Born in Montréal, Mary Ellen Davis has lived in France and in Quebec. After studying cinema, she directed documentaries shot in Quebec, Guatemala, Mexico and Palestine. Since 1998, she is co-programmer of the cinema section of the Festival Présence autochtone. In 1999, she started teaching part-time at the Mel Hoppenheim school of cinema. at Concordia University. She is also the co-organizer of Regards palestiniens, from its first edition in 2007 to its 13th, in 2019. In 2015, she co-founded the collective Regards syriens and the film series La Syrie vous regarde (5th edition, November 2020)
Mathieu Samaille majored in literature and studied drama and digital arts. He is a Canadian and French Citizen. In 2018, his experience in interdisciplinary arts, including writing, directing and editing, led to an interest in Video-Poetry, an immersive and ontological art form that explores the sensorial bonds between text, sound and image, transposing literary processes in media arts (see trailers below).
He was awarded the Grand-Prix de Vidéo-Poésie at the Festival de la poésie de Montréal 2019. His videos toured in many festivals and cultural events (Canada, USA, Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Sweden, England, Poland, Portugal, Mexico…). A copy of his video-poem Madame Jarrar was purchased by Harvard University Department of “Art, Film and Visual Studies” for classroom use. With the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, a solo installation of his work premiered in Montreal at Festival Phénomena in October 2022. Distributed by The Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Center, it will tour internationally in 2023.
Matthew Wade is an illustrator, animator, filmmaker & musician from the Northwest United States. He studied Classical Animation at Vancouver Film School before working as a freelance commercial animator in LA for brands such as Footlocker, Vans, Apple, Target, SyFy Channel, Whole Foods, Patagonia, the NFL, and on music videos for the bands Good Times Ahead (formerly G.T.A.), Brockhampton, and more.
Matthew’s short films have premiered in Oscar-qualifying festival competitions including Slamdance (4 times) and San Francisco International Film Festival, as well as having screened around the world, including ExGround, Alchemy Film & Arts, Oak Cliff Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Sun Valley Film Festival, GIRAF, and at the Hollywood Arclight Cinema’s (R.I.P) Slamdance Presents series.
Matthew’s work has been covered in Filmmaker Magazine, Film Threat, Screen Anarchy, NoBudge, Cartoon Brew, Hammer to Nail, Brooklyn Magazine, Horror Buzz, The Journal of Religion & Film, Moviemaker Magazine, and more.
Matthew currently lives with his wife/producing partner, Sara Lynch, in the Pacific Northwest, USA.
Maude Trottier holds a master’s degree in Art History. Her doctoral research project deals with the historiography of sculpture. She is member of the editorial committee of Panorama-cinéma, editor for the collective Moult Éditions and writes art and film criticism for various journals and magazines (Spirale, Vie des arts, Hors champ).
Maxime Labrecque possède un doctorat en études cinématographiques de l’Université de Montréal. En 2017, il a publié l’essai Le film choral : Panorama d’un genre impur aux Éditions l’Instant Même. Il enseigne le cinéma au Cégep Garneau et a été chargé de cours à l’Université de Montréal. Il est membre de l’AQCC et rédacteur pour la revue Séquences, en plus d’être chroniqueur à CIBL 101,5. Il a été membre du jury pour plusieurs festivals, notamment le Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Fantasia, Regard et le Festival International du film de Rotterdam.
