Canada’s Brightest Rising Directors in 2025
The Canadian market is always packed with high-quality directors on the come-up. And while each comes armed with their own diverse skills and specialties, the one thing that consistently unites them is the fact that, be they new to the craft or emerging talents, their work leaves you eager to see more.
For this reason, it’s always exciting to see exactly who’s making a splash. Who are the contenders that have made an impact within the directorial scene, and delivered beautiful work in the process? Who are the ones to watch, especially with a new calendar year just around the corner, and bigger projects undoubtedly in the wings?
So, to draw your attention to some names to keep an eye on in 2026, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with the country’s most exciting new talent, with the hopes of learning a bit more about how they got into the job, and the work they’re most proud of.
Alfredo Films
Savannah O'Leary
Why I’m a director
There is nothing else – creatively or professionally speaking – that gets me as excited as shepherding an idea from a blank page to the finish line. I love getting a brief, spending time with an idea, and then colouring it in with my own flair. It’s so satisfying to flip through a finished treatment that looks and feels like your vision, and then watch it come off the page in the hands of so many talented crewmembers – each bringing their own specialised artistry, craftsmanship and technical prowess. It feels like spinning something out of thin air: different every time, but always against the odds, and always thrilling. When all the pieces lock into place, it really does feel like a tiny miracle, and it’s such a high.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
Going with a recent and an oldie. Last year, I directed a moving campaign for Trillium Gift Of Life Network featuring three transplant recipients reflecting on the second chances their donors enabled. They were remarkable athletes, and I wanted the visual language to challenge expectations. Instead of frenetic, handheld coverage that moved alongside the action, we leaned into patient, locked-off frames that felt majestic and worthy of their poignant stories.
I’d also call out ‘Gone Viral’, my first short film which launched me into this field. It was the first thing I ever wrote a treatment for, and the first time I felt the high of bringing something to life with precision and imagination. She is imperfect, but I still love her!
Revisiting these projects side by side (and they are so different in tone and nature), I see a throughline: those wide-angled interviews that place talent in a picture frame, and a doc-style method that embraces a narrative approach to the shot list. Every frame intends to convey a precise mood and flair. Ultimately, how something looks is how it feels.
Big Pig Production Co.
Brittany Delgatz
Why I’m a director
For me, directing is about the magic of turning an idea into something real. You read or write something, and suddenly there’s this little film playing on a projection screen in your mind. The work then becomes about sharing that vision – communicating it to a team of people who also believe in bringing it to life. And then the actors step in, transforming characters in ways you couldn’t have imagined.
At its core, directing is selfish; I have stories I want to tell, and no one else can tell them the way I see them. I write the things I could never say out loud, and I direct the things I could never perform myself. Sometimes I wonder, ‘When will people realise I’m just someone using film as a way to shout into the void?’. But then your film gets into a festival or wins an award, and you see proof that these little fragments of your imagination resonate with others…
I think that’s what directing is: being bold enough to say “this is how I see it”, and then finding a way to make it. On the commercial side, it’s about channelling that same process for clients – taking their vision and elevating it, adding a touch of style or strangeness to make it memorable. And when it all comes together, whether it’s a brand campaign or a personal film, the reward is the same: seeing an idea leap off the page and into the world.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
This project for LOOP Earplugs was a unique opportunity to blur the line between narrative and commercial; a chance to create something unconventional and unexpected. I’m often torn between the pull of filmmaking and the steady rhythm of commercial work, but this concept didn’t force me to choose. It was simply about making something.
I also wanted to add a night sequence to my reel, and this spot gave me the chance to experiment with day-for-night shooting – a technical and creative challenge my DoP, Nicole Shapiro, and I were eager to tackle. What made it even more rewarding was the crew: a whole team of volunteers who came together to bring this vision to life. Their energy and collaboration made the project not just possible, but memorable.
'Sprinkle Brownies' was my first real attempt at creating something heartfelt and wholesome – a short film that balances comedy and drama, with the camera itself acting as a character. It’s through this project that I discovered what I now think of as my ‘style’.
This film will always hold a special place in my heart. I wrote it with honesty, directed it wholeheartedly, and had the privilege of working with Billy and Zoe, who brought the characters to life with such depth and charm.
Sam Rudykoff
Why I’m a director
As a kid, I was very shy and awkward, and I loved watching movies. People felt intimidating and unapproachable, but movies were easy to understand. Eventually, I started to appreciate why that was: good storytelling is about making a point of view relatable. And, as somebody who wasn’t very comfortable socialising, it was very appealing to realise there was this set of tools I could use to express myself without actually talking to people. I eventually learned that filmmaking is far more difficult than making friends, but at the time, it seemed like a great alternative.
Across the years, I did manage to come out of my shell (a bit, at least), but I never stopped being excited by the idea of filmmaking as a form of communication. It’s a way to make the things that matter to you (or to your characters and clients) matter to everybody else. Figuring out the best way to do that is like putting together a puzzle; it’s an absolute thrill when it comes together.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
My 2022 short film, ‘Cruise’, is probably the one that stands out, at least so far. I had previously worked on a lot of productions in various roles, but it was the first time I was directing anything outside of a few comedy sketches I’d made with friends.
Heading into it, I had a lot of insecurity. It was a weird, high-concept idea, and I wasn’t really sure if it would connect. I also had doubts about my abilities as a visual thinker, and the process of making it forced me to confront those fears. I learned a lot about trusting my instincts and how to communicate and collaborate with a crew on set. In short, it was the project where I first learned to direct, and the one that gave me the confidence to pursue it going forward. It also got into over 75 festivals, which was pretty cool.
I also directed another short last year called ‘Halfway Haunted’, which was significant in that it was the first narrative project where I brought to bear all the experiences and lessons I’ve learned since I started taking directing seriously. It’s just starting to hit festivals now, and I’m very excited to get it in front of audiences.
Boldly
Eliza Brownlie
Why I’m a director
Many moments in my life have led me down this path. I’ve always been curious, drawn to telling stories through images and words, and creating in any form, whether that be writing, painting, photography, or recruiting friends to bring to life the silly concepts I dreamt up as a kid with my parents’ camcorder. Filmmaking was a natural convergence of all of my artistic interests, and the most expansive way to express abstract ideas and feelings, and to explore the breadth of the human experience. Deep down, I always knew I wanted to direct, but I didn’t find the courage to honour it until later.
As a teenager, movies became a kind of refuge, and I spent many nights escaping into their worlds and characters. I remember lying in bed at 14, thinking how incredible it would be to direct. But in the early/mid 2000s, many of the prominent directors we were exposed to seemed loud, domineering, and usually male. I couldn’t see myself in that. It wasn’t until I was doing a communications undergrad, pursuing a journalism career, that I finally decided to take the leap.
Film is such a powerful medium. I love that it can open conversations, expand perspectives, and bring visibility to experiences that help us connect and feel more empathy for one another.
Creatively, I get excited by developing and guiding the vision for a project, and gathering inspiration to define the mood. I also love the collaborative nature of directing – working with other talented people in service of a common goal. Filmmaking is hard work and takes countless hours, but when all of the effort and ideas come together in a final piece that feels seamless and resonates with people, it’s the most beautiful and rewarding feeling. I’m grateful every day that I get to do this for a living!
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
One of my most memorable (released) projects is a music video for Frenship featuring Yoke Lore, ‘Wanted A Name’. The band was inspired by the sign language interpreters at their concerts and wanted to create an ASL performance concept celebrating how the Deaf community experiences and expresses music. We were incredibly fortunate that actress, Millicent Simmonds, agreed to come on board as the lead.
It’s rare to receive a brief that’s so meaningful in both concept and collaboration. The crew and I shot it in one day during a rainstorm in the Santa Monica mountains – which posed some challenges but ultimately felt like a divine gift – adding an unexpected layer of magic and atmosphere that elevated everything. It was moving to hear from the artist’s fans within the Deaf community about what it meant to see themselves represented in popular music in an authentic and beautiful way.
‘The Call’ for Canadian Cancer Society is another one that stands out. We repurposed footage from a music video I had directed and transformed it into a completely different spec spot through editing and voiceover. I wanted to tell a story through a call between two characters that felt personal and intimate, capturing the wholeness of those impacted, the hope of returning to one’s life after treatment, and the small, everyday moments that matter most.
It was an interesting creative challenge to revisit a previous project through a new lens and discover that it works, especially for a cause close to my heart. None of it would have been possible without the generosity and collaboration of some incredibly talented friends, including our executive producer at Boldly, and the writer who crafted the script.
JAMM Duo
Why we’re directors
Food has always been our thing – savouring it, travelling for it, and eventually… pointing cameras at it. Somewhere along the way, shooting food stopped being just fun and started feeling inevitable. Not creating feels worse than skipping a meal, so we just have to keep doing it. We mix in our backgrounds and things that influenced us, which reflect in a unique look, a camera move, or just the ideas that inspire us.
Every project starts long before the set, when we’re already bouncing ideas around, building the journey in our heads. Being a duo helps; it’s one of those cases where two chefs in the kitchen actually make the dish better. Together, we break down the ingredient list and mix it all into the best project execution. Eating keeps us alive, but filming food keeps us kicking.
Most significant projects we’ve worked on
One of the projects we got really excited about was the recent Subway campaign, ‘The Other Half’, which we worked on earlier in the year. It was the perfect recipe for us: a light and playful live-action story mixed with some dynamic, flavour-packed tabletop shots. We love projects like this, when two of our favourite worlds collide, especially if the live-action side comes with a little twist.
In particular, we loved how the live-action world pulled the viewer into a bright, visual journey, while keeping the product in the spotlight. We added splashes of colour to the live-action scenes as little hints of the bold, colour-packed tabletop moments that followed. And of course, no project of ours is complete without camera movement; it’s the seasoning we can’t resist. Whether it’s enhancing the emotion of a live-action scene or giving food close-ups that extra sparkle, we always want our moves to feel motivated and make the product shine from every angle.
That said, the real secret sauce here was the dream crew. It was one of those projects where every ingredient blended perfectly, and somehow, the ‘dish’ came out even better than the recipe.
BUG Content
Jeremy Grant
Why I’m a director
For me, directing is about chasing moments of truth. There’s nothing more exciting than being in the room when someone lets their guard down, or on set when a creative idea suddenly clicks into place. Those moments of risk, honesty, and collaboration are electric, and shaping them into something that resonates on screen is the part I can’t imagine not doing.
What keeps me hooked is that every project is a new puzzle. One day it’s helping an athlete tell their comeback story, the next it’s finding the emotional core of a brand campaign. Whether it’s a documentary or commercial, the challenge is the same: to make something beautiful, meaningful, and human.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
Two projects stand out, both with my trusted collaborators at BUG Content.
The first was a Michelin tyres spot with pro mountain biker Cam Zink. The creative called for a massive backflip in Utah’s rugged desert. Shooting there is always tough, but this time, Mother Nature gave us fresh snow… a dealbreaker for most productions. With only two days to deliver, the team pulled together to clear a perfect dry run-in for Cam, while leaving the rest of the landscape blanketed in white. What should have shut us down instead became one of the most visually stunning shoots I’ve ever been part of.
The second was a documentary series for OLG with VML Canada. The challenge was to capture the world of horse racing authentically – a sport built on trust, patience, and unpredictable animals, not quick-turn ad campaigns. We earned the confidence of jockeys, trainers, and industry insiders while still hitting tight deadlines and client expectations. The result was an unguarded, all-access story that resonated with both audiences and the racing community. I’m proud of the work, and even more grateful for the relationships built along the way.
Cinelande
Amelie Hardy
Why I’m a director
I think it all started when I was a kid, already filming everything that moved around me. I had this instinct to observe – this fascination for the little details of life, people in their everyday routines, those larger-than-life characters… and maybe also this desire to capture moments before they could vanish forever.
Over time, that way of looking at the world led me to documentary filmmaking. I’ve always been endlessly curious about others, especially people whose lives are completely different from mine. I love imagining their sorrows, their secrets, and their wildest dreams. (I probably got that from my mother, who spent her life as a psychologist. Clearly, I inherited that fascination with humanity).
I also grew up with a father who was an architect. From him, I picked up a love of lines, cuts, materials, and visual compositions. Cinema became the perfect place to combine those two passions – to meet, to observe, to understand, but also to compose, to frame, to invent a unique way of telling a story.
Even though my work is rooted in documentary – because reality is my starting point – I love flirting with fiction. I enjoy romanticising stories, magnifying them, and giving them that larger-than-life quality. I believe that’s how audiences truly connect: when emotion becomes tangible.
The same goes for my commercial work. I always try to bring humanity and emotion into the stories brands want to tell. I’ve always believed emotion is the strongest way to reach people – to make them feel something real.
So why am I a filmmaker? Because it’s an incredible playground. It allows me to live a thousand different lives, dive into so many worlds, and meet people I never would have crossed paths with otherwise – both in front of and behind the camera. Some encounters are fleeting, but they stay with you forever. And I think that’s what nourishes me most: the feeling of living countless lives within one.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
One of the projects that marked me the most was a campaign I directed for the Fondation Émergence, which defends 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and advocates for inclusion and diversity.
The agency, Havas, came to me with a powerful challenge: to find a way to shed light on the alarming rise of hatred toward queer communities today. Together, we decided to reframe these violent, contemporary messages as if they were echoes from a distant past – words so archaic they should no longer exist. It was a fascinating creative process – both narratively and visually – and I’m truly proud of the outcome. My hope is that this campaign, in its own way, helps push mindsets forward.
Another project that touched me deeply was the ‘Safe Spaces’ campaign, created in collaboration with No Fixed Address. It was an extremely sensitive mandate: raising awareness about the devastating impact of cyberbullying on young people. The entire campaign was built around the testimonies of mothers whose children had been victims. It was impossible not to feel moved by their words, and I wanted to give everything I had so that their voices could be heard.
Together, we developed a very intimate approach, using home-movie footage – those bright, innocent moments of childhood – contrasted against the mothers’ heartbreaking stories. That contrast felt essential to show how spaces which should feel safe and joyful for children can slowly be poisoned by the invisible threat of online violence. The campaign ended up winning a few awards, which is always gratifying, but for me the real reward was being part of a project that truly mattered.
Dear Friend
Avery Stedman
Why I’m a director
Because I like when the mess finally makes sense. Also, it was Winnipeg – what else were we going to do? Play hockey for heat? Light skateboards on fire for heat? Smoke marijuana cigarettes… for heat? We did all that too. But here’s what no one planned for. In grade seven, my best friend and I pirated Pinnacle Studio 7 off Kazaa. My buddy’s dad had a fat Sony VX2000, and we ran through the streets with it, a busted chainsaw and a ‘Scream’ mask. I fake-killed my baby sister. My parents hated it. Winnipeg didn’t care.
Film became the escape hatch. By high school, I was directing and cutting campaign ads for friends running for student council. Our ad was chaos: ‘The Godfather’ soundtrack, black-and-white car chases, a Bubbles from ‘Trailer Park Boys’ impersonation (by the now-famous Graeme Barrett), and a quick-hitting testimonial montage that ended in a full-school war cry, ‘Vote Chess Faulk’. We screened it for the whole school. Laughter. Applause. Victory. I felt like that Spielberg kid in ‘The Fabelmans’.
That was the first time I realised something I made could actually move people and change the room. Even if I wasn’t the one cashing in, it felt personal and it felt good. Years later, I made my thesis film about my grandfather who had recently passed away, and it gave me the same feeling from the opposite angle. Instead of laughs, it drew tears; the audience felt my loss and, in turn, thought about their own loved ones. It showed me that something I made could carry weight, and could move people in a real way. After that film, I had the confidence that I could do this for real.
Those ‘aha’ moments have stayed with me ever since. It’s still the drive: to make something that hits.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
RBC’s ‘The Putt’ revisited a landmark Canadian sports moment: Nick Taylor’s 72-foot playoff putt to win the RBC Canadian Open… ending a 69-year drought for Canadian golfers. But, while fans saw a single magical instant, we wanted to show the road that led there, from his early years in Abbotsford, BC, to the grind of the PGA Tour, to the pressure of delivering on home soil.
This project meant a lot to me on every level. A vice president at Wasserman reached out to co-write the spot, and as a lifelong player and obsessive fan, I was all in. The original brief called for a head-to-head promo between Nick and another high-profile player. But from the start, I felt strongly we needed to honour the historic moment, shaping it in a way only true students of the game can.
I soft-pitched a commemorative spot, which was well received but ultimately too broad given the other athlete’s commitment. I also couldn’t make the original shoot due to shifting player schedules. A bummer. But fate intervened… the other athlete dropped out, the shoot was pushed, and suddenly Nick was the sole focus. My idea was back on the table. The Wasserman team reworked it into a more intimate, player-driven story, and we built it together from there.
The production was ambitious but necessary: 17 scenes, three characters, two countries, in 2.5 days. A lean crew, with every dollar aimed at the story. The result is the kind of project I chase: rooted in authenticity, elevated by craft, and personal to me. It gave creative freedom from the start – not just behind the camera, but in helping shape the story on the page.
Freshman
Raekua
Why I’m a director
I originally wanted to be a fantasy novelist. That was until I finally watched ‘Harry Potter’, and discovered Hermione Granger was not a Black girl like me. The books described her as having bushy brown hair and brown eyes, so I always pictured her as someone like me: untamable hair, curious eyes, and an eagerness to work twice as hard just to be seen as an equal. I so badly wanted to find myself in those pages. So, when I saw the films and realised there wasn’t a single Black woman of note, I shifted my focus from writing novels to asking a much bigger question, ‘Who decides which communities get to be reflected on screen?’.
From that point, I began rewriting my favourite novels and scenes from beloved films to reflect girls who looked like me, and as my desire to bring those ideas to life grew, so did my journey toward directing.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
My baby is my first short film, ‘to the girl that looks like me’. That film is all of me in one place, holding each of my passions: social justice, poetry, dance, culture, elements of horror, colour, music, and sound. It’s a piece I look back on with gratitude and excitement, all these years later.
Next would be my very first commercial, which I did for Cricket Wireless, ‘We Are’. A few weeks before production, we lost half our locations… which turned out to be a gift. It gave me the chance to explore the spaces I truly wanted to film in. What could have been a ‘production nightmare’ became an opportunity for experimentation and play. I had the privilege of filming our talent in stunning locations, from an airplane hangar in Texas to a marble museum in D.C.
Interestingly, my two favourite projects are my ‘firsts’. There’s something about not knowing everything that allowed me to place my voice fully in the work. Not entirely understanding the rules, guardrails, or limitations of traditional and commercial filmmaking gave me freedom to push boundaries and create from instinct, not instruction. My goal in future work is to channel the person I was then – that anxiously unaware girl – in the best way.
Stef
Why I’m a director
I love the mad science of filmmaking: how you feed an idea into this awesome mix of the metal of gripping, the precision of lighting, the technicality of the camera, the human instinct to tell and listen to stories, and the process of producing art. To me, it’s addictive. I always compare a film set to something like a construction site that produces beauty, and the first time I experienced that, I was like ‘Yeah, this is where I feel completely at home’.
The other reason I’m a director is that I really just love people. I cherish it when a crew, talent, and an agency work in tandem to help realise a vision. I enjoy being accountable to everyone on set who is there, and to work together to create something we’re proud of.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
Commercially, I loved working with Ski-Doo on what we called a ‘Culture Anthem’. The more our world becomes digital, the more I love things that feel gritty, assembled and physical. This piece allowed me to craft something out of that mix – something that speaks directly to a culture rather than product – through mixed media, original footage and legacy assets, and then weld it together with sound design and some kick-ass writing that said exactly what being addicted to snow motor sports feels like.
Meanwhile, the more digitally-perfect our world gets, the more I find myself drawn to things that feel analogue and mechanical – something this project with Helly Hansen let out. It's really difficult to pull a story from a fashion piece, but Helly Hansen, at its root, is a brand designed for survival in the world's harshest environments. Sound design and chunky motion design let me create something that felt like a dispatch from an outpost far past the Arctic Circle (which is also how I pitched the project).
Impossible Studios
Hot Icarus
Why we’re directors
Why are we directors? We’re both highly visual people – but for slightly different reasons – and similarly, we both gravitate towards using visuals to communicate information, whether that’s with a more commercial angle or a storytelling narrative angle. We enjoy all the elements that go hand in hand with filmmaking: music, performance, dance, pop culture, and much more. These are things we’ve grown up with and which continue to influence us, so when it comes to putting them on screen, there’s so much to explore and tap into.
It’s also a line of work that does a lot for us as people. There’s the travel, but then there’s also the collaboration with others who inspire us, getting hands-on with different types of emerging technology, and learning as we go. It’s just a natural fit for us, and we have a lot of fun along the way. We’ve driven full-size car delivery flatbeds into scale bedroom sets for Clutch, worn Lando Norris’ overalls and Oscar Piastri’s race helmet in a spot we shot for McLaren that’s coming out soon, played tennis with Taylor Fritz for La Roche Posay, performed our own trampoline stunts for Nothing, served cocktails to the artist who illustrated the ‘Hercules’ Disney movie at Rosewood Hotels, and made a tech-focused gen z love story over homemade cupcakes in a 14th-century Franciscan Monastery for Samsung. We never want to take the easy route, and make it a goal to keep people guessing about what we might try next.
Most significant projects we’ve worked on
Loveholidays was particularly interesting, both in terms of how it came about, and what it entailed. We actually got to write our own creative, so we wrote an approach that involved working with virtual production. That was a pretty steep learning curve to navigate, but it was a challenge we really want to pursue in our work.
We’re also particularly proud of our most recent piece for Nothing – a tech brand we’ve had repeat collaborations with – which was a super interesting journey to go on.
As artistically minded individuals, there’s a lot of focus and kudos in the industry for the artistic side of things, but ultimately, we’re also doing a job for brands, and that one post got well over five million views and earned the brand 25,000 new followers. It felt like a really good indication that you can make something that not only hits the mark artistically, but really does its job.
L'ÉLOI
Derek Branscombe
Why I’m a director
Coming from a cinematographer background, I certainly love the craft of filmmaking and all the technical challenges that come with it, but the real joy in directing comes from being able to dream up ideas and images that haven’t been done before, convince clients and teams around me that they’re worth making, and see them through to completion. It’s a bit like giving birth, but you’re constantly in flux, adjusting each idea and putting your heart into it to ensure that original spark stays true, while combatting all the challenges that come with production life. It’s a constant struggle to keep your vision clear, but I really love the challenge and thrive on set. It’s so powerful to work alongside a crew of people that are all fighting alongside you to create something special.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
One of my most creative projects was a video for the musician Ouri, for the song ‘Ossature’. it was a huge challenge, both in budget and creatively, and having shot the video completely on greenscreen with a plan to do all the VFX myself, it was a real learning experience and a perfect example of how I like to sometimes jump off the deep end to figure things out. Fortunately, I was able to create a completely fantastical world, and the result paid off with a Vimeo Staff Pick and a nomination for the Young Director’s Award.
More recently, I shot a video for artist Yves Jarvis, ‘The Knife In Me’. He gave me a lot of trust and freedom, and I crafted a crazy idea of a chef whose kitchen lights on fire, causing him to be abandoned, only for him to be saved by an octopus that would have otherwise been his victim.
We shot with a robotic arm that had lots of creative movements; there’s something about it that just feels right on screen. The shoot was also one of the most difficult of my life! I almost felt like I made a mistake in crafting such a crazy idea, but things somehow came together, which made the end result feel really special.
Gerardo Alcaine
Why I’m a director
I am a director because it gives me the space to tell stories and connect with people through a language where everything feels possible. Directing has been, is, and will always be a journey of self-discovery. But what inspires me most is that, at the same time, it is a process that unites people, bringing us closer through shared vision, emotion, and creation.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
The projects I’ve loved most are the music videos I’ve directed. Merging my own creative universe with an already-existing one is deeply fulfilling. It is a powerful exchange of energy – one that always takes me to unexpected places and opens up new possibilities for connection and expression.
Revolver Films
Bea Santos
Why I’m a director
I’ve been a working actor for a decade, and really cut my teeth on set, watching and learning from some of the best in the industry about everything from cinematography, to writing, to scheduling. As I grew as an artist, I started having a stronger need to make my own work, and I quickly fell in love with writing and directing. Now it feels like that’s all I think about, and I devote all of my time to writing and making things with fascinating and motivated people. I’m a bit obsessed.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
One of my favourite projects was a PSA for Plan International called ‘Caught Red Handed’. I loved diving into comedy and getting to collaborate with Lifelong Crush. The team had such fresh ideas and were really generous collaborators. And of course, getting to cast the adorable puppy is the stuff dreams are made of.
What made the project especially meaningful, though, was the cause. PLAN International’s mission of creating a more equitable world for young girls gave the process a deeper weight. And I loved the challenge of using humour as a way of shining a light on something so important. For me, the spot was the best of both worlds: a chance to experiment with a new genre and to contribute to a campaign that mattered.
I’m also very proud of my latest short film, ‘The Toll’, a magic realism period piece. It was funded by Canada Council of the Arts and is currently being submitted for the festival circuit.
This film was a feat of team work. We shot in Muskoka, on a boat-in island… in a thunderstorm…with children. I couldn’t have pulled any of it off without my incredible crew, who brought their blood, sweat and tears to every moment. But ultimately, we created a fusion of memories from my childhood growing up in Muskoka, where my mother would tell us fantastical stories of perseverance and hope to help us get through some rough personal times. It was a dream to make something so meaningful, in the place it really happened, with such a talented group of individuals. The experience was everything I hope to bring to future projects: intense collaboration and unrelenting vision.
Myles
Why I’m a director
I grew up in a town of 400 people, directly on the ocean in rural Newfoundland, and had nothing but my imagination to keep me company. I spent a lot of time by myself, creating my own worlds and complete storylines that went along with them. I got in trouble a lot at school for having my head in the clouds, and now it's become a superpower as an adult. I harnessed that energy and just kept chasing it.
I love to tell stories; it's in my culture and heritage, and the rush I get on set when everything in my head comes to life is a really great feeling. It's like waking up on Christmas morning. I just want to do it every day.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
I love every project for a different reason, but I have to say, a recent spot I filmed for Nile Coffee Club is one that sticks out. I love to make campy comedy hyper-stylised. I have a background in theatre, and turning a mundane task into the most important thing in the world at that moment is so fun. The spot reminded me of writing plays as a teenager, and it's the type of creative I really gravitate towards now.
My second pick is a campaign I did for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. I love to tell a story simply yet still with a powerful message behind it, and I think we did that with this spot. The LGBT Purge was a real event that happened in Canada, and a lot of people suffered because of it. The focal point of the spot was 'the moment directly after being fired for suspicion of your sexuality'. The long hallway, the whispers of what others would have been saying, the feeling of isolation and hopelessness – it's really eerie and heartbreaking. It's also sad that this is still relevant today. I was honoured to bring awareness to the topic.
The Deli
Jimmy Vi
Why I’m a director
I’ve been obsessed with films for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until I visited Japan – a place I’d only ever dreamed of – that I really understood why. Living out that dream forced me to reflect on everything, even the hardest parts of my life. Growing up, I’d spend hundreds of hours watching movies. At the time, I didn’t know why, but in Japan it clicked: film was my therapy. It was how I made sense of the world. Becoming a director felt like a natural extension of that – another dream to chase, and a way to make sense of my life.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
The McDonald’s commercial I recently directed was a full-circle moment. Early in my career, I worked at an ad agency where McDonald’s was one of my main accounts. I spent countless hours updating graphics for its app, changing copy for banners, and even helping out with social content. I still remember visiting its head office back then, never imagining I’d return one day as a director. To come back now, after starting out as an intern and junior designer, felt like a huge milestone – a new chapter in my journey.
Undivided Creative
Kyle Topping
Why I’m a director
I became a director because I’ve always been drawn to creating worlds. Photography taught me how to create a scene and capture a moment; directing lets me explore that. Building tension and energy gives me the canvas to tell a story that moves. It’s a natural extension of how I see things: blending emotion, rhythm, and atmosphere.
I also love the collaboration, the problem-solving, and the freedom to push boundaries between art, culture, and real life. Directing is where everything I’m passionate about comes together. (And how sick is it that I get to play with cameras, collaborate with friends and make rad things? I pinch myself everyday).
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
It’s hard to pinpoint one piece of work that is more significant. Every project has been a part of my journey in discovering myself as a director. I hope that never stops; that’s what makes this so fun.
With that said, on the note of getting out and making rad things with friends, I’d like to feature a piece that was just that: a few friends heading out into the woods on an adventure, having fun, finding peace, being vulnerable exploring real life human topics. It’s crazy what you can create over a couple of days with a few pals and a camera, and the impact it can have for both the viewer and the creator.
Renée Rodenkirchen
Why I’m a director
Honestly? I grew up on sets. My parents owned a boutique ad agency (during the print days). My dad was an art director, my mom a writer, so production was just the backdrop of my childhood. But it wasn't the business side that hooked me; it was the possibility of building entire worlds from scratch.
I'm a director because I'm fundamentally a dreamer who needs somewhere to put all the weird, colourful stories in my head. I don't take myself too seriously, and I think that's actually my secret weapon. There's a playfulness in the work that comes from being willing to be ridiculous, and to push beyond what ‘should be’.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
I'm hands-on to a fault: building sets, styling wardrobes, using colour in ways that feel vibrant and alive. Whether it's a commercial for KIND Snacks or a music video for Bomanizer, I want to create characters and spaces that feel real, even when they're verging on absurd. The humour is essential. Not everything needs to be precious or serious to be meaningful.
I love bringing out people's personalities on camera and collaborating with equally passionate people. At the end of the day, I see myself as someone who brings to life a playful, stylised and quirky interpretation of the world.
Westside
Jennifer Roberts
Why I’m a director
I started out as a photojournalist, which meant spending a lot of time in people’s homes, workplaces, or shadowing them through the routines of their daily lives. One day I might have been photographing a celebrity; the next, documenting the story of a family who had just fled Syria. What connected all of it was learning how to build trust quickly. That experience taught me how to make people feel seen, safe, and comfortable in front of the lens, no matter who they were or what they were going through.
In turn, directing felt like a natural evolution. It’s still about connection and storytelling, but with a broader toolkit and a bigger canvas. What drives me is sharing meaningful human stories – working with people, creating the space for them to open up, and shaping those moments into something honest and resonant. To me, that’s what being a director is all about.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on was ‘24 Hours of Care’, an interactive documentary that followed the lives of unpaid family caregivers across Canada. We spent time with 10 families, capturing their stories over the course of a full day, and blending vérité footage with self-filmed video journals they recorded on iPhones we sent them. I guided them remotely, helping them document the moments we couldn’t be there for in person. The result was a 24-hour digital experience, and a 60-second broadcast commercial.
What made it so powerful wasn’t just the concept; it was the openness of the people we filmed. I remember a parent breaking down in tears from sheer exhaustion, and a sibling quietly sharing the weight of daily responsibility. These weren’t scripted moments; they were truths lived.
Before filming, I spent time getting to know each family – not interviewing, just talking. I wanted them to feel fully supported, not just as subjects, but as people. By the time we arrived with cameras, it felt more like visiting friends than walking into a shoot. That familiarity made space for real vulnerability, and that’s what shaped the heart of the film.
The project went on to win a YDA for Charity Commercial at Cannes, and both Gold and Silver at the Clio Health Awards. But more than the recognition, what stayed with me were the moments in between: the quiet glances, the unspoken exhaustion, the strength it takes to keep going.
Being invited into those homes and trusted with those stories was a privilege. That’s the kind of work that keeps me grounded in why I do what I do.
Sammy Rawal
Why I’m a director
For me, my work as a director is all about intersectionality, tending to live at the crossroads between dance/body movement, fashion, design, and music. Growing up as a first-generation Canadian, I was surrounded by the visual art and music of East Africa and India, as well as North American pop culture. This, on top of my queer-identity, has provided me with a distinct point of view that I love to translate through my work as a filmmaker/director. In a lot of ways, I think I'm a true representation of a contemporary Canadian artist working, predominantly, in film.
Most significant projects I’ve worked on
While there’s many significant projects that come to mind, my Pride campaign for Equinox gyms called ‘Life is a Ball’ is especially worth mentioning.
The campaign featured Black trans icons and legends of the queer ballroom subculture (a community I'm also a member of), and showcased them as the powerful athletes they are. It felt political, powerful and important. To see Black trans women voguing across TV screens in every Equinox across North America was so incredibly moving for me and the culture/community I'm a part of.
Other significant works I've had the honour of working on are projects for music icons such as Elton John (he asked me to direct a film as part of his final world tour), Cardi B (Coachella visuals), and Lizzo (MTV VMA performance). But, as of late, I've been leaning into my love of dance and pop culture by working with artists such as Tinashe and, most recently, Ciara.
