Catalyst 2026 | VIFF Institute

Overview
Program Highlights
2026 Cohort

VIFF Catalyst is an intimate cohort-based program designed to support the growth of local emerging filmmakers. Each year, a committee selects 15 directors for placement in the program. Through a cohort-based approach, Catalyst seeks to create peer-to-peer and peer-to-mentor conversations, while facilitating an environment free of barriers and hierarchies. Catalyst participants leave the program with a new network of collaborators and a stronger connection to the local film community.

I love to dream up the programming for VIFF’s Catalyst cohort. The time spent together in a community as filmmakers is always a highlight of my year. This cohort, in particular, holds an exciting range in their craft from Gothic cinema to rap videos. From their portfolios, I strive to curate a kaleidoscope of festival experiences where each guest speaker brings a new colour, perspective, and shape to the room that lights up our shared passion for cinema.

Mariam Barry, Catalyst Program Curator and Industry Associate Programmer

Supported by

Highlights

Inclusive Approach

The program actively seeks participants from underrepresented backgrounds, fostering a diverse and enriching peer mentorship environment.

Cohort Experience

Participants become part of a diverse cohort, enabling balanced and insightful discussions that contribute to each participant’s growth.

Dedicated Sessions

The program explores various aspects of filmmaking, including festival strategy, distribution, ethical filmmaking, and more, through roundtable discussions and case studies.

Financial Support

Selected participants receive a full festival pass and a professional stipend to help mitigate any financial barriers associated with attending the program.

Meet the 2026 Cohort

Brenna Goodwin-McCabe (she/her)

Brenna is a versatile writer and director with a keen interest in Gothic horror, which began during her Masters of English degree at UBC. Through Hearth Pictures, she strives to create strange and wonderful media that explores how the shadows of the past stretch into modern storytelling, first with her four-time Leo Award-winning Crazy8s short I Can’t Go On (2023), and in her latest Canada Council funded horror musical short Start the Show (2026).

Corben Bowen (he/him)

Corben Bowen is a Jamaican and Indigenous filmmaker (Haisla Nation, Eagle Clan) and Juno-nominated musician from Vancouver, BC. Known professionally as Boslen, he turned to music at nineteen after a career-ending rugby injury, now to film. He signed with The Characters Talent Agency, produced and starred in Backstage, and recently wrapped David Findlay’s feature Lay Me By The Shore. He is now developing his debut narrative feature, based on the true story of Samuel Bird.

Devon Ellis-Durity (she/her)

Devon Ellis-Durity is an emerging filmmaker and actress. Her debut short film screened at Fantasia in 2024. She was the associate producer and sustainability coordinator for Ann Marie Fleming’s Can I Get A Witness?, and participated in the BSO’s/CMPA’s Black Producer Accelerator Programme. In 2025 she attended Prime Time as a CMPA mentee, and participated in the Reel Change Producer Residency. She is now in pre-production for her gothic horror short film No Peeking.

Diego Minor Martínez (he/him/él)

Originally from Tlaxcala, México, Diego Minor Martínez is a Vancouver-based screenwriter, director, producer, and photographer. With a BA in Creative Writing from Kwantlen Polytechnic University and two diplomas from Vancouver Film School, Diego’s commitment to story permeates his work, through which he aims to celebrate his cultural identity, bridge cultures and push Latinx, immigrant, and queer voices on screen through intimate, relationship-based stories of connection rooted in personal experience.

Emma Eng (she/her)

Emma Eng is a mixed Chinese-Canadian writer/director based in Vancouver. A graduate of UBC’s Film Production BFA, her dark comedy Black & Blue won the Student ShortWork Award at Whistler Film Festival. She has a serious soft spot for losers, liars, and cowards and has them steer all her work. Her recent short Honey Honey has screened at festivals around North America and her prose has been published in Points in Case and SAD Mag.

Fawaz Al Batati (he/him)

Fawaz Al Batati is an Arab-Canadian experimental filmmaker, curator, and community-cinema organizer based in Vancouver. Working in Super 8 and digital, his practice explores Arab diaspora and botanical migration, memory, and belonging beyond narratives of pain. His Super 8 portrait of Arab Vancouver, Dan Ya Danah, commissioned by Echo Park Film Centre North, screened at Cross Cities Festival, Italy, 2026, and his film Diaspora has been exhibited internationally. He was a VSFF 2024 selection committee member and past Cinematheque facilitator.

Jessica Miinguuaqtii (she/her)

Jessica is an emerging filmmaker and media artist of Inuit and settler descent. Her interdisciplinary practice explores memory, place, kinship, and cultural continuity through documentary, experimental film, and animation. Her film February Sixteenth Nineteen Forty-Seven has screened internationally and received the 2025 Gender Equity in Media Festival’s Best of BC Award. Through filmmaking, Jessica shares true stories that she hopes will inspire people to make more loving choices in their lives and for the world.

Karim Ojjeh

Karim is a Syrian-Canadian filmmaker, director, and cinematographer with over a decade of experience across documentary and commercial film in the Middle East and North America. After years in commercial production, he transitioned fully into independent documentary, creating story-driven work for brands and nonprofits. Rooted in identity, community, and human connection, his films focus on land, tradition, and everyday resilience. He is currently in production on his debut feature documentary.

Kit Baronas (he/him)

Kit Baronas is a Colombian-Canadian writer/director, born and raised in Vancouver. His work explores dramatic concepts through surrealism and magical realism. His films have screened internationally at festivals including FNC, NFFTY, and TIFF. Kit is an alumnus of UBC’s Film Production Program and is currently developing his first feature film.

Maria Munro (she/her)

Maria Munro is a Venezuelan-born Vancouver-based filmmaker making her directing debut with Sisters (Leo Awards nominated 2026), a deeply personal film exploring memory, family and identity while journeying back to her native Venezuela to search for a long-lost sister. Her work blends introspection with visual storytelling influenced by her Latin roots.

Morgan Abele (she/they)

Morgan Abele is an award-winning and Leo-nominated Screenwriter and Director. Her work has been featured on streaming platforms such as CBC Gem and screened at festivals across Canada and the United States, including Fantasia, Whistler Film Festival, the LA Independent Women Film Awards, the Toronto International Women Film Festival and the Crazy 8’s Program. Morgan has a passion for magical realism, bringing real emotions to life through stories infused with magic and mystery.

Mykhailo Rud (he/him)

Mykhailo is a Ukrainian screenwriter and director based in Vancouver, Canada. He spent a decade working across film and television, writing and producing prime-time Ukrainian TV series while also directing short films. Since moving to Canada in 2023, he has been rebuilding his career with a focus on independent filmmaking. His stories use satire and tragicomedy to examine the absurdities and contradictions of contemporary life.

Pamath Vinlaka (he/him)

Pamath Vinlaka is a Vancouver-based writer, director, and editor working across music videos, documentaries, and short films. A UBC Creative Writing graduate, he brings a story-first mindset to every project. He won Best Screenplay and Best Film at VAFF MAMM 20 for his one-minute short The Late Shift (2025). His work centers on connection and feel-good stories while embracing hardship and turmoil. A self-taught editor of 10 years, he hopes to grow in that direction through the program.

Seon Shim (she/her)

Seon Shim is a Korean anthropologist and documentary filmmaker based in Seoul, New York, and Vancouver. Her ethnographic short, The Cat that Lives in Your Dreams, follows a Korean autistic artist’s journey to New York and has won awards at international film festivals. Seon holds an MA in Interdisciplinarity and an Advanced Certificate in Culture and Media from NYU, and is pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at UBC. Her work centres on disability, neurodiversity, and collaborative nonfiction storytelling.

Yaw Obrenu Yamoah (he/him)

Yaw Obrenu Yamoah is a Ghanaian-Canadian filmmaker whose work explores intimacy, emotional truth, and human vulnerability. His installation Black Boys Don’t Cry led to a CBC interview and inspired his filmmaking journey. His debut short, Caroline, supported by the British Columbia Arts Council, was invited to the Tribeca Film Festival. His films Heroes and Red String have received festival recognition. Drawing from fine arts, fashion, and installation, Yaw creates atmospheric, emotionally honest stories. His upcoming films Once Upon a Time and The Fallen further develop his cinematic voice.