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Passes
Dennis Allen is an exciting and engaging multi-disciplinary artist originally from the frontier town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. A gifted storyteller, Dennis’ work translates seamlessly between film, music, writing, and story-telling. From a long line of ancient Inuvialuit and Gwich’in storytellers, Dennis is a bona fide raconteur. With a slew of awards, and a hat full of accolades, Dennis Allen was born to entertain. Dennis’ films include CBQM, Crazywater (ALFF 2011), My Father, My Teacher, The Hunt and the Walk.
Daniel Bekerman is the founder of Scythia Films, one of Canada’s leading independent production companies with operations in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Los Angeles.
Dan’s recent projects include The Apprentice starring Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong, and Maria Bakalova, directed by Cannes winner Ali Abassi, I Object, directed by Oscar-nominee Andrew Niccol, starring Anna Faris and Karl Urban, and Close to You, directed by Dominic Savage starring Elliot Page. Dan also produced Sundance-winner The Witch, Cold Copy featuring Tracee Ellis-Ross and Bel Powley, and Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut Falling.
Dan served as the Executive Producer on three films that premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2024; including Love Me, starring Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun, My Old Ass, written by the award-winning Megan Park, starring Aubrey Plaza and Winner featuring Zach Galifianakis and Kathryn Newton. Other EP credits include The Dead Don’t Hurt directed by and starring Viggo Mortensen, A Nice Indian Boy which premiered at SXSW 2024 and Ready or Not with Fox Searchlight Pictures/Vinson Films.
Liz Cairns is an award-winning writer and director from Vancouver, Canada and a graduate of the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre. Her short films have played at festivals including TIFF, Mill Valley, Austin Film Festival, Interfilm Berlin, Female Eye Film Festival and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, among others. Programmer Curtis Woloschuk commented on Liz’s ability to “elicit remarkable performances.” She is an alumni of Berlinale and Reykjavik talent labs. Her short film The Horses played at festivals including Palm Springs ShortFest, HollyShorts, and the Vancouver International Film Festival where it won Best BC Short Film. Commenting on the award, the jury wrote: “Like many of the best realist filmmakers, Liz Cairns works with immediacy and verisimilitude, allowing the audience the opportunity to be taken into a new landscape not often explored”. In 2024, Liz’s debut feature film, INEDIA, had its US Premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival, where Liz was one of three finalists for the Mind the Gap Creation Prize, which recognizes creativity of vision and exceptional use of the film medium.
Alexander (Sandy) Carson is a Canadian filmmaker whose work explores the intersections of collective practice and personal storytelling. Carson’s films have screened at events such as TIFF and the San Francisco International Film Festival, where he received the Golden Gate Award for New Visions in 2014. His critically acclaimed first feature film as writer/director, O, Brazen Age, was released in 2015, and his new feature film, Alberta Number One, was produced with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada.
Alexander Carson is a graduate of the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University (BFA, MA) in Montreal, and completed his MFA in Creative Practice at Transart Institute, Liverpool John Moores University (UK). He is a founding member of the North Country Cinema media arts collective in Calgary, Alberta, and holds the position of Professor of Creative Arts at Yorkville University. He lives in Toronto with his partner and two sons.
Suzanne Crocker is an award-winning documentary filmmaker from the Yukon. Suzanne’s first feature documentary, All The Time In The World, has won 22 festival awards from around the world, was nominated for Best Film of the Decade from the International Green Film Network, and has been translated into 12 languages. Her most recent feature documentary, First We Eat has also screened around the world, winning 11 festival awards to date, and qualified for Best Documentary at the 2021 Academy Awards. Suzanne switched careers from rural family doctor to filmmaker in 2008. Suzanne’s latest film Home Team follows a group of recent immigrants finding a sense of community, and home, in Dawson City, Yukon, by starting a cricket league.
Liane Cunje is a Canadian producer, and film programmer. Coming from a Film Studies and TV development background in Montreal, Liane completed an MA in Producing Film and TV in the UK before working for cult label Arrow Video. A former Festival Programming Manager at TIFF, Programmer for Overlook FF, Assistant Director for Media City FF, and current Programmer for Aspen Shortsfest and TIFF’s Midnight Madness Presents… series, she features on international juries and panels. Working under veteran producer Jennifer Weiss’ new company, Nice Picture, Fitting In was her first feature as Associate Producer, premiering at SXSW and TIFF 2023. She also works in Production & Acquisitions for Vinegar Syndrome Pictures. Liane’s first produced picture for VSP, Alex Phillips’ sophomore feature Anything That Moves shot on Super 16mm, is currently in post-production.
David is an off-grid dwelling commercial fisher, carpenter and artist who has had the honour and privilege of living in Dawson City, within the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in traditional territory, Yukon since 1998. David’s work focuses on the associative possibilities between form, subject and meaning, and is predicated on the idea that poetry, passion and humility are not only important to being human, but essential to our survival. Sovereign Soil (2019) was David’s first feature documentary and is part of a planned triptych of works exploring the intimacies, paradoxes and cultures of his community’s evolving relationship to its lands, flora and fauna. In 2023, the 50-minute documentary The Ballad of Caveman Bill filmed and directed by David was released by Jackleg Films.
Land Mass in the YAC Gallery is a compelling series of film and multimedia sculpture installations in his latest solo exhibition.
In addition to being one of the producers of The Originals, John has three decades of experience in film - from development and financing, to production, festivals and funding agencies such as Telefilm Canada. In 2020, John founded V Street Media, a consulting company interested in championing the chance-takers and outliers who have yet to be discovered, to help create meaningful content and events.
Jay Douglas is a 3 times Juno Awards nominee, a music producer and band leader of the Jay Douglas All-Star Band. He has performed at various festivals worldwide.
He has worked with international reggae stars such as Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor, Marcia Griffiths, Luciano, Ken Boothe, Leroy Sibbles, Fab5 Band, General Tree, Jesse “Dub Matix” King, Ziggy Marley, Lyn Tait and the great Ernest Ranglin. Jay has been involved in a lot of community work including working with Councillor Josh Colle to establish Reggae Lane in Toronto.
His professional career was ignited as the frontman of The Cougars, a popular group in the Caribbean nightclub scene in both Toronto and Montreal that performed regularly throughout the 60’s and 70’s playing a mix Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Funk. As a solo artist Jay has performed around the world.
Hans Engel is the Director of the National Directors Division (NDD) at the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) National office in Toronto. Hans has been with the DGC since 2006. The DGC is a National labour union representing more than 7000 creative and logistical personnel in the screen-based industry. Hans’ primary focus are the more than 1000 Director members nationally, spanning all genres and budget levels. With a focus on advancement and engagement, the NDD elevates, celebrates and connects DGC Directors to assist them in reaching their full creative and professional potential.
Born in 1980 in Tehran and based in Montreal since 2012, Ila Firouzabadi is an interdisciplinary artist who focuses on ambiguous and sensitive forms through drawings and a combination sculpture and installation. Firouzabadi received a BA in graphic design in 2005 from Azad University of Art and Architecture in Tehran and graduated from École national des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg in 2009.
She has exhibited her work around the world, notably at Keramikmuseum and the Artforum Kunstlerkreis Ortenau Gallery (Germany,2009), the Espace Apollonia (France, 2010), at the Theodore Deck museum (France, 2010), at OBORO (Quebec,2013), at MAI (Quebec,2015) and at Etemad gallery (Iran,2016). She also did a residency in Brussels (Servais family collection) in 2018. She has twice collaborated with Matthew Rankin on cinematic projects, firstly on the ongoing Esperanto-language docu-fiction project, Kongreso, and the award-winning Universal Language (2024).
Sarah Genge (she/her) is an early-career filmmaker and producer from the West Coast of Canada. Her work examines the natural absurdity that can be drawn from the hyper-focused and personal examinations of the quotidian. Her work has been screened at festivals including the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Whistler Film Festival, and Vancouver Short Film Festival. Sarah is also a member of MULCH Collective, an interdisciplinary art collective composed of friends and collaborators across so-called Canada.
Adrian Glynn’s fifth solo release, You’re Just A Place That I Know, lauded by CBC’s Tom Power as “a powerful album”, tracks the story of his Ukrainian grandparents’ flight from their homeland in the 1940s, settling to begin life anew in Montreal. Adrian is a Ukrainian-Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released more than eight critically acclaimed albums, both as a solo artist and with his folk music troupe, The Fugitives. He has toured to more than ten countries and been nominated for multiple music awards, including a JUNO Award, multiple Western Canadian Music Awards and most recently a 2025 Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Songwriter of the Year. Adrian is based on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueum and Tsleil-Waututh peoples, (AKA “Vancouver”).
As manager of Northwestel Community TV, which oversees both Yukon and NWT, Mike works to elevate northern film projects and to strengthen pan-northern partnerships in film and television to help grow the industry in exciting new ways.
Meghna Haldar works as a Vancouver-based Content Analyst with the Project Financing Team at Telefilm Canada. Previously, she was the Interim Lead for Inclusion Initiatives, leading the Black and People of Colour Development Stream and has participated on a number of portfolios including Big Budget, Regional Production (West), Talent to Watch. Before joining Telefilm in 2023, Meghna was a screenwriter/filmmaker with the award winning Dirt (NFB), and the experimental triptych Bol (Speak!) among her film projects. She is an immigrant, playwright, educator, adoptive parent and a passionate advocate for children and youth in care .
Jessica Hall is a Whitehorse producer, director and freelance editor. Her short documentary Left Hand Path was one of the winners of the 2017 ALFF Industry Pitch Event. She had always wanted to make a film about her friend, artist and black magician James C. Kirby, and is very grateful that she got the chance to tell his story before he passed away. “May you walk according to your desire on the beautiful edge of your pool…may your heart be satisfied with water from the cistern which you have made-for ever and ever.” Amenemhet.
Saturday is a short form, personal documentary about filmmaker Jessica Hall’s sister Katherine, and her journey navigating life with cerebral palsy.
David Hamelin moved to the Yukon in 1993. A graduate of UVIC’s Creative Writing Program, Langara College Film Arts and the National Film Institute, David was an assistant editor in Vancouver before returning to the Yukon in 2007. He’s worked on commercials, feature films and television shows, heading Northwestel Community TV’s video production for six years. David launched DCH Media in 2016, editing projects including the 2016 award-winning short documentary Shift and the 2021 feature documentary Not About Me. In 2024, David co-directed, co-wrote and edited the children’s web-series Northern Tails, and he also co-directed, co-wrote and edited Northlore, a one-hour documentary co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada.
Marie Hammje is a director of Yukon films and her short film Adele’s Shadow won the Yukon48 Best Drama jury award. She is also a member of the Yukon Film Society Board of Directors.
Hilary’s career in film began in short film distribution at Ouat Media, before moving onto the Canadian Film Centre. She then worked in talent management, before partnering with Will Woods to create Game Theory Films, an independent film distribution company where she serves as Co-President. Game Theory’s catalogue includes over 60 titles including TIFF Platform Prize winner Riceboy Sleeps, In Flames, and Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person. Hilary is a Berlinale Talents alumnus and was named one of The Globe and Mail’s 22 Most Influential People in Canadian Film.
Zoe Hopkins is a Heiltsuk and Mohawk woman, born in her mother’s community of Bella Bella, a fishing village on the coast of BC. She is now based in her father’s community of Six Nations, Ontario, where she learned to speak and teach Kanyen’kéha (the Mohawk language.)
Zoe has made a feature film in each of her home communities. Kayak to Klemtu is a love letter to her coastal roots, and her second feature Run Woman Run was shot in Six Nations. Both had successful theatrical releases in Canada and won many awards on the festival circuit, including Audience Awards at imagineNATIVE.
From features to TV, Zoe works in both comedy and drama as both a writer and director. She is a two-time DGC Nominee, and a WGC Award Winning writer for her finale episode of Little Bird. At the 2024 CSA Awards, Little Bird swept, and took home 13 awards, making Zoe a Canadian Screen Award Winner for Best Dramatic Series, the most awarded series in CSA history. Other credits include Trickster, Run the Burbs, Don’t Even, North of North, and Small Achievable Goals. She is a member of the Writer’s Guild of Canada, the Director’s Guild of Canada, and loves making her sets a relaxed and fun space to work.
A recipient of over a dozen awards, including the 2013 UBCP/ACTRA John Juliani Award for Outstanding Achievement, Ben has amassed over 100 film and TV acting credits, including lead roles in feature films that have played at prestigious festivals such as TIFF, Sundance, and Berlin. As a writer/director/producer, Ben has helmed 2 award-winning feature films: Down River (9 wins and 12 nominations, including Most Popular Canadian Film at VIFF 2013) and Moving Malcolm. Next up for Ben is the release of his 3rd feature film, Are We Done Now?, which he wrote and directed. Ben has also written and/or directed and produced numerous short films and web series episodes, has directed Robson Arms for CTV, and has developed several original television series for Canadian networks.
For theatre, Ben has appeared in many plays including This, by Melissa James Gibson, Dinner with Friends, by Donald Margulies, and Italian American Reconciliation by John Patrick Shanley. Early in his career, Ben was nominated for a Jessie Richardson award for his portrayal of “Bobby” in David Mamet’s American Buffalo. He has also directed numerous plays, including the Canadian Premieres of Tommy Smith’s White Hot and Christopher Shinn’s Dying City, as well as Either We Talk Or We Don’t Talk, created in collaboration with actors from Haven Studio. In 2020, Ben wrote and directed the one-man show Casey and the Octopus for the inspiring and dynamic 19-year-old cancer survivor Casey Wright.
Ben started his teaching career in 1995, under the tutelage of his mentor Ivana Chubbuck (author, The Power of the Actor). He has also studied with and been greatly influenced by Larry Moss (author, The Intent to Live), Patsy Rodenburg (author, The Second Circle), and Canada’s Mel Tuck. Having taught acting in Vancouver, Los Angeles and across Canada, Ben established Haven Acting Studio in Vancouver in 2002.
Daniel Janke is a composer, filmmaker and writer based in Yukon. Film scores include Touch [Jeremy Podeswa, Da da Camera, 2001]; and Subconscious Password [Chris Landreth NFB, 2014], which was short-listed for an Oscar award. His film How People Got Fire [NFB, 2009] received numerous awards, was nominated for Canadian writers guild award, and screened in over 60 countries. Multi-media works include Grubstake Remix [NTF, 2017] which toured Canada, and performed in Berlin.
Music compositions include works for NAC Touring Ensemble, Penderecki String Quartet, Standing Wave Ensemble, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, NEM, François Houle, Mark Fewer, and the Continuum Ensemble. Daniel is currently working in Berlin on a new production with English Theatre Berlin. He is also working on a new recording release for Centrediscs, with soprano Rachel Fenlon.
Daniel plays piano and tours with his group Winter Trio. Their recent recording is titled Available Light on the Chronograph label. Daniel has recorded with Bruce Cockburn on Breakfast In New Orleans [1999, Ryko]; Other recording releases include Celestial Blue with violinist Mark Fewer [2016, Centrediscs]; and Cinco Puntos Cardinales [2012, Centrediscs]. His release is Body In Motion features violinist Adele Armin.
Robert Joe is a filmmaker from Pelly Crossing, Yukon, and a graduate of Capilano University’s Motion Picture Arts Program in North Vancouver. He has created several documentary shorts focused on traditional land-based teachings and worked as a communications officer for the Selkirk First Nation before becoming a camera technician with Gunta Business. In 2023, he won the ALFF Pitch Prize, leading to the completion of Fistful of Vodka, his first fiction short in 12 years.
Christine is a seasoned professional with a background spanning film production, not-for-profit management and project consulting. Hailing from Saskatchewan, she brings a personal connection to the National Screen Institute’s mission and values and the expansive prairie landscape that has shaped her journey.
She has worked for institutions including the National Film Board, the DOC Institute and numerous independent production companies. Her notable works, including the impactful films Barefoot and A Better Man, have garnered critical acclaim and played a pivotal role in shaping her career trajectory. Through their unique and compassionate approaches to community engagement during production and distribution, these films testify to Christine’s commitment to meaningful storytelling and social impact.
An advocate for filmmakers, Christine has a deep-seated commitment to supporting filmmaking talent in Canada. Her dedication to fostering creative growth and amplifying new voices is motivated by guiding principles of equity and accessibility.
A proud mother of two teen boys and one derpy golden retriever, Christine spends her time walking, watching and listening to the stories around her.
Tova’s career trajectory toward filmmaking is as layered and experiential as the stories she likes to tell. From merchant seaman to geologist, photographer and filmmaker, her films frame original, character-driven narratives with perceptive imagery to reflect nuanced relationships between communities, cultures and environments.
Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian filmmaker, musician, actor, multimedia artist and award-winning radio and TV broadcaster (CBC Radio & TV, BBC, MuchMusic). After starring in John Cameron Mitchell’s groundbreaking 2SLGBTQ movie SHORTBUS, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival, Lee made her feature film writer and directorial debut at TIFF with YEAR OF THE CARNIVORE, starring Cristin Milioti. In 2014, Sook-Yin won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by a Lead Dramatic Actress for her role as Olivia Chow in JACK, and went on to write and star in UNSAFE at Canadian Stage, which examined questions of censorship and artistic freedom. Her work has been presented by Ottawa Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Dance Theatre, and Festival of New Dance. OCTAVIO IS DEAD! – a supernatural ghost story written and directed by Lee – starring Sarah Gadon and Rosanna Arquette – won her Best Director and Best Picture at the Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival in 2018. DEATH AND SICKNESS (CBC Gem) and REST AND RELAX are her D.I.Y. feature movies made with Dylan Gamble. She directed, co-wrote, co-scored and co-produced the feature film adaptation of Chester Brown’s best-selling graphic novel PAYING FOR IT. She acted in DARKEST MIRIAM (E.P. Charlie Kaufman) and CLOSE TO YOU (Elliot Page). Sook-Yin is a recording artist and Canadian Screen Award-nominated film score composer with myriad albums and recent contributions to Brandon Cronenberg’s horror movies INFINITY POOL and ANTIVIRAL.
Brenda has been programming in Calgary since 1999. Currently the Lead Programmer and Jury Coordinator for the Calgary International Film Festival (2007) and Festival Director, Co-Founder, and Lead Programmer for the Calgary Underground Film Festival (2003). She has film production experience, is a member of IATSE 212, and has been involved with several other start-up film festivals. In 2009 Brenda was awarded Avenue magazine’s Top 40 Under 40, and in 2018 was honoured with the Distinguished Alumni award from MacEwan University’s Arts and Cultural Management program in the Faculty of Arts and Communications. Semi-recently she Executive Produced her first feature project with EVENTS TRANSPIRING BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL GAME (2020).
lori lozinski is an award-winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC and the President of Violator Films Inc, an independent production company that has been telling maverick stories since 2007. She is recognized for producing socially conscious character-driven stories with female creatives. Notable productions include Little Bird, Don’t Even, A Motorcycle Saved My Life, The Pilgrimage, Kimmapiyiipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, Sugar Daddy, RETAKE, and Once There Was A Winter. lori is an alumna of the Canadian Film Centre, Trans Atlantic Partners, Women In The Director’s Chair, and was nominated for the 2019 & 2020 CMPA Indie Screen Awards for Established Producer.
Born and raised in the Yukon, Neil began making movies as a young boy. He is an alumnus of the UBC Film Program and the National Screen Institute. With a varied career in the film and television industry Neil has worked as a Producer, Director, Cinematographer, and Gaffer. His credits include A.R.C.H.I.E. 2, GOLD RUSH, SKYMASTER DOWN, NANCY DREW, TRON LEGACY, and the TWILIGHT SAGA to name a few. In 2022 Neil stepped away from production to take on the role of Manager, Media Development for the Yukon Government.
As the Indigenous Language Production Executive of original programming at APTN, Shelley oversees documentary series for English and Indigenous language productions. Shelley has more than 25 years of experience in Canada’s screen industry and has held a range of positions in Development, Production, and Acquisitions. Shelley has been part of APTN’s programming team since late 2015 and works with independent producers to bring unique and engaging content to APTN’s national audience.
Omar Majeed, is a Pakistani-Canadian writer, filmmaker, and award-winning editor. His credits include the groundbreaking Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam (2009), The Frog Princes (2012), and the poignant short doc Stitched Glass (2021). Omar has won multiple awards as an editor and writer. He’s a recipient of the Kathleen Shannon Award for his commitment to profiling subjects ‘outside the dominant culture’ and was also shortlisted for the Ontario Arts Council’s KM Hunter Artists Award in 2016. His editing prowess was recognized with a CSA in 2001 and again in 2018 for The Artists, a digital documentary series. This year, Omar premiered his new music documentary Disco’s Revenge (co-directed with Pete Mishara). Disco’s Revenge explores Disco’s birth, death, and rebirth—a project close to Majeed’s heart. As his mother, acclaimed Pakistani actress and singer Musarrat Nazir, released two disco-themed albums in the early 80s, the genre runs deep in Majeed’s veins. Omar is currently developing a number of film/tv projects in both the fiction and non-fiction space.
Growing up multiracial with Jamaican and Scottish immigrant parents, Graeme Mathieson was encouraged from a young age to experience and explore everything, forever straddling multiple perspectives, yet never feeling fully part of one – a foundation that has guided his work as a filmmaker. As a Director, Graeme’s work has taken him around the world, from Ethiopia to Chile, Jamaica to Japan, working with musical legends, championship athletes, disgraced superstars, communities and organizations striving to change the world.
His 2018 Hot Docs-premiered documentary on ska and reggae legend Stranger Cole, Ruff & Tuff (w/ collaborator Chris Flanagan), led to a doc series with the National Film Board of Canada on buried reggae histories in Canada (in production). In 2019, Graeme Co-Executive Produced the 6-part TV series Beyond the Arc (TSN), following Toronto Raptor Danny Green on his post-championship farewell tour of Canada, featuring guests Simu Liu, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fred VanVleet, Russell Peters, George St-Pierre, Jagmeet Singh and Prime Minister Trudeau. As DJ Gramera, Graeme hosted his 15-year long radio show Stolen Souls on CHRY 105.5FM, featuring ska, reggae, soul and funk vinyl. He’s a partner in the production company Bonfire Originals, focusing on telling under-told stories through documentary and unscripted series.
Don McKellar is a versatile filmmaker, writer, actor, and director known for his innovative work in film, TV, and theatre. He co-founded Childs Play Theatre and the Augusta Company and made his first mark in cinema with the screenplay for Bruce McDonald’s Roadkill (1989) which was also his first screen appearance. McKellar collaborated again with McDonald for his 1991 film Highway 61, writing the screenplay and playing the starring role as the barber, Pokey Jones. McKellar’s collaboration with McDonald spawned the cult classic television series Twitch City which starred McKellar, Daniel MacIvor, Callum Keith Rennie and Molly Parker. McKellar has become a ubiquitous presence in Canadian cinema. He appeared in Atom Egoyan’s films The Adjuster (1991) and Exotica (1994), the latter earning him the Genie (CSA) for best supporting actor.
His recently restored directorial debut, Last Night (1998), won the Prix de la Jeunesse at Cannes, and he later directed acclaimed projects like The Grand Seduction and TV series such as Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays and Sensitive Skin. McKellar collaborated with François Girard, authoring the screenplays for his films Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1992), and the Academy Award winning The Red Violin (1998) in which McKellar starred alongside Samuel L. Jackson. A Tony Award winner for co-writing The Drowsy Chaperone, McKellar continues to create, adapting The Sympathizer for HBO Max/Crave in 2024 and developing new musicals.
As a Director of Photography on both commercial and documentary projects, Mike McKinlay has worked within the genres of verité, drama, historical, environmental awareness and wildlife production. Most recently he was the director of photography and co-director (with Isabelle Groc) of the documentary Toad People, which screened at the 2019 DOXA International Documentary Film Festival, won The Impact Award at the Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol, and is now streaming on CBC Gem. Other recent credits include films made for National Geographic, the NFB, Knowledge Network, the Wilderness Committee, and APTN. Before that, Mike carved out a respectable niche as a director of photography in the Canadian documentary scene, shooting numerous note-worthy and acclaimed documentaries. Recent awards include winning the Leo Award for Best Cinematography in a Feature Film for The Road Forward directed by Marie Clements, and being nominated for Best Cinematography for Takaya: Lone Wolf directed by Mary Margaret Frymire.
Niall McNeil has been involved with theatre from an early age through his lifelong association with the Caravan Farm Theatre. As a youngster he performed in As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Bull by the Horns and Strange Medicine. Niall was an ensemble member of Vancouver’s Leaky Heaven Theatre’s shows since its inception in 1999 under the direction of the company’s founder, Steven Hill. Niall acted in Leaky Heaven Circus -Part One, Typhoon, Conference of the Birds, Birthday Boy, King Llyr, Zigguart, Bonobo and finished with Salome in 2006. In 2010 Niall performed in “A Christmas Carol’ as a member of the English Acting Company of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa under the direction of Peter Hinton. Niall and Marcus Youssef have written two Jessie Richardson Threatre Award winning plays together, Peter Panties (2011) and King Arthur’s Night (2017). Peter Panties received a Critics Choice Innovation award . King Arthur’s Night received an award for best play by a Large Ensemble.
Niall acted in Marie Clements short film ‘Pilgrims’ in 2013. Pilgrims screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent program at the Cannes Market. In 2022 the NFB documentary ‘Lay Down Your Heart’ premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. Directed by Marie Clements, Niall was both a creative collaborator and subject of the film. The film won an Audience Award (portraits). The Originals (2024) is Niall’s debut film project as director.
Andrew Munger is a content creator with nearly thirty years of unscripted and documentary production experience as an award winning director, writer, and producer, including Once Were Brothers and Toxic Beauty. He has extensive experience shooting– from Cambodia to Kinshasa, and Nicaragua to New York. Presently, Andrew is an in-house producer and Director of Unscripted Development at White Pine Pictures in Toronto, a 40 year old boutique production company led by Peter Raymont. He overseed everything from blue chip, feature documentaries to commercial, factual series, and work closely with as independent filmmakers.
Independent films through Andrew’s company include Make Some Noise (TIFF, winner of Best Canadian Short) Wal-Mart Nation (CBC), Campaign (CBC), and Xanadu (CBC).
Jeremy Parkin is an indigenous artist, producer, and performer from the Kwanlin Dün First Nation in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Blending influences from artists such as Shlohmo, Burial, Nosaj Thing, and SBTRKT; Jeremy creates detailed and textured soundscapes to paint vivid pictures throughout his music.
In the summer of 2022, he received a nomination for “Producer of the Year” at the International Indigenous Hip Hop awards, and saw production placements for Toronto MCs Papito Scotti and ALLSVNS, as well as Youtuber / Comedian Kurtis Conner. Aside from collaborating with many hip hop artists and creating self released work, Jeremy is also one half of the producer and MC duo known as “LOCAL BOY” with Kelvin Smoler. Jeremy produced the entirety of LOCAL BOY’s 2022 EP release titled “ONE FOR JAMES”.
Matthew Rankin was born in Winnipeg. He is the director of some forty short films and two features which have variously been presented at Sundance, Annecy, SXSW, the Berlinale, Cannes Critics Week and on the Criterion Channel. His first feature, The Twentieth Century (2019), was awarded the FIPRESCI prize of the International Film Critics at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival and his latest feature, Universal Language, was awarded the Chantal Ackerman Prize of the Director’s Fortnight program of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He lives in Montréal.
JOANNE ROBERSTON is a Montreal-based director, researcher and creative producer. She first began her work with Rezolution Pictures over 25 years ago, collaborating with Cree co-director Neil Diamond on such documentary projects as Cree Spoken Here, Dab Iyiyuu, and One More River. Since then she has honed her research, directing and content producing skills on diverse doc projects including the NFB’s Making Movie History, Ports d’attache, and Chacun son île for which she was nominated for a Gémaux for Best Research, and more recently as story producer on Lands Enchanted, Spirit of Birth, and the feature documentary Red Fever. Joanne was also producer on artist Kara Blake’s installation Lasciare Suonore at Montreal’s Place des Arts and Todd Stewart’s award-winning short animation The Wind and the Trees. She is currently co-directing a feature documentary with Neil Diamond about the profound impact of Indigenous masks on the Surrealists.
Tina Schliessler was born and grew up in Baden-Baden, Germany. At 17 years of age she immigrated to Canada with her family. Her grandfather was a sculptor, her grandmother a painter and both her parents documentary filmmakers. Needless to say, Tina developed a passion for the arts and film from her early childhood. She attended Emily Carr, University of Art and Design, concentrating on film animation and photography. Tina trained under Czechoslovakian animators Stania and Pavel Prochazka, and her first student film landed her an animation series for German television. From then on she worked in several disciplines in the film business. Tina developed a photographic series on trees, looking at the iconography found in nature. In collaboration with writer/poet Heather Haley she produced a short film, Bushwhack, using these images. Over the last number of years Tina has worked on documentary films with her partner, director Charles Wilkinson. They together produced the multi award winning short film
Down Here, multi award winning feature documentary Peace Out, and the feature documentaries Oil Sands Karaoke, Haida Modern, Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World, No Fixed Address and Talk About Lonely.
Born and raised in the Yukon Territory, Melaina Sheldon is an actor and writer of the Inland Lingít People. Her first short piece, Chance, was performed at Sarasvàti Productions’ 2016 Cabaret of Monologues in Winnipeg. Melaina was chosen and participated in WIFTV’S 2022 Tricksters and Writers Screenwriting Program and made her comedic debut in 2023 at Indig-E girl Comedy’s Spring Showers, Aunty Flowers in Whitehorse, Yukon. She produced, co-wrote and co-directed Northlore, a one-hour documentary, in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada.
Teri Snelgrove is a producer at the BC & Yukon Studio. Most recently, she produced WaaPaKe (Tomorrow) (Jules Arita Koostachin), A Motorcycle Saved My Life (Lori Lozinski) and Into Light (Sheona McDonald). With Shirley Vercruysse, Teri co-produced?Someone Like Me? by Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor, and the animated projects Two Apples (Bahram Javahery) and Zeb’s Spider (Alicia Eisen and Sophie Jarvis). She is currently working with Brishkay Ahmed on the feature doc In the Room, and she’s excited to be in development on two Yukon-based projects: Alexandra Knowles’ My Knitting Circle and Jessica Hall’s Saturday. She is also the co-producer on Lyana Patrick’s feature doc, Nechako and she has a number of other excellent documentary projects in development. Teri is a Newfoundlander, and a graduate of the film/video program at Emily Carr University. She holds a Master’s Degree from the GLS program at Simon Fraser University
Dan Sokolowski has produced over 30 short films and 1 feature film, blending documentary and animation. Tourist Town is his latest and it’s a ALFF ‘24 selection.
Dan lives in blissful obscurity in the Yukon in Canada’s north on the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and is currently the producer of the Dawson City International Short Film Festival.
Brett Story is an award-winning filmmaker and writer whose work pushes the formal boundaries of political cinema. Her films have screened in theaters and festivals internationally, including at Sundance, CPH-DOX, and SXSW. She is the director of the feature films THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES (2016) and THE HOTTEST AUGUST (2019), and the author of the book PRISON LAND (2019). THE HOTTEST AUGUST was a New York Times Critics’ Pick and was called one of the best documentary films of 2019 by Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, among others. Her latest film, UNION was short-listed for Best Feature Documentary at the 2025 Oscars.
Brett has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Sundance Institute, and was named one of Variety’s 10 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch. In 2020 she was nominated for a Cinema Eye Award for Best Director. She holds a PhD in geography and is currently an assistant professor of Cinema at the University of Toronto.
Erika Tizya-Tramm serves as the Manager of Community Partnerships with Northern Energy Innovation at Yukon University. As a member of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, she is deeply committed to Indigenous Nation-building by advancing environmental stewardship and sustainability priorities. With over two decades of experience in land and resource management, Erika is uniquely positioned at the intersection of traditional Indigenous stewardship values and modern sustainability practices. She has successfully led Indigenous-driven initiatives in land use planning and management, policy and legislative development, and renewable energy projects such as solar and wind, aimed at reducing carbon footprints and fostering energy sovereignty. Her work emphasizes the integration of traditional knowledge with innovative approaches to create sustainable futures for Indigenous communities. Outside of work, Erika enjoys spending time laughing with family and friends.
Shirley Vercruysse is an Executive Producer with the National Film Board of Canada. Based in Vancouver, she leads a team producing documentary and animation projects. The studio’s new releases include the feature-length documentaries Anything for Fame, The Magnitude of All Things, and Sovereign Soil, along with recent releases The Whale and the Raven, Because We Are Girls, and the musical documentary The Road Forward. Short works include the documentaries Now Is the Time, and Highway to Heaven, the animated films Old Dog, and The Zoo, as well as the Webby Award-winning docu-series True North: Inside the Rise of Toronto Basketball.
Charles Wilkinson is a much awarded filmmaker with a large body of both documentary and dramatic films to his credit. He is best known for the critically-acclaimed Haida Gwaii: On The Edge Of The World which won Most Popular Canadian Documentary at Vancouver International Film Festival, National Film Critics Best Documentary, the Director’s Guild Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary and Best Canadian Documentary at Hot Docs – the largest documentary festival in North America. Charles’s other recent work includes Vancouver: Talk About Lonely, Haida Modern, No Fixed Address, Oil Sands Karaoke, Peace Out, and Down Here. Before moving into documentaries, Charles directed feature films, acclaimed TV movies for Disney, ABC & CBS as well as TV series like Road to Avonlea, Dead Man’s Gun, and The Highlander.
Shay Wilson is the Senior Analyst, English Market for TELUS Fund and has a diverse background in both the creative and business sides of the film and television industry. She provides business affairs, industry development and project development consultation. Over a 20-year career she has held roles in international sales & distribution, grants & funding and production.
Dorothy Woodend is the culture editor for The Tyee.
She has worked in many different cultural disciplines, including producing contemporary dance and new music concerts, running a small press, programming film festivals, and writing for newspapers and magazines across Canada and the U.S. She holds degrees in English from Simon Fraser University and film animation from Emily Carr University.
In 2020, she was awarded the Max Wyman Award for Critical Writing. She won the Silver Medal for Best Column at the Digital Publishing Awards in 2019 and 2020; and her work was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Best Column in 2020 and 2021. In 2023, she was nominated for a Webster Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting and in 2024 for the City Mic Award for Commentator of the Year.
Woodend is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. She was raised on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake and lives in Vancouver.
Bernie was born in the capital city of Taiwan, and raised in Burnaby British Columbia. Graduating from Emily Carr University in 2012 with a BFA in Film making, Bernie has produced 6 feature films. He is thrilled to be visiting Yukon for the first time to share Ben Immanuel’s latest movie Are We Done Now? with the ALFF audience.
