DIRECTORS GUILD OF CANADA - Key Persons
Aisling Chin-Yee is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and editor based in Montreal, Canada, and Los Angeles, California. She recently directed three episodes of the CBC limited series Plan B, starring Patrick J. Adams and Karine Vanasse.
In 2021, Aisling was celebrated as one of DOC NYC and HBO Documentary's 40 Under 40. She was named one of Canada's Rising Film Stars by Now Magazine 2019. New Yorker Magazine hailed Aisling's latest workas "a genre unto itself," and one of the magazine's Best Movies of 2021.
That was the documentary, No Ordinary Man, which she co-directed with Chase Joynt, co-wrote with Amos Mac, and edited. The film is about Billy Tipton, a piano-playing jazzman from the Midwest who, after he died in 1989, was outed to the media that he was transgender. The documentary premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and named one of TIFF's Top Ten films that year. The film took home the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the Inside Out LGBTQ Film Festival, and the Nouveaux Regards / New Visions Award at Les Rencontres Internationales du Documentaire de Montréal (RIDM), Best Portrait Documentary at Cleveland International Film Festival, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Translations Film Festival. Aisling also won the prize for Best Documentary Editing by the Directors' Guild of Canada in 2021.
Her feature film directorial debut, The Rest of Us, starring Heather Graham (Boogie Nights, The Hangover), Sophie Nélisse (Yellow Jackets, The Book Thief), and Jodi Balfour (For All Mankind, The Crown) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019. As a producer for over a decade, Aisling has been lauded for her fresh and unapologetic vision and produced the award-winning feature films, Rhymes for Young Ghouls, The Saver and the acclaimed feature documentary Last Woman Standing amongst other film and tv titles. 2014 marked her year as writer and director with the short film, Sound Asleep which premiered at Lucerne International Film Festival. In 2015, she directed the multi-award winning documentary Synesthesia which won Best Short Documentary at the International Crossroads Film Festival.
Connie Cocchia is an award-winning LGBTQ+ director, writer, and producer who began her film career in Los Angeles where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television at the University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, she worked at Lionsgate in production and in development at Langley Park Pictures on the Warner Brother's lot. During her years in LA, she produced, wrote and directed a variety of short films including her award-winning film ‘Awake'.
Connie returned home to Vancouver to receive a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production from the University of British Columbia and founded her production company Cocchia Pictures. Connie's feature directorial debut ‘When Time Got Louder' is supported by Telefilm Canada and executive produced by Frank Giustra (founder of Lionsgate Entertainment). Connie also wrote and produced the film which centers on the autism and LGBTQ+ communities.
Douglas Mitchell has over 25 years experience in the industry working on TV series, feature films, and TV Movies. His most recent directing credits include the drama series BURDEN OF TRUTH (CBC), the holiday movie SNOWMANCE (Marvista Entertainment), second unit directing on the feature film RUN (Hulu), and sci-fi series CHANNEL ZERO (Syfy). Other credits include award-winning comedy series LESS THAN KIND (CityTV/HBO), action adventure detective series THE PINKERTONS, and second unit directing on fan favourite THE CULT OF CHUCKY. Douglas is also an accomplished Assistant Director of TV series and feature films. He is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
A Canadian Screen Awards-nominated Director, Dylan Pearce has gone on to direct films and TV shows with Hallmark, Lifetime, TF1, and Amazon. Dylan won a Lumiere Award at Warner Brother Studios (past Winners include: Martin Scorsese for HUGO, Ang Lee for LIFE OF PI, and James Cameron for AVATAR) for his directing work in 3D.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Kainai First Nation
Job Titles:
- Alberta
- Canadian Director and Co - Founder of Kino Sum Productions
Gillian is a Canadian director and co-founder of Kino Sum Productions. Her feature films Circle of Steel and Lucky Star, the latter developed through the CFC/Netflix Project Accelerator, have each won an Audience Award at the Calgary International Film Festival. Her documentary projects include the CBC Television special Orphaned. She is an alumni of the Canadian Film Centre and was named a 2024 10 To Watch Director by Playback Magazine.
She excels at dialogue-driven intimacy, propulsive intensity, and dynamic blocking. As a writer/director, her work often focuses on labour, family, and the intersection of energy and the environment.
Helen Shaver has built a lasting legacy, both behind and in front of the camera. She has directed hundreds of hours of television, and has received multiple Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours.
Jennifer Abbott is a Sundance and Genie award-winning film Director, writer, editor, producer, and sound designer, who specializes in social justice and environmental documentaries.
Loretta Todd is a leader in Indigenous media, having directed over 100 projects including award-winning documentaries, such as FORGOTTEN WARRIORS and HANDS OF HISTORY, with the NFB, plus digital media, animation, and television. She is also a producer, who has contributed to the development of the Indigenous media industry, by providing opportunity for Indigenous cast, crew, and creatived. Ms. Todd created, produced, wrote, and directed media projects including children's series (TANSI! NEHIYAWETAN, COYOTE'S CRAZY SMART SCIENCE SHOW), sci-fi (SKYE AND CHANG), and interactive media (FIERCE GIRLS). Ms. Todd's first feature, MONKEY BEACH, based on the iconic Canadian novel by Eden Robinson was screened at TIFF (Industry Selects), opened the VIFF, won numerous awards, including Best Film and Best Director at the American Indian and Red Nation Film Festivals, and was the #1 Canadian film at the box office for 4 weeks. She is also in development with a new animated children's series called NITANIS & SKYLAR. Ms. Todd created the IM4 Media Lab, an Indigenous VR/AR/XR Lab, in collaboration with Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she is the Creative Director. She is Cree Metis, from St. Paul des Metis, White Fish Lake First Nation, and Turtle Mountain Chippewa in North Dakota.
Lowell Dean is a Canadian filmmaker with a talent for the twisted. He is best known for writing and directing the horror comedy WOLFCOP and its sequel ANOTHER WOLFCOP. These films quickly achieved cult status following their theatrical release across Canada and the USA. They won awards such as the Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Best Horror Feature at the Arizona Underground Film Festival, and the Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto Fantasy Film Festival. They also garnered nominations for five Canadian Comedy Awards, including Best Writing and Best Directing. The success of the WOLFCOP films spawned a franchise, complete with special editions, soundtracks, action figures, and comic books.
Most recently, Lowell wrote & directed DARK MATCH, a wrestling horror film starring Steven Ogg, Ayisha Issa, and Chris Jericho, which had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival and is set to release in 2025. Lowell also wrote and directed the post-apocalyptic love story DIE ALONE starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Douglas Smith, and Frank Grillo, which won the Audience Choice Award at the Sitges Film Festival ahead of its theatrical release in Canada and the US in late 2024.
Marie Clements has ignited her brand of artistry within a variety of mediums including film, TV, radio, and live performance. Her latest project, the feature drama RED SNOW, has won Most Popular Canadian Feature Film at VIFF, Best Canadian Feature Film at the Edmonton International Film Festival, Best Director of a Feature at the 2019 American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco, and Best Achievement in Film from the LA Skins Festival. RED SNOW has also recently been nominated for 10 Leo Awards. A 2019 Telefilm Canada Birks Diamond Tribute to Women in Film recipient, Marie was also nominated for a DGC Best Director Award, and has received the WFF Women on Top Award and the WIFTTV Spotlight Impact Award 2018. Her multi-award-winning films have screened at Cannes, TIFF, MOMA, VIFF, Whistler Film Festival, AIFF, and ImagineNATIVE Film Festival. Her play THE UNNATURAL AND ACCIDENTAL WOMEN opened the first national Indigenous theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa last fall, and her opera, MISSING, toured nationally to critical acclaim.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Directors Division Executive Committee
Shannon Walsh is a filmmaker and writer whose award-winning films cover topics ranging from labour rights, to grief and climate change. Shannon's most recent film, The Gig is Up (2021) was hailed by Variety for being "galvanizing and moving" and The Hollywood Reporter called it "a devastating reality check". Her films have been theatrically released and broadcast globally, screening in festivals around the world such as IDFA, Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, Doc NYC and many others, as well as playing art spaces, such as the Venice Biennale and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Currently, Shannon teaches film as an Associate Professor at UBC. She was Guggenheim Fellow in 2020. In 2023, she was awarded the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts. Her new feature documentary film, Adrianne & the Castle, will be released in early 2024.
Taylor Olson (he/they) is a queer former hockey player turned filmmaker. The Canadian Screen Award & eleven time ACTRA Award nominee is based in Kjipuktuk/ Halifax, N.S. Taylor has acted in numerous feature films such as Black Cop, Hopeless Romantic (Outstanding Performance - FIN 2018), Halloween Party, Dawn Her Dad & the Tractor, and his own feature film directorial debut Bone Cage - for which he won Best Actor at the Kansas City FF, Hamilton FF, Oil Valley FF, Sherman Oaks FF, Queens World FF, as well as his first ACTRA award. He has appeared in recurring roles on TV series such as Sex & Violence, Diggstown, Pure, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and as Larry in the new Trailer Park Boy's: Jail series. Taylor's feature film directorial debut Bone Cage has been released to critical acclaim; sweeping the awards at the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival and earning over 30 additional accolades at festivals around the globe. Bone Cage appeared in competition at Camerimage, competed in the Forward Future section of the Beijing International Film Festival, and toured numerous US festivals before being nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards for Adapted Screenplay & Supporting Actress. Olson recently finished post-production on his sophomore feature film Look At Me, released his first short form comedy series King & Pawn a 5 x 15 min series for Bell Fibe Tv1, and directed two episodes of This Hour Has 22 Minutes for CBC (S30, EP 17 & 18). Upcoming Olson will be releasing his second short-form dramedy series I Hate You & season two of King & Pawn.
Yung Chang is the multi-award-winning Director of 5 feature documentaries. WUHAN WUHAN world premiered at Hot Docs '21. His feature script, EGGPLANT, was developed at the 2015 Sundance Institute Screenwriting & Directing Labs. A graduate of the NYC Neighborhood Playhouse's Meisner technique and Concordia's School of Cinema, Chang's films are recognized for being humanistic stories exploring emotionally complex characters through a cinematic lens. Chang is a member of AMPAS, DGC, and WGC.
Job Titles:
- Member of the National Directors Division Executive Committee
- NDD Chair