Advisory Board

Shant Joshi is a queer Indo-Canadian producer based in Toronto and Los Angeles. His credits include the features Porcupine Lake (TIFF, Busan, Rome, Outfest), Last Car (dir. John Greyson), and Framing Agnes (Tribeca, Inside Out, Outfest - Best Experimental); the hit web series Teenagers, Dekkoo original series I’m Fine, and more than 15 short films that have travelled the global festival circuit.

Joshi co-founded The Future of Film Showcase as a launchpad for emerging Canadian filmmakers, and he previously worked in literary representation and packaging at Buchwald and Lit Entertainment Group (aka Madhouse Entertainment). He own and operates Fae Pictures, a production company with a mandate to “engage audiences with stories rooted in the perspective of the Other.”

As Executive Director of the Banff World Media Festival and Publisher of Playback, Jenn Kuzmyk oversees all aspects of the renowned international event and Canada’s premier national media industry publication. Together with an amazing team, Jenn originated and leads two of Canada’s largest inclusion and diversity programs serving the media sector: The Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative and the BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media.

Previously as Director of International Distribution at Proper Television, Jenn led program sales in key territories in North America and Europe, headed up the company’s OTT strategy and worked with independent producers, financing projects for the international market.

As VP, Development at Cream Productions, Jenn created, developed and co executive produced television series for top channels worldwide, including Emmy nominated series Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan, and hit international TV format Know-It-All, among many other titles.

Jenn currently sits on the Women in Film and Television Toronto Foundation (WIFT-T) Board of Directors as Vice Chair, on the Future of Film Showcase Advisory Board and has served as adjunct professor at Toronto’s York University, designing and teaching a 4th year course on the business of film, television and digital media.

Samah Ali is a distributor and film programmer hailing from Toronto, Canada. A lover of documentaries and virtual reality, her primary interests lie in short films, ethnic futurisms, and international stories. She is this year's FOFS Industry Director and programs for Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, DOC NYC, and Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival. Samah is also the founder of Sisterhood Media, a production and distribution company streaming films about community and identity on Sisterhood Media TV. You can interact with her on Twitter @sistersamah.

Ravi Srinivasan is an Arts curator based in Toronto, Ontario. With over eight years of experience programming award-winning films and discovering new talent, Ravi has a proven track record of delivering entertaining and meaningful work to audiences across Canada.

Currently, Ravi serves as Canadian features programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival and International Features programmer for Hot Docs. Ravi is also the founder and Executive Director of the South Western International Film Festival. Entering its 7th edition, Ravi built the festival from the ground up overseeing Development, Marketing and Programming.

Paige Murray is the Executive in Charge of Production for CBC. As the key point of contact for comedy and drama submissions, Paige actively looks for new talent and projects and evaluates series pitches to fulfill CBC’s programming needs.

Paige is also the programmer for Canadian Reflections, the longest running Canadian short film showcase on national broadcast television. She oversees the film acquisition, programming and scheduling strategy of this weekly show. Recent acquisitions include projects directed by Alicia Harris, Yassmina Karajah, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, Sherren Lee, Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Dangle.

Samantha Summers (she/her) is the Manager of Individual Giving for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Chair of Breakthroughs Film Festival. She is passionate about the power of art to inspire meaningful change in the world, and the role of artists in bringing light to injustice. Samantha holds a Master of Museum Studies, a Master of Information, a Master of Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts.