Hi! I'm Mandi. I'm a queer screenwriter, script consultant, story editor, director, and educator with a specialty in Pochinko clown. With now over 20 years of experience in the film industry, I'm currently contracted as a screenwriter for an LGBTQ+ feature with a Canadian production company, plus writing the short film version funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. I'm also the story editor for a dark comedy web series funded by Telefilm/WIDC, a script consultant for YN Films, plus worked as a script analyst for the 2022 Female Eye Film Festival.

 

Additionally, my LGBTQ+ mental health-focused feature script Feeling Unreal was shortlisted for the Sundance Development Track, was an Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition second rounder, and a ScreenCraft Screenwriting Fellowship semifinalist. My LGBTQ+ YA fantasy/adventure feature Metagame was a quarterfinalist (top 3%) in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest and the ScreenCraft Sci-Fi & Fantasy Screenwriting Competition as well.

 

I’ve made over 12 short films, some of which will never see the light of day, but some of which that have gone on to play in film festivals and win awards. My short mockumentary The Fardy Brothers, which was created for the 48 Hour Film Project Toronto, won Audience Favorite (Group A) and screened at the Best of 48 Hour Short Films. It went on to screen at film festivals all around the world such as The Ontario International Film Festival, Canadian International Comedy Film Festival, SPLICE Film Fest, FilmJam, and the European Film Festival of which I won Best Director alongside my co-writer/co-director Kevin P. Gabel. While the pandemic put my shorts on hold, I took part in the Stuck At Home 48 Hour Film Project and created my first stop motion film Annie & Pepper that was an official selection at the Stockholm City Film Festival.

 

I'm also your instructor for Script & Story's The Fundamentals of Screenwriting & Storytelling, Write Your Short, and Writing Through Play. While the majority of my industry training through the years has been insightful and rewarding, the most beneficial, the most impactful training and opportunities were the ones that focused on the root of creation: play! 

 

Those opportunities included extensive Pochinko clown training at the University of Alberta with Jan Henderson, one of Canada's leading clown and mask teachers, as well as Virtual Playground: A Clown Class with Shannan Calcutt, The Making-Box, and the Second City Hollywood. (You can read my full Writing Through Play bio here!)

 

Additionally, I also give extensive script coverage to screenwriters. Noticing I would often give a lot of the same notes, especially to writers still navigating story and finding their voice, I became inspired to create Script & Story to provide aspiring and emerging screenwriters and storytellers with accessible training, and a safe, supportive space to start or continue their writing journey.

 

When I'm not writing scripts, giving coverage, editing stories, or creating my own content, I can be found rummaging for treasure in thrift stores, solving puzzles in escape rooms, smacking birdies at badminton, or throwing plastic spoons during screenings of The Room.

 

To learn more about me, you can check out my personal website, or my IMDb! 💗 🌻