Director

Mathieu Denis

Denis is a filmmaker who has directed the short films Le silence nous fera écho, and Code 13 (which was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and won him a Best Director Award at the Fantasia International Film Festival), and the features Laurentia, Corbo, The Cost of Heaven, and Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau (Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), which won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF.

Director

Mélanie Charbonneau

Quebec-based director Charbonneau started her career directing commercials. Her first short film, Seule (Single), played at several international festivals, including Cannes, and her short film Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous collected over 30 prizes at festivals internationally. Fabuleuses (Fabulous) was her first feature. She has also directed episodes of Je ne suis pas un robot (I am Not a Robot).

Director

Holly Anderson (Labrador Inuit)

Directors

Neil Diamond (Cree)

Cree filmmaker Diamond is known for several award winning documentaries that focus on Indigenous life and issues. His debut film, Cree Spoken Here, garnered the Telefilm/APTN award for Best Aboriginal Documentary. His most recent film was Inuit Cree Reconciliation with filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk and he is currently directing the documentary Red Fever.

Directors

Michael Mabbott

Writer/director Mabbott made his debut with 2005’s Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, winning Best Canadian First Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. He followed with Citizen Duane and television shows like Baxter and The Yard. His short documentary Music Lessons premiered at Hot Docs 2015. He also wrote, produced, and co-directed Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, which was named to the TIFF 2024 Top Ten List.

Lucah Rosenberg-Lee

Lucah Rosenberg-Lee is an independent filmmaker, speaker and entrepreneur. He is passionate about telling the stories of marginalized voices through film and he specializes in documentary and LGBTQ+ content. He produced For Nonna Anna, which won the Best Narrative Short Award at the Atlanta Film Festival, and he co-directed the 2024 films Passing and Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, which won the DGC Special Jury Prize at Hot Docs 2024.

Director

Damon Kwame Mason

Former TV and radio host Damon Kwame Mason transitioned to filmmaker when he wrote, directed and produced Soul on Ice: Past, Present and Future, a documentary about the contributions of black athletes to the sport of ice hockey. He went on to produce The Cannons in 2022, and directed Ice Queens, which was released in 2023.

Directors

Brenda Michell (Wet'suwet'en)

Brenda Mitchell is Tsakë ze’ K‑eltiy (a hereditary chief) of the Unist'ot'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation. In addition to participating in Wet’suwet’en governance, she has worked in post-secondary education for the Lake Babine Nation Band for decades, and is currently a resident Elder, language teacher and addictions counselor. Yintah is her first documentary. 

Jennifer Wickham (Wet'suwet'en)

A member of the Cas Yikh (Grizzly House) of the Gidimt’en (Bear/Wolf) Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Wickham is a poet, youth advocate, and a committed land defender and activist whose work includes language and culture revitalization. She has worked as Media Coordinator for Gidimt’en Checkpoint since 2018. Yintah is her first documentary. 

Michael Toledano

Michael Toledano is a journalist, photographer, and documentarian whose work focuses on environmental pollution and Indigenous land defense. His reporting has appeared on Al Jazeera America, VICE, Ricochet, Upworthy, Rabble, and other outlets. His footage has appeared on CBC News, CTV, CP24, CityNews, APTN, and Democracy Now. Yintah is his first feature documentary. 

Director

Paul Shapiro

Director

Shorts Programme

Director

Tasha Hubbard (Cree)

Hubbard is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and an associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies. Her NFB documentary Two Worlds Colliding won a Gemini and a Golden Sheaf Award. She has also directed the short film 7 Minutes, and the feature docs Birth of a Family, nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, which won 14 awards, including the CSA for best documentary and Best Canadian Documentary at Hot Docs 2019. She is a founding director of the International Buffalo Relations Institute. Her documentary Singing Back the Buffalo won three awards and was nominated for four others.

Director

Jill Haras

Director

Cilia Sawadogo

Director

Van Royko

Director

Kimberley Ann Surin

Directors

Jennifer Podemski (Anishinaabe)

Podemski is an award-winning film and television producer and actor. She produced and starred in Empire of Dirt, is the creator and producer of APTN’s The Other Side, and most recently produced and directed the series Unsettled.

Nyla Innuksuk (Inuk)

Innuksuk is a director, writer, producer, and VR creator. She co-created the Inuk character Snowguard with Marvel and has written several short films and documentaries. Her first feature was Slash/Back, released in 2022.

Director

Tyler Mckenzie Evans

Director

Danica Ricamara

Director

Shane Belcourt (Métis)

Directors

Nadia Lakhdari, Caroline Lavergne

Director

Amanda Strong (Michif)