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about the filmmakers

KALAINITHAN KALAICHELVAN – ‘Junglefowl’
@kalainithan

KALAINITHAN KALAICHELVAN is a Tamil-Canadian writer, director, and producer, whose films have screened at festivals such as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, and Toronto Reel Asian. His short film credits include Inland Freaks (2018), Petit Four (2019), and A Feller and the Tree (2021). He is also known for the music videos he directed for some of Toronto’s leading artists, for which he was also nominated for a Juno Award for Music Video of the Year in 2022. Kalaichelvan was a participant in the 2022 Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices and has been supported by Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canadian Film Centre. He is currently developing upcoming projects with talented filmmakers under his production company, Black Caper Films.

ANDRÉA CONTE - ‘How Will You Give It Back, David Simon?’
@andreaaconte

Andréa Conte is a writer, researcher, filmmaker and media artist. His work has been previously published by Film Quarterly, CBC, Baltimore Magazine, Washington Post, Toronto Star, and several museum installations. Andrea is a fellow of the UnionDocs Carceral Screens and the Abolitionist Imagination CoLAB in New York, the ANIDOX:LAB for animated documentary in Denmark, and the Double Exposure Investigative Journalism Fellowship in Washington D.C. In recent years, his media arts practice has focused on using state archives and public records obtained through freedom of information as a documentary means to illustrate the carceral state. In March 2022, Andrea's article "Administrative Sabotage: Censorship of Canada's State Archives" was published on the cover of Briarpatch Magazine.

JORDAN FINDLAY – ‘Limbic’
@jordanfindlay_

Jordan’s work explores the connective fabric which intertwines humans with one another as well as the universe around us. He combines visually striking imagery with moments of energized emotion to create a sincere relationship with his audience. Jordan’s work has garnered him recognition from a variety of organizations including the Webby Awards, 1.4 Awards, Berlin Commercial Awards, Vimeo Staff Picks, and Director’s Library.

ISABEL OKORO - ‘Come To Me, I’m Already Here’
@isabelokoro

Isabel Okoro (b. Lagos, Nigeria) is a visual artist currently based in Toronto, ON. At the cornerstone of her practice is visualising and developing an imagined world, Eternity, as a space to immortalize community members through stories of speculative fiction that embrace her concept of normatopia. Alongside friends adé abegunde & Ayotunde Sule, Isabel co-founded the creative studio local•global. She is currently the Creative Director.

ADÉ ABEGUNDE - ‘Come To Me, I’m Already Here’
@ade.jpg

adé abegunde is a creative producer and designer. Her primary interests reside in creating opportunities for people to expand on shared liminal experiences, connecting them to themselves, each other, and their surroundings. She has produced a wide array of visual projects, working with clients including The Face Magazine, Havana Club, Wizkid, New Currency and Dada Magazine.

adé is one of the cofounders of local•global, a creative studio dedicated to fostering cross-cultural exchanges across Africa and its global diasporas.

MARY CHEN – ‘髢 (dí)’
@9yuec

Mary Chen is a director and photographer based between Montreal and Toronto trained in arts and design. By uniting techniques of cinematography, fashion, and performance art, Chen’s work often reflects upon Asian culture within a Western context. Since 2017, Chen’s work has been published in numerous digital and print publications around the world, including The Body Issue founded by NGO femalephotographers.com (DE), Milk (USA), Far-Near Media (USA), Nasty Magazine (ITL), Maps World (KR), Knots Magazine (London), and Contributor Magazine (EU). In addition, Chen has participated and is one of the finalists for The Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Award in 2020 and had her work ‘Melon Eating People’ displayed in Aperture Gallery in Manhattan, New York.

JORDAN CLARKE- ‘Onetwostep Ft (Juicelover)’
@jordanc87

Jordan's work is constantly evolving, as he employs cutting-edge tools and techniques to create visuals that are entirely new. His background in VFX enables him to contribute a comprehensive understanding of the entire production process. Whether shooting on 35mm film or utilizing the latest AI, motion capture, or 3D animation tools, Jordan has the skills to maximize creative potential while saving time and resources. His 3D art feels organic, surreal, and tangible.
His career is an impressive tapestry of creative triumphs and industry recognition that has firmly established him as a master of his craft. Beginning in 2010 at MTV/Muchmusic Canada, Clarke's undeniable talent and vision earned him multiple coveted Promax BDA Awards for his contributions to various show packages, including the highly acclaimed MuchMusic Video Awards.

SAMEER JAFAR – ‘Shoeshine’
@sw.jafar

Sameer is a stubborn filmmaker of Palestinian heritage based in Toronto. In his first year of working in the industry, he made a rise from volunteer production assistant to paid producer. He leaned on his network and went on to write and direct several short films that explore universal themes of self-identity. He plans to direct one of his feature screenplays in the Fall of '23. Sameer’s passion for the performing arts has him enrolled in many forms of acting class, which has recently led him to secure acting representation. When he’s not filmmaking, you can see him hosting street interviews where he gets to know the strangers of Toronto, or haphazardly practicing a new language. Through special circumstances, Sameer found himself travelling alone to Sicily to make Shoeshine, working with 35mm for the first time with filmmakers from around the world.

HAYLEY GRAY – ‘Send The Rain’
@hayleyagray

Hayley is a Vancouver-based director, writer, and producer (DGC). She is a graduate of Dalhousie University and Vancouver Film School and has written and directed scripted, unscripted and commercial work. Hayley’s films have won awards at festivals around the world aired on Telus Optik, CBC and Air Canada. Her feature and television scripts have received accolades from The National Screen Institute, The Austin Film Festival, The Canadian Film Festival and Bell Media. Hayley’s latest documentary: Hayashi Studio is available on Telus Optik VOD and Air Canada. She is currently in production of her feature documentary: Unarchived with the National Film Board. Hayley is in development of her feature films Dry Year and Alligator and has received Bell, CMF, Amazon, and Creative BC funding for her television slate in development with Pass Through Productions where she is a Creative Producer.

JORDEN LEE – ‘Adidem Asterisks | There's So Much More to See’
@byjorden

Jorden Lee is a 27-year-old Chinese-Jamaican, self-taught filmmaker, currently based in Toronto, Canada. Passionate about storytelling and striking imagery, he developed his cinematic eye with a foundation in photography that flourished into directing.

AYO TSALITHABA - ‘Atmospheric Arrivals’
@ayotsalithaba

Ayo Tsalithaba is a visual artist, writer and researcher from Ghana and Lesotho and based in Toronto.
Their primary mediums include film, photography, and illustration. Their work explores questions of home, (in)visibility, liminality and (un)belonging as they relate to Black queer and trans* African diasporic subjectivity.
Ayo has been featured in Huffington Post Canada, The Fader, Flare Magazine, TFO, The Kit; and they have worked with Converse, Luminato, The Queer Songbook Orchestra, TIFF, Ugg, the ROM, the Canadian Academy, to name a few. Most notably, they co-directed a Heritage Minute honouring the pioneering transgender soul singer Jackie Shane.

MARVIN LAU – ‘Futureland’
@marvindraws

MarvinDraws is a Chinese-South African-Canadian Director-Editor with a professional background in Motion Graphic Design.
Draws’ work explores themes of radical curiosity and progressive futures through experimental multi-media films driven by cultural research. Currently his practice is directed at how the representation of diverse experiences in media can affect our understanding of what is truly human, and finding ways to do it with care and tact.

RAYUL G. – ‘Presence’
@rayul.vfx

Rayul has primarily focused on direction and post-production in his works. He is particularly drawn to the themes of futurism and individuality, which he explores in his projects through unique and thought-provoking imagery.

ETHAN CABRAL – ‘Presence’
@ethan.cabral

Ethan’s projects come to life on sets that create space for crews to surrender their egos to a greater collective vision. Enabling a synthesis of provocative fashion films, commercials, and narrative projects that merge customer needs, agency scopes, and cultural trends. All through the lens of timeless human psychological drives. Building desire for emerging and established technology, service, and luxury brands across demographics.

He is constantly learning about the philosophy and spiritual implications of eastern and western traditions, bio-harmonizing, sustainability, and conscious capitalism.