Ron Leach - Sat, Mar 20 -
RON LEACH
RON LEACH, C.D.C.
Ron Leach, the recipient of the 2018 Casting Director of The Year award by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) is a noted Casting Director, Producer, award-winning Director and Acting Coach. He is one of Canada’s leading casting directors, casting independent film, television, theatre and commercials for clients as diverse as Hallmark, MarVista Entertainment, CTV, Anchor Bay, CBS, Paramount, Global Television, and many more.
In the past seven years Ron has directed twelve international award-winning short films: Altarcations (winner of nine international Awards and programmed in twenty international film festivals to date) Shaky Grounds (the winner of two international awards and an Official Selection in 5 international film festivals), Helpline (Official Selection in 2 International Film festivals). His short films Profile premiered at the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival and made it’s Canadian premier at the Film North Film Festival (where it took a Special Jury Award) and has since screened at Chicago’s Illinois International Film Festival and the UK Film Festival in London, England. Kiss is available for screening along with Ron’s other short films. Ron’s short film Love Is premiered at the Oaxaca International Film Festival in Mexico in 2013 and was the subject of four master-classes in filmmaking at the festival and two universities in Mexico. His most recent directorial endeavour GayBasher, premiered at the Boston LGBT Film Festival in May of 2014 prior to being included in the Cortes Metrage in Cannes. Gaybasher also screened at Cinema Diverse in Palm Springs, USA and in competition at the 2014 Oaxaca Intl Film Festival received the inaugural Humanitarian Award. Ron’s short film screenplay Fadeaway has been official selection in over twenty film festivals around the world, winning best screenplay in eleven festivals thus far. He is the Producer of the acclaimed feature-length documentary film Shurtleff, on the legendary author, teacher, and casting director Michael Shurtleff; and Audition, the four part instructional series on acting; and recently produced the Canadian Premier of Neil LaBute’s In a Forest Dark And Deep at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille.
Ron served on the jury for the Oaxaca International Film Festival in Mexico 2012, 2013, 2015. He created the Writers Roundtable in Oaxaca and serves as a mentor on an ongoing basis at the Festival event as well at it’s sister program Pitchfest; has been a juror for the International Emmy Awards, the Genie and Gemini Awards; the On The Fly Film Festival; and is a regular judge of the Toronto Monologue SLAM. Ron is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, served as President of the Board of Directors to The Canadian International Animation Festival (producing two festivals during his five year tenure); was Chairman of the Board of Directors to The Talent Representatives Association of Canada; and President of the Board of Directors to Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore award-winning Acme Theatre Company (producing over thirty plays during his ten year tenure). He has taught his acclaimed course of acting skills for the camera at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival; St. Lawrence College, Brockville; Centennial College Film and Video Production Program, The Vancouver Film School; and ACTRA Toronto’s Acting Your Age program. Ron is a member of the Casting Director’s Society of Canada and The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
Speakers are subject to cancellation or schedule change, due to professional commitments.