Hanna Donato

Hanna Donato

Toronto, Canada
+1 438 364 9044
hdonatoprod@gmail.com

Resume

BIOGRAPHY

Hanna Donato is a Filipino-Canadian writer and director based in Toronto, Canada. In 2020, she directed the experimental short film DAYBREAK, which premiered at Workman Arts' Rendezvous with Madness film festival under the If You Ask Me filmmaking program. Since then she has worked as a script supervisor for bilingual films and TV series, using her multicultural and multilingual background to help bring stories to life with authenticity. In 2022, she completed a Director Mentorship project and was awarded a Professional Development grant under the Canadian Council of the Arts. When not creating new interdisciplinary work, Hanna currently works as a dialect coach, cultural consultant, and/or associate producer for various Filipino-Canadian theatre productions. As an artist with a background in psychology and behavioural sciences, Hanna continues to explore the ways we move between our rich inner world and our common outer world. Her favourite topics include our differences in perception, the way we compose memories, and the reality found in our dreams.

DAYBREAK - SHORT FILM

"For the fourth consecutive year, If You Ask Me (IYAM) has supported emerging filmmakers with mental health and/or addiction experiences to create new work. This year’s program features eight shorts by filmmakers across Canada: Malaika Athar, Hanna Donato, Manvinder Gill, Kitoko Kasiama, Jae Lew, Claudia Liz, Samyuktha Movva and Shubhi Sahni.

These new films were developed in summer 2020 under the guidance of Gillian Muller and IYAM alumni and mentors Saba Akhtar, Erum Khan and James Knott. Over three months, filmmakers deepened their knowledge of film in the company of peers and industry guests. Rendezvous is excited to screen these distinctly personal works created during an unprecedented time.

The If You Ask Me short film programme was available to stream online from Fri, Oct 16, 5:00pm to Sun, Oct 25, 5:00pm, and filmmakers attended a virtual panel on Sun, Oct 18, 5:00pm

Streaming of this film and virtual panel is available to viewers worldwide."

- From the Workman Arts Toronto If You Ask Me website

Education

Experience

Gilmore College International
Certificate: Advanced Tagalog Language Course
Fall 2022

Script Supervision Certificate
Daniela Saioni
2020-2021

McGill University
Bachelor of Arts: Psychology, Behavioural Sciences and World Cinemas
2015-2018

John Abbott College
Diplôme d'études collégiales: Social Sciences and Mathematics
2013—2015

In The Mood for Kilig - Interactive Theatre Production (artistic dir. Leon Aureus)
Carlos Bulosan Theatre
January 2023 - February 2023

  • Associate Producer
  • Co-writer and Co-director

The Waltz - Theatre Production (dir. Nina Lee Aquino)
Factory Theatre
September 2022 - October 2022

  • Surtitles Adaptation - English to Tagalog

A Fermenting Woman - Short Film (Dir. Priscilla Galvez)
Silent Tower Media
June 2022 - December 2022

  • Director's Mentee - Mentorship funded by the Canadian Council for the Arts, Professional Development Grant.
  • Script Supervisor

ABROAD - Filipino-Canadian Sketch TV Series (Dirs. Kara Harun & Carly Heffernan)
Longhope Media 
November 2021 - April 2022

  • 12 episode bilingual Tagalog-English Sketch series
  • Pre-production & Production: Script Supervisor & Cultural Consultant
  • Pre-production to post-production: Translator (and Transcription)
  • Press - Inquirer.net , Rogers media

You Can Live Forever - Feature Film (Dirs. Sarah Fobes & Mark Slutsky)
Prospector Films
October - November 2021

Love et Lajoie - Franco-Ontarian Kids TV Series (Dir. Steve Diguer)
Co-Production: ATO Media (Ottawa) & Attraction (Montreal)
June - August 2021

  • 15 episode bilingual French-English TV series for kids ages 9-12
  • Script Supervisor
  • Press

So Much Tenderness - Feature Film (Dir. Lina Rodriguez, Prod. Brad Deane)
Rayon Verde (SMT Films)
2020-2021

If You Ask Me Filmmaking Candidate
Workman Arts Toronto
July 2020 - October 2020

  • Written, directed, and edited the short film "Daybreak". Premiered at the Rendezvous With Madness festival 2020.
  • Attended 8 specialized workshops, including: production, screenwriting, directing, post-production, and sound design.

"Memento Mori" - Short Film (Dir. E. Bagley, Prod. T. Wash) 

Studio Sans Souci 

August 2019

DNEG
Talent Acquisition Marketer
April 2019 - July 2019

Languages

Skills

  • English - Native
  • Tagalog - Native
  • French - Fluent
  • Japanese - Beginner
  • Technical: Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, Da Vinci Resolve 14
  • Digital media: Videography, photography (Fujifilm XT-20),photo editing, video editing, graphic design, VFX pipeline production knowledge, social media (Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Twitter)

Volunteer work

Lions Foundation of Canada Guide Dogs - Toronto, Ontario. March 2023 - Ongoing

North American Filipino Star - Montreal, Quebec. December 2022 - Ongoing

Food Festival Philippin - Paris, France. October 2019.

Temps Libre - Montreal, Quebec. August 2019.

Interests

Martial Arts, (Tai Chi, Cha Quan Northern Shao Lin Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do), jazz voice, writing, language teaching, neuroscience

Send me a message!

Schedule open starting July 2023.

Open to travel and available to work anywhere in Canada.

Experienced working in French, Tagalog, and Spanish (bilingual crews).

Happy to chat soon!

Photography

Using Format