Jean Lemire
Director
 A biologist by training, Jean Lemire founded Les Productions Ciné-Bio in 1987 to produce his first documentaries that included Mission mammifères marins, Rencontres avec les baleines du Saint-Laurent and La dernière frontière. Later, with Max Films, he produced, among others, Lumière des oiseaux, Premier Sens and Mémoires de la Terre. In 2001, he founded Les Productions Glacialis and made 7 km2 d’infini, the popular series Mission Arctique, for which he made a feature film on the effects of climate change on the Arctic, and the mini-series, Mission Baleines.
Thierry Ragobert
Director
 First as editor, then as director, Thierry Ragobert worked with Jacques Cousteau for 10 years largely on the celebrated television series, À la découverte du monde. In 1999, he directed Les Amoureux du pôle, the story of Arnaud and Lycia Tortel’s expedition to the Arctic. For Gédéon Programmes, he directed many prize-winning documentaries such as La septième merveille du monde, Alexandrie la magnifique and L’énigme des Nazcas. Most recently, he directed the series La Bible dévoilée for France 5 television.
Thierry Piantanida
Director
 A journalist by training, Thierry Piantanida spent seven years with the Cousteau team as head of publications. Today an author and director, Piantanida develops documentary films on science and nature for Gédéon Programmes. Le Géant de la vallée perdue and L’Empreinte des dinosaures are two of his films.
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Originally from Malaysia, Hunt Hoe is a Montreal filmmaker whose works celebrate the exciting chaos of the new Canadian diaspora. 1st Bite, his third feature-length film, is a masala of Southeast Asian mythology and new age sensibility. His second feature, Seducing Maarya, that won for best director at the 2001 Newport International Film Festival, is a confrontation of age-old traditions with new world sensuality. His documentary, Who’s Albert Woo?, that won the Golden Sheaf award for best documentary at the 2003 Yorkton Film Festival, is an introspective look at the image of Asian men in Western culture.
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François Miron began making films in 1982, working exclusively with emulsion. The body of his early work consists of several short animated experimental films. In 1990, he received an MFA in filmmaking from the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied under a full scholarship. All of his films have been screened in festivals throughout the world where they have received many awards as well as underground acclaim. Miron makes music videos, short and feature-length surrealistic narrative films and, since 1993, has been teaching part-time at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University.
After earning his MFA in the film program at the University of British Columbia, where he won the Panavision New Filmmaker’s Award, David Gonella went on to direct three episodes of the Comedy Network series, The Unprofessionals, and numerous music videos. He has also written and directed several short films including Basil, starring Ed Asner. His first feature film, Little Boy Blues, was released in 2001.
Frances-Anne Solomon studied theatre at the University of Toronto before moving to the United Kingdom where she launched Leda Serene Films and worked as a drama director and producer for BBC Films and Single Drama. She returned to Toronto in 1999 where she continues to write, direct and produce for film, television, new media and theatre.
Doug Sutherland has directed, produced or written more than 300 film, television, stage or multimedia presentations, as well as appearing as a principal actor in 15 film or television projects including Irish Eyes, Reaper and In Her Defence. He directed, co-wrote and co-produced Lakefront, a feature co-production with Cinegraphe Productions that was released theatrically in 2005 and broadcasted on The Movie Network and Movie Central.
After Subconscious Cruelty, his first cult feature film that was marked by much controversy and much success in Japan and Europe, Karim Hussain co-directed the short film, La dernière voix (2001), which was viewed at 40 film festivals (including Rotterdam and Toronto) and nominated for a Jutra award. In 2003, he made Ascension, his second feature that won the grand prix in the Nouvelles Visions category at the Festival des films fantastiques de Sitges. Hussain also co-wrote the screenplay of the Spanish horror film The Abandoned (2010) and has worked several times as a festival programmer. The Beautiful Beast is his third feature film.
Pierre Gang is one of Canada’s most sought-after directors in both English and French. His feature films, mini-series and movies-of-the-week, including More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City, have attracted a string of Emmy and Gemini Award nominations. Gang’s first feature film, Sous-Sol, received the 1997 Genie Award for best original screenplay and was Canada’s entry as best foreign language film at the Academy Awards. Gang also directed L’incompris and Samuel et la mer, for Radio-Canada, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for Hallmark Channel, Society’s Child for CBC and Selling Innocence for CTV.
Érik Canuel began his career as a film and television director with Kino Films, a company he co-founded to produce music videos. From video, he moved into advertising where he distinguished himself before shifting into television. Between 1997 and 2001, he directed more than 15 episodes for television including The Hunger (Showtime), Fortier (nominated for a Prix Gémeaux, Quebec’s television awards) and Big Wolf on Campus (Fox). In 2000, his film Hemingway: A Portrait received the Genie award for best documentary and Canuel began his career in feature films. Bon cop, Bad cop is his fifth feature following La Loi du Cochon, Nez Rouge, Le Dernier Tunnel and Le Survenant.
A Montrealer of Hungarian origin, Georges Mihalka is known for his ease in passing from comedy to drama, and from feature films to television, as much in French as in English. His films regularly do well as the box office and his television series attract a wide audience. In Quebec, his hit comedies La Florida and L’Homme idéal, won the heart of the public. Mihalka has also done well abroad where he has directed films and television series in France, England, the United States, Russia, Hungary, Spain, Cuba and South Africa.
Richard Bohringer is a multitalented artist. Undoubtedly, its performances in films like Diva, L'Addition, Péril en la demeure, Subway, or Le grand chemin -- he’s played in 125 films -- that make him such a well known actor, but Bohringer is also a writer, music-lover and author of C'est beau une ville la nuit. Who else but Bohringer could adapt this novel to the big screen? Here we find, not only the actor but, for the first time, the filmmaker, in what Bohringer has dubbed "a blues in prose."
After graduating from the University of British Columbia film program in 2001, Vancouver native Dylan Akio Smith rapidly made a name for himself in short films. His 2002 film, The Bug, won for best comedic short film at the 2003 Yorkton Film Festival and for best actor, best screenplay and short film at the Leo Awards of the same year. imetacanine won top honours at the 2003 ReelFast Film Competition and the following year, Galo de Barcelos placed in the top 10 at the same festival. Man Feel Pain won the best short film award at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. The Cabin Movie is Dylan’s first feature film.
Patrice Sauvé is one of Quebec’s most prolific television directors. For many years, he has been involved in the production of documentaries, series for youth and cultural and current affairs programs. In 2001, he directed La Vie, la vie, written by Stéphane Bourguignon. The series was a popular and critical success and won 10 Gémeaux (Quebec’s television awards), including best director for two years running. His next two series, Grande Ourse and L’Héritière de Grande Ourse both received Gémeaux for best direction, winning a total of 20 Gémeaux awards. In 2004, he directed the series, Ciao Bella!. Cheech is his first feature film.
Born in 1955, Philippe Calderon is the writer and director of numerous documentaries. His film, Washoe, le singe qui parle avec les mains won the silver medal at the Parma Video Film Festival. His shorts have been nominated numerous times at film festivals around the world and in 1999, La Cité des fourmis won the jury prize at both the Toulon and Montreal film festivals. Following his first feature film, Retrouvez Byzance, Calderone turned his attention from ants to termites and the result is The Beseiged Fortress.
Michael Mabbott was born under the big blue skies of Alberta. His comedy The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico (2005) was his feature debut as writer/director and was screened at many festivals including the Atlantic Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival and the Vancouver International Film Festival. Citytv awarded the film for best Canadian first feature. Mr. Mabbott lives in Toronto and supplements his modest income with gambling. Citizen Duane is his second feature film.
Bruce McCulloch is an award-winning writer, actor, director and recording artist. He is a founding member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, whose series currently runs on Comedy Central, The Comedy Network and in more than 30 countries. His film credits include Dog Park, starring Luke Wilson and Natasha Henstridge; Superstar, starring Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell; and Stealing Harvard for Imagine Entertainment and Revolution Studios, starring Jason Lee and Tom Green. Comeback Season is McCulloch’s fourth feature film.
After finishing his studies in political science in 1992, Philippe Falardeau gained experience in filmmaking through the popular TV show, La Course Destination Monde, where young people travelled to various places throughout the world with a video camera and sent back their films. Armed with that experience, he made his first documentary film, Pâté chinois, on Chinese immigration to Canada. In 2000, Falardeau made his first feature film, La Moitié gauche du frigo, which won many awards and was a big success in Canada and on the film festival circuit, including the Rotterdam, London, Paris, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal festivals. Congorama is his second feature film.
Filmmaker, scriptwriter and novelist, Jean Châteauvert is a member of the collective, Les films de l’autre. His short films include L’Alcôve (2005), Le Chambreur (1997) and Déjà vu (1996). His current project, Première, is a television series on the history of cinematic technology. La Coupure is his first feature film.
After studying in Fine Arts (Film Production) at Concordia University, Catherine Martin worked as an editor and began writing, directing and producing her own short and medium-length films, such as Odile ou réminiscences d’un voyage (1985), Nuits d’Afrique (1990)and Les Fins de semaine (1995). In 1998, she wrote and directed Les Dames du 9e, a documentary that won the AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma)-Telefilm Canada prize. In 2001, Martin made her first feature film, Mariages, that was a critical success and won many prizes. In 2002, she made Océan, a documentary on the prestigious train that links Montreal to the Maritimes. dans les villes is her second feature film.
Between 1985 and 1998, Denis Chouinard wrote, directed or co-directed six short films. His first feature film, Clandestins, co-directed with Nicolas Wadimoff, was selected for many festivals and won many prizes. His second feature, L’Ange de goudron, was chosen as the opening film for the Montreal World Film Festival in 2001 and took the prize for best Canadian feature film as well as the Telefilm Canada prize. The film also won the prestigious ecumenical jury prize at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002. Later that year, Chouinard directed the documentary, Voir Gilles Groulx. Délivrez-moi is his third feature film.
Richard Ciupka began his career as director of photography for such films as Claude Chabrol’s Violette Nozière (1978), Louis Malle’s Atlantic City (1980) and Alexandre Arcady’s Hold Up (1985). In 1980, he began his time in the director’s chair with Curtains (1983). He also directed Le dernier souffle (1998), Task Force (2000), La mystérieuse mademoiselle C. (2002) and L’Incomparable mademoiselle C. (2003). Among his television shows and series are Héritage (1988-1990), Mourir d’amour (1993-94), 10-07, L’Affaire Zeus (1995), 10-07, L’Affaire Kafka (1996), Emilie of the New Moon (1996) and The Hunger (1996).
Paul Fox is a film and television director who has an array of award-winning short films, music videos and television productions to his credit. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City where the short film he made for his thesis, Last Round Up, won several awards. After participating in the Director's Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, Fox continued to direct short films, including Reunion, that garnered international acclaim, playing festivals around the world. In 2005, Fox’s first feature film, the psychological thriller, The Dark Hours, was released to critical acclaim and won numerous awards at international festivals. Everything’s Gone Green is his second feature.
Andrew Currie is a founding partner of Anagram Pictures. His debut feature film was the critically acclaimed drama Mile Zero (2001) that played at more than 20 international film festivals, winning three best film awards. Andrew is currently writing his next feature, Sperm, a comedy about a compulsive liar, a hypochondriac and a Walter Mitty-style daydreamer.
Ann Marie Fleming is a filmmaker, animator and writer who has made more than 20 films, 16 of which have premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her short, Blue Skies, won best Canadian short at the Toronto festival in 2002. Her feature documentary, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam, won several awards across Canada, the United States and Asia, and has been commissioned as a graphic novel by Riverhead Books. The French Guy also premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and was awarded best feature at the Boston Underground Film Festival.
Larry Kent wrote, directed and produced his first four feature films, The Bitter Ash (1963), Sweet Substitute (1964), When Tomorrow Dies (1965) and High (1967), between the ages of 24 and 28. They all enjoyed lengthy festival and theatrical releases internationally, where the name Larry Kent became synonymous with the term, provocateur.
Ian Iqbal Rashid’s first feature film was Touch of Pink that premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival to standing ovations and rave reviews. The charming romantic comedy went on to be distributed internationally and won several awards at film festivals around the world. Rashid has written widely for British television, including the critically acclaimed cult hit series, This Life, that won every major UK television prize including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award. He has written and directed two short films: Surviving Sabu and Stag, both of which were acclaimed at international festivals and won several prizes.
Zacharias Kunuk’s first feature, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, won the Caméra d’or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001 and best picture at Canada’s 2002 Genie Awards. In 1990, he co-founded Igloolik Isuma Productions, Canada’s first Inuit-owned, independent community media production company. Kunuk has written and directed more than 30 films, both fiction and non-fiction, including the first Inuit dramatic TV series, Nunavut (Our Land), in 1995. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Norman Cohn is co-founder and secretary-treasurer of Igloolik Isuma Productions and has collaborated with Zacharias Kunuk, Pauloosie Qulitalik and the late Paul Apak since 1985. Cohn is Igloolik Isuma’s producer and director of photography. Before co-founding the company, Cohn was a widely exhibited video artist. Winner of a 1990 Guggenheim fellowship, Cohn was co-winner with Kunuk of the 1994 Bell Canada Award for Outstanding Achievement in Video Art.
Su Rynard is an award-winning filmmaker who has earned international acclaim for her work. Her films have screened at festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival and the Sarajevo International Film Festival and at galleries including The National Gallery of Canada and The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Rynard is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and a 1996 director resident at the Canadian Film Centre.
Charles Binamé began his career in the 1970s in documentaries. His films are acclaimed as much by the critics as by the public and have earned many awards at international film festivals. Eldorado; Le coeur au poing; Séraphin, un homme et son péché and Gilles Carle ou l’indomptable imaginaire are some of his best-known films.
A graduate of the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, François Rotger has worked as a freelance journalist and news photographer for a number of prestigious magazines in France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. Between 1995 and 1999, he presented his photographs at galleries in Korea, Japan, the U.S. and France. In 2003, he made his first short film, 74 km avec elle, then, in 2004, a second, Jan. The Passenger is his first feature film.
Joshua Dorsey co-directed A City of Tongues that won the Golden Sheaf Award for best long drama in 1995. He then co-produced, wrote and directed Here Am I that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1999. Dorsey has also produced and directed the narrative short, Breath, and a series of portraits of artists, including Requiem for the Missing, Life & Lilies and Infiltrator. In 2003, he co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed the film, One Day. Most recently, Dorsey co-directed the television series Webdreams for Showcase.
An up-and-coming, young director, Marc Thomas-Dupuis has just completed his first feature film with Places Everyone and is working on the short, I Tell You. He is also programming director of Glitch, Montreal Short Film Festival and is working on the script for his second feature film.
Dan Bigras is one of Quebec’s most respected musicians. In the 1990s, he also became an actor in demand (Le Dernier Chapitre, Tag, Les Guerriers, René Lévesque, etc.). His performances earned him nominations for both Gemini and Gémeaux awards. Then, in 2002, he turned his hand to filmmaking with Le Ring intérieur, which was critically acclaimed and a finalist at the Genies in the best documentary category. Dan Bigras has been an ardent defender of street kids for the past 15 years and spent two years writing and directing La Rage de l’ange.
Since finishing her studies, in the arts, literature and cinema, Sophie Deraspe has been behind the camera, sometimes as director of photography and sometimes as director, alternating between television, joint projects and her own creations. Having shot as much documentary as fiction as experimental video, Deraspe is now author of her first feature film, Rechercher Victor Pellerin.
Jean Beaudin is considered one of Quebec’s most important filmmakers as much for the diversity of his work as for the great sensitivity he brings to translating into cinema different characters, stories and historical periods. His films in the classic Quebec repertoire include Being at Home with Claude (official selection, Cannes 1992); Le Matou (jury prize, Montreal World Film Festival, 1999), Mario, Cordélia, J.A. Martin photographe (prize of the ecumenical jury, Cannes 1977, and nominated for the Palme d’Or), Souvenirs intimes and the thriller, Le Collectionneur. In 2004, he directed the epic film, Nouvelle-France.
Actor, scriptwriter and acting coach, Ghyslaine Côté has written and directed many films. Her early ones include Aux voleurs !, that won the Prix La Presse for best screenwriting (Festival du court métrage, Montréal) and Pendant ce temps... that was screened at the Sundance and Stony Brook film festivals and won the Grand prix at the latter festival. The film was also nominated for Jutra and Genie awards. Her first feature film, Pin-Pon, le film, got two nominations for Jutra awards. Her most recent film, Elles étaient cinq, was acclaimed by critics and the public. Presented at the opening of the Montreal World Film Festival, the film won the award for best artistic contribution and for the most popular Canadian film. In addition, it was nominated for seven Jutra and two Genie awards.
Born 1959, Marc Evans was brought up in Cardiff, Wales. Educated at Cambridge and Bristol universities, the English- and Welsh-speaking Evans made his first short film, Johnny Be Good (1984), a bilingual story of a juke box’s arrival in a small Welsh town. He subsequently worked in television in the United Kingdom directing such dramas as Friday on My Mind and Master of the Moor and the documentaries Libraries Gave Us Power and Beautiful Mistake.
After graduating from Concordia University, John Hazlett co-wrote, directed and produced Population 420. He went on to produce the critically acclaimed feature, The Suburbanators, directed by Gary Burns. Extensive festival play (Sundance, Toronto, etc...) led to a second collaboration with Burns on Kitchen Party starring Scott Speedman. The film played at more than 25 festivals, winning awards and accolades. John then co-wrote, produced and directed Bad Money, a feature comedy starring Graham Greene and Karen Sillas. It was presented at festivals in San Francisco, Brooklyn, Hawaii, London, Paris, Baltimore and Bangkok. These Girls is his second feature.
Mike Clattenburg is the creator, director and writer of the on-going hit comedy Trailer Park Boys (Showcase Television). The series also airs on The Comedy Network in Australia and Paramount Comedy in the United Kingdom. Clattenburg’s other credits include directing Pit Pony, Made in Canada, The Bette Show and This Hour has 22 Minutes, all for CBC Television.
Since the 1970s, Robert Favreau has written and directed close to 30 productions for television or cinema. His filmography demonstrates his marked interest in social and humanitarian matters. Among his feature films are Portion d’éternité (1989), Trois Femmes, un Amour (1993), that was nominated for a Genie award for best director, and Les Muses orphelines (2000), that earned four Genie nominations and six Jutra awards.
Carl Bessai’s first feature film, Johnny, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival of 1999 where it received a special jury citation. It went on to receive a nomination for a Golden Alexander (Thessaloniki, 1999) prize before being released theatrically. His second feature, Lola, premiered at the Toronto festival in 2001 and went on to screenings at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals in 2002. His 2003 feature, Emile, also premiered at the Toronto festival and went on to theatrical releases in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Severed, Bessai’s eco-horror, art-house zombie film enjoyed wide international sales.
Laurent Cantet first made his name with two shorts that exemplify by his trademark themes: class struggle in Tous à la manif (Prix Jean-Vigo 1995); and family ties in Jeux de plage.
After participating in the television show for beginning filmmakers, La Course Destination Monde (1995-1996), Stéphane Lapointe began working in television, writing 25 episodes of the highly successful comedy, Histoires de filles (1996-2003). Later, he was a reporter/director for Bons baisers d’Amérique (1997-1999) and directed, with Jean-René Dufort, the comedy news show, Infoman. He also co-directed the show’s end-of-year specials for which he won three Gémeaux awards, including best direction and best comedy. Lapointe created and co-ordinated the television series Festival Juste pour rire and was a behind-the-scenes director of the comedy festival in 2000. In 2003-04, he directed the first two seasons of the dramatic series Hommes en quarantaine.
Matt Bissonnette was born and raised in Montreal, where he studied English and film at Concordia University. Following a career in the punk rock band sector, he left for Japan to pursue a bartender’s education. Returning to the West, he studied law at Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario Bar but retired two weeks later to write and work in movies.
Amnon Buchbinder has been making films since age 12 when he received a Super 8 camera. His short films span dramatic, experimental, documentary, and performing arts genres, and have been screened at festivals around the world. His Genie-winning first feature film, The Fishing Trip (1998), was made in collaboration with his students at York University where he has taught screenwriting since 1995. Buchbinder has been a programmer with the Toronto International Film Festival, director of programming at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and is the author of The Way of the Screenwriter (2005). Whole New Thing is his second feature film.
Mary Walsh was born in Newfoundland. After joining the Newfoundland Travelling Theatre Company (NTTC), she founded the CODCO troupe with some of her NTTC partners. During the 1970s and 1980s, she produced, directed, wrote and played in many parts of the country and received great recognition in the world of theatre.