INVISIBLE VOICES

Artistic director and program leader
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Directing and Hurdles
Mentor

Born into a working-class family in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Jorge Camarotti is an award-winning Afro-Brazilian filmmaker based in Montreal since 2003. Since his beginnings in filmmaking, Jorge has directed more than a dozen short films, both documentary and fiction, remaining true to his mission of giving voice to the most aggrieved individuals in our society. His most recent project Ousmane had its world premiere at TIFF 2021, followed by an international premiere at the prestigious Clermont-Ferrand film festival. Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles, City of God, joined Ousmane as executive producer and the film was acquired by the New Yorker Magazine for North American distribution. Ousmane has been screened in more than 60 festivals around the world so far.

Directing and Hurdles
Masterclass

Alexandre Moratto, a prominent figure in Brazilian Cinema, gained recognition with his debut feature Socrates in 2018. Made on a modest budget and featuring a cast and crew of teenagers from São Paulo's low-income communities, the film received international acclaim and won him the 'Someone to Watch' Independent Spirit Award. Moratto's second film, 7 Prisoners, was released by Netflix and produced by renowned directors Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and premiered at the Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Screenwriting
Masterclass

Philippe Lacôte grew up in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire. He began making short films and documentaries after a career as a radio reporter. His work as a filmmaker took many forms before focusing on the recent history of his country. After the social and political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire in 2002, Lacôte founded Wassakara Productions with a collective of artists, to make other West African voices heard. In 2014, his first feature film Run was selected at Cannes (Un certain regard). La Nuit des rois, his second feature, which teams David Oyelowo as executive producer, had its world premiere in Venice and won numerous awards, including the Amplify Voices prize at TIFF and the Youth Jury Award in Rotterdam. The film was distributed in the U.S. by NEON and shortlisted for the 2021 Oscars. Philippe Lacôte is currently in post-production on his third feature film, Killer Heat, for Amazon Studios, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley. At the same time, he is developing series on the African continent through the "It's Time To Tell Our Stories" label.

Photo: Mateusz Żaboklicki

Screenwriting
Mentor

Mé el Aïn is the director’s debut feature film. Her shorts Gods, Weeds and Revolutions and Born in the Maelstrom both screened at international film festivals. Her Oscar-nominated short Brotherhood was selected by over 150 festivals and won 75 international awards. In her own words, she believes wholeheartedly in the transformative power of storytelling and hopes that her films can capture the beauty, complexity and universal nature of the human condition.

Innovative Storytelling
Masterclass

Chief creative officer and co-founder of Felix & Paul Studios, Félix Lajeunesse is a visionary artist whose immersive experiences are characterized by an abundance of detail and a deep understanding of human emotions. With studio co-founders Paul Raphaël and Stéphane Rituit, Felix has spent over a decade at the forefront of technological innovation and creative excellence. Felix has co-directed over 30 immersive experiences that have helped expand the world of interactive storytelling, earning him numerous accolades along the way, including two Emmy Awards for The People's House and Space Explorers: The ISS Experience, which inspired the in-situ virtual reality experience Space Explorers: L'INFINI.

Innovative Storytelling
Mentor

Marie Brassard is an actress, writer and director. In 2001, she began a solo career by founding her own production company, Infrarouge, of which she is the artistic director. In close collaboration with musicians and visual artists, she creates shows with surreal atmospheres where video, light and sound have a royal place. Intertwining voices and music, crossing levels of reality, her productions take us where the boundary between private and public becomes blurred and the relationship between humans and technology becomes intimate. Her distinctive work, which combines art and technology, has made her a singular voice in the contemporary theatrical landscape. Her plays have been presented and warmly received in over twenty countries in America and Europe as well as in Japan and Australia. In 2016, she was awarded the Ordre des arts et des Lettres du Québec, an honorary distinction highlighting her exceptional contribution to the Quebec artistic community.

Sound and Foley
Masterclass

Sylvain Bellemare is a film sound designer. Active since 1993 in Quebec, French and American cinema, he has participated in over 150 fiction and documentary films. He also worked as a sound recordist on some fifteen projects from 1993 to 2007. Winner of 11 other awards for best sound, including the Oscar and Bafta for Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, he also gives lectures on sound.

Sound and Foley
Mentor

Brian D'Oliveira is an award-winning Composer, instrumentalist, and pioneer in interactive spatial sound design. He is renowned for his innovative integration of music with cutting-edge spatial sound technologies. As the founder of MNTRA Instruments, D'Oliveira has advanced the field of spatial sound, developing revolutionary GPU-powered spatial reverbs and virtual instruments that allow composers and sound artists to explore new sonic territories. A virtuoso of over 1500 unique instruments, his transcultural musical style combines traditional musical forms with contemporary sounds to create deeply immersive audio environments. This approach is exemplified in his acclaimed work on video game scores such as Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Resident Evil 7 & 8, where his immersive music and sound design enhance narrative and gameplay, drawing players into rich, emotionally engaging worlds. D'Oliveira founded the Montreal-based audio production company La Hacienda Creative.

Funding and Grants
Masterclass

After a decade working in financial services and fashion, Belinda Etienne redirected her career towards the cultural sector, where she accumulated several years of varied experience in the audiovisual industry within the CBC-Radio-Canada and Telefilm Canada teams, in addition to collaborating on an educational project for the new generation with the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. With a degree in business administration, she has developed a solid understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion issues in the cultural sector. Since 2023, she has held the position of Program Manager at the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, where she is responsible of the Vivacité program, the Arts et lettres de Montréal pour la relève program and several disciplines within the Conseil's general grants program.

Photo: Yvette Cakpo Photographe

Funding and Grants
Mentor

Claude Girard's career path illustrates an exemplary combination of dexterity, adaptability and strategic vision. With a background in law and psychology, Claude laid the solid foundations required for his practice. His negotiating skills have facilitated major agreements in sales, acquisitions and financing, both in Canada and internationally. In 2008, Claude took the decisive step of creating the Agence Claude Girard, a division that brings together a variety of artists from film, television, advertising, theatre and literature. The artists he represents have not only been recognized by their peers, but have also won the highest honours. Claude's multifaceted career, marked by a transition from law to the entertainment industry, demonstrates his versatility and foresight in navigating and merging distinct professional landscapes.

Distribution and Festival
Masterclass

Ana is an XR Curator and Creative Producer currently responsible for Immersive programming at Tribeca Festival. In 2020-22 she was Head of Studio at Kaleidoscope, an American-French immersive production company specializing in virtual and hybrid event production, and fostering up-and-coming projects and talent. Partnering with the Museum of Other Realities, Kaleidoscope has been on the bleeding edge of virtual event production, co-creating a number of immersive gatherings including the biggest VR exhibition in virtual reality at Cannes XR/Marché du Film, a first virtual fashion show with RYOT/Verizon Media, and a first national collection of immersive art with Digital Catapult/UKRI. Kaleidoscope co-produced a number of acclaimed VR experiences, including Spheres, starring Jessica Chastain and Patti Smith and executive produced by Darren Aronofsky, Battlescar, starring Rosario Dawson, and Evolver executive produced by Terrence Malick and Edward Pressman. Ana collaborates with public funds (Creative Europe MEDIA), NGO, universities and business. Formerly Producer and Director at Discovery Group, and Multimedia Lead at the Grand Theater–National Opera in Warsaw, she has over 15 years of experience in audiovisual content and event production working across TV, film, digital media, and theatre.

Distribution and Festival
Mentor

Pierre Even has more than thirty films to his credit, including C.R.A.Z.Y. directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Through his company Item 7, he has produced 18 feature films including Jean-Marc Vallée's Café de Flore, two Oscar nominated films, Kim Nguyen's War Witch (Rebelle), and John Crowley's co-production of Brooklyn (starring Saoirse Ronan). Recently released films include Kim Nguyen's The Hummingbird Project, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Salma Hayek. In theatres in 2021, Best Sellers, Lina Roessler's first feature with Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza, was selected at the Berlinale, at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and at Raindance. Maria Chapdelaine, written and directed by Sébastien Pilote, premiered at TIFF and has 16 nominations awards at Quebec Cinéma Gala. He also worked on the virtual reality experience Marco & Polo Go Round, by Benjamin Steiger Levine, which was awarded in many festivals and whose 2D version premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival. Days of Happiness (Les jours heureux), a film by Chloé Robichaud, premiered at TIFF 2023. In theatres in 2024, Balestra by Nicole Dorsey, starring Cush Jumbo, James Badge Dale and Manny Jacinto, Little Jesus (Petit Jésus) a France-Canada co-production with Antoine Bertrand and Le chef et la douanière, a comedy by Manon Briand starring Edouard Baer and Julie LeBreton.

Photo: Julien Faugère