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RespectAbility, the non-profit that seeks to combat stigmas for people with disabilities through advocacy, has announced the participants for the 5th edition of its Lab for Entertainment Professionals with Disabilities.

The individuals who are participating in this year’s Los Angeles cohort include Iqsa Aqilah, Catherine Argyrople, Robert Burns, Michael Busza, Matthew Charles, Rick Cisario, Stephan Collins-Stepney, Jules Dameron, Katey Darling, Lorena Gordon, Annie Hayes, Jayla Hodge, Christopher James, Chrissy Marshall, Radha Mehta, Danielle Monique, Toby Parker Rees, Amelia Swedeen, Maggie Whittum and Nicole Zimmerer.

The 2023 cohort includes people ranging in age from the 20s through the 50s, with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, other disabilities, and multiple disabilities.

This year’s lab has been adapted to be in support of the WGA strike, including bringing in more writers and independent industry speakers to talk about the current climate.

“Since 2019, we have been building a community of disabled entertainment professionals...

In partnership with Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland, SeriesFest has awarded its 2022 Women Directing Mentorship to Gia-Rayne B. Harris.

The program first launched in 2018 and pairs rising female directors with established episodic directors on Shondaland-produced series. Previous winners include Jennifer Morris (2021), who recently finished shadowing on ABC’s “Station 19,” and Tamika Miller (2020), who has since directed two “Station 19” episodes.

Harris, a writer-director from Mississippi, is a graduate of the AFI directing program and has directed 12 short films, premiering several at Outfest, the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), NewFest, AFI Fest and the Pan African Film Festival. She was named a finalist for the HBO Short Film Award at ABFF, and her short film “Pens and Pencils” will debut on HBO in spring 2023. Additionally, she has been set to make her TV directing debut on “Chicago Pd” in 2023 after joining the NBCULaunch Female Forward Program.

Harris is repped by Heroes and Villains Entertainment.

Academy’s Science and Technology Council Adds New Members

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have appointed David Pierce, Andy Serkis and Jeffrey White to it’s Science and Technology Council 2021-2022 membership, bringing its roster to 25 individuals.

Pierce’s previous roles include working as an assistant chief and chief operations officer at the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center at the Library of Congress — where he was responsible for the acquisition, conservation, documentation and digitization of the public archives of motion pictures, TV and radio sound. Pierce has been an Academy Member-at-Large since 2019.

Serkis is an award-winning actor with performances including “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “King Kong,” “The Planet of the Apes” trilogy, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and will next appear in “The Batman.” He has been a member of the Academy’s Actors Branch since 2012.

White, who is currently an executive producer consulting with Drafthouse Films,...

Inside Out, Canada’s foremost LGBTQ film festival, has unveiled the 16 recipients for its Re:Focus ‘Emergency Relief Fund’, which was created in response to the pandemic and its impact on the industry. The fund was open to qualifying projects by women, non-binary, and/or trans filmmakers, including narrative and documentary features, shorts and episodic series, which were impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

“Since its inception, this fund has been about responding to the immediate needs of our filmmakers, and working to eliminate barriers to career advancement for trans, non-binary and women filmmakers telling LGBTQ stories,” said Andria Wilson, Inside Out Executive Director. “We started the travel grants program because queer and trans filmmakers of colour were underrepresented in international festival attendance. We started the post-production fund because we were seeing amazing projects, every year, struggle to meet submission deadlines due to protracted post processes. Now, with this emergency relief fund,...