Evaluation Juries

Aonan is a co-founder of film production company GreenGround, focuses on producing films that are boundary pushing with high artistic merits, as well, of filmmakers who are visible minorities and from under represented film communities. His latest production includes two poignant works of Denis Côté - HYGIÈNE SOCIALE, Best Director at Berlinale 2021 in the Encounters section and WILCOX , Locarno 2019; THE NAMES OF FLOWERS by Bahman Tavoosi, Jury Prize at Tallinn Black Night IFF 2019 and Best Feature at Venice Film Week 2020; documentaries PRIMAS by Laura Bari, TAMING THE HORSE by Tao Gu, and IN THE WAVES by Jacqueline Mills, winning awards at True/False, Mar del Plata, RIDM, DOXA, VIFF and Xining First, China. He is Canadian producer in spotlights at Cannes 2019 and alumni of Trans-Atlantic Partners 2019. He also served as Executive Producer for the award-winning film Geographies of Solitude by Jacquelyn Mills, winner of 3 awards at Berlinale Forum 2022. Aonan is an active guest speaker in film schools like Concordia University and University of Toronto, and severed as jury member at RIDM and Canada Council for the Arts. He is also a co-founder of CineGround Media, a unique camera and post production hub in Montreal catering to local film productions and abroad.

Baljit Sangra is a Vancouver-based filmmaker whose films highlight underrepresented and marginalized voices and stories.

An award-winning storyteller and six-time Leo Awards nominee, she directed the acclaimed NFB-produced Because We Are Girls, a feature documentary exploring the impact of sexual abuse on a Punjabi family living in BC. The film has garnered over 18 million minutes viewed on Amazon.

As of 2023, Sangra is finishing a feature documentary for Telus Originals/TVO that explores hockey dreams and the South Asian community. She is also working on the documentary A Ballad for Judi for Knowledge Network. Her other broadcast documentaries include the award-winning Many Rivers Home, a personal story about seniors living in assisted care at the end of life; Have You Forgotten Me, which, anchored by the letters of a wife left behind, shines a light on North America’s oldest Sikh Temple; and Warrior Boyz, which examines the long-running gang scene unique to the Indo-Canadian enclave of BC’s Lower Mainland.

Sangra is the president of Viva Mantra Films Inc., which produced several seasons of A&E series VIVA! for City TV/Omni. The series centred artists of colour pushing boundaries along with established creators to elevate mainstream success.

Juan Baquero is a director, producer, story consultant and podcaster currently splitting his time between Toronto and Bogota. Currently, Juan directs a bi-weekly nonfiction podcast, Relatos Amarillos, advises Colombia’s Public Media System RTVC on convergence strategies and works as a mentor for Hot Docs Doc Accelerator Program. Juan has over 20 years experience in the field and has worked with a variety of media companies, including Discovery Channel En Español, Discovery USA, CBC, Arte France, NHK (Japan), Canal Der Spiegel, TVO, OMNI, Bravo, RCN and RTVC. In 2012, Juan co-founded The Doc Story Studio, an organization devoted to promoting the art of nonfiction storytelling, and Twice Upon a Time, a multi-platform nonfiction storytelling lab that explores the space where journalism and art converge. His experience as a storytelling mentor, instructor and consultant spans over a decade, including work with Hot Docs, LIFT, and The Doc Story Studio. Juan’s work has been recognized over the years, including Hot Docs Top 10 Audience Favourite for Listen to This (Proximity Films and TVO). Credits: Director, Editor, Cinematographer. Listen to This also received a Gemini Award nomination for best Arts Documentary in 2011. In 2020 Juan received a Best Director nomination at the Canadian Screen Awards for his directing work for Equator 360 (Primitive Films). In 2022, Juan’s El Cubo (original concept and creative director) received an India Catalina Award for best interactive project. Juan holds an undergraduate degree in telecommunications from the University of Florida and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.

As a partner in Winnipeg-based iSplice Films Inc., Julie Hackett has worked in the Winnipeg film and television industry for the last 28 years as an editor, a post-production supervisor, and a descriptive video service provider. She is also active in research as well as in rights and clearances for both music and visual assets.

Hackett has been a film educator through the National Film Board of Canada, the Winnipeg Film Group, and The National Screen Institute’s (NSI) CBC New Indigenous Voices program since its 2004 inception. Through her work, iSplice Films has become a recurring service sponsor for the NSI IndigiDocs program. The company has also sponsored The 48 Film Fest.

She has served as the Winnipeg jury committee member for the Yorkton Film Festival since 2008 and has been a juror for the Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) Awards since 2020.

She sits on several film advisory committees including Bell's, Telefilm's, and Yorkton Film Festival's. She has previously served as the chair of the Winnipeg Film Group and the program manager of the inaugural Black Creators Edition of Telus' STORYHIVE. In 2023, she will return as the latter for STORYHIVE's 25^th Anniversary Edition, in addition to being the current program manager for the National Screen Institute Access BIPOC Producers Program sponsored by EAVE, the NSI, and the CMF.

In 2017, Hackett was nominated by the NSI for the Winnipeg Arts Council “Making a Mark” award. She is a full member of the Director’s Guild of Canada (DGC).

Ravida Din is a senior media executive and consultant with substantial experience in production and in strategic and financial planning. She formerly served with the National Film Board of Canada as an Executive Producer and then as Director of English Language Production. She has produced or executive produced numerous documentaries and interactive digital projects. Among her notable successes are the feature documentaries Pink Ribbons, Inc. (World Premiere, Toronto International Film Festival) which went on to become instrumental in the breast cancer activist movement in North American and Payback (World Premiere, Sundance Film Festival), the first film adaptation of a non-fiction work by Margaret Atwood. Din initiated and co- produced First Person Digital, an innovative training and production program for creators to explore new approaches to interactive digital storytelling. Ravida Din began her career in cultural, feminist and community organizations whose values continue to underpin her work in media. She has pioneered gender and racial equality programs. Since 2015, she has been a Board Member for Just Vision, a Washington-based organization dedicated to promoting peace in the Middle East by using media to mediate and bring together Palestinians and Israelis. She is currently a PhD student at the Institute of Feminist & Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa.

Tristan Barrocks stands as a prominent figure on the international stage, hailing from Toronto as an acclaimed Afro-Canadian film and commercial director. Alongside his accolades, he co-founded Mid-Career Productions, a film production company renowned for its commitment to weaving human-centered narratives that enrich the tapestry of the Black experience. His remarkable portfolio includes groundbreaking works such as "Dear Black Dad" (2021), the captivating "Wallflower" web series (2023), the enlightening "Connecting the Dots" docuseries (2019), and the profound "Mother To Mother" special (2022), among others.

Melding his acting roots with his profound understanding of storytelling, Tristan infuses a distinctive essence into his directorial approach. His journey as a seasoned storyteller enables him to connect with on-screen talent effortlessly, while his adeptness in conveying his creative vision to the production team adds a touch of magic to his craft.

Beyond his directorial achievements, Tristan extends his passion for storytelling into the academic realm, shaping the future generation of creators through hands-on production experiences. A distinguished alumnus of the esteemed Sundance Collab Institute, Tristan has diligently carved out a niche for himself in the film and television industry. His commitment transcends personal success as he forges meaningful bonds with those under his mentorship.

Tristan's ambition lies in unearthing narratives from the Black-Canadian perspective, instilled with authenticity and profound insight. Through his work, he aspires to foster inclusive communities where BIPOC creatives can flourish, nurtured by challenge and growth, ultimately contributing to a richer artistic landscape.