Meet the 2023 Festival Jury!

Casey Mecija is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at York University and holds a PhD from the University of Toronto. Her current research theorizes sounds made in and beyond Filipinx diaspora to make an argument about a “queer sound” that permeates diasporic sensibilities. Her work suggests that media production enables diasporic people to create forms of belonging that defy racialized ascriptions born from racism, colonialism, and their gendered dimensions. She is also a musician and filmmaker, whose work has received a number of accolades and has been presented internationally.

Noor Alé is a curator, art historian, and writer. She is the Associate Curator at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto. Her curatorial practice examines the intersections of contemporary art with geopolitics. At The Power Plant, she curated Sasha Huber: YOU NAME IT, Hiwa K: Do you remember what you are burning?, and she was an institutional curator for Arctic/Amazon: Networks of Global Indigeneity. As an independent curator, she curated this is not an atlas, Visual Arts Centre of Clarington; Here Comes the Sun, Art Gallery of Burlington; and OF THE SACRED, Critical Distance Centre for Curators, Toronto.

Jagdeep Raina is an interdisciplinary artist and writer from Guelph, Ontario. He holds a Masters degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and was a 2021 Paul Mellon Fellow at Yale University. Raina currently lives and works in Houston, Texas.

Awards

2022 Award Winners!

Images Festival congratulates the following artists who were awarded the following prizes by the 2022 Festival Jury!

More with Less Award

Established in 2015 to honour Scott Miller Berry, this award goes to a work that best demonstrates a resourceful artistic intent, doing more with less. $1,500 cash. Sponsored by Charles Street Video (CSV), Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC), the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), and Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

Overkill Award

Established in 2000 to honour former Executive Director Deirdre Logue. This honour goes to an artist whose work is impervious to constraints—willful, unruly, and uncontrollable. $1,000 cash. Sponsored by an anonymous donor. 

Marian McMahon Award

Awarded to a filmmaker to honour strong work in autobiography, complexity of “subject,” and the spirit of Marian McMahon. The recipient is funded to attend the annual Independent Imaging Retreat (Film Farm) and workshop in Mount Forest, Ontario. Sponsored by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC).

York University Award for Best Student Work

Awarded to the best student work on screen. $500 cash. Sponsored by York University’s Department of Cinema & Media Arts. 

ASTROLAB x FOFS Production Award

Awarded to an emerging Canadian filmmaker who showcases an exciting synthesis of curiosity, experimentation, and innovation. The recipient will receive a certificate valid for one day of production in Studio 1 of Astrolab Studios, valued at $2,850. Sponsored by Future of Film Showcase and Astrolab Studios.

Thank You to our Awards Sponsors


This year’s awards are generously supported by the following partners:

Astrolab, CFMDC, Charles Street Video, Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC), Future of Film Showcase, Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), and York University Department of Cinema & Media Arts.

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