Co-Production Forum 2026

The VIFF Co-Production Forum is a new industry initiative that launched in 2026, designed to foster international collaboration and support the development of feature-length film projects. Bringing together Canadian and international producers, financiers, and decision-makers, the Forum aims to strengthen global co-production partnerships and create meaningful opportunities for financing, creative exchange, and distribution.

Discover the 2026 Projects & Participants

Jason Lapeyre (Director – Producer)
The Auschwitz Volunteer (Canada)

In 1940, Polish soldier Witold Pilecki volunteers to go to Auschwitz prison camp to gather information. He remains for 2½ years helping his fellow prisoners before escaping. While there, he witnesses the evolution of the Holocaust.

Jason Lapeyre is a director, producer, and screenwriter working across features and television. His first feature, Cold Blooded, won Best Canadian Film at Fantasia. His second feature, I Declare War, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, won the Audience Award at Fantastic Fest, and was released theatrically by Drafthouse Films. His latest film, Monkey on a Stick, is a documentary exposé of the Hare Krishna movement.

José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena (Director – Producer)
Los vivos y los patos (Mexico)

By ritually burning duck manure from a nearby farm, Señora Bruna brings the dead from her community back to life. The people of Catepopan will have to face old wounds… because their loved ones return with the whims and issues they took to the grave.

José Luis Isoard Arrubarrena studied political science. His first feature film, Father Pablo, premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2021 and was released in Mexican theaters in 2024. His short films have screened at Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique, Morelia International Film Festival, where he won the Jury Prize in 2022, and San Diego Latino Film Festival, among others. His latest feature, Oswaldo the Human, was awarded FOCINE post-production support and participated in EICTV’s Editing Lab, SAPCINE, and Bolivia Lab.

Gursimran Datla (Producer)
Galeo of the Seawalkers (Canada/Indonesia/Singapore)

A fearful Seawalker boy fails his village trials and is forced into the Wild Seas after his missing father, learning that being a Mighty Seawalker is not about conquering the ocean, but mastering himself.

Gursimran Datla is a producer and founder of BetterHalf Films, developing film, television, and cross-cultural stories with international potential. His producing work has been supported through programs and initiatives including BANFF-Netflix Diversity of Voices, Whistler Producer Lab, Asia Film & TV Market Singapore, and Reykjavik Talent Lab. He has developed projects across Canada and internationally, with a focus on original content, fresh voices, and creator-led intellectual property. With expertise in project development, Datla is building sustainable pathways for independent screen stories for audiences around the world.

Orwi Manny Ameh (Executive Producer)
Restful Harbour (Ghana/Nigeria/UK)

When British-Ghanaian executive Danielle Lamptey returns to Accra to say goodbye to her dying grandfather, she is pulled back into a childhood summer and a secret she has spent a decade outrunning.

Orwi Manny Ameh is a Nigerian producer and executive producer with credits across film and television. His producing credits include Tainted Canvas, which screened at the Sedona International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize at AFRIFF in 2020. He produced the short Hello Rain, which screened at the BFI London Film Festival and won a Jury Prize at Fantasia. His recent short, Aje and Bruja, screened at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, Durban International Film Festival, and Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur in Switzerland. Other credits include Payday, A Romantic Comedy Featuring Lara and Tobi, and The Rise of Orisha.

Ali Naqi (Director – Producer)
Hiding in my Cells (Canada)

At an orphanage in Belgaum, India, children abandoned because of HIV have built a chosen family. As Kasturi fights to secure permanent land, she must protect their home and ensure they are never abandoned again.

Ali Naqi is a multidisciplinary artist and creative director working across film, design, performance, and marketing. After immigrating to Canada in 2015 and spending a decade in the corporate world, he transitioned to a full-time creative practice. His work brings together storytelling, visual direction, and campaign strategy, with a focus on identity, advocacy, and community.

Sara Blake (Producer)
To The North (Canada)

Francine is a homesteader trapped in a dead marriage. When her partner goes missing, she finds a strange man in the woods. His sudden presence unleashes repressed desires and a growing fear that her new lover might be her husband’s killer.

Sara Blake produces director-driven works that are fresh and unexpected. She is the co-founder of Ceroma, a boutique film and television company based in Vancouver, Canada. Her credits include the feature films Seagrass, recipient of the FIPRESCI Award at TIFF in 2023; Until Branches Bend, which screened at TIFF, PÖFF, SXSW, and Locarno; and Raf, which screened at TIFF in 2019. In 2022, Blake won the Indiescreen Emerging Producer Award. She also co-founded the nonprofit organization Filmable and sits on the CMPA BC Branch Council.

Sami Hawka (Writer, Director, Producer)
Afuera Todo Arde (Peru/Spain/Chile)

Under dictatorship, loving outside the norm becomes an act of revolution.

Sami Hawka is a co-writer of Sheep and Wolves (2024), which screened in Clermont-Ferrand’s International Competition, AFI Fest, Palm Springs, Raindance, and DokuFest, Hawka has also received awards at Zaragoza and Shorts México, and the film was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Hawka wrote, directed, and produced Anarquía Relacional de los amores libres (2024), selected for Rio WebFest International Circuit in 2024 and 2025 and the Panama Series Festival. The series received a Jury Prize at Webseries and Film Festival and won Best National Microseries, Best Actor, and Best Actress at Cusco WebFest. Hawka hold’s a master’s degree in Distribution and Audiovisual Business from ECAM.

Alaa Amer (Producer)
Al-Madeeneh 2008 (Yemen/USA/France)

A seven-day chronicle of the last practitioner of an obsolete construction craft who loses his only work, finds love, and spirals into all kinds of hope through the daily life, the myths, and the politics of an old Yemeni town on the brink.

Ala’a Amer is a Yemeni producer and filmmaker whose work spans commercial, documentary, and narrative film across the United States and the SWANA region. Her work bridges cultures and brings underrepresented stories to international audiences. She is currently developing Al-Madeeneh 2008, a Yemeni feature directed by longtime collaborator Yousef Assabahi, producing the documentary The Land Keepers, supported by the New Museum and Doha Film Institute, and working on multiple short films from Yemen. Amer holds a UCLA Extension Producing certificate and an MBA from Jordan University.

Alice Cicchetti

Originally from Italy, Alice Cicchetti moved to Canada to study in the undergraduate film program at the University of British Columbia. She is now a Visual Effects Producer at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in Vancouver. Notably, she served as an Associate Producer on Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians, where she helped build ILM’s first StageCraft Volume system in Vancouver. Her recent work also includes producing the latest season of Apple TV+’s Silo.

Amanda Burr Xido

Amanda Burr Xido is a writer and producer working across film, literature, audio, theatre, and digital learning. Her producing credits include Sons of Detroit (2025), The Bones (2024), the PBS series Films BYkids, Death Metal Angola (2013), Man Shot Dead, and the short Solitary/Release. She co-founded and served as editor-in-chief of Nomadic, where she wrote, directed, and produced more than 50 animated shorts and hundreds of educational programs. Amanda has also collaborated with the Tribeca Film Festival, the Screenwriters Colony, and the Chicago Humanities Festival. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Spalding University.

Bailey Garno

Bailey Garno is an Account Director for Film, TV & Entertainment Marketing at APM Music, where they help filmmakers and creative teams find and license music for their projects. They joined APM in 2017 and have built a career working across music discovery, clearance, and licensing, with credits including KPop Demon Hunters, The Penguin, Anora, Beef, The Only Living Boy in New York, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother. They are especially passionate about supporting independent filmmakers and making music licensing easier to navigate and more accessible.

Evelyn Rack

Evelyn Rack is a film editor working across fiction and documentary. Most recently, she edited Sound of Falling (2026), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, received the Jury Prize, and was selected as Germany’s official submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature. Her work also includes I Spy With My Little Eye, Ararat, We Might as Well Be Dead, WO/MEN, and Drifter, which premiered at major international festivals. Rack is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, serves regularly on festival juries, and is based in Germany, where she holds a master’s degree in editing from the Film University Babelsberg.

Gosia Kamela

As Head of CBC Films, Gosia Kamela oversees the scripted feature film slate for CBC and CBC Gem, with recent titles including Mile End Kicks, Deaner ’89, BlackBerry, Riceboy Sleeps, and Bones of Crows. Previously, as an executive at Bell Media, she was responsible for the development and production of original scripted series across CTV and Crave. Notable series include Orphan Black, Transplant, and Degrassi. Prior to joining Bell Media, Gosia was a producer at True West Films, working in both documentary and scripted features, including the cult classic It’s All Gone Pete Tong (2004).

Hannah Sevilla

With more than 10 years of banking experience, Hannah Sevilla specializes in financing for film and television production, animation, gaming, and VFX companies. She is dedicated to learning about the industry and helping her clients navigate the complex world of financing. Previously, Hannah worked at RBC Media and Entertainment. She holds a bachelor’s degree with honours from Queen’s University.

Isona Admetlla

Isona Admetlla is a sociologist, cultural manager, and audience designer specializing in cinema, audience engagement, and impact strategies. For almost 16 years, she coordinated the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, supporting filmmakers and producers from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Eastern Europe. As an independent consultant, she now advises film projects, festivals, industry platforms, and training initiatives worldwide on audience design, international positioning, distribution, communication, and impact.

Joaquin Cardoner

Joaquin Cardoner is an independent producer working across Canada and Europe. Born in Buenos Aires and raised in Brazil, he developed his filmmaking career in Canada. His work has received prestigious accolades, including the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW 2025 for One Day This Kid and an Honourable Mention for Best Canadian Discovery at TIFF 2025 for his Tibetan feature film 100 Sunset. His short films have screened at festivals including the Berlinale, Locarno, Tokyo, Busan, and New Directors/New Films at MoMA, and he has received four Canada’s Top Ten selections at TIFF.

Justine Watkins

Born and raised on the West Coast, with early years spent in Ontario and the Yukon, Justine Watkins has risen through the visual effects production ranks at ILM following on-set experience in Hollywood North. Her work has included contributions to the storied Star Wars and James Bond franchises, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and, more recently, Apple TV+’s Silo. Now operating as a VFX Associate Producer, she continues to mentor the next generation of aspiring producers.

Max Collister

Max Collister is an award-winning film marketer, producer, and distribution specialist currently serving as Theatrical Marketing Manager for MUBI in Canada. A Western University media graduate, Max previously co-managed VOD licensing at Juice Worldwide and led marketing for global IMAX releases at SK Films. His experience spans theatrical advertising at Cineplex Media, international festival pitching, and producing, including 12 episodes of Bell Fibe TV’s The Community Players.

Michael Robson

Michael Robson is the Vice President, Theatrical Sales at Elevation Pictures. In this role he oversees the planning and launch strategy for all feature films, working alongside Canadian producers and key international distribution partners such as Neon, A24 and Black Bear to bring incredible films to Canadian audiences in theatres across the country. A veteran in the industry Robson has experience across a variety of roles including content creation and acquisition, marketing, distribution, international sales and business development.

Pamela Biénzobas

Chilean-French consultant, programmer, and critic. She has been a member of the Locarno Film Festival’s feature film selection committee since 2021. She collaborates with film funds, labs, residencies, and industry events, assessing projects and mentoring filmmakers at every stage, from early development to script advising, editing consultation, and pitch training. She also works with festivals, moderating Q&As and press conferences. As a freelance writer, she has contributed to numerous publications for more than 20 years.

Richelle Charkot

Richelle Charkot has worked in various facets of the film industry, including production, programming, journalism, and public relations. They were the Programming Director of The Royal Cinema, where their experience with film exhibition led to an interest in distribution. They completed a Canadian Media Producers Association mentorship with the producers of the Canadian Screen Award-winning film Wildhood (2021) and studied screenwriting at the Toronto Film School, where they graduated with distinction.

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