Youth Jury

Youth Jury 2018

Youth from across the Lower Mainland and the world will watch, debate and champion the eight films in the New Directors Competition to select the winner of the Youth Choice Award. On September 2, the Youth Jury will present the award before the Closing Night Film.

: Nicolas Ayerbe Barona produced the feature Cadence, which premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The film won the #mustseeBC award and was later the most nominated at the Leo Awards. He has produced 9 shorts, 3 commercials, and multiple videos for diverse clients. Nicolas studied Film and Digital Media at UBC.

: Marion Benkaiouche doesn’t like to categorize herself and as a result has tried a great many things and been satisfied with few accomplishments. She has a theory she might be Borges reincarnated, in case he took a few years off after his death before being reborn. Her current favourite movie is Rear Window.

: Olena Kozyr is a multilingual and self-motivated individual who successfully combines her studies, acting, and modeling lives. She is passionate about pursuing her dreams and believes that there is nothing impossible. After modeling at the Vancouver Fashion Week, she successfully became a finalist of the Supermodel Canada Search 2018.  Olena is a second-year student at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University.

: Paola Chavira is finishing her degree in Communications at the Universidad José Vasconcelos in Mexico; she is also studying filmmaking at the Centro de realización y actuación Dolores del Río in Durango, Mexico. Her film The Left Path won the prize for Best Short at the Durango Festival of New Mexican Cinema in 2018.

: Barbara Constance Matthews is from Santiago, Chile and immigrated to the United States at a young age. She received her Bachelor of Arts in 2016 from SFU in International Studies and Visual Culture and Performance Studies. She has held positions as a researcher, gallery assistant, translator, and tree-planter in BC and has plans to pursue further schooling in documentary film studies.

: Charlotte Cavalié is a French-Mexican columnist in both newspaper and radio. After finishing her degree in art history, she moved from Paris to Vancouver in 2015. Immerging herself in the local art scene, she volunteered at the Cinematheque and the Festival of Recorded Movement. She currently writes for The Source newspaper and assists a gallery owner.

: Maria-José Araujo is a Salvadoran artist and filmmaker who graduated from Quest University Canada. Her art explores human rights, gender identity, and dreams. Her debut documentary, El lugar donde la luz toca, depicts moments in the life of 8 Salvadoran woman. The trailer is available at:  https://vimeo.com/279412958

: Syed Mustafa recently graduated from UBC with a degree in Film Studies, having been involved with film and photography from a young age. Coming all the way from Malaysia, he currently works as a freelance photographer as well as in multiple roles behind the scenes at live events and on set. Having focused on third world cinema during his studies, he hopes to further contribute to the film industry in Malaysia in the future.

: Sunshine O’Donovan is an 18-year-old student, author, actor, and playwright. She is a member of the Lower Nicola Indian Band of the Nlaka’pamux Nation. She is interested in politics and Indigenous people, environmental sustainability, making and watching films, and bringing Shakespeare’s words to life.

: Sheridan Tamayo-Henderson is a film student at SFU who is passionate about political filmmaking and sound art. Prior to studying at SFU she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Northern British Columbia where she studied Central American politics and history, geopolitics, migration, and international development.

: Mariana Trujillo-Lezama is an artist born and raised in Colombia. She migrated to Vancouver, Canada with her family in 2014. Based on introspection and analysis of her own experience as an immigrant and a woman of colour, her art practice explores identity politics through performance, printmaking, painting, and writing.

: Maria Paredes was born in Cartagena, Colombia. She is a front-line worker at a local rape crisis centre and shelter for women. She is currently enrolled in the Political Science program at Douglas College.

: Daniel Gámez is a Mexican writer and researcher who has participated in public radio and art projects in his home country. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Geography at the University of British Columbia.

: Julianne Wilson is a Vancouver-based writer, producer, and screenwriter. She has a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of British Columbia and recently completed the Writing for Film and Television program at Vancouver Film School.

: Diana Pérez is a multimedia communicator and designer working in social justice. She holds a degree in Sociology from the University of British Columbia and has held executive positions at the UBC Association of Latin American Students and the UBC Latin Dance Club. She was born and raised in Lima, Peru.

: Anaïs Elboujdaïni is a reporter for Radio-Canada in Vancouver. She was previously based in the Ottawa region where she studied Political Science. After a trip to Chile over a decade ago, she developed a fond interest in Latin American socio-political context. When not at work, she loves to eat, look up new words, and listen to podcasts.

: Dheeraj is an English Honours student at the University of British Columbia. A Queer desi who moved to Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories/Vancouver from India, he is primarily interested in Postcolonial, Queer, and Critical Race studies in literature and film.