Production Grant

Festival

Past Years

Film Library

Black and Immigrant Stories

View Full Program

Films

Frozen Out

Esther & Sai

be•long

On The Surface

Rompiendo Olas

Nanay

Could Have, Should Have

Still We Thrive

Wholeness

Fish

Filmmakers

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Adán Avalos

Adán Ávalos is a filmmaker and scholar dedicated to blending theory and practice in art. Drawing from his Mexican migrant labor roots, he creates documentaries and installations that honor the lives and experiences of migrant communities.

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Anaïsa Visser

Anaïsa Visser is a biracial (Dutch and Pakistani) filmmaker and arts administrator based in Vancouver. Founder of Women & Gender Diverse Filmmakers of BC, she’s won awards such as the 2017 Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award. Anaïsa’s work focuses on mental health, immigration, and inclusivity for disabled communities.

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Campbell X

Campbell X is a writer/director known for the award-winning queer romantic comedy Stud Life, voted one of the top 10 Black British films by The Guardian. Currently developing his second feature, he co-founded the Wahala Film Fund for QTIPOC short films.

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Emilie Cheung

Emilie is a shorts director based in the UK. After training with the BFI Film Academy in 2016, she made her directorial debut at 17, with a commission from Channel 4’s ‘Random Acts’, for her short film ‘Pas De Deux’. She’s since gone on to direct a variety of projects; from social media commercials for ‘Adolescent Content’, to narrative shorts, including Underwire nominated ‘Walk of Shame’. sid

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Jameelah Nuriddin

Jameelah Nuriddin is a film producer, program director, and award-winning editor with over 10 years in commercial production. An NAACP award-winning actress from Atlanta, she co-founded Imaginese Youth Workshops, using storytelling to drive social change and mentor young artists globally.

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Rosie Choo Pidcock

Rosie is a biracial Chinese Canadian actor and filmmaker based on Unceded Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver). She produced and starred in Thank You For Ghosting and Chime Me Again, with additional credits including Batwoman and Resident Alien. Her work delves into grief, feminine solidarity, and navigating multiple identities.

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Sideah Alladice

Sideah is a Vancouver-based filmmaker passionate about honest storytelling. She creates immersive, emotional narratives and runs Mutton Media while studying Broadcast and Digital Journalism at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

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Thea Loo

Thea Loo is a Vancouver-based producer and director with a BFA in Film Production. She develops diverse narratives, including the Filipino-Canadian digital dramedy "Soule." A participant in Reelworld's Producers Program, Thea highlights underrepresented communities, focusing on Asian Canadian experiences. In 2024, she won the Northern Lights Canadian Prize at VIFF for her feature length documentary based on this short.

Hao Zhou

Zhou is a filmmaker from Southwest China, making films in narrative and documentary genres. Favourite film: Days of Being Wild

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Yao Liu

Ziyao Liu is a Chinese writer/director/editor based on earth. Being a transplant from China and now living in LA, she creates compelling narratives of a personal nature that finds humor in the absurdity of existence, to generate empathy and appreciation of the collective human experience.

Jurors

Johnnie Hobbs

Alli Simon

Yolo Akili Robinson

Catalina Matamoros

Robin Means Coleman

Naghmeh Farzaneh

Christopher Yip

Keith Chau

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Calvin Walker

Calvin J. Walker (he/him) is an award-winning Dallas filmmaker, poet, and artivist. A self-taught storyteller, he creates work across film, TV, stage, and digital, focusing on social justice, spirituality, and mental health. He’s also a husband and father of three.