Catalyst

Audrey Kerridge is a queer, independent filmmaker born and raised in Vancouver, BC and has recently graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BFA in Film and a Minor in Archaeology. As a child, Audrey began making short stop-motion animations on YouTube, which later progressed into a passion for filmmaking. Undoubtedly influenced by her background in skateboarding, her films embody a distinctive sense of joy, spontaneity and rebellious youthful energy.

Bianca is a queer Canadian Hong Kong filmmaker based in Vancouver. An emerging director, their short films and music videos blend surrealism, emotional depth, and offbeat humour, exploring themes of identity, memory, and connection. In addition to filmmaking, they are self-taught in 3-D animation and experiment with analogue film processing and thermal printing. Their grad film is an official selection of the Vancouver International Film Festival 2025.

Dustin McGladrey is an emerging cisgender IndigiQueer Producer/Director/Writer from the Nisga’a Nation. Dustin is a co-owner of his own film company, House of Copper Films, which was started in 2022 with his partner Rosie Johnnie-Mills. He aspires to bring Indigenous futurisms and identity on screen.

Felicia Simone is a Canadian actor, writer, and filmmaker whose work explores difficult subjects through comedy and thriller. She created the dramedy series Dating App Chronicles, later producing its pilot with Canada Council support. A 2025 BSO Access Canada Summit delegate, she was mentored by Anthony Q. Farrell and co-stars in the romance series, Providence Falls. Felicia also has a slate of projects in development with her production company, YesLove Media.

Jacob Alcala is a Filipino filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. Raised between the Philippines and the UAE, he graduated cum laude in Audiovisual Design from the Willem de Kooning Academy in the Netherlands. Rooted in his experiences as a first-generation immigrant, his work explores cultural dysphoria and the intersections of memory, identity, and migration. His debut short, Until Then (2023), has received international recognition. His creative practice spans directing, producing, cinematography, and post-production.

Joshua Brad-Lee Garrido is a Filipino-Canadian filmmaker and interdisciplinary artist from Mohkinstsis (Calgary), now based in Vancouver. A graduate of UCalgary (BComm) and UBC (BFA Film Production), their work explores human connection through an impressionistic lens. Their film Chrome (2024) screened at festivals including NYU Sports, Cannes Indie Shorts, and F-O-R-M, earning a CSC Student Cinematography nomination. Their next project, Amor Eterno (2025), is dedicated to their friends, family, and partner Kathleen.

Vietnam-born and Vancouver-based, Khánh is a versatile filmmaker passionate about creating fantasy and sci-fi series exploring real human conditions. She wrote and directed NEPO BABY, nominated for Best Short Film at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival. She is now developing her second proof-of-concept short, Jade, inspired by real domestic violence experiences. Beyond directing, she script supervises, leads the Southeast Asian Cultural Heritage Society (SEACHS), and writes and performs original music.

Leen Issa is a Palestinian-Syrian filmmaker and editor, currently based in Vancouver. Her work is featured on platforms like VICE and NOWNESS, and screened at prominent film festivals. For several years, she served as a senior video editor and producer at VICE Arabia, creating documentaries that push cultural boundaries and showcase the region’s richness and diversity. She co-produced the award-winning short Rupture (2016), which premiered at TIFF and is streaming on The Criterion Channel.

Malka is a writer, director, and producer with a BA in film from Capilano University. Her work has screened at festivals including Whistler, HollyShorts Comedy, Toronto International Women’s, and Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival. She aims to explore how comedy can address uncomfortable subjects. Driven by curiosity and creative thinking, Malka has a unique passion for storytelling — and a playful habit of speaking about herself in the third person.

Mimi is a versatile filmmaker with over a decade of experience in the film and television industry. Her exploration of different roles, from development to post-production, shaped her distinct skills as a storyteller. Growing up in Canada as a child of Ethiopian immigrants, Mimi brings a unique lens to her work, crafting narratives that explore identity, heritage, and the complexity of being human.

Mexican writer-director based in Vancouver with experience in feature films, documentaries, and short films as an assistant director and editor. His work focuses on character-driven stories exploring identity, belonging, and human connection. He has written and directed three shorts: the documentary What Time Doesn’t Forgive (2013) and narrative films, The Sound of the Wind (2018), and The Story Hammer (2024), the latter supported by Mexico’s national film fund. He is now developing his debut feature.

Parmis Rouhina is a filmmaker and the co-founder of Zukaro Media, a media production agency based in Vancouver, BC. She makes films that are queer, raw, authentic, and sometimes unhinged and weird. You can see her Iranian roots in her art and an unbridled approach in her filmmaking. She likes all art forms and aspires to rap, improvise, act, dance, and do performance art.

Rachel Kwan is a writer, director, and production designer, who strives to bring QTBIPOC stories to the forefront. Wanting to be the influence they needed growing up closeted and isolated in a small town, their films challenge tradition — exploring the complex intersections of mental illness, identity, and grief (but swear they’re fun at parties!). Rachel’s films act as comfort and catharsis for those who remain, and anyone who feels in between.

Soo Min Park is a Korean writer, director, artist in Vancouver, exploring nuanced human connections through language and identity. A BFA Film Production graduate from UBC, she’s been a translator, AD, coordinator on acclaimed projects including Okja, Pachinko, Percy Jackson. As a filmmaker, she strives to bridge cultures and perspectives while championing authentic, diverse voices and pushing creative boundaries. She’s currently directing a short film, The Great Wall, as a recipient of VAFF Film Fund.

Tibet is a UBC Cognitive Systems graduate, screenwriter, and director. He intertwines philosophical and psychological ideas with intimate, human stories rooted in personal experience. With each project, he refines his voice in narrative fiction, gravitating toward sci-fi as a lens for exploring the worlds built.