretty neat since that's what I've seen with others during an event like this. They seemed like nice people, and I'm glad they were able to attend, too.