Production Grant

Festival

Past Years

Film Library

Burnout and Climate Change

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Films

The Plastic Horror

Watch

Carbon Traces

Watch

Dreams of the Ravaged

Are You Hungry?

The Otter

Fortune Cookie

On Burnt Horizons

Ethical Consumption

Beyond the Soil

Out Beyond

Filmmakers

Jaime Jacobsen

A filmmaker who uses storytelling and her work directing the Center for Science Communication at Colorado State Uni.

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Shenuka Corea

Animator, illustrator, comic artist with a passion for speculative fiction and the magic of the everyday. Favourite film: Princess Mononoke

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Belen Garcia

Belen Garcia is a Mexican Cinematographer who lives and creates in Vancouver, Canada. Belen is a proud member of Apertura, a Mexican community of female cinematographers. She was recently selected for the 2022-2023 ASC Vision Mentorship program.

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Breech Harani

Breech Asher Harani, a filmmaker and time-based media artist from the Philippines, creates poignant, experimental films on society and the environment. He is the first Filipino Young Creatives Awardee by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a 2020 Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 honoree.

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Cassidy Civiero

Cassidy Civiero (he/him) is a transgender filmmaker with a focus on content related to climate change, mental health & mindfulness, and gender & sexuality. His latest film, Return to Nature (2024), won Critic's Choice at the Experimental Film Fest after a three-month premiere at the Penticton Art Gallery as part of their exhibit, "Gifts of Madness". He is a writer and co-executive producer for the series You're My Hero (2024) on CBC Gem. Cassidy believes anything is possible, both in life and on screen.

Rachel Rose

Rachel Rose is a filmmaker with a history of telling powerful stories and bringing together awesome queer and femme creatives.

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Randy Kelly

Randy Kelly is an award-winning director, editor, and cameraman based in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. With 25 years of experience in film, TV, and documentaries, he focuses on projects highlighting Indigenous cultures, traveling across Canada and internationally.

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Salman Khan

Salman Alam Khan is a filmmaker from Pakistan based in the US working in independent fiction and documentary. His work addresses cultural diversity, human rights & social issues.

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Stefie Gan

Stefie Gan studied architecture at Barnard College, Columbia University, and uses environmental metaphors in her films. As an MFA graduate at the University of Southern California, Stefie has worked with researchers at the USC Wrigley Institute of Environmental Studies where she made an animated video depicting Life at the Rocky Intertidal Zone and the importance of plankton to marine life. Her film, Plastic Ecosystem, using found plastic objects to address pollution, received an award at the prestigious Odense Film Festival.

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Fu Yang

Taiwanese stop-motion filmmaker who runs a boutique animation studio, Cafe LaBobo LLC, with Ben Ellebracht. Favourite film: Inside Out

Hao Zhou

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

Mentors

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Chen-Sing Yap

Chen Sing Yap is a Singaporean born, Ontario based, editor-writer-director. Before moving to Canada he was a picture editor working primarily in factual television. His latest short film is Desync.

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Athena Russell

Athena Russell is an award-winning actress, writer, director and producer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Having amassed a resume of over 45 professional film and TV credits both in front, and behind, the camera.

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Fan Sissoko

Fan Sissoko is a French-Malian artist and filmmaker based in Reykjavik. Her work explores migration, motherhood and neurodiversity. Her animated short ‘On The Surface’ screened at more than 50 festivals internationally, including Clermont Ferrand ISFF (France 2022) where it received a Special Mention.

Vicky Du

Vicky Du is a queer, Taiwanese-American filmmaker based in Berlin and New York. Her debut feature documentary Light of the Setting Sun (Full Frame and IDFA, 2024) examines the intergenerational trauma within her own Chinese-Taiwanese-American family.

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India Barnado

My name is India Barnardo, I'm five feet small, I make films, and animate at Disney, oh and I love cats, specifically my cat, Walter. Favourite film: Before Sunrise

Huse Monfaradi

Huse Monfaradi is a Bahraini born London-based director and writer who began his career in television, directing shows at MTV in the early 2000s.

Jurors

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Juan Sosa

Juan Sosa, M.D. is a psychiatrist with sub-specialty training in forensic and addiction psychiatry. Dr. Sosa appreciates the use of various art forms, including film, to highlight and reflect on the impact mental illness has on those diagnosed.

Chen-Sing Yap

Chen Sing Yap is a Singaporean born, Ontario based, editor-writer-director. Before moving to Canada he was a picture editor working primarily in factual television. His latest short film is Desync.

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Jesse Seay

Jesse Seay is an associate professor at Columbia College Chicago, where she serves as Associate Chair of the Department of Audio Arts & Acoustics. She holds an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA from UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Devora Neumark

Currently living in Iqaluit, Nunavut in Inuit Nunangat (homeland of the Inuit), Devora Neumark, PhD is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher, educator and community-engaged practitioner with over 30 years of contemplative practice. Neumark is also a Yale School of Public Health-certified Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner. https://devoraneumark.com.

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Andra Brosh

Dr. Andra Brosh is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, a certified Eco-therapist, and a board-certified Holistic Nutritionist (BCHN). Her approach to wellbeing weaves together the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of wellness highlighting the important role diet and environment play in mental wellness.

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Andrea Welsh

Andrea Welsh, PhD (she/they) is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Pittsburgh. She studies collective motion in biological systems. She works improving the climate for young academics. She spends non-work time with her spouse and cats playing Dungeons and Dragons.

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Ashley Radtke

Ashley Radtke is a licensed therapist in private practice in Kansas City providing therapy that investigates the whole person and the systems they interact with. Ashley supports folx integrating the ache of change and the joy and rest that fulfill us.

Beth Lamarre

Beth Lamarre is the Executive Director of NAMI Rhode Island, a position she has held since 2018. Prior to joining NAMI-RI, her professional experience included executive roles in nonprofit community programming and development. Ms Lamarre earned her Bachelor Degree at University of Rhode Island, and graduate coursework towards the pursuit of a Masters in Public Health, as well as continued education in nonprofit leadership. She was recently recognized by the Governor of RI for her leadership in mental health.

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Dr. Beverly Wallace

Dr. Wallace holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Welfare, a Masters of Education in Human Development and Family Studies, a Masters of Divinity, and a Ph.D. in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota. She has authored several works including “Narratives of Grieving African Americans About Racism in the Lives of Deceased Family Members” and “A Womanist Legacy of Trauma, Grief, and Loss: Reframing the Notion of the Strong Black Woman Icon” and is the co-author of the book, “African American Grief”. Her current research includes understanding Community Trauma and End-of-Life Decisions among older African Americans and she’s currently writing her second book, “African American Grief – Revisited”.

Dr. Christa Banton

Dr. Banton is a professor mental health counselor at Barstow Community College. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, her specialties include motivation, relationship and trauma. In addition, she has been teaching at the college/university level for 20 years.

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Emma Jellen

Emma Jellen currently serves as Interim Director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation. Prior to joining the Center for Workplace Mental Health team as its Associate Director, Ms. Jellen served in 2 roles at the APA. To-date, Ms. Jellen has worked for several healthcare non-profit associations, including the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Ms. Jellen found her passion for mental health policy working early in her career at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) in the role of Policy Associate in the department of Government Affairs and Clinical Practice.

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Jane Carter

I am a socially conscious psychologist who is full of mischief, and a lover of motorcycle trips! Favourite film: The Lobster

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Jodie Skillicorn

Jodie Skillicorn is a holistic psychiatrist who integrates conventional medical training with evidence-based holistic methods at her virtual practice in Ohio. She is the author of Healing Depression without Medications: A Psychiatrist’s Guide to Balancing Mind, Body, and Soul.

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Katherine Klingensmith

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Megan Ammer-Barefield

Megan Ammer-Barefield is a Chicago social worker currently working in community mental health with individuals experiencing severe mental illness and/or substance use. Megan’s special interest in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, grief counselling, and strengths-based narrative therapy has helped her support clients in their recovery. Megan’s background also includes a specialization in Women Studies and Gender Studies which she uses in her work with a local Chicago organization, Girls Rock! Chicago, as the Youth Action Committee Coordinator, which aims to promote social justice and music education for Trans, gender-expansive, and girls in the community.

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Michelle Jobes

Dr. Michelle Jobes is a dedicated public servant working in substance use disorder research with an eye and heart always on reducing the stigma of substance use disorders and mental health.

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Mikaela Ivanco

Dedicated and creative health promoter with over a decade of experience in evidence-based health promotion.

Rebecca Miller

Becca Miller, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry. She directs Peer Support at Connecticut Mental Health Center.

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Sami Aaron

Sami Aaron founded The Resilient Activist to build resilience, optimism, and hope in response to the climate crisis. She is a Climate Reality Leader, Climate Psychology Alliance member, meditation teacher, naturalist, and author of “Climate activists and psychological distress”.

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Tam Nguyen

Dr. Tam T. Nguyen is a clinical psychologist and serves as the Director of Ambulatory Mental Health & Addiction Care for Sutter Health. An expert in developing, implementing, and running large-scale mental healthcare projects.

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Perry Voulgaris

Creating, managing, launching and distributing programming in screen-based, immersive and experiential media. Favourite film: Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Richard Espinoza

Dr. E is a psychologist passionate about expressive arts therapy, applying cinematherapy to help healing. Favourite film: The Silence of the Lambs

Fan Sissoko

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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.

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Meagan Brown

Meagan Brown (she/her) is a Montreal-based film and television editor. Her work has been featured on channels such as CBC and Noovo. When she's not editing, Meagan can usually be found puzzling.

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Nicole Kennedy

Nicole Kennedy (she/her): a filmmaker, published writer, researcher, and recreation therapist who specializes in mental health. Her work is based upon her own experience with schizophrenia and the associated stigma.

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Alex Nystrom

Alex Nystrom, an Ojibwe writer, director, and producer from Minneapolis, explores identity in contemporary Native stories. A 2021 Native American Media Alliance fellow, his pilot Between made the 2022 Indigenous List. He works in Los Angeles as a director’s assistant.

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Nich Perez

Nich Perez is a Filipino-American filmmaker and educator, blending human connection with storytelling. Through his nonprofit, the Nonprofit Film Collective, he crafts powerful narratives that inspire change. His latest film, letters to eleanore, explores disability, hope, and community.

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Kimberly Diggles

Kimberly Diggles (she/her) is a licensed therapist in California. Dr. Diggles facilitates healing within couples, families, and communities impacted by trauma, centering resilience in folks who have been historically marginalized in society. Outside of work Kimberly enjoys running, eating, and traveling--sometimes all at the same time! Her favorite film is "Forrest Gump."

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Charlie Staunton

Charlie Staunton is a poet and performer and filmmaker from Hereford. He loves words and uses them often both in his professional and personal life with varying effects, all of them interesting. He has performed on stages national and international and has been commissioned to write for organisations like the BBC, Channel 4, MIND, and The National Trust. You can find him and his work online and on the radio in all the magical places one tends to look.

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Jack Belhumeur

Jack is from Edmonton Alberta. He began filmmaking in 2007 learning 16mm and 8mm film. He later created 2 short digital films and 2 documentaries with Wapikoni mobile indigenous film studio and is currently working in augmented reality creating opera.

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Jinna Kim

Trained in classical music, Jinna Kim is a Korean American multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker. In addition to being an award winning actress and filmmaker, Jinna continues to write and create interdisciplinary projects that highlight diverse perspectives in delightful ways.

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Ross Franks

Ross has been working in the animation industry for 25+ years. He has lived, worked on, directed and produced animation shows in Australia, Canada, Germany, England and his present home, Kenya. Ross is presently the CEO of Buni Studios, Nairobi, Kenya. He is a board of director’s member at Africa Digital Media Institute, in Nairobi and is an advisory board member with ADA Animation, Nairobi. Ross is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

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Carly Stock

Carly is a LPCC in Oakland, California. She approaches therapy from an existential lens and supports adults trying to navigate dread, worry, fear and depression. She's passionate about sustainability, cycling and films! She loves anything by David Lynch and Wong Kar-wai.

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Chloe Watfern

Chloe Watfern is a transdisciplinary researcher, writer and artist based in Sydney, Australia, who has presented, published, and led creative workshops about the connections between climate change and mental health.

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Katelyn Bessette

Katelyn Bessette is the Development Director at Bridges to Change, an Oregon nonprofit providing housing, peer support and behavioral health treatment. BTC hosts the PDX Recovery Film Festival in Portland.

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Ligia Houben

Ligia Houben is a professional Grief Coach, Life Transition Specialist, founder of My Meaningful Life, LLC and The Center for Transforming Lives in Miami.

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Peter Whitehouse

Peter is a transdisciplinary professor at CWRU and University of Toronto and founder of Intergenerational Schools. He is an intergenerative designer and activist whose fields include brain health, integrated care, deep learning, interprofessional practice, ecoethics, organizational aesthetics, narrative, transmedia performance arts, and play. He also appears as Sylvanus, a metaphorical, transdisciplinary, shamanistic Tree Doctor who asks humans what they can learn about health from forests.

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Rudi Lion

Rudi is a psychotherapist in private practice in Santa Barbara, CA. After her divorce, she wanted to understand what couples need to stay together and specialized in couple’s therapy. Her other love is trauma work, currently adding polyvagal theory to her toolbox.

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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.