The 2023 schedule
Wednesday May 24
Wednesday May 24
This schedule is subject to change. Please pick up your official Festival Guide at the registration desk.
All events are at the Gallagher Centre, 455 Broadway Street West, Yorkton, unless otherwise indicated.
Wednesday May 24
Wednesday May 24
Wednesday May 24
Heavy is the Burden:Jeffery Straker talks about his film, his inspiration and his music
/ 7:30 pm
Presented by Yorkton Film Festival, Yorkton Arts Council and Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers’ Association.
St. Andrew’s United Church, 29 Smith Street East, Yorkton
Piano performance, film screening and Q&A.
Moderator: Bob Maloney
Admission by donation.
Thursday May 25
Wednesday May 24
Thursday May 25
Masterclass with Madison Thomas / 3:00–4:00 pm
Gallagher Centre
Moderator David McLeod
Opening Night Screening / 7:00 pm
Buffy Saint Marie: Carry It On (Documentary, 1 hour 30 minutes)
Presented by The Painted Hand Casino
Parkland Room, Painted Hand Casino
Madison Thomas’ feature documentary is a joyous, challenging account of the cultural and musical icon’s lifelong commitment to music and sharing the truth. Buffy shares her own story from her early love of music to the activism she continues to this day, despite her career being suppressed because of it. Additional interviews include Alanis Obomsawin, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson, and many others whose lives Buffy has touched.
Admission is free to the public.
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill is a multi-talented Indigenous women, born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory, (Winnipeg, Manitoba).
Sarah is a filmmaker with extensive filmmaking experience, who is dedicated to her craft and has made multiple short films that have screened at North American festivals. She strives to create stories and to help others share their stories through the medium of filmmaking.
Sarah works as Program Manager at the National Screen Institute who oversees CBC New Indigenous Voices training program and TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators.
Valerie Creighton
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Valerie Creighton is an industry leader in arts, culture and media, recognized for reenergizing some of the country’s most important organizations in the sector over the last 35 years.
Currently serving as President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund, Valerie positions Canadian programming at the forefront in world markets advocating successful, innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms. Valerie has taken part in foreign trade missions and is regularly called upon to present the CMF model internationally.
Valerie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Saskatchewan, has served on a variety of regional, national, and international juries and boards and has produced radio dramas for the CBC in Saskatchewan, where she owns and operates the Red Horse Ranch.
Jon Montes
Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill
Daniel Cross
A producer with a commitment to social issue storytelling, Jon’s most recent feature is Tasha Hubbard’s CSA winning nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, named Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature before screening theatrically across Canada and at festivals around the world.
He is currently in development on a slate of projects including the feature documentary The Trust Accounts (Alex Williams) and the limited scripted series pihkohowin (Tasha Hubbard, Shane Belcourt).
As a former producer with the National FIlm Board of Canada, other highlights include Janine Windolph’s poetic short docs Stories Are in Our Bones and Our Maternal Home, part of a three-film cycle exploring Cree kinship, Mike Maryniuk’s Annecy official selection June Night, the Doc Lab Saskatchewan project, and the features Gun Runners and Danny (as associate producer).
Daniel Cross
Charlotte Engel
Daniel Cross
Founder of EyeSteelFilm in Montreal, Daniel has been a central figure in the international documentary community for over 25 years.
His process-driven and hyper-personal approach, as director, as producer and as educator, have had a profound influence on a generation of documentary filmmakers. His documentary I AM THE BLUES received two Canadian Screen Awards in 2017 for Best Feature Documentary and Best Cinematography; the film also won two Golden Sheaf Awards for Best Director and Best Film.
Daniel is an Associate Professor at the Mel Hoppeinheim School of Cinema and the principal investigator for the Concordia Research Chair in Interactive Filmmaking.
Charlotte Engel
Charlotte Engel
Charlotte Engel
Charlotte Engel is a producer and a former broadcaster with over 25 years of experience in film and television.
While at CBC, she oversaw CBC’s cutting edge documentary strands Firsthand and CBC Docs POV. She specialized in bringing unique voices and unforgettable stories to CBC. Many of these documentaries won multiple awards ( Indictment: The Crimes of Shelley Chartier, Nipawistamasowin: We Will Stand Up and The Skin We’re In).
As a producer of documentaries for Rock Yenta Productions, she brought docs to CBC, TVO and the Documentary Channel. She won a CSA for My Millennial Life and a Golden Sheaf award for Mugshot.
Engel has sat on the boards of Hot Docs, DOC Ontario and imagineNATIVE.
Joshua Aries
Charlotte Engel
Charlotte Engel
Joshua Aries (at right) is a filmmaker who makes the fan-favorite films. An award-winning director and editor for over nine years, he strives to tell stories that exemplify perseverance, hope, and connection with his signature stylized direction, charm, and attention to detail.
With brushes with the Cannes Film Festival, features on Cineplex, and multiple film festival selections under his belt, his experience has honed his skills in leadership and communication while strengthening his love for collaboration.
He is a recent alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre's 2022 Norman Jewison Film Program's Editing Lab.
Amanda Forbis
Amanda Forbis
Amanda Forbis
Amanda Forbis joined the National Film Board of Canada in 1990 as animation director on an educational film titled The Reluctant Deckhand.
In 1995, Wendy Tilby invited her to Montreal to co-direct When the Day Breaks (1999). It received numerous honours, including the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes, an Academy Award® nomination and the Grand Prix at the Annecy, Zagreb and Hiroshima international animation festivals. In 2011, they followed up with Wild Life, which garnered a number of prizes and was also nominated for an Academy Award®.
The duo has recently completed their third NFB short, The Flying Sailor (2022).
David McLeod
Amanda Forbis
Amanda Forbis
Based in Winnipeg, David McLeod is the CEO of Native Communications Incorporated (NCI), which operates a provincial radio network. He is also the Executive Producer of the Indigenous Music Countdown (IMC), a weekly Top 40 program syndicated across Canada on 15 radio stations, including SiriusXM.
David has over 30 years of experience working in media, from writing and directing children’s programs appearing on CBC Manitoba North, hosting talk radio and television, to working as a reporter, covering Northern Manitoban stories for several years.
He currently sits on the boards of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and the Winnipeg International Writers Festival, and is also a member of the Winnipeg Indigenous Writers Collective.
Erin Mussolum
Amanda Forbis
Erin Mussolum
As a seasoned producer, Erin has seen her award-winning work on national outlets such as CBC, Bravo!, CTV, Vision TV, Global, Knowledge Network, Corus, PBS and Youtube.
She recently finished up her tenure as the Co-Executive Director of Vancouver’s Crazy8s Film Society, making the move to Manager of Operations with the Whistler Film Festival.
She is President of Chickadee Creative Works Inc., where she continues to produce television and provides corporate communications to the film and television industry.
Daniel Irving
Catherine Tait
Erin Mussolum
Daniel Irving (at left) is an award-winning director from Vancouver, BC, known for creating unexpected and rule breaking films that refuse to stand still.
Their short films have received multiple Leo awards, and been shown at festivals and on streaming services across the world.
They also run an action comedy TikTok channel with over 20 million views and 240k followers. They are currently developing a feature film, and Bell Fund's first ever funded TikTok series.
Catherine Tait
Catherine Tait
Catherine Tait
Catherine Tait began her mandate as President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada on July 3, 2018. Catherine is also the Chair of the Global Task Force for Public Media, an initiative of the Public Media Alliance launched in September 2019.
As President and CEO, Catherine is responsible for overseeing the management of CBC/Radio-Canada to ensure that Canada's national public broadcaster can deliver on the various aspects of its mandate.
Prior to her appointment, Catherine co-founded New York-based Duopoly Inc, an independent film, television and digital content company and also co-founded iThentic, a digital content company in 2006 and Hollywood Suite in 2010.
Previous experience includes President and COO of Salter Street Films, Director and Cultural Attaché with the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, and Manager of Policy and Planning for Telefilm Canada where her passion for Canadian film and television content was ignited.
Madison Thomas
Catherine Tait
Catherine Tait
Madison Thomas
Thomas is a storyteller of mixed ancestry (Ojibwe/Saulteaux & Russian/Ukrainian settler), from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Treaty 1 territory.
Her recent work includes Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On (TIFF 2022), based on the life of the legendary songwriter and activist, which she co-wrote and directed and Finality of Dusk the upcoming post apocalyptic drama, which she co-wrote with Deaf Mohawk/Ojibwe filmmaker Katarina Ziervogel. Thomas directed, edited and was a researcher on the award-winning APTN/CBC series Taken, which shares the stories of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Her recent TV credits include writing/directing on Burden of Truth, writing and voice-directing on the animated preschool series Wolf Joe, and directing episodes of CBC’s Pretty Hard Cases and Heartland. Thomas is a committed youth mentor.
Wendy Tilby
Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy
Wendy Tilby’s first film, Strings (1991), won many international awards, in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award®.
For her next film, Tilby joined forces with Amanda Forbis to direct When the Day Breaks (1999), which received the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes, an Academy Award® nomination and the Grand Prix at the Annecy, Zagreb and Hiroshima international animation festivals.
In 2011, they followed up with Wild Life, which garnered a number of prizes and was also nominated for an Academy Award®. The duo recently completed their third NFB short, The Flying Sailor (2022).
Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy is a seasoned writer and producer. He is currently showrunning the History series Big Timber and was a key part of the creation and first season of the hit Netflix/History series Rust Valley Restorers.
Robert is a storyteller with extensive experience in the development and production of documentary and factual programming, scripted comedy and drama. Robert helped create one of the world’s first web series in 1997, and has served as a Senior Vice President at Entertainment One, a network executive with Bell Media and a Senior Communications officer with CBC-Radio Canada.
Before that he was a communications director, an advertising writer and director and a strategic communications consultant. He has worked as a consultant and collaborator with a diverse range of organizations including Corus, CBC, TELUS, Cirque du Soleil and Kew Media.
Joanne Levy
Robert Hardy
Dennis Jackson
Joanne’s career has spanned several different roles. She has worked as a television journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, formed an independent production company, and served in senior leadership roles in broadcasting.
As Executive Director of the A-Channel Production Fund and then Director of Programming for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), Joanne led teams to commission hundreds of hours of programming in all formats and genres.
Joanne has mentored emerging producers and advocated for Canadian creative talent from regional centres. She served as Chair of On Screen Manitoba, a National Director for Women in Communications and Technology and on the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.
Dennis Jackson
Dennis Jackson
Dennis Jackson
Dennis Jackson began his career in elementary school watching 16mm prints of animation on aboriginal creation tales. He remembers sitting at the back of the class with the projector as the teacher explained the process of animation. Since this introduction, he has excelled in writing stories about his Cree ancestry with the help of his mother and grandparents.
In 1998 he attained his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Video Production at the University of Regina. He founded Dark Thunder Productions, whose first project, Journey Through Fear, won the Telefilm Canada/TVNC Award, presented at the 1998 Banff Television Festival.
Dennis went on to write, produce and direct a one hour stop-motion animated special entitled Christmas at Wapos Bay which premiered as an Official Selection of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The company continued to produce stop-motion children’s animation with Wapos Bay – The Series, which has garnered 13 Gemini nominations in its thirty-four episode run.
Dennis received the 2009 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for the Arts, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Regina in 2015.
Eric Jackson
Dennis Jackson
Eric Jackson
Eric is a Saskatchewan-born Indigenous creator from the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. He began his career in the mid-90s when he would visit his father, Dennis Jackson, at the University of Regina while he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Video Production. Eric remembers watching his father and mother editing films, explaining the process and screening projects at festivals and industry events, which set his path to follow in his parent’s footsteps.
In the early 2000s Eric was cast in Wapos Bay - The Series as Talon Merasty. He went on to learn screenwriting under the tutelage of Dennis and Melanie Jackson, which would land him a writing position on Guardians: Evolution, while also voicing the character Arimus Afron for two seasons.
He joined his father, Dennis Jackson, in creating Chums - The Series, where a group of young friends are learning about Turtle Island and our connection to the natural world through traditional stories and helping each other.
The pre-school series is created with Chums Media Inc., owned by Paxolotl Media Inc. (Eric's own film company) and Zoot Pictures from Manitoba.
Stephen Hall
Dennis Jackson
Eric Jackson
Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Stephen spent his childhood in Switzerland, Japan and Australia before immigrating to Canada in his mid-teens.
Stephen has a degree in Industrial Design from Carleton University and spent 13 years in the Science Centre community as an exhibit designer and administrator.
He entered television production in the mid 90s creating, producing and directing Utopia Cafe, a network show for CBC. Since then he's directed a mix of scripted and unscripted content.
He has over 200 episodic TV credits and has written and/or directed over 350 commercials.
His company, Stephen Hall Creative, provides creative services focused on screen-based content.
Lesley Birchard
Tina Apostolopoulos
David Christensen
As Executive in Charge of Production for CBC Docs, Lesley has commissioned close to 200 documentaries, including Academy Awards shortlisted Frame 394, Canadian Screen Award winners Patty vs Patty, Take Me to Prom and Sing Me a Lullaby, Sundance award winner Fast Horse and Youtube audience favourite Finding Fukue.
In addition to commissioning for CBC Short Docs, Lesley commissions for CBC’s flagship science program The Nature of Things and select feature documentaries and specials.
David Christensen
Tina Apostolopoulos
David Christensen
David Christensen has been the Executive Producer at the North West Studio since 2007. He manages the studio, which oversees NFB documentary, animation, and interactive production in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Recent films include Elle-Máijá Tailfeather’s
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, the Oscar nominated film The Flying Sailor directed by Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby, and Leanne Allison’s Losing Blue. In total, the North West Studio has about 25-30 projects in development and production at any one time.
Tina Apostolopoulos
Tina Apostolopoulos
Tina Apostolopoulos
Tina Apostolopoulos-Moniz is Senior Production Executive on Bell Media’s Original Programming team. In this role, Tina works with Canadian production companies and filmmakers on the development and production of various original unscripted series, feature films, and documentaries for Bell Media’s suite of channels and platforms, including the main conventional channel CTV, premium SVOD service Crave, and specialty channels Discovery and CTV Life.
Tina is the Diversity and Inclusion (D & I) Lead for the Original Programming group, a member of Bell Media’s D & I Task Force and the D & I Content Advisory Committee, as well as the D & I Think Tank.
Prior to joining Bell Media, Tina was a sought-after director and producer for a number of award-winning, highly-rated reality and factual entertainment series.
Will Dixon
Jessica Gibson
Tina Apostolopoulos
As the Program Manager, Original Production (Citytv, OMNI, Citytv Sask), Rogers Sports and Media, Will Dixon oversees the development and production of original homegrown programming for the Rogers owned station.
Prior to this position, Will spent three years as a Regional Development Executive for the premium pay television network Super Channel. Before that Will worked primarily in TV production spending almost 20 years writing, directing, story editing, and producing series and movies everywhere from Toronto to Vancouver to Montreal to Edmonton to Regina to Los Angeles.
Cara Nye
Jessica Gibson
Jessica Gibson
Cara Nye, Director Content Development and Production, Accessible Media Inc.: Cara has over 30 years of production experience, having previously worked for CHUM/Rogers supporting such networks as MuchMusic, Citytv, OMNI, FX Canada, OLN and Bio.
Since joining AMI-tv in 2012, Cara is responsible for AMI’s original productions, including the weekly magazine-style show, AMI This Week; #IGotThis; the documentary series Our Community and the upcoming new series Mind Your Own Business.
Cara and her team at AMI are dedicated to creating accessible content for all Canadians. Through a production process called Integrated Described Video (IDV), AMI embeds audio description directly into the programs they produce, providing a seamless and inclusive experience for the blind or partially sighted viewer.
Jessica Gibson
Jessica Gibson
Jessica Gibson
Jessica is a manager of programs and development at the National Screen Institute.
Her programs include NSI Series Incubator and the Telefilm Talent to Watch Mentorship Program.
Before working with the National Screen Institute, she spent the last decade building a successful career as a film and television producer and production manager.
Jim Krysko
Chehala Leonard
Chehala Leonard
As the AMI Content Development Specialist for Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Jim works with external production companies to bring unique documentaries and docu-series to AMI’s national audience.
Along with his 10 years at AMI working directly with the disability community, Jim brings with him many years of experience in production and post-production.
Chehala Leonard
Chehala Leonard
Chehala Leonard
Chehala Leonard is a producer with the NFB’s North West Studio, based in Edmonton. A member of the Aseniwuche Winewak Nation, she founded ᐊᐢᑭᕀ Askîy Media Inc. She produced the pilot When Spirit Comes Through and the documentary Living a Legacy, both for APTN. Since joining the NFB, she produced Barry Bilinsky’s short film Tomson Highway: kipimâtisinaw tapâhpeyahk for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards, and co-produced Weiye Su’s A Passage Beyond Fortune and Alexis Normand’s French Enough amoung other projects.
Erin Dean
Chehala Leonard
Ursula Lawson
Erin is the CEO for Creative Saskatchewan. She is responsible for the overall operation of the organization, by providing strategic leadership and working closely with the provincial government, industry stakeholders, the Board of Directors, and the senior management team.
Erin was Creative Saskatchewan’s first employee, as the Director of Programs, and has been heavily involved in the creation of programming right from the start. Previously, Erin was a Program Officer at the Saskatchewan Film Commission and has experience working in business affairs for several independent production companies.
Erin obtained her BFA in Film and Video Production and BA in English at the University of Regina. Erin also holds a Certificate in Entertainment Law from the Osgoode Hall Law School.
Ursula Lawson
Ursula Lawson
Ursula Lawson
Ursula has been with the National Screen Institute since 2004 and is the senior programs manager. She is currently working on the Access BIPOC Producers program and provides management and support to the NSI programs staff.
Instrumental in helping the National Screen Institute develop and deliver culturally sensitive film and television training to emerging Indigenous content creators, Ursula previously managed CBC New Indigenous Voices, NSI IndigiDocs and NSI Aboriginal Journalism.
She coordinated NSI Global Marketing, NSI Totally Television, NSI Aboriginal Cultural Trade Initiative and NSI Pitch to Win!
Kaya Wheeler
Ursula Lawson
Everett Sokol
Kaya Wheeler, Program Manager, Indigenous Screen Office, is of Anishnaabe and Nehiyaw descent – is a registered member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a bachelor of arts in Indigenous Studies, and has been working within the Indigenous community in Winnipeg for more than 10 years.
She has spent a large portion of this time working with Indigenous youth in many areas, including acting and storytelling for theatre. For the last five years she has specifically worked with emerging and mid-career storytellers in film, tv and digital media.
She has had experience both volunteering and working on film sets, and even had a small stint on the stage and in front of the camera.
Everett Sokol
Ursula Lawson
Everett Sokol
Everett Sokol is a Metis director and producer from Amiskwaciy Waskahikan or Edmonton, Alberta. Everett is a graduate of the MacEwan University Theatre Arts program and the Red Deer College Motion Picture Arts degree program. Previous credits include, "Wilds of Canada", “The Dancer” (Rosie Award Nominee), “Falter” (Rosie Award Nominee), and “Whiteface”(Rosie Award Winner). Everett is also the recipient of the national William F. White Inc. Vilmos Zsigmond Scholarship, which he was awarded at the Bell Lightbox Theatre at TIFF. Everett currently works as an Associate Producer with the National Film Board of Canad
Johnny Zhang
Shelley MacDougall
Johnny Zhang
Johnny has 15 years of experience in the financial services sector supporting companies in the Media and Entertainment industry. He holds a post-secondary degree in Business Administration from Brandon University. His professional designations include a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Regina and a Certificate in Financial Services Advice from Canadian Security Institute.
He is committed to continually building knowledge so he can provide advice that is current and relevant in today’s environment.
Amir Khalil
Shelley MacDougall
Johnny Zhang
Amir has been with RBC for five years and has over 15 years of banking experience.
Over the last five years he has worked closely with many commercial clients helping their business succeed, by providing them valuable advice and solutions
Shelley MacDougall
Shelley MacDougall
Shelley MacDougall
With over 25 years of experience in the film and television industry, Shelley is known for her passion and dedication to screen-based media.
Shelley has worked in broadcasting since 2015 at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. As manager of original programming for central Canada at APTN, she handled documentary and dramatic projects for development and production, for first and second window licensing commissioned from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.
In 2022 Shelley took on the role of manager of acquisitions, where she curates and purchases domestic and international completed programming for linear and digital broadcast.
Open to the public
