Announcing the 2026 Unsung Voices Participants

Angeline Javier

Angeline Javier is a photographer and filmmaker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Drawing from personal experience and stories from the Filipino diaspora, her films aim to explore relationships, culture and the politics that shape identity through both documentary and narrative work. Her previous short-doc Please Handle With Care won several awards, including best Manitoba Short at the Gimli Film Festival in 2023, and has screened across Canada. In 2026, Angeline premiered her first narrative short film, All The Words

Instagram: @angelinejavierr

Project Title: Route 16

Logline: A dramedy short film about Ira, a 22-year-old who reluctantly takes the bus to meet up with a guy she met online, but when her date cancels mid-ride, Ira decides to join the middle-aged bus driver on his smoke break.

Minjae Kwak

Minjae Kwak is a Korean-Canadian filmmaker raised in Calgary. After graduating from Confederation College’s Film Production program, he moved to Toronto to work in the grip, electric, and camera departments, gaining hands-on filmmaking experience both during his studies and throughout his career. As a director, he is drawn to stories that truthfully explore the human condition. Inspired by filmmakers such as Kieslowski, Tarkovsky, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Minjae aims to tell stories through a personal lens shaped by his experiences living in both South Korea and Canada.

Instagram: @notminjae

Project Title: The Lantern

Logline: A tick infestation drives a group of campers out of their tent while their only light source— a solar powered lantern—is slowly losing power. Their conflicting instincts drive them against one another as the darkness threatens to swallow them all. Tick tock.

Yasmin Lau

Yasmin Lau is a Toronto-based actor and filmmaker drawn to intimate, character-driven stories about family and cultural identity. She graduated from TMU’s RTA Media Production program and began acting as a child, with her first short film, Banana Bruises, premiering at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Since then, she has appeared in projects including Orphan Black: Echoes, Kim’s Convenience, and Nurses. Inspired by her own experiences, her work is rooted in quiet, observational storytelling that explores unspoken family dynamics and the emotional weight children carry in complex adult environments.

Instagram: @yasminlau

Project Title: The Children Trap

Logline:In a home where fights erupt and everything is quietly reset by morning, two young isters begin secretly plotting their parents’ divorce, believing it’s the only way to save their family.

Nick Patel

Nick (he/him) is an Indian-Canadian actor, writer, and producer based in Toronto. He began performing at age 8 and has since worked across stage and screen, driven by a commitment to challenging the boundaries placed on South Asian artists in film and theatre.

Last year, Nick founded Young Poet Productions, where he is currently producing three films in post-production. This experience gave him the confidence to step behind the camera for his debut short film with Unsung Voices, where he continues to champion South Asian and Asian diasporic stories. Nick holds degrees in Mathematics and Business from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, where a minor in Theatre helped keep him sane through countless algebra and finance exams.

Instagram: @nickpaatel

Project Title: Don’t Bail

Logline: A 45-year-old corporate worker befriends a group of young skaters and secretly begins learning to skateboard during his lunch breaks. When doubt and judgment creep in, he must decide whether to abandon the joy he’s found or embrace the risk of starting over.

Nidhil Vohra

Nidhil Vohra is a writer, filmmaker, and MA student at the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies Institute. His work seeks to amplify the voices of minoritized communities, often using humour to explore complex themes of identity, class barriers, religion, and belonging. He has written about film and culture for publications including POV Magazine, SAAG Anthology, The Tribune, and the Toronto Star.

Instagram: @nidhilvohra

Project Title: Dream Girl

Logline: A middle-aged Indian mother is faced with a dilemma of a lifetime when her yesteryear Bollywood crush arrives at her door with just one request for her husband and children — to marry her.

Fanny Lord-Bourcier

Fanny Lord-Bourcier is an animator and multidisciplinary artist based in Tio’tia:ke / Mooniyang / Montréal. Curious and keen, they are continuously willing to adopt and be adopted by new places, disciplines, mediums, and people. Fanny uses their medium of choice, animation—the art of movement—to bring to life playful and reflective interpretations of reality, with a particular interest in dreams, memory, and diaspora.

In 2023, Fanny obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts with great distinction from Concordia University, with a Major in Film Animation and a Minor in Music. Their thesis film, Abby (2023), competed at the Ottawa International Animation Film Festival in the Canadian Student category and won the National Film Board of Canada Best Emerging Canadian Short Film Award at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Fanny’s debut animated documentary, Ambiguous Losses (2026), recently premiered at the Sommets du cinéma d’animation.

Instagram: @cartou.che

Project Title: Project U

Logline: Project U is a horror stop-motion animation film exploring queer desire and emancipation after the death of Nina’s abusive and homophobic mother.

Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller
Screenwriter & Director

Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller is a mixed-race Palestinian filmmaker based in Tkaronto. Her work explores themes of fragmented identity, grief, isolation and connection through grounded “oh no, should I laugh?” comedy. Fateema’s background in improv and clown greatly influences her process as she strives to create with integrity, depth and a sense of humour. Fateema is a CFC Directors’ Lab, Reelworld E20 and Middle Eastern Media Initiative alumni. Her work has been awarded at film festivals all over the world and she believes in resilience and resistance through laughter.

Priscilla Galvez
Director & Producer

Priscilla Galvez is a director and producer whose films have premiered at international festivals like TIFF, DOC NYC, Slamdance, and SXSW. She’s best known for producing Islands, which received an award at SXSW. As a producer, Priscilla has won two Canadian Screen Awards – Best Documentary Short for Sing Me A Lullaby and Best Live-Action Drama Short for Motherland.

Priscilla’s directorial debut ‘A Fermenting Woman’, a visceral body horror short film starring Sook-Yin Lee, traveled the festival circuit worldwide, picking up several awards, including the Programmer’s Choice Award at Minikino Film Week in Bali and the Grand Prize at Festival Court Métrage in Rennes, France. She is also the co-founder of Silent Tower, an indie production company based in Toronto that champions bold, offbeat storytelling rooted in its indie spirit – crafting raw, authentic films and collaborating with exciting filmmakers to bring fresh, impactful projects to life.

Chrisann Hessing
Filmmaker

Chrisann Hessing is a Toronto-based documentary filmmaker and impact producer whose work explores the intersection of culture, identity and transformation. Her films have screened at Hot Docs, RIDM, Calgary International Film Festival and the London Asian Film Festival, and have been released on CBC Gem, Crave, TVO and CNN’s Great Big Story.

As a director, Chrisann has created documentary shorts, features and series. Her short film Turning Tables won Best Short Documentary at the 43rd American Indian Film Festival and screened at more than 30 festivals internationally. Her debut feature, We Will Be Brave, won Audience Choice Feature at the 2023 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and was later nominated for a Heritage Toronto Public History Award. Her recent directing credits include Crossing the Divide (Hot Docs Citizen Minutes Series 3) and TVO’s Unrigged, a doc series examining the state of Canadian democracy and spotlighting practical, community-driven solutions to strengthen civic participation.

As an impact producer, Chrisann has led national engagement campaigns for films including Michèle Hozer’s The Pitch, Jennifer Holness’ Subjects of Desire, and Hot Docs’ Citizen Minutes Series 1 and 2. She has developed cross-sector partnerships, national screening tours, sponsorship activations and educational initiatives that connect films with communities, institutions and decision-makers — positioning documentary storytelling as a catalyst for dialogue and measurable social impact.

She has collaborated with organizations including TIFF, the Global Centre for Pluralism and the DOC Institute, and currently serves on the board of POV Magazine.