2017 Emcees & Judges

2017 Best Canadian Short Award Adjudication Panel

Jury:

Gray Chen, Programmer, Planning Committee, Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival

Gray Chen is a programmer with the Vancouver Taiwanese Film Festival planning committee. He has been working in entertainment news media for almost twenty years, covering major film festivals and events such as the Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festival, and Venice Film Festival.

Ana De Lara, Independent Film Director/Producer/Writer

Ana de Lara is an eclectic film director, producer, and screenwriter who has won over two dozen awards and recognitions, including the 2016 MPPIA Award and the 2016 Telefilm New Voices Award. Her films range from hard-hitting dramas, to visual poetry, to laugh-out-loud comedies and have screened at festivals worldwide. She is currently developing her feature screenplay, The Virgin Mary Had a Little Lamb, and producing a bravoFACT short film.

Steve Rosenberg, Founder/Program Director, InFocus Film School

Steve Rosenberg is an award-winning writer/director based in Vancouver, BC. His dramatic shorts—Watching Mrs.Pomerantz, Vannica, Divine Waters, and Shanti Baba Ram—have screened at various festivals internationally and aired on The Sundance Channel, CBC, WTV, and Bravo. In 2000, Watching Mrs. Pomerantz earned him numerous international awards, including Best Director at Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival. An alumni of The Canadian Film Centre, he has taught at the Vancouver Film School and the Environmental Youth Alliance. In 2006, he hosted and produced Blink, a weekly TV talk show devoted to obscure films that come and go “in a blink.” As founder of InFocus Film School, he loves the creative energy and also feels inspired to continue producing films. He currently has several TV/web series in development.

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2017 Best Canadian Feature Award Adjudication Panel

Jury:

Roy Hayter, Directors Caucus Representative—Executive Board, Directors Guild of Canada (BC District Council)

Roy has worked in many categories of film production, including directing various episodes of television drama, producing and directing over 20 docu-dramas and documentaries. Roy also has produced and directed over 125 national and local commercials. In addition, he has integrated many film productions into large multimedia presentations to world fairs and public exhibits shown around the world. Born and educated in England, he immigrated to Canada and worked in theatre with the Vancouver Theatre association and the Vancouver Opera association for several years while studying acting, stage and business management. He returned to England and studied at the renowned London Film School for two years. After graduating, BBC offered him an appointment with their editing department. Upon returning to Canada he joined a major television station’s film department where he produced, directed, shot and edited documentaries, public service spots, and commercials. After six years he started his own business directing; commercials, television drama, multimedia shows, and drama documentaries.

Karen Lam, Independent Film and Television Producer/Director/Writer

Karen has worked full-time in the film and television industry since 2000. Starting her career as a producer and entertainment lawyer, Karen has produced four feature films, eight short films and three television series. Her first short film as a writer/director (The Cabinet) won the NSI Drama Prize in 2006. She has since written/directed seven short films, a music video, a documentary television series, two feature films—Stained (2010) and Evangeline (2013)—and a web series Mythos (2015). She is an alumni of the Women in the Director’s Chair program (2009). Women in Film and Television–Vancouver recognized Karen’s artistic achievements with the Artistic Innovation Award for Women in Film, in March 2013. Karen’s films have garnered international awards and extensive screenings at international film festivals, winning numerous awards. In 2016, Karen began working as a television story editor and writer (Van Helsing and Ghost Wars, both for SyFy). Karen is in revisions on her first full-length fiction novel, and planning for her second.

Dorothy Woodend, Acting Festival Director, DOXA Documentary Film Festival

Dorothy Woodend is the Acting Festival Director for DOXA Documentary Film Festival in Vancouver. Dorothy Woodend has been the film critic for The Tyee since 2004. Her work has been published in magazines, newspapers, and books across Canada and the US. Dorothy worked with the Vancouver International Film Festival, the Whistler Film Festival and the National Film Board of Canada. She is a member of the Vancouver Film Critics Circle, the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.