inVisible Voices is a three-day intensive program that grants 6 to 8 creators and storytellers from Black communities in the Greater Montreal area the opportunity to benefit from masterclasses and group mentoring sessions presented at the PHI. As a conclusion to the residency experience, the artists will present their projects during a public presentation on the closing night. This special event will showcase their artistic approach to the public and promote opportunities for collaboration, as well as attract the interest of producers from all storytelling disciplines.
Directed by Jorge Camarotti, this program takes an intersectional approach, focusing on the dynamics that shape underrepresented communities and their impacts. It allows participants to learn and exchange ideas on a variety of themes related to storytelling, whether musical, cinematic, theatrical, audio, or immersive, as well as important aspects relating to production, including the grant application process.
The goal of this program is to create a space that fosters collaboration between artists, partners, collaborators, and experts, in order to expand and amplify the intersections of art, culture, and society within local Black communities.
Selected Artists
Jenn Amankrah
Jenn Amankrah is a Ghanaian-Canadian filmmaker and visual artist based in Montreal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Film Production from Concordia University. Her practice is shaped by movement and sound, and by the way a gesture or vibration can reveal what escapes words: tension, effort, vulnerability. Working across photography and video, she is interested in forms of repetition and bodily discipline, seeking to translate the rhythm of the figure into visual language.
Mélissa Andrianasolo is a PhD Student in Art History at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM). Her thesis subject is about Black contemporary artists’ praxis in artistic space in Montréal. She leads independent research work about place and representation of BIPOC in Art History for several years through her podcast La Couleur de l’Art (“The Color of Art”). In this podcast she grapples with the challenges, possibilities, and complexities of the representation of people of color in art, including their depiction and their presence as professionals in the field. Thanks to this independent research work, she has been able to give conferences and workshops in museum (Pompidou Centre, Musée d’Aquitaine), art galleries (PHI, La Guilde 1906) and universities (Concordia's 4th Space, Museology Department of UQAM) to talk about racism, inclusion and representation.
Tanya Déry-Obin is a Montreal-based author. Her first book, Fantasmer ma réinvention, was published by Québec Amérique in January 2026. Rooted in the tradition of Black American feminism, this personal essay draws on lived experience as the starting point for a critical reflection that examines the relationship to the body. Her writing has also appeared in the journals Tristesse, Moebius, and XYZ. Instagram ↗
Photo: Martine Doyon
Marie-Denise Douyon
Marie-Denise Douyon is a Haitian-born multidisciplinary artist, author, and illustrator based in Montreal. Her journey through Port-au-Prince, North Africa, New York City, and Montreal informs a practice centered on memory, orality, and cultural transmission. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, she explores the dialogue between text, image, and speech through children’s literature, visual arts, and cultural mediation. Inspired by folktales, proverbs, and migration narratives, she develops a practice in which orality becomes a space for resilience, intercultural exchange, and the transmission of marginalized historical memories.
Roy Kingsley is an emerging Montreal-based screenwriter and director. A former competitive basketball player, he transitioned into filmmaking and has since focused on developing projects for the screen. In 2021, he participated in the Fondation Fabienne Colas program Being Black in Canada, where he directed a documentary exploring disparities within Montreal’s private college system. In 2025, he participated in the Pitch des scénaristes – Series Program 2025 by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, presenting Au Nord de tout, a web series that recently received development funding from the Independent Production Fund (IPF). His short film Le Prospect was selected at the Montreal International Black Film Festival.
Richy Lee is a black queer multimedia artist based in Montreal, Canada. They are known to work across media, from painting and illustration to 2D animation and stop-motion, even occasionally performing poetry and make appearances in the Montreal ballroom/vogueing scene. Their art often features surrealist imagery, a bold use of colour, and a deep connection to nature. They hold a bachelor's degree in Film Animation from Concordia University and have been working professionally in the Montreal film scene since 2021. They are passionate about telling stories that are rooted in black/queer joy.
Sarra Mirghani is a Sudanese-Egyptian interdisciplinary storyteller. Her body of work includes Porch, a play she wrote, directed, and debuted to sold out audiences at the 2025 Montreal Fringe Festival. She also wrote, produced, and directed the short film, Silk Salad & Ruby Vinaigrette. Recently, she was an Assistant Director and Assistant Producer for the non fiction video series, Représent. Simultaneously, she co-produced the Simmer Short Works Performance Festival and completed Teesri Duniya’s Fireworks Play Program. Sarra’s work and process often explores tensions within ourselves and our communities, focusing on ways to approach these tensions with curiosity, compassion, and humor. Instagram ↗
Photo: Alexander Pacifici from Collective Studios
Aline-Sitoé N’Diaye
Aline-Sitoé N'Diaye is a director and film editor whose work explores social issues, identity, and memory. She studied cinema in France and screenwriting in Montreal. Her award-winning short film Ceeb (3 min) won the French Prize at the Nespresso Talents Cannes in 2019. She co-directed the independent documentary The Bronx Berlin Connection (2020), as well as two short films: Fragments (selected at the Palm Springs International Film Festival) and Emersion (part of the European mAPs POWER! collection), both of which received awards at several festivals. In 2024, she directed Cult Underground (5x52’), a documentary series about Montreal’s rap scene for Natyf TV. She has also worked as an editor on feature films such as Le Mythe de la Femme Noire, Je suis la France, and Tina. Instagram ↗
→Mandatory introduction session for all selected artists: May 28, 2026
→Day 1: June 6, 2026 — Full day Online Mentorship: June 9, 2026, from 5 PM to 7 PM
→Day 2: June 13, 2026 — Full day Online Mentorship: June 16, 2026, from 5 PM to 7 PM
→Day 3: June 20, 2026 — Full day Online Mentorship: June 23, 2026, from 5 PM to 7 PM
→Final Evening: in September, 2026, starting 6 PM (date to be confirmed)
Program Overview
The program, directed by Jorge Camarotti, consists of several master classes and mentoring sessions given by experts in their fields on various topics related to storytelling.
During the residency, artists will have the opportunity to meet every Wednesday for a virtual happy hour with Jorge Camarotti to discuss the discoveries and questions raised by the previous week's masterclasses.
After the residency, these meetings will continue for four weeks with a new approach, aimed at supporting the artists in preparing their projects for a public presentation at the program's closing night in September.
Details about this presentation will be shared during the program's onboarding session.
Eligibility Requirements
Candidates must:
• Be creative individuals and storytellers from Black communities in the Greater Montreal area.
• Have produced at least one previous work recognized by peers in the field of storytelling (film, visual, sound, musical, theatrical, etc.).
• Have a narrative project in development and want to further develop it during the program, with the aim of evolving and refining their artistic approach.
2026 Mentors
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Craig Quintero
Reinventing Narrative Codes
As the Artistic Director of the Taipei-based Riverbed Theatre Company, Craig has written and directed over fifty original image-based performances, including productions in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, China, France, Germany, England, and the United States. He is also a sculptor and installation artist whose work has been shown at the Asian Biennial, Venice Biennale Collateral Events, Kobe Biennale, Taipei Biennale, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei MOCA, and the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art. His VR experience, All That Remains, premiered at the 79th Venice Film Festival (2022) and won the prize for Best Immersive Experience at the 2023 Luxembourg Film Festival and Best 360VR Film at the Kaohsiung Film Festival. His second VR experience, Over the Rainbow, premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and was selected for the "Best of" section for the 80th Venice Film Festival (2023).
The project won the Panorama Prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema. His third project, A Simple Silence, premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. The combined Just for You Trilogy premiered at SXSW in 2025. Craig co-directed the XR experience Blur with Phoebe Greenberg. The production was staged at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Taiwan National Theatre, National Taichung Theatre, Tainan Art Museum, and the PHI Centre. Craig was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2023. A former Fulbright Senior Scholar and Mellon Foundation Humanities Unbounded Fellow, Craig received his Ph.D. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is a Professor in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at Grinnell College.
Daniela Mujica
Producing Beyond Borders: Stories of the African Diaspora
Award-winning producer at TIFF and the Gémeaux Awards, Daniela Mujica has extensive experience in project financing, working with both funding bodies and production companies. Throughout her career, she has developed a strong expertise in artistic and financial development, from concept creation through to distribution. After a career marked by roles as content producer, creator, and Associate Director at Telefilm Canada (CMF programs), she founded her company Productions Ocho in 2020 and collaborates with Yzanakio. She produces and co-produces documentaries, series, feature films, and short films internationally.
Her recent productions include Allah n’est pas obligé (Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Red Sea Film Festival, Producer of the Year at Cartoon Movie), Kanaval (TIFF Amplify Award, Cinémania – Audience Award, FESPACO, Zlín Film Festival, Joburg Film Festival, Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival), Sirius (Cannes Short Corner, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma), Afro Canada (Gémeaux nominee), Trasiego (Annecy, Morelia, Guanajuato, Cannes Short Corner), Hôtel Beyrouth (Cinémania, TFO), Tina: Art, Love and Revolution (FIFA 2026), Noces d’eau (Clermont-Ferrand), and Les Lavendières (FNC, VIFF).
Dawit Petros
The Power of Storytelling in a Single Frame
Dawit L. Petros draws on his study of history to examine the displaced histories of African diasporas, colonialism, and migration through installation, images, sculpture, video, sound, and performance. He completed the Whitney Independent Study Program, an MFA in Visual Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University; a BFA in Photography from Concordia University and a BA in History from the University of Saskatchewan. Petros has presented his work at venues including Remai Modern, Saskatoon, SK; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LO; Tate Modern, London, UK; Biennale de Quebec, QC; Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; Haus der Kunst, Munich, DE; Savvy Contemporary, Berlin, DE; Spanish Biennial of African Photography, Malaga, SP; Oslo Kunstforening, Oslo, Norway; 13th Biennial of Havana, Matanzas; Huis Marseille Museum of Photography, Amsterdam, NL; The Studio Museum in Harlem, NYC; The Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit, MI; The Durban Art Gallery in Durban, SA; and The Royal Ontario Museum of Art in Toronto, ON.
His work has been recognized with awards including a Terra Foundation For American Art Research Fellow, the Scotiabank Photography Award, the Paul De Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award in Art Photography, the Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography, an Art Matters Foundation Fellowship, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Publication & Critical Documentation, a Fulbright Fellowship, the J. Armand Bombardier Internationalist Fellowship, and Canada Council for the Arts, Long Term Project Grants. Petros has been an Artist In Residence at Civitella Ranieri Foundation, LJMU School of Art and Design, G.A.S Foundation, Center for Photography at Woodstock, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The McColl Center for Visual Art, and Addis Ababa Photo Fest. He has conducted workshops with artists in Lubumbashi, Congo; Lagos, Nigeria; Liverpool, UK; Asmara, Eritrea and Berlin, DE. Dawit L. Petros is a co-founder with Heba Y. Amin of Black Athena Collective. He is represented by Tiwani Contemporary in London, UK and Bradley Ertaskiran in Montreal, Canada.
Jason Anderson
From Short to Feature-Length: Crossing the Format Boundary
Jason Anderson has been a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival since 2015. The former lead programmer for Short Cuts, he's now the lead programmer for Canada and the international programmer for the Nordic and Benelux regions. He's also the director of programming for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and Aspen Shortsfest. A former critic and columnist for the Toronto weeklies Eye and The Grid, he writes about film and music for such publications as Uncut and Sight & Sound. He teaches a course on film criticism at the University of Toronto.
Manuel Mathieu
Painting a Story: Form and Universal Symbolism
Montréal-based multidisciplinary artist Manuel Mathieu is known for works that explore themes of historical violence, erasure, as well as the physicality of Haitian visual culture, nature, and symbolism. He works in painting, sculpture, mosaic, installation, video, and olfaction. Drawing from a wide range of registers, Manuel’s practice combines his Haitian heritage with his formal artistic training, which culminated in a Master of Fine Arts from Goldsmiths, University of London. In recent years, he has held solo exhibitions at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Power Plant, Longlati Foundation, K11 Art Foundation, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, and the De La Warr Pavilion.
Mathieu recently received the Best Short Film award at the 2023 International Festival of Films on Art for his film Pendulum, which was subsequently presented in solo exhibitions at the Pérez Art Museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Mackenzie Art Gallery. Engaged in community work, Manuel Mathieu has served as president of MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) and co-chair of the philanthropic campaign for the Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal. He has initiated several funds, including the AWARE Fund, the Marie-Solange Apollon Fund at the MMFA, and Matin Midi Swa, which finances short films by young Black filmmakers. He also founded Ciné Cozry, an inclusive platform highlighting artistic, ethnic, and gender diversity through screenings of original films.
Jane Kim
Creative Labs
As the Director of Market Programming and Creator Development, Jane Kim spearheads the dynamic TIFF: The Market Programming team, driving a robust slate of business and creative development programs that run year-round and at the Market. These initiatives have launched award-winning work that premiered not only at TIFF but at other prestigious international festivals around the world. The team also curates and produces a standout Speakers' Summit, featuring visionary speakers who spotlight boundary-pushing creativity and leading-edge business practices.
Opal H. Bennett
Bringing Humanity to Contemporary Social Issues
Opal H. Bennett is an Emmy-winning Senior Producer at POV and Executive Producer at POV Shorts. In her first season producing, POV Shorts won the 2020 IDA Award for Best Short Form Series and the series broadcast the 2021 NewsDoc Emmy Winner for Short Documentary, The Love Bugs. Previously, Opal was Shorts Programmer and Director of Artist Development at DOC NYC and Senior Programmer at Athena Film Festival. Prior to that, Opal also worked with Nantucket Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Tribeca Film Festival and consulted for The Gotham (formerly IFP). She is a Programming Consultant for the March On! Film Festival.
Opal is a member of the AMPAS Documentary branch and is a Board Member of the Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC). She has served on juries for SxSW, HotDocs, DOCNYC, Aspen & Palm Springs ShortsFests, and Seattle International Film Festivals among others. She has also served on the shorts selection committees for Cinema Eye Honors and the IDA. Opal has participated on various selection committees for film programming and grants. A Columbia Law grad, Opal holds a Masters in Media Studies from the LSE, and received her B.A. from New York University.
Dominique Fils-Aimé
Lyricism and Music: When Emotions Find Their Voice
Two-time JUNO Award-winning Montreal singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé has established herself as one of today’s leading voices in vocal jazz. Her latest album, Our Roots Run Deep (2023), earned the 2024 JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year as well as the 2024 Félix Award for Best Jazz Album at ADISQ, affirming the importance of her artistic vision at the crossroads of jazz, soul, and blues. Released in February 2026, My World Is The Sun marks the second chapter of her sophomore trilogy. With this new studio album, Fils-Aimé continues her exploration of sonic, creative, and spiritual freedom. On stage, she offers an immersive performance that invites audiences to delve into the roots of their soul, guided by a profound quest for connection.
Live at the Montreal International Jazz Festival (2025), her first live album, is a testament to the strength of her stage presence and her ability to forge an intimate bond with her audience. In recent years, she has performed on prestigious stages including the Blue Note New York, Blue Note Los Angeles, and the Monterey Jazz Festival, as well as Jazz à Vienne (opening for Jamie Cullum) and the North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2026, Dominique Fils-Aimé is bringing her new album to the stage on a world tour, with concerts announced in Europe at La Maroquinerie (Paris) and Le Botanique (Brussels), in Canada at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and across the United States.
“That's definitely the most important thing I learned during InVisible Voices. I realized that it's not so much the premise of your film that will stick in people's minds after your presentation, but rather what's happened in your real life, what you want to accomplish, and what you need to achieve it. Coming from a background that isn't always the best, I often thought that people weren't so interested in hearing about me, but rather in my projects. But in the end, it's the opposite! It's better to take the time to express ourselves, because it's our personal stories that guide what we want to tell.”
—Richard Mugwaneza, inVisible Voices 2025
“When I saw all the mentors who would be present, I felt that each of their areas of expertise corresponded to one of the aspects of this theatrical object that I had in mind. I thought they would assign a specific mentor to each person, but once I was accepted, I realized that we would have the opportunity to access all of these experts and all of their knowledge!”
— Iannicko N’Doua, inVisible Voices 2025
“I learned so much during the three days of the residency! But the most important thing for me is that, ultimately, we are all human beings in this environment. I tend to admire certain people and see them as larger-than-life, but in fact, everyone has pretty much the same aspirations and insecurities. We had the chance to meet renowned artists, which is something I naturally aspire to, but realizing that I have more in common with them than I thought proves to me that it is possible, in a sense, to achieve my dreams.”
— Stella Lemaine, inVisible Voices 2025
“Joining the InVisible Voices program gave me the opportunity to connect and build relationships with fellow filmmakers and future collaborators. Led by Jorge Camarotti and the team at [PHI], their generosity and care were key to a beautiful experience.”
— Adam Mbowe, inVisible Voices 2024
“InVisible Voices was a significant experience thanks to the support of seasoned mentors, whose exceptional and inspiring careers deeply nurtured me. Their invaluable advice gave me the confidence to assert my artistic voice and explore my project with greater boldness.”
— Phania Jean-Baptiste, inVisible Voices 2024
“InVisible Voices was a true artistic breakthrough for my short film project. It greatly helped me unlock my creativity and screenwriting. It allowed me to encounter other worlds and draw inspiration from them to find my own. For me, it was an essential space for learning from the inspiring artistic journeys of racialized participants, as well as from the speakers and mentors.”
— Anamê Gnanguenon, inVisible Voices 2024
About the Artistic Director and Program Lead
Jorge Camarotti
Born into a working-class family in São Paulo, Brazil, Jorge Camarotti is an award-winning Afro-Brazilian filmmaker living in Montreal since 2003. He has directed over a dozen short films, both documentaries and fiction, remaining true to his mission of giving a voice to the most marginalized individuals in our society. His most recent project, Ousmane, had its world premiere at TIFF 2021, followed by its international premiere at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) joined Ousmane as executive producer. The film was acquired by The New Yorker for North American distribution.
To date, Ousmane has been screened at over 60 festivals worldwide. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter magazines ranked Ousmane among the top ten films of 2022. The film has been selected for the 2023 Oscars® and has won 15 awards, including two Academy Awards® Qualifying Festivals, a nomination for Best Live Action Short Film at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, and a Vimeo Staff Picks: Best of the Year award.
Over the past three years, Jorge has served as a screenwriting mentor and artistic director for underrepresented groups for Netflix's Being Black in Canada program. With the support of Telefilm Canada, Jorge is currently working on his first feature film, which was selected for development at the renowned TIFF Filmmaker Lab in 2021 and more recently at the Feature Film Revision Lab at Cine Qua Non.
Frequently Asked Questions
Six (6) to eight (8) participants will be selected annually to take part in the program.
The program lasts approximately four months. It begins with a mandatory online introductory session with the artists, followed by three intensive days of mentoring and in-person workshops at PHI. Thereafter, group mentoring sessions and online group discussions will be organized. Finally, the program will conclude with an in-person closing night event at PHI.
The program's main objectives are:
To create frameworks and “bridges” to facilitate access to the industry by offering resources, support, and collective mentoring within Black communities;
To broaden participating artists' critical thinking around artistic practices;
To strengthen expertise in cutting-edge storytelling tools and techniques.
This program therefore aims to develop new perspectives, ways of thinking, and methods for approaching your project.
The program's closing night includes presentations of participants' projects, followed by a discussion led by Jorge Camarotti on the program's results.
No. There is no application fee.
The selection process will be carried out by an external committee to PHI composed of invited professionals with expertise related to the program, an artist who has previously participated in the residence, and an industry expert, ensuring a diversity of expertise, experiences, and perspectives.
Clarity, vision and scope of the approach and project presented (50%);
Previous work and portfolio (25%);
Motivation to participate in the program (25%).
Yes. All participating artists will be asked to sign a Letter of Agreement with PHI.
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PHI would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts for its support of the (in)Visible Voices program.
Founded and directed by Phoebe Greenberg in Montreal, PHI is a multidisciplinary arts hub dedicated to presenting the most relevant ideas of our time through art and culture. Focused on the art and audiences of tomorrow, PHI explores innovative concepts by emphasizing collective experiences, engagement, and audience participation.
PHI offers an eclectic program combining exhibitions, events, immersive experiences, an educational program, and artist residencies, fostering unique encounters between artists and the public. Committed to creation, presentation, and support of contemporary artistic practices, PHI has established itself as a must-visit cultural destination in the heart of Old Montreal.
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