Guest Bios

On behalf of the Yukon Film Society, Yukon Filmmakers and festival audiences, thank you for presenting your work, participating in the Industry Forum events, and sharing your experiences.

Dennis Allen

Originally from Inuvik, but now living in Whitehorse, Dennis Allen has generated an impressive list of film credits. He acted in the hit CBC series North of 60, and co-starred in a National Film Board docu-drama The Herd. Allen wrote and directed The Hunt and The Walk (2003) for APTN, as well as the documentary My Father, My Teacher (2005) for the NFB. Dennis is a recording artist whose first record, Wayward Son was released in 2008.

Leanne Allison

Leanne Allison is a University of Calgary graduate who, after guiding scientists in Antarctica and on the glaciers of the Rocky Mountains for 15 years, became a filmmaker. She shot and co-directed the 2006 Gemini award-winning National Film Board of Canada documentary, Being Caribou (2004), which also won Best Environmental Film at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival. Her latest work is the NFB film, Finding Farley.

Carl Bessai

Carl Bessai started out in the film industry shooting documentaries and soon honed his skills as a producer, writer, director, and cinematographer. His feature films have won international critical acclaim, having screened at numerous festivals including Sundance, Berlin, and Toronto and have been released theatrically worldwide. His feature dramas include Johnny (1999), Lola (2001), Emile (2003), Severed (2005), Unnatural & Accidental (2006), Normal (2007), Mothers & Daughters (2008), and Cole (2009). Fathers & Sons will be released in 2010.

Sue Biely

Sue Biely is curious about how media is used in our world. She is an accomplished leader and member of the independent media community and has years of experience in advocacy, curation, and management in the areas of producing, broadcasting, new media, education and event coordination. Sue is a dynamic professional who is able to cross-pollinate between worlds and motivate people to think outside their comfort zone.

Louise Clark

Louise Clark is an independent producer, creative consultant and broadcast executive. She has over twenty-five years of experience in the film and television industry, most recently with CTV. As Vice-President of Program Development, she oversaw national development and production for the network, as well as working directly with Bravo, The Comedy Network and Space. Her production credits include the groundbreaking series Flashpoint, the Canadian hit Corner Gas and the critically acclaimed Robson Arms. Prior to her appointment at CTV Louise worked extensively as an independent producer with Rhombus Media, Atlantis Productions, Pacific Motion Pictures and Cadence Entertainment.

Neil Diamond

The director of Reel Injun and one of Canada’s foremost Aboriginal filmmakers, Neil Diamond hails from the James Bay Cree community of Waskaganish. His recent credits include The Last Explorer (2009), a feature-length docudrama for APTN retracing the steps of his great uncle, George Elson, and his ill-fated voyage into the heart of uncharted Labrador. An integral part of the Rezolution Pictures production company, Neil has directed two award-winning documentaries: One More River (2004), and Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Québec (2004).

Tracey Friesen

Tracey Friesen joined the NFB as producer in spring 2001 and became executive producer at the Pacific & Yukon Centre in 2007. Tracey has credits on over 20 documentaries, including Being Caribou, Carts of Darkness and the newly launched Finding Farley. Before the NFB, Tracey was with Rainmaker Studios for five years, and in 2008 she completed an MBA at SFU.

John Galway

John Galway’s career in the Canadian film and television industry has run through development and production to financing and exhibition. Starting at the Toronto International Film Festival, John moved into development and production with Independent Pictures, contract work on several film and television projects and ultimately into financing with the Ontario Film Investment Program, the CTF and Telefilm Canada. As President of the English-language Program at Astral Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund, John brings a deep respect for the history and the achievements of Canadian filmmakers.

Selwyn Jacob

Selwyn Jacob joined the National Film Board in 1997. The Vancouver-based producer’s recent productions include This Land, Warrior Boyz and River of Life directed by Yukon filmmaker, Werner Walcher. He also produced Jeni LeGon: Living in a Great Big Way and the Leo Award-winning The Journey of Lesra Martin and is currently working on a feature documentary about Harry Jerome with director Charles Officer. Prior to joining the NFB, Jacob was an independent producer and director for more than fifteen years.

Philip Lyall

Philip Lyall is a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Film Production Program. He is an award winning director and cinematographer whose short films have screened in numerous international festivals. Philip co-created the documentary 65_RedRoses with Nimisha Mukerji.

Omar Majeed

Omar Majeed is an award-winning editor and emerging documentary filmmaker. Based in Montreal, Omar has run the gamut from editing groundbreaking and award winning shows like QueerTelevision to designing the look and feel of the digital cable channel BookTelevision to producing various half-hour specials and documentary profiles. In 2006, Omar partnered up with Montreal’s acclaimed producer of social and political documentaries, EyeSteelFilm (Up The Yangtze, RIP: Remix Manifesto, Last Train Home) to direct Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam.

Viviane McConkey

Viviane McConkey has worked in the Canadian and international television and feature film industry for over twenty-five years. A graduate of the prestigious University of Television and Film in Munich, Germany, she worked as a freelance director and writer in Europe. After moving to Canada, Viviane McConkey first accepted the position of Content Analyst for Telefilm Canada in the early nineties but left in 1998 to pursue a career as a freelance story editor and creative analyst. She story edited award-winning feature films such as Lunch With Charles and Flowers and Garnet. In 2007, Viviane McConkey rejoined Vancouver’s Telefilm team as a Content Analyst. Her background has given her a range of knowledge, international in scope.

Nimisha Mukerji

Nimisha Mukerji is a filmmaker from Vancouver. After graduating from the Film Production Program at UBC, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television selected Nimisha for their National Apprenticeship Training Program. Nimisha co-directed 65_RedRoses with creative partner, Philip Lyall.

Teri Snelgrove

Teri Snelgrove graduated in film & video from the Emily Carr Institute. As a freelancer, she has produced a number of projects including In Her Footsteps: Celebrating BC Women in Sport, an interactive video installation for the BC Sports Hall of Fame. She’s been at the NFB for three years and recently was the associate producer on two NFB shorts for the Cultural Olympiad. Prior to film, Teri worked extensively in interdisciplinary theatre.

Robin Smith

Robin Smith brings 20 years of film, and arts-related work to his new company, Kinosmith Distributing, which has had recent success with the theatrical release of the documentary Up the Yangtze. Previous to starting Kinosmith, Robin worked at Capri Releasing Inc., Seville Pictures as Director of Sales and Marketing, Lions Gate Film Entertainment as Director of Marketing & Distribution, Blackwatch Releasing as Vice President of Marketing and Distribution, Toronto International Film Festival, and the National Film Board of Canada.

Sherry White

Sherry White was a performer and writer on the CBC series Hatching, Matching and Dispatching. She was also a writer on the CBC series MVP: the Secret Lives of Hockey Wives. Sherry wrote and played the lead in the feature film The Breadmaker, co-wrote and performed in the feature Down to the Dirt, and is the writer/director of the feature film Crackie. She has several films in development, including Maudie, a film inspired by the life of folk artist Maud Lewis. Sherry is part of the writing team for CBC’s comedy series Sophie.