Let’s Dream Together

A Member of the Order of Canada, Walsh is one of Canada’s most acclaimed actors, writers, and comedians. She created the long-running hit show This Hour Has 22 Minutes and has starred in numerous TV Shows and films, including Closet Monster, Crackie, and Mambo Italiano, and has won over 30 awards for her work.

Anna Lambe is an Inuk actress and activist from Iqaluit, and the star of the new CBC and APTN hit comedy North of North. She has held key roles in film and TV in The Grizzlies, Three Pines, Trickster, Warrior Up!, and True Detective: Night Country, alongside Jody Foster. Lambe is a recipient of multiple Canadian Screen Award nominations.

A member of the Order of Canada, Steinberg is a comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. Steinberg directed the films Paternity, Going Berserk, and The Wrong Guy, and TV episodes of Seinfeld, Friends, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Golden Girls. He has been nominated for five Emmy Awards, and won two as a writer for the Academy Awards.

Deraspe has made the feature films Les loups, the critically acclaimed Les signes vitaux, and Antigone, which won six CSAs. Her work includes the documentary A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile, and the series Bête Noire. Her latest film, Bergers won Best Canadian Feature at TIFF. 

Campbell is an acclaimed and award-winning actor, producer and writer who starred in iconic films such as The Craft and the Scream franchise, as well as Walter, Hot Air, Castle in the Ground, and many others. She has also starred in many popular series, including Catwalk, Party of Five, House of Cards, and the current Netflix hit The Lincoln Lawyer. 

Virmani is an actor, writer, and producer. He wrote and starred in the features Breakaway and Dr. Cabbie and has produced numerous films and documentaries including Little Italy, The Grizzlies, Saints & Warriors and Black Ice, winner of the People’s Choice Documentary Award at TIFF. His work is driven by a belief in authentic representation and diverse storytelling.

Bisson is an acclaimed actor and director who plays Detective William Murdoch in the long-running series Murdoch Mysteries. Bisson's career spans over 100 film and television credits, for which he has received several awards, including the ACTRA Award of Excellence.

Bern Euler is the Founder and Executive Director of the Canadian Film Fest. He has also worked as an editor and producer, and won a Canadian Screen Award for producing The 24th Annual Toronto Film Critics Association Awards.

Shum's first feature, Double Happiness, won Best First Feature at the Berlinale. It began her collaboration with Sandra Oh, which continued with the films Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity and Meditation Park. Her documentary Ninth Floor was on TIFF’s 2015 list of Canada’s Top Ten. She has directed episodes of Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries and The Good Doctor.

A leading film critic and cultural journalist, Bilodeau's work has appeared in Voir, Le Devoir, Elle Québec, and L’Actualité. He is the Director of Mediafilm, the largest organization in North America devoted to producing French-language content related to film, and one of Quebec’s most important cultural institutions.

Nayman is a critic, author, and lecturer based at the Cinema Studies Institute at U of T in Toronto. He has written several books, and is a regular contributor to The Ringer, The Toronto Star, Sight and Sound, Reverse Shot and The New Republic. He has written on film for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Walrus, and other publications. 

Toronto-born McCormack is an actor, producer and director who won a Primetime Emmy for his leading role in the series Will & Grace. With over 80 acting credits, McCormack has starred in films such as Drinkwater and TV shows such as Travelers, among many others. 

Eastwood is a theatre, film, and TV actress known for the films Finders Keepers, Goin’ Down the Road, Down the Road Again, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and the TV series Anne of Green Gables and SCTV. She has won four CSAs, the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence, and two Gemini Awards including the Earle Grey Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Egoyan is a Companion of the Order of Canada, and received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. He has won over 60 awards, and was nominated for 80 others, including two Academy Award nominations for The Sweet Hereafter. His films include Exotica, Ararat, Chloe, and Seven Veils, among many others.

McKenzie is a writer, director, and editor whose credits include the shorts Rhonda's Party, When You Sleep, Stray, 4 Quarters, and Martha Brook Falls, and the features Werewolf and Queens of the Qing Dynasty. Werewolf earned the Rogers Award and the Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association, among numerous other accolades.

Hertz is the Film Editor and Chief Film Writer for The Globe and Mail. He previously served as the Executive Producer of Features for the National Post. He recently published the book Welcome to the Family, on the history and cultural impact of the Fast & Furious franchise.

A Member of the Order of Canada, Maddin’s filmography includes Tales from the Gimli Hospital, Archangel, Careful, The Saddest Music in the World, The Forbidden Room, and Rumours, which premiered at Cannes. His documentary My Winnipeg won Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF and was selected as one of the top 10 Canadian films of all time.

Podemski is an award-winning actor, producer, and director who has starred in many series, including The Rez, Sensitive Skin, and Blackstone. She also produced and starred in the show Moccasin Flats and the feature Empire of Dirt. She is the creator of the series Little Bird, for which she  won a CSA and many other awards.

Prolific producer, director, and writer Avrich has made many acclaimed documentaries including The Last Mogul, Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky, David Foster: Off the Record, Oscar Peterson: Black + White, for which he won a CSA for Best Direction, and The Road Between Us, which won TIFF’s People’s Choice Documentary Award.

A Companion of the Order of Canada, Atwood is a poet, novelist, and essayist, and one of Canada’s most celebrated writers. Her books include The Testaments, Oryx and Crake, Alias Grace, and The Handmaid’s Tale, among many others. She has received numerous literary awards, including the Booker Prize, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the Governor General’s Award, twice.

Hampshire is a celebrated Canadian actress who has starred in numerous TV shows such as  the iconic 12 Monkeys, and Schitt’s Creek, for which she won six Canadian Screen Awards. She has also starred in many features, including The Trotsky, Snow Cake, Cosmopolis, The End of Sex, and Humane, among others.

Jason Ryle is an Anishinaabe producer, programmer, curator, story editor, and arts consultant. Jason was the Executive Director of imagineNATIVE for ten years, and he currently works as an International Programmer with TIFF. His producing credits include Singing Back the Buffalo, Aki, and Endless Cookie which won the Audience Award at Hot Docs.

McSorley is a film critic, scholar, writer, and executive director of the Canadian Film Institute. He has organized many film festivals, including the International Film Festival of Ottawa and the Ottawa International Animation Festival. He lectures on Canadian cinema at Carleton University and reviews films on CBC Radio.

Thúy, A Member of the Order of Canada, is an acclaimed writer whose works have been translated into 35 languages and published in 43 countries. Her debut novel Ru, adapted into a film, won the Governor General's Award. She is also the author of Mãn, Vi, and Em.

A Member of the Order of Canada, Cardinal is a prolific and acclaimed actor, director, and producer with over 100 film and television credits, including Dances with Wolves, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Falls Around Her. She has won numerous awards, including the ACTRA Toronto Award for Excellence and a CSA for lifetime achievement. 

Peter Keleghan is a prolific actor with over 100 credits to his name. Keleghan has appeared in films such as Ginger Snaps, The Grand Seduction, and Cooper’s Camera, and TV series including The Newsroom, Made in Canada, Billable Hours, Murdoch Mysteries, and Suits. Keleghan has won numerous awards, including five Geminis, a CSA, and the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence.

An award-winning screenwriter, actor and short film and children’s TV director, Varughese is best known for writing the original Muppet TV show Fraggle Rock. As a Gemini award-nominated screen actor with over 120 credits, he recurred on Kim’s Convenience and Transplant. He is also a Dora award-nominated stage actor and produced playwright.

One of Canada’s most celebrated actors on both stage and screen, Feore is famous for his indelible characterizations in films like The Trotsky, Bon Cop Bad Cop, and his Genie-nominated turn in Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. Feore is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Governor General’s Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award laureate.

Alan Zweig is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose trilogy Vinyl; I, Curmudgeon; and Lovable uniquely intertwines personal reflections with interviews. His other films include A Hard Name, (which won the Genie Award for Best Feature Documentary), When Jews Were Funny (Best Canadian Feature at TIFF), and Hurt (TIFF’s Platform Prize).

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Polley is a multi-award winning director, writer, and actor whose credits include the features Away from Her, Take This Waltz, Stories We Tell, and Women Talking, for which she won an Oscar. She has acted in iconic TV series such as Road to Avonlea and The Studio, the Oscar-nominated The Sweet Hereafter, Last Night, and many others.

A member of the Order of Canada, Jann Arden is a singer-songwriter, actress, author, and broadcaster. Arden has won 8 JUNO Awards including Female Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year, 10 SOCAN Awards, and 4 Western Canadian Music Awards, among others. She is the creator and star of her hit CTV comedy show JANN, and has published six books.

Well known from the iconic Corner Gas franchise, Lorne’s an award-winning show biz veteran who’s worked as a director, actor and producer on hundreds of creative projects throughout his career in theatre, film and TV. Awards include a CSA, two Gemini Awards, a Whistler Film Festival Vanguard Award and the opening of the Lorne Cardinal Theatre in 2023.

Danis Goulet is an award-winning Cree/Métis filmmaker whose films have screened at festivals worldwide including Sundance, Berlinale, TIFF, and MoMA. Night Raiders was her first feature film, which premiered at TIFF and won 14 awards, including six CSAs. She has also directed episodes of the series Reservation Dogs and North of North.

Mehta is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker whose internationally renowned works include Fire; Earth; the Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee, Water; the epic adaptation of Midnight’s Children; and Canadian Screen Award winner, Funny Boy. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and has received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Anderson is a film critic, author, and programmer who was TIFF’s lead programmer for Short Cuts, and is currently their international programmer for Canada and the Nordic and Benelux regions. He also serves as Programming Director for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and has been a regular contributor to publications including the Toronto Star and Cinema Scope.

Levack got her start directing music videos, which earned her two Juno Award nominations for Video of the Year. She went on to debut her first narrative short, We Forgot to Break Up at TIFF. Her features I Like Movies and Mile End Kicks both premiered at TIFF and were named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. She also directed episodes of the series My Dead Mom.

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Mercer is a comedian, television personality, and author. He is known for the CBC shows This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made In Canada, Talking To Americans, and Rick Mercer Report and roles in films such as Bon Cop Bad Cop. He has won nearly 30 Gemini Awards and CSAs for his work.

Davis’s first film, Hardwood, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Documentary. He received an award at Hot Docs for Invisible City, and his short film Rivolta won a Cannes Film Lion. He directed the feature documentaries Giants of Africa and Black Ice, which won the People’s Choice Documentary Award at TIFF, and his feature Youngblood premiered at TIFF in 2025.

A Member of the Order of Canada, McKellar is an award-winning writer, filmmaker and actor who wrote Highway 61, The Red Violin, and Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, directed The Grand Seduction, and wrote, directed, and starred in Last Night, which won an award in Cannes. He recently co-created The Sympathizer, and co-wrote No Other Choice, both with Park Chan-wook.

A founding member and past president of the Toronto Film Critics Association, Howell was the Toronto Star’s staff film critic from 1996 until 2020, and still continues to write for the paper. A close observer of Canadian cinema, he is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and has served on TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten jury.

Denis is an acclaimed filmmaker whose credits include the films Laurentia, Corbo, and Gagne ton Ciel. His short, Code 13, was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and he co-directed Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau, which also won TIFF’s Best Canadian Feature award.

Lieberman is the co-founder of the Calgary Underground Film Festival and lead programmer and jury coordinator for the Calgary International Film Festival. Lieberman programs CIFF’s Canadian Narrative Features, World Cinema, and After Dark series. She participates on juries and panels internationally, and has been involved with several other start-up film festivals. 

Gorber is a film critic, journalist, and programmer with over 30 years of experience. He is Editor-in-Chief and Chief Critic at ThatShelf.com, Director of Film Programming at the Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival, and CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Film Correspondent. He has served on juries for festivals including Calgary Underground, TIFF, and Reel Asian.

Émond's debut feature Nuit #1 won the Claude Jutra Award for best feature by a first time filmmaker at the Genie Awards. Her other credits include the shorts Naissances, Sophie Lavoie, and Plus rien ne vouloir, and the features Nelly, Amour Apocalypse, and Les êtres chers, which received seven Jutra Award nominations and won for Best Direction.

Arnaquq-Baril is an award-winning filmmaker whose work has screened Hot Docs, imagineNATIVE, TIFF and many other festivals. She directed the award-winning feature documentary Angry Inuk, and produced the features The Grizzlies, Slash/Back, and the documentary Twice Colonized. She also co-created the hit CBC, APTN and Netflix comedy North of North.

Cameron Bailey is a film critic, writer, programmer, and the CEO of TIFF, where he has shaped the festival’s programming for over three decades. Bailey is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Toronto Life named him one of Toronto’s 50 Most Influential People.

Holness is a director, writer, and producer whose producing credits include award-winning films Love, Sex, and Eating the Bones; Home Again, Stateless; 40 Acres, and series like She’s the Mayor and Shoot the Messenger. She wrote and directed Subjects of Desire and recently received the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Established Producer Award.

Falardeau is a Quebecois filmmaker with more than 34 international awards. His credits include the films La moitié gauche du frigo; C’est pas moi, je le jure!; The Good Lie; Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre; My Salinger Year; Mille secrets mille dangers; Monsieur Lazhar, which was nominated for an Oscar, and the documentary series Lac-Mégantic – ceci n’est pas un accident.

Lee is a filmmaker, musician, actor, and award-winning radio and TV broadcaster. She has directed many films, including Year of the Carnivore, Octavio is Dead!, Death and Sickness, Rest and Relax, and Paying for It, for which she won a CSA for Adapted Screenplay. She also starred in many films, including Shortbus, The Art of Woo, and Jack, for which she won a CSA.

Tom Charity is a year-round programmer at the VIFF Centre. He is the author of John Cassavetes: Lifeworks and contributor to several other film books. A former film editor and critic for Time Out London and CNN’s digital publication, he has written for major outlets and regularly contributes to Cinema Scope and Sight & Sound.

Handling is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and the former Director and CEO of TIFF, who shepherded the organization through three decades of growth into an internationally celebrated cultural institution. He is the former Deputy Director of the Canadian Film Institute, published extensively, and curated many film programmes at festivals internationally.