Adnaan Wasey appointed as Calgary's new film commissioner
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A media innovator with an Emmy award and several Emmy Webby nominations under his belt, Wasey will be returning to Canada this July and begin his new role on August 1, a media release shared on Wednesday stated.
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Born in Toronto but currently in New York City, Wasey holds over two decades of experience in media and non-profit sector with elusive roles in PBS, Disney, The New York Times and the Gotham.
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Previously, he served as the executive director of Rooftop Films, a Brooklyn-based non-profit film organization best known for the Rooftop Films Summer Series, a film festival that showcases independent short and feature-length films.
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'Calgary is at a creative inflection point,' Wasey said, as quoted by the release. 'The city offers everything today's content creators and production houses need, with skilled local talent and crews, tools, landscapes, incentives, educational programs and an enviable quality of life. Beyond the practical, Calgary has something special – an entrepreneurial spirit and film-friendly approach that turns productions into partnerships.'
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Wasey is also know for launching the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and advising the MacArthur Foundation's Journalism and Media Program.
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His appointment comes as Calgary's film industry gains notoriety on the international stage, recently ranked as the fifth-best city in North America to live and work as a filmmaker by MovieMaker Magazine and recognized as Location of the Year by the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.
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'Adnaan's leadership and industry connections will continue to elevate Calgary on the international stage, scale our creative economy and position the city as a powerhouse for content creation, production and storytelling,' said Brad Parry, president and CEO, Calgary Economic Development.
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Vancouver Sun
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The Province
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The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The organizers behind a small music festival in Washington state are worried by Canadians boycotting travel to the U.S. The Point Roberts Strings and Things International Music Festival, which is set to take place on July 12, sold out its inaugural 600-person capacity event in 2024. Organized by Point Roberts-based accounts manager Breeda Desmond and musician Mike Bell, the first year of the self-funded festival featured a dozen musicians. Eleven of those artists, including Bell, were Canadian. 'We managed to get four acts out of 11 musicians and it went great,' said Bell. 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The New York Times published a feature on the town on June 15 headlined How a Tiny Community Got Caught Up in Trump's Attacks on Canada. Noting that the previously busy area has seen an almost 30 per cent drop in entry from the previous year, with businesses such as the local supermarket reporting a 20 per cent drop in sales, the NYT article featured some regular visitors who stated they will not return until there is a regime change in the White House. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. These aren't the kinds of words local retailers, or the Strings and Things festival organizers, want to hear. Desmond, who is originally from Ireland, and Bell, who was born in Prince Rupert, were previously working and living in Los Angeles. Bell is a member of the well-established touring Vancouver folk act the Whiskeydicks, as well as fronting prog rockers the Living Orchestra. The Living Orchestra includes Mike Bell, left. Judy Chee 'Moving to Point Bob was a kind of hack for us to get closer to one set of family, as well as for Mike to stay connected to the Vancouver music scene he has been so entrenched in,' said Desmond. 'Putting together the festival followed a market test during COVID where Mike met the other members of the Whiskeydicks who came to the Tsawwassen side of the border and they did a gig outside. Locals were totally stoked, so we did that for three years in a row.' Having built up this tradition, the idea of creating a festival with the Whiskeydicks and the Living Orchestra came up. A reported 70 per cent Canadian ownership of homes in Point Roberts and many nearby communities lacking a music festival reinforced the idea. Neither Desmond nor Bell think that this year's event won't happen as ticket sales are steady enough to insure a break-even. But the future remains uncertain. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This year isn't at stake, but our long-term plans to extend it over two days and make it more of a Canadian-American event is at stake,' said Desmond. 'Even with the funding, the investment in a bigger infrastructure is something we have to take into account for future events.' U.S. government support for arts events is another lingering question, they note. 'There is concern about the cutting in funding across the board for blue states and how that could impact us,' said Bell. 'The local chamber of commerce has also raised concerns about this moving forward. It all comes down to whether the Canadians who come down here for the summer arrive as usual.' This year's lineup includes the Paperboys, the Whiskeydicks, the Living Orchestra, Gabriel (The Red Fiddler)' Wheaton, Canadian/American bluegrass crew Bordergrass Alliance, and banjo ace Quattlebaum. The festival runs July 12 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Point Roberts Marina and tickets start at $37.25. For more information, visit stringsandthingsmusicfestival. sderdeyn@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks Opinion Local News News
