June 6 – 10, 2022
Tickets now available!
.We are back for the second year — bigger and better, with a rich and varied programme that will spark conversations about mental health, encourage reflection and help-seeking and celebrate the artistic talent of our community.
We have films ranging from two minute shorts to feature length documentaries, on topics such as: isolation during the pandemic, envisioning alternatives to prison, masculinity and vulnerability, and family mental health struggles.
Thank you to our sponsors, Lori McBurney (Title Sponsor), John Byrne, Janet Newlands, Maureen Flanagan and Astrid Willemsen for supporting our film festival.
Full Lineup Announced:
Film Fest Schedule
Meet our Get Reel Scholarship Recipients
Emmanuel Teji (he/him) is a twenty-something multifaceted artist born and raised in Mississauga and based out of Toronto. His creative journey began after he dropped out of university to pursue acting; eventually, he landed in directing. But a personal loss took him by surprise and making music became the only way to cope for a while. Now, Emmanuel is making a return to filmmaking as a director, this time incorporating his love for music to create an overall visceral experience that takes audiences to deeper places —his only goal: to tell the truth.
Danica “Dizzy” Ricamara (she/her) is a 3x award winning director, actress and community strategist. She was a graduate of the 2018 MTP POV Program, coming out with her first award winning documentary “Worst Student Ever”. Exploring different mediums in the entertainment industry from artist branding, fashion, and filmmaking, she recognized the lack of support for BIPOC creators from marginalized communities. Since then she has rooted her creative work to amplify missing voices from these communities, creating space and supporting content creators as they navigate their lived experiences to inspire their craft.
Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto (she/her) is an Indonesian writer/director based in Vancouver, Canada. Her latest short, “Srikandi” premiered at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival: Asia, and the 40th Vancouver International Film Festival. Most recently, she co-directed a short documentary called “Brown Enough”, now available in TELUS Optik. She is an alumna of Experimental Forest’s Writing is Rewriting Workshop in 2020 and the 2021 VIFF Catalyst Mentorship Program. She is a grant recipient of the 2021 NFFTY Pitch Competition with her short film in development, “Sawo Matang”. Andrea is currently in development for her first feature film among other shorts.
Luke Galati (he/him) is working towards earning his master’s degree in X University’s Documentary Media MFA program at Ryerson’s School of Image Arts, where he is specializing in filmmaking. Luke Galati is the director of the award-winning documentary, Eastern, which chronicles the final chapter of the Eastern Commerce Saints, Canada’s most historic high school basketball program.
Read about the Volunteers on our Jury
Supporting emerging artists is a major focus of the film fest, and this year we were able to offer four film grants thanks to the generosity of our title sponsor, Lori McBurney. Since the beginning of the year, jury members evaluated and assessed almost 30 detailed scholarship applications, and then went on to mentor the 4 selected recipients.
Last Year’s Film Fest
“Last night truly was magical, and made me so grateful and honoured to be a part of the Stella’s Place community!”
Sarah Nicole Rowe, Filmmaker
“Community Matters. We need to make spaces for young folks to be heard, seen, honoured, empowered, cheered on, highlighted and listened to.”
Community Member
