Director

Marie-Claire Marcotte

Marcotte is a playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker with numerous short film credits to her name, including Check ta chatte, Gili gili, Poil anyways, Fin de la pomme, and Goût d'un mensonge, among others. She has participated in residencies in Canada (Banff Centre — Leighton Studios), Belgium (Centre des écritures dramatiques W-B), France (La Chartreuse) and in Martinique (ETC Caraïbes). Neon Dreaming, her first feature, has won seven awards at international film festivals. 

Directors

Philippe Lupien

Lupien is a director whose short film credits include L'Halloween de Monsieur Simard and Le diable en personne. Together with his partner Marie-Hélène Viens, he has co-directed the short films Bernard Le Grand, Amen and Nous sommes Le Freak Show, and the feature film Vous n'êtes pas seul, which won the Best Canadian Discovery Award at TIFF 2024.  

Marie-Hélène Viens

Viens is a director and screenwriter who has worked in collaboration with Philippe Lupien for many years. Their short films Bernard Le Grand, Amen and Nous sommes Le Freak Show played at numerous festivals and won over 15 awards. Vous n'êtes pas seul was the duo’s first feature film, and won the Best Canadian Discovery Award at TIFF 2024.  

Director

Louise Archambault

Archambault’s first short film, Atomic Saké, won the Jutra Award for best short. Her first feature, Familia, won her the Jutra for best debut feature, and her follow-up Gabrielle was nominated for six CSAs. Archambault also directed the TV series Catastrophe and wrote and directed Il pleuvait des oiseaux, which premiered at TIFF. She has also directed the films Merci pour tout, Le temps d’un été, and Irena’s Vow, which won the Audience Award at VIFF.

Director

Fawzia Mirza

Mirza is a writer, producer, actor and director whose work focuses on the Queer and Muslim experience in Canada, particularly on the intersection between the two. Her short films include The First Session, I Know Her, The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night and The Queen of My Dreams, which she adapted into her critically acclaimed debut feature of the same name.

Director

Gilles Carle

An important figure in the development of Québec cinema, Carle was a prolific filmmaker whose work includes shorts and feature films, documentaries, and television. He made several films with the NFB, including the classic La vie heureuse de Léopold Z. His credits also include Les Plouffe, La Vraie nature de Bernadette and Maria Chapdelaine. An Officer of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officer of the Ordre National du Québec and a Knight in France’s Légion d'honneur, he has received numerous international prizes, Genies, Canadian Film Awards and a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.

Director

Gordon Pinsent

Pinsent was a Companion of the Order of Canada, recipient of three lifetime achievement awards, and Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals from the Governor General of Canada. A much-loved Canadian actor, writer and director, he began his career in the theatre. With over 150 acting credits on film and television, he played a broad spectrum of memorable roles, from the 1960s show Quentin Durgens, M.P., to the Oscar-nominated Away From Her. He wrote, starred in and directed iconic films such as The Rowdyman and John and the Missus, and won nearly 20 Gemini, Genie and Canadian Screen Awards over the course of his career.

Director

Jean-Marc Vallée

An Officer of the Order of Canada, Vallée garnered nine Genie nominations for his first feature, Liste noire. C.R.A.Z.Y. was a box office hit and was honoured at film festivals worldwide. He directed the Oscar-nominated films Dallas Buyers Club and Wild, as well as Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the hit TV series Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. He tragically passed away in December 2021.

Director

István Szabó

Szabó was the first Hungarian director to win an Academy Award, for his 1981 film, Mephisto. He is a prolific filmmaker who has directed nearly 40 short and feature films. He has also won a BAFTA, the Jury Prize in Cannes, and over 40 other awards for his work. Sunshine won 12 awards and was nominated for another 17. His credits include Being Julia, Rokonok, The Door, and Final Report, among many others. 

Director

Anthony Shim

Shim is an actor and award-winning filmmaker who has appeared in numerous shorts, feature films and television series. His features include Daughter and Riceboy Sleeps, both of which he directed, wrote, and produced. His second feature, Riceboy Sleeps, premiered at TIFF 2022 and won the festival’s Platform Prize. The film went on to win over 20 other awards, including the CSA for Original Screenplay.  

Director

Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis)

Maurice is a fluent Cree/Michif speaking actor and an award-winning filmmaker who founded her own company, Assini Productions, to tell stories that highlight strong Indigenous female leads. She has directed several shorts, including Smudge and Assini, as well as the feature film ROSIE, which she also wrote and produced. Her acting credits include Falls Around Her, Night Raiders, Bones of Crows, Aberdeen, and many other films and television series.