Who We Are
LifeSketch Media is a production company in the city of Mississauga, the Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations, The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and The Huron-Wendat and Wyandot Nations. It was founded in 2012 by award-winning filmmaker, Shazia Javed to tell stories that allow creators from under-served communities to explore their authentic voices. Since then, we have been committed to diversity in stories that we tell, and people that we work with.
Our work ranges from scripted content to documentaries to corporate videos. 3 Seconds Divorce won the Audience Choice Award at Reelworld Film Festival in 2018, and was streamed worldwide on Netflix and ORF. Potluck Ladies won the Best Drama Award at SeriesFest’s 2024 Independent Pilot Competition. With our recent productions we have successfully established ourselves as a producer of hard hitting, impactful content that resonates with global audiences. We take viewers through entertaining & emotionally engaging experiences that evoke empathy and provoke thoughtful discussions.
Our work has been supported by the Indigenous Screen Office, Canada Media Fund, National Film Board of Canada, various arts councils, private organizations, and Canadian & International broadcasters. Our productions have been shown at prestigious international film festivals, broadcast worldwide, and streamed on leading platforms such as Netflix, Hollywood Suite, and YES TV. Currently, LifeSketch Media has a robust development slate of productions in various genres.
The Team
Shazia Javed
CEO / Producer
Shazia Javed is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of LifeSketch Media, who are committed to nuanced storytelling & showcasing perspectives from historically marginalized communities. Her career began over two decades ago when she became one of the first on-field female camera-persons for one of India’s leading News Channels. Her first feature documentary 3 Seconds Divorce streamed worldwide on Netflix and won the Audience Choice Award at Reelworld Film Festival. She currently works in Canada as a Producer, Director, Writer and Showrunner in a variety of genres across film and television. Most recently, she created, produced, and directed the drama series Potluck Ladies, which is currently being broadcasted across Canada on YES TV and on Prime Video via Hollywood Suite.
Her work has screened at prestigious festivals such as Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, and DOXA Documentary Film Festival. In addition, her projects have garnered support from both Canadian and international broadcasters, the Independent Production Fund, Canada Media Fund, and Indigenous Screen Office. Similarly, she is a recipient of grants from Canada Council of the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Edmonton Arts Council.
Shazia’s achievements led her to be included into Playback’s 10 to Watch in 2020. She has participated in some of the best incubators making her an alumna of the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media, Netflix/BANFF Diversity of Voices, Reelworld E20, Women in the Director’s Chair, BIPOC TV & Film’s Showrunner Bootcamp, and the DOC Breakthrough Program.
Naiyelli Romero Agüero
Business Affairs Coordinator
Naiyelli Romero Agüero (she/her) is a Venezuelan-Canadian Producer and Production Manager based in the GTA. She completed her BFA in Film Studies at the Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), where she received a variety of accolades for her work, including the Woman in Film Award and the Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award. She has continued to develop her skills by participating in workshops and mentorship programs, including WIFT-T’s Media Business Essentials Program from Humber College and the CMPA’s One Stop Business Workshops.
She was a Production Manager on Alison Duke’s Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story (Tribeca Film Festival 2024) and a Production Coordinator on Black Community Mixtapes (Winner of 3 Canadian Screen Awards) and A Mother Apart (Top 3 Audience Favourite Hot Docs Festival and Best Canadian Feature, Best First Feature, and Audience Award at Inside Out Film Festival). Her short film Sara directed by Jessica Hinkson won Best Canadian Short at the 2023 Silver Wave Film Festival. Her upcoming projects include Michelle D’Alessandro Hatt’s Brave Rebel Army, the second film in her feminist fantasy trilogy, as well as the queer short Uncomfy.
