How Film & TV grad decided Sheridan was right for her: ‘I just knew’

As a high school student who loved making short documentaries, choosing Sheridan to develop her skills was an easy call for Violet Ferguson.

“I don't know ... there was just something about Sheridan,” recalls the 2022 Honours Bachelor of Film and Television alumna. “I was touring a lot of other colleges that had similar programs, but there was just something about Sheridan, where I walked in, and I just knew. It felt like the right fit.

“I just loved the (Trafalgar) campus. I loved the energy, and I had always heard really good things about Sheridan’s film program.”

Ferguson, who describes herself on her website as a “producer, social media manager, content creator, consultant, and disability advocate” and dedicates much of the content she posts on TikTok to educating people about dwarfism, has been quietly collecting accolades since graduating. In just two-and-a-half short years, she has already blown past the five-year goals she set as part of an assignment for a fourth-year class.

“My five-year goal was to produce a TV show … and that happened in year one,” she says of her work as associate producer the series The Squeaky Wheel: Canada, a satirical, half-hour news-format show that pokes fun at ableist society. “So, I kind of have to readjust.”

The achievements don’t stop there. The Squeaky Wheel: Canada was one of just three finalists at last fall’s Diversify TV awards at Cannes in the category Representation of Disability – Scripted. In 2023, she directed Oscar-nominated actor Graham Greene in a vignette for his induction into Canada’s Walk of Fame as part of the Future Storytellers program. And she was recently included as just one of five participants in the inaugural Disabled Producers Lab, presented by the National Screen Institute and two national not-for-profit organizations: Women in View and the Disability Screen Office.

“I just loved the (Trafalgar) campus. I loved the energy, and I had always heard really good things about Sheridan's film program.”

– Violet Ferguson

“We didn't get the award (at Cannes), but it was still an honour to be nominated," Ferguson says.

“Out of all the shows in the world that applied, we were one out of three (to be a finalist), which was amazing.”

Ferguson says her time at Sheridan helped her migrate her focus from directing and cinematography toward producing. “I practised those disciplines, and I was like, ‘I'm not really good at this and I don't know if I necessarily enjoy this,’ ” she says, adding that having the opportunity to try and fail was an invaluable as she discovered her career path.

Another big benefit from her time at Sheridan was the networking opportunities it afforded her, including one class assignment that required her to reach out to people she admired in the industry.

“I reached out to 20 people. I was reaching out to people who were really big in the industry, who were mainly actors who had producing experience, because it was like I had an excuse to talk to them, to reach out to them. And some of the connections I made during that assignment have led me to where I am now in my career. Someone I talked to connected me to a job later down the line and I'm still associated with that job.”

That job is the social media position she holds with 1N4 Coalition, a Hollywood-based organization, and it’s one that remains very close to her heart. “It's made up entirely of disabled people who work in the industry and their mission is to increase access, employment and representation of disabled people,” Ferguson says.

Her time in the Disabled Producers Lab has also allowed her to connect with various producers from around the world, and learn about how they manage accommodations, for both disabled and non-disabled people.

“I think there's this mindset in the industry that disabled people can't work because it's going to cost money, it's going to cost time. Which is totally untrue. I mean, you just need to have a conversation with a disabled person who wants to work in the industry, and you'll see how easy it is and how inexpensive it is.”

Advocating for the disabled is central to whatever lies ahead for Ferguson.

“I want to want to make sure that programs and mentorship opportunities (in film and TV) are established here in Canada,” she says. “Because Canada is so far behind when it comes to that sort of stuff.

“I don't know how I'm going to do that just yet, but a lot of my focus is just on disability representation and access.”