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Scholars and filmmakers offer insight on festival programming, Canada鈥檚 screen industry, TIFF: The Market, and the next wave of talent

As the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrates a milestone year, experts from 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Cinema & Media Arts in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design are available to provide commentary on festival programming, industry trends, and the role of TIFF in creating pathways for emerging talent.

Award-winning director, writer, researcher, editor: Professor has worked on over 25 documentaries, a feature film, and numerous television productions. Her films have screened at ZINEBI, DOK Leipzig鈥嬧��, Oberhausen, Chicago and Montreal film festivals, among others. Formerly with the Romanian National Film Board in Bucharest, the Austrian Film Board and CBC/Radio Canada, she is a Gemini award winner and contributor to Film Magazine.

Barta is available to comment on:

• International documentary filmmaking and TIFF Docs programming
• Women behind the camera in the global and Canadian context
• Eastern European cinema and its representation at TIFF
• The art of narrative filmmaking and documentary storytelling

Award-winning director, screenwriter, producer, and scholar: Professor is the writer-director and producer of Obamas and Rosalie, two fiction features that have won over 20 international awards and screened at more than 60 venues globally. He is the author of Spike Lee: Aesthetics of Subversion in Do the Right Thing and is currently writing a book on Indigenous cinema. His research focuses on Canadian Indigenous cinema, African American cinema, city symphony films, and space in cinema. He is writer, director and producer of the upcoming feature Tomorrow at Dawn, due in February.

Djigo is available to comment on:

• Indigenous filmmaking and its representation at TIFF
• Political and racial narratives in North American cinema
• The role of emerging filmmakers and alternative production models at TIFF 50

Award-winning screenwriter, director, producer: Professor is recognized for her bold, inclusive storytelling across film and television. She was the screenwriter for the queer slasher The Retreat, a Globe and Mail Critics鈥� Pick, and won a Directors Guild of Canada award for the short documentary I Was Here, which she directed.  As a producer, her projects premiered at TIFF, Sundance, Sitges Film Festival, AFI FEST, and Locarno. Richards is participating in The Hollywood Reporter鈥檚 inaugural Access Canada Summit at TIFF 50 as part of the Directors Guild of Canada delegation. She currently has two series in development.

Richards is available to comment on:

• TIFF鈥檚 role in developing, shaping and financing emerging talent
• The realities of funding, developing and launching new projects today
• The upcoming TIFF: The Market and its potential for Canadian creators
• How underrepresented voices are reshaping genre film and TIFF鈥檚 role in spotlighting inclusive and genre-defying Canadian content
• 2SLGBTQIA+ narratives in horror and genre cinema

Media industry expert and author: Director, MBA in Arts, Media and Entertainment, Professor teaches at the Schulich School of Business and in the Cinema & Media Arts department. He serves on the City of Toronto鈥檚 film, television and digital media advisory board and is a media policy advisor. He is the author of The Attention Complex and has published on the social and cultural impact of art, media art, and emerging media technology. His research focuses on cultural policy, media policy, and media industry studies. 

He is available to comment on:

• How TIFF supports the Canadian film and television industry
• The launch of TIFF: The Market in 2026 and its impact on the Canadian and international film industry
• The role of government funding and cultural policy in Canadian media
• How academic and industry collaborations shape the future of screen industries

Experimental film scholar, curator, critic and author: Professor is a scholar of experimental cinema, and founding co-chair of the Society for Cinema & Media Studies Experimental Film and Media Scholarly Interest Group (ExFM). He is the author of Moments of Perception: Experimental Film in Canada as well as two books on Hollis Frampton, an icon of the American avant-garde.

Zryd is available to comment on:

• Avant-garde and experimental film at TIFF 50
• How documentaries shape our worldviews, the responsibilities of filmmakers, and how powers and politics influence narrative
• U.S. populism in film and media
• American genre cinema, including sci-fi, musicals, rom-coms, and superhero films

(AMPD) at 91亚色 is a dynamic hub for creative experimentation and expression. With a commitment to cultivating artistic excellence, new ideas and entrepreneurial skills, AMPD students learn by doing with industry-leading professionals in career-focused activities. The Department of Cinema & Media Arts at AMPD offers exceptional hands-on and theoretical training across the evolving spectrum of cinema and media with access to top-tier facilities, including the 91亚色 Motion Media Studio at Cinespace Studios Toronto. From idea to screenplay, camera to screen, screen to critical inquiry, AMPD students learn to think and create in the language of the moving image across all media, guided by faculty who are experts in their field.

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With nominations in over 50 categories, graduates are recognized for excellence in performance, direction, writing, music, cinematography, sound, and more

Ever since their creation in 2013, the result of a merger between the Gemini and Genie awards, the Canadian Screen Awards have been considered the most prestigious in the country. The annual celebration recognizes artistic and technical excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media or web series.

91亚色 alumni 鈥� many of them graduates of the (AMPD), which offers degrees in production, screenwriting, cinema and media arts as well as theatre acting and performance 鈥� have earned an impressive 76 nominations this year. The awards ceremony will stream live on Sunday, June 1 at 8 p.m. ET on CBC Gem.

Here are a few of the nominees representing 91亚色:

Spencer Creaghan (BFA 鈥�15)

Nominated for: Achievement in Music - Original Score, I Don鈥檛 Know Who You Are

Spencer Creaghan is known for his adventurous scores. A composer for film, television and video games, he earned his BFA from AMPD in 2015. His distinctive sound blends classical orchestration with contemporary pop and rock, ancient folk traditions, human vocal textures and field recordings. Focused on worldbuilding through music, Creaghan鈥檚 scores often take on a character of their own, heightening emotions and bringing the narrative subtext to life.

His work has been featured in the television series SurrealEstate, the sci-fi short Spaceman (2024), and the feature films Motherly (2021) and Quickening (2021). He also composed the score for I Don鈥檛 Know Who You Are, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and earned him a CSA nomination for Achievement in Music 鈥� Original Score.

Written, directed, and edited by fellow 91亚色 alum M. H. Murray (BFA 鈥�15), I Don鈥檛 Know Who You Are tells the story of a struggling musician pushed to the brink after a sexual assault leaves him with just 72 hours to raise the money needed for the HIV prevention drug PEP.

Audio from Creaghan鈥檚 original scores can be streamed on his . He is available for media interviews.

Wesley Magee-Saxton (BFA 鈥�22)

Nominated for: Best Performance, Sketch Comedy (Individual or Ensemble), The Squeaky Wheel: Canada

Wesley Magee-Saxton is an actor, writer, dancer, martial artist, activist, and storyteller who mines their artistic talents and experience of intersecting privilege and oppression to break down barriers and create pathways for those who are marginalized. They graduated cum laude from AMPD鈥檚 acting conservatory in 2022 with a BFA in acting for the stage, and are represented by Ritter Talent Agency in Toronto.

Magee-Saxton is a cast member in The Squeaky Wheel: Canada, a satirical series that uses a half-hour, news-style format to poke fun at the ableist society that people with disabilities encounter daily. In the comedy, they take on a range of absurd characters and scenarios, including portraying obnoxious, able-bodied and neurotypical personalities with sharp wit and insight.

Their performance in the series has earned them a nomination for Best Performance, Sketch Comedy alongside ensemble castmates Margaret Rose, Samantha Wyss, Sivert Das, Yousef Kadoura, Gaitrie Persaud, Graham Kent and Courtney Gilmour.

Beyond their work in television, film, and dance, Magee-Saxton also lends their voice to the Holland Bloorview Research Institute鈥檚 Online Hub for Sexuality and Disability. Magee-Saxton is available for interviews.

Alison Duke (MFA 鈥�20)

Nominated for: Best Direction, Documentary Series, Paid in Full: The Battle for Black Music

An award-winning filmmaker, Alison Duke began her career as a music video and television producer. She has since honed her directing, producing and writing skills through her work on groundbreaking documentaries, features and short films, and graduated with an MFA from AMPD in 2020. Her genre-spanning films wrestle with complex societal issues, giving a voice to underrepresented communities. In 2018, Duke co-founded the production company OYA Media Group to support emerging filmmakers, expanding the scope and reach of original scripted and unscripted content for global audiences. In 2022, she co-founded Oya Black Arts Coalition.

She is the first Black woman to direct a Canadian Heritage Minute and a recipient of the Women In Film and Television-Toronto Crystal Award for her commitment to mentoring young filmmakers. Her credits include the classic cult documentary Raisin Kane: A Rapumentary (2001) about the Toronto rap group Citizen Kane; the two-time Canadian Screen Award-winning documentary Mr. Jane and Finch (2019); Cool Black North (2019); and the Golden Sheaf-winning short fictional drama Promise Me (2020).

Duke has been nominated for Best Direction, Documentary for Paid in Full: The Battle for Black Music, a three-part series that explores the fight for racial justice and fair pay in the music industry, a business where Black artists have been exploited since the advent of recorded sound.

Stacey McGunnigle (BFA 鈥�08)

Nominated for: Best Writing, Variety or Sketch Comedy and Best Performance, Sketch Comedy (Individual or Ensemble), This Hour Has 22 Minutes

Stacey McGunnigle is an actress and comedian best known as a cast member of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. After graduating from AMPD with a BFA in 2008, McGunnigle rose to prominence with The Second City, joining its national touring company in the early 2010s and the mainstage cast of We鈥檝e Totally (probably) Got This! in 2012. She won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best Breakout Artist in 2013 and was twice nominated for Best Female Improviser before joining 22 Minutes in 2021.

The longest-running television comedy series in Canada, 22 Minutes was launched in 1993 during a federal election. With its focus on Canadian politics and world events, it pushes the boundaries of provocative satire through parody and sketch.

Congratulations to all 91亚色 alumni nominated this year!

Film

Naomi Jaye (MFA 鈥�19) for Achievement in Direction and Adapted Screenplay, Darkest Miriam

Maya Bankovic (BFA 鈥�07) for Achievement in Cinematography, The Invisibles

Michael Davison (BFA 鈥�14) for Achievement in Visual Effects, Presented by SPINVFX, Code 8: Part II

Elma Bello (BFA 鈥�95) for Achievement in Sound Editing, Darkest Miriam

Jenny Lewis (BA 鈥�94) for Achievement in Casting, Paying for It

Marusya Bociurkiw (MA 鈥�00) for Best Feature Length Documentary, Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World

Lisa Jackson (MFA 鈥�19) for Best Feature Length Documentary, Wilfred Buck

David Schmidt (BFA 鈥�11) Best Editing in a Feature Length Documentary, Wilfred Buck

Television

Julie Di Cresce (MA 鈥�03) for Best TV Movie, Bootcamp

Stephanie Morgenstern (MA 鈥�91) for Best Drama Series, Allegiance

Shazia Javed (MFA 鈥�16) for Best Drama Series and Best Writing, Drama Series, Potluck Ladies

John Morayniss (BBA 鈥�85) for Best Drama Series, Sight Unseen

Laura Michalchyshyn (MBA 鈥�93) and Justin Stockman (BFA 鈥�96) for Best Reality/Competition Program or Series, Canada's Drag Race

Allison Grace (BA 鈥�94) for Best Lifestyle Program or Series, Mary Makes It Easy

Tracy Galvin (BA 鈥�85) for Best Live Entertainment Special, The 2024 JUNO Awards

Nancy Yeboah (BFA 鈥�17) for Best Live Entertainment Special, The Legacy Awards 2024

Lisa Ellenwood (MA 鈥�99, BA 鈥�91) for Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program, APTN Investigates: Food for Profit

Bryn Hughes (BA 鈥�02) for Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series, The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal

Vince Commisso (MBA 鈥�92, BAS 鈥�88, BA 鈥�86) for Best Animated Program or Series, Wild Kratts

Amanda Fahey (BFA 鈥�09) for Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series, Beyond Black Beauty

Mark J.W. Bishop (MA 鈥�12) for Best Children's or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series, All Round Champion and Old Enough!

Jessica Capobianco (BA 鈥�99) for Best Variety or Entertainment Special, Canada's Walk of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration

Claudia Abate (MA 鈥�06) Best Variety or Entertainment Special, The Last Timbit: A 60th Anniversary Musical

Bronwen Hughes (BFA 鈥�85) for Best Direction, Drama Series, So Long, Marianne

Chelsea McMullan (MFA 鈥�10, BFA 鈥�06) for Best Direction, Documentary Series and Best Writing, Documentary, Swan Song

Amanda Parris (BA 鈥�08) for Best Direction, Factual; Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research; Best Writing, Factual; and Best Host or Presenter, Factual or Reality/Competition, For the Culture with Amanda Parris

Ramona Barckert (BA 鈥�01) for Best Writing, TV Movie, 鈥橳was the Date Before Christmas

Paulina Robak (BFA 鈥�05) and Michael Tersigni (BFA 鈥�04) for Best Writing, Lifestyle or Reality/Competition, The Amazing Race Canada

Yasmine Mathurin (BA 鈥�11) and Christine Charles (BA 鈥�99) for Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research, For the Culture with Amanda Parris

Richard Young (MBA 鈥�03) for Best Writing, Pre-School, Dino Ranch

Kanja Chen (BEd 鈥�00, BA 鈥�99) for Best Writing, Pre-School, The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy and Go Togo

David Greene (BFA 鈥�94) for Best Photography, Drama, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent

Ben Lichty (BFA 鈥�03) for Best Photography, Comedy, Don't Even

Shady Hanna (BFA 鈥�17) and Tess Girard (BFA 鈥�05) Best Photography, Documentary or Factual, Swan Song

Michael Emberley (BFA 鈥�00) for Best Picture Editing, Reality/Competition, Big Brother Canada

Jaime Sanchez (BA 鈥�09) for Best Picture Editing, Reality/Competition, Canada's Ultimate Challenge

Graeme Cornies (BFA 鈥�06) for Best Original Music, Animation, PAW Patrol and Rubble & Crew; and Best Original Music, Comedy, Odd Squad UK

Antonio Naranjo (BA 鈥�09) for Best Original Music 鈥� Original Song, Mittens & Pants: 鈥淲e Are Dogs鈥�

Steve Denheyer (BA 鈥�95) for Best Sports Opening, 2024 Copa America

Ryan Tonellato (BA 鈥�02) for Best Sports Opening, 2024, Stanley Cup Finals - Phil Collins 鈥淚n the Air鈥�

Michael Lane (BFA 鈥�02) for Best Sports Opening, TradeCentre

Peter Keleghan (BA 鈥�84) for Best Guest Performance, Drama Series, Murdoch Mysteries

Jenny Lewis (BA 鈥�94) for Best Achievement in Casting, Fiction, Letterkenny and Shoresy

Andi Petrillo (BA 鈥�04) for Best Sports Host, Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

Melissa Grelo (BA, BEd 鈥�02), Cynthia Loyst (BFA 鈥�98), and Andrea Bain (BA 鈥�96) Best Host, Talk Show or Entertainment News, The Social

Julie Nolke (BFA 鈥�12) for Best Ensemble Performance, Comedy and Best Supporting Performer, Comedy, Run the Burbs

Digital Media

Lauren Corber (LLB 鈥�06) for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction, My Dead Mom

Wendy Litner (LLB 鈥�06) for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction and Best Writing, Web Program or Series, My Dead Mom

Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith (BA 鈥�06) for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction, Stories from my Gay Grandparents

Mark Kenneth Woods (MA 鈥�03) for Best Web Program or Series, Non-Fiction, Pride: The LGBTQ+ History Series

Katelyn McCulloch (BFA 鈥�11) for Best Direction, Web Program or Series and Best Writing, Web Program or Series, Everybody's Meg

Sarah Peterson (BFA 鈥�14) for Best Writing, Web Program or Series, About That with Andrew Chang

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Areas of expertise range from experimental film to documentary, sci-fi and romcoms, animals in film, and the moviegoing experience

The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), running Sept. 5 through 15, features a dynamic lineup of 278 films. Programs like , dedicated to experimental and avant-garde short and feature-length films that challenge traditional cinematic forms; , featuring works from mid-career filmmakers with a strong focus on artist-driven storytelling; , which showcases genre films that push the limits of horror, fantasy, action, and the strange; and others like and combine to make TIFF a celebration of creative freedom and cinematic exploration.

For commentary on programming and films screening throughout the festival, several distinguished voices from 91亚色's Department of Cinema & Media Arts at the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design are available:

 (she/they) is the Dean of the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design and a professor of theatre and performance studies. She is an expert on film, theatre and new technologies, including digital media in performance which is the subject of three of her books. She has written more than 50 academic and popular essays.

Bay-Cheng is available to comment on the impact of new technologies 鈥� including AI, algorithmic discoverability and digital media 鈥� on filmmaking, the theatricalization of movies, acting, immersive performance and the impact of digital culture on audience engagement and moviegoing.

 is an associate professor and graduate program director for MFA film. He spent his career in cutting rooms 鈥渓ying the truth鈥� through film editing. He understands the importance of story but also its dangers if wielded improperly. In the late 1980s, after studying journalism and film, Becker worked with the National Film Board of Canada to co-edit the documentary  by Academy Award-winning director Peter Watkins. Becker has written, edited and directed nearly 50 documentary films. He is the author of Creating Reality in Factual Television: The Frankenbite and other Fakes (Routledge, 2022).

Becker teaches documentary production, editing, media ethics, essay film, introduction to filmmaking, production, and writing for television. He can provide commentary on documentary, editing, ethics, narrative in fact-based media, media literacy, and German film.

 is a visiting assistant professor who specializes in science fiction and environmental cinema. Thompson is currently working on a book with the University of Minnesota Press titled On Life Support: The Dystopian Environmentalism of 1970s Ecocinema, which uses 1970s science fiction ecocinema as a lens through which to view the early environmental movement.

Other areas of interest include Indigenous futurism, critical animal studies, and film philosophy. He is also available to discuss areas adjacent to his research such as genre cinema, North America in the 1960s and 鈥�70s, animals on film (especially whales!), and AI.

 is tenured faculty and Director of the  at Cinespace. Veninger has produced 15 feature films with premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, Slamdance, Hot Docs, and the international film festivals of Rome, Whistler, Rotterdam, Locarno, Busan, and Karlovy Vary, and others. She has received retrospectives of her work at the Canadian Film Institute and FEMCine in Santiago. She is a recipient of the Women鈥檚 International Film Television Showcase (WIFTS) International Visionary Award and the Jay Scott Prize presented by the Toronto Film Critics Association.

Veninger is available to offer commentary on independent films (fiction and non-fiction), films by women, the art of screenwriting and directing, and producing.

 is a professor, researcher, critic and curator of experimental film and media. He is interested in the institutional infrastructures and ecologies of experimental film and its intersections with the academy and the art world. Zryd was a founding co-chair of the  (ExFM). He is the author of two books on icon of the American avant-garde Hollis Frampton, as well as Moments of Perception: Experimental Film in Canada.

Zryd is available to comment on programs like Wavelengths, Short Cuts, ,  and select TIFF Docs and Galas premieres. He can provide commentary on experimental cinema, documentary film theory, American genre cinema (including musicals, science fiction, romantic comedies, and the Marvel and DC cinematic universes), U.S. populism in film and media, the history of cinema and media studies as a discipline, video essays and videographic criticism.

About the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design:

The School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) at 91亚色 is a dynamic hub for creative experimentation and expression. With a commitment to cultivating artistic excellence, new ideas and entrepreneurial skills, AMPD students learn by doing with industry-leading professionals in career-focused activities. The Department of Cinema & Media Arts at AMPD offers exceptional theoretical and hands-on training across the evolving spectrum of cinema and media. From idea to screenplay, camera to screen, screen to critical inquiry, AMPD students learn to think and create in the language of the moving image across all media from faculty who are experts in their field.

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TORONTO, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018 鈥� Since the first story about Harvey Weinstein broke in The New 91亚色 Times, accusations of sexual harassment and assault by powerful men in the film and media sectors have continued. The in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design at 91亚色 is hosting a panel of film leaders and filmmakers tomorrow to discuss the issue of sexual harassment in the industry.

The panel will also look at interventions that are reshaping culture within the Canadian film and television sectors, and how hierarchies of privilege within culture industries are changing.

WHAT: Culture Shift: Gender and Diversity in the Film Industry; a panel of leaders and filmmakers will discuss the issue sexual harassment and how the sector is changing.

WHO: The panel will include the following:

, president of ACTRA Toronto;
, executive director of Women in View;
, president of the Writers Guild of Canada and a member of the University鈥檚 screenwriting faculty;
, executive director, National Film Board, Ontario Studio;
, a 91亚色 BFA grad and documentary filmmaker; and
, a producer and director

WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 12:30 to 2:30pm

WHERE: Nat Taylor Cinema, N102 Ross Building, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, 91亚色. See number 26 on

-30-

聽champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91亚色 students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world鈥檚 most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91亚色 U is an internationally recognized research university 鈥� our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91亚色 is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.聽91亚色 U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media contact:

Sandra McLean, 91亚色 Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

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