2024 jury
Brittney Canda
Brittney, a dance and film artist based in Montreal, stands out for her immense talent. Her creative processes, often collaborative, incorporate various artistic disciplines. Her works, theatrical, emotional, carnal, and imaginative, frequently explore themes of absurdity. Her recognition as an emerging choreographer materialized with her selection for the international event SPRINGBOARD in 2020.
Her debut solo film, "TOUCH," created in collaboration with Kyra Jean Green's Trip the Light Fantastic, won the Best Film award at the Quartiers Danses Festival in 2020, Best Experimental Film at Bucarest Shorts, and received official selection at the Regard Festival. Brittney has also garnered accolades, including a Vimeo Staff Pick, a Juno nomination, and selections at the Berlin Commercial Festival for her role as co-director of Sheenah Ko's "WRAP ME UP." Her talent extends beyond cinema and television. As a choreographer and movement director, she has contributed to music videos for renowned artists such as Céline Dion, The Barr Brothers, and Wintersleep. Brittney continually redefines artistic expression, pushing the boundaries of creativity across various genres. Her impact has also reached the TV series "L'AIR D'ALLER," winning the Student Jury Prize for Short Series at CANNESÉRIES in 2023.
Yan Giroux
In documentary or fiction, Yan Giroux immerses us in an extraordinary cinematic experience. He independently produced his documentaries between 2007 and 2012, allowing him to develop his vision, which would assert itself with more resources and ambition in his fiction short films – "Surveillant" (2011), "Mi niña mi vida" (2013), "LOST PARADISE LOST" (2017). Besides being recognized locally, these films have been showcased at various international festivals, including the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Produced by Micro_scope and co-written with Guillaume Corbeil, his first feature fiction film, "À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas," is loosely inspired by the life and work of Quebecois poet Yves Boisvert. At the 2019 Gala Québec Cinéma, it won the Iris Awards for Best Screenplay, Best First Film, and Martin Dubreuil received the award for Best Male Performance in the role of Yves Boisvert. His latest short film, "Programme d’utilisation des patients standardisés," won the national competition at the 2022 FNC edition. Yan Giroux is also a director of numerous advertising campaigns and is currently developing dramatic series and documentaries that revisit the history of Quebec.
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Evangéline Kabuya
With her very first web series, a portrait of her native Saint-Henri that’s both dreamy and realistic, Eva was already making people think (and open up). Second-hand loves have shaped her into a refreshing creator, both for her richly varied casts and for her soundtracks that draw on the best of jazz and hip-hop; her voice has an unforgettable poetic lilt. After her first hit, which went to Cannes (CANNESERIES) and gained her recognition both local and international (Gémeau Award for emerging artists 2020; Best foreign-language series, NYC WebFest; Director of the Year, 2022 Gala Dynastie), Eva completed her bachelor’s degree in communications and film at Concordia University and is now studying for her master’s degree in film at New York University. She’s currently working on her first feature, La Professeure, which has received development funding from SODEC.​
Shahab Mihandoust
Shahab was born and raised in Tehran before he moved to Montreal in 2004. Inspired by ethnographic approaches to research and creation, his documentary practice stands at the intersection between cinema and anthropology, and his work often approaches the entanglement of identity and labor in everyday life practices; and as they relate to natural and built environments to understand the impacts of social, cultural and political processes on people and places. His first documentary Zagros premiered at RIDM in 2018, where it won the national award for the best short or medium length documentary. Zagros has been presented internationally in documentary and ethnographic festivals. In 2023 Shahab released his first feature documentary, Meezan