The Calgary International Film Festival is proud to bring together seventeen celebrated and revered voices in film communities from around the world to serve on the 2023 Jury! 

With 12 awards and over $60,000 CAD in cash and prizes, plus one winning short being made eligible for Academy Awards consideration, the juries are tasked with recognizing the year's most exceptional feature-length and short films, all to be screened at the festival from September 21 to October 1.

The 2023 Calgary International Film Festival Jury members are: 

$10,000 CAD: RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award + $5,000 CAD Air Canada Canadian Narrative Feature

Andrew Connors
Michelle Thrush
Lindsay MacKay

$5,000 CAD: DGC Best Canadian Documentary Award
Jon Joffe
Elizabeth Klinck
Laura O'Grady

$1,000 CAD: Best International Narrative Feature
Trond Trondsen
Natalie Metzger
Michelle Morgan

$1,000 CAD: Best International Documentary Feature
Alex Eskandarkhah
Sean Patrick Shaul
Anastasiia Gushchina

SHORTS JURY (All Shorts Awards):

Ryan Von Hagen
Robert Hilton
Benjamin Howard
Natalie Vargas
Brock Davis Mitchell

RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award

Andrew Connors

Andrew Connors is the Artistic Director of the Yukon Film Society and Festival Director of the Available Light Film Festival. He is the producer of the NFB co-produced environmental feature documentary SOVEREIGN SOIL, the environmental portrait doc THE BALLAD OF CAVEMAN BILL, and the silent-film and theatre feature THE GRUBSTAKE REMIX with filmmaker and composer Daniel Janke. Andrew has directed and written short and medium-length film and television productions broadcast internationally and at film festivals worldwide. Andrew’s passion for the Canadian North informs the heart of his work.

Andrew Connors
MichelleThrush

Michelle Thrush has worked professionally in film, television, and theatre for over 25 years, landing her first film role at age 17. With over 40 professional credits in the entertainment industry, Ms.Thrush has won numerous awards and special recognitions, including multiple awards and nominations for her role as Gail Stoney on the dramatic series BLACKSTONE. Some of Michelle’s other credits include TRIBAL, BONES OF CROWS, PREY, TIN STAR, MIXED BLESSINGS and CBC’s ARCTIC AIR. The mother of two wonderful daughters, Michelle and her family reside in Calgary, Alberta.

Michelle Thrush
Lindsay MacKay v2

Lindsay MacKay is a writer and director whose debut feature, WET BUM, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. Her sophomore feature, THE SWEARING JAR, premiered at TIFF 2022 and played at CIFF the same year. MacKay has also directed two seasons of the award-winning series GHOST BFF and the first season of RUNNING WITH VIOLET. After graduating from the York University Film program, she got her Master's in Directing from the AFI Conservatory. She is currently developing MERSEA, based on her AFI thesis film, CLEAR BLUE, which participated in the TIFF Writer's Lab, Frontieres Forum, and Berlin Co-Pro market.

Lindsay MacKay

DGC Best Canadian Documentary Award

Jonathan Joffe

Jonathan Joffe is a Canadian writer and director who has won over 20 international industry awards. Highlights of his work include the Telefilm/Super Channel feature THE BURLESQUE ASSASSINS, which screened around the world; the feature film Ism, which was nominated for best picture at the San Diego Film Awards; and the TV pilot Desiciti which was nominated for best international pilot at the Banff TV awards. He is an alumnus of the CFC Feature Film Program, The Corus Media Writer Program, and the NSI Series Incubator. He is currently an instructor in the Film and Video Program at SAIT.

Jon Joffe
Elizabeth Klinck  Copy

Elizabeth Klinck is an archive producer and a music clearance specialist on international documentaries and fiction films that have garnered Emmy, BAFTA, CSA, Peabody, and Oscar awards. She also leads workshops and produces industry sessions at international markets and film festivals.

Elizabeth Klinck
Laura OGrady

Laura O’Grady has produced, written or directed hundreds of hours of factual and documentary content. Her films have screened at Hot Docs (CAFE-NATION, EVICTION NOTICE), CIFF (UNDETECTABLE, FRANCHESKA: PRAIRIE QUEEN, GROSS INDECENCY, LOST HORIZONS) and won or been nominated for numerous AMPIA and Canadian Screen Awards (QUEER HUTTERITE, GROSS INDECENCY, THE FORMER LIFE OF AMBER VALLEY). In 2022, she was listed on the Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award/Directors to Watch Long List, one of only five documentary directors. In her spare time, Laura is in endless pursuit of being deemed “cool” by her fantastic teenage daughters.

Laura O'Grady

Best International Narrative Feature

Trond Trondsen

Dr. Trond S. Trondsen holds producer and cinematographer credits for several award-winning short films, most notably MAGNETIC RECONNECTION (dir. Kyle Armstrong), which premiered at AFI Fest, was invited to SXSW, praised by Werner Herzog and subsequently went on to see 130+ additional invited festival screenings. Trond co-founded the MASTERS OF CINEMA SERIES, the European-based alternative to The Criterion Collection. He has also maintained a recurring role as a consultant for The Criterion Collection. Trond is co-founder and curator of major, oft-cited, academic website resources focussing on the works of film auteurs Andrei Tarkovsky and Robert Bresson.

Trond Trondsen
Natalie Metzger

Natalie Metzger is a Spirit Award-nominated producer whose films have premiered at top festivals worldwide. She is currently the Vice President of Production & Development at Vanishing Angle. Her feature credits include WEREWOLVES WITHIN, starring Sam Richardson and Milana Vayntrub; SXSW Grand Jury Award winner THUNDER ROAD; Sundance darling GREENER GRASS (CIFF 2019); the Yogi Berra documentary IT AIN’T OVER (Tribeca, CIFF 2022); MGM’s THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (Fantastic Fest); THE BETA TEST (Berlinale, Tribeca, CIFF 2021); SPOONFUL OF SUGAR (Fantastic Fest, CIFF 2022) and THE PARK (Best Director, Newport Beach Film Festival). She is also known for producing numerous shorts, most notably POOF (Cannes, CIFF 2023), DRESS A COW (SXSW, CIFF 2022), THE ROBBERY (Sundance), and Alden Ehrenreich’s SHADOW BROTHER SUNDAY (Tribeca, CIFF 2023).

Natalie Metzger
Michelle Morgan white Photo 2

Filmmaker Michelle Morgan is a first-generation Canadian of Chilean descent. Known for portraying “Lou” on the long-running drama HEARTLAND (CBC), she has over 20 years of experience acting in film and television. Michelle has directed over 6 hours of prime-time television, as well as award-winning short films and digital series. Her first short film, MI MADRE, MY FATHER, was selected by Telefilm for the “Not Short on Talent at Cannes” edition at the short film market. She has also directed the CBC digital series HUDSON (SevenTwentyFour) and her second short film, SAVE YOURSELF (Telus Storyhive). In 2018, Michelle was asked to join the “Women in the Director’s Chair Story and Leadership” program.

Michelle Morgan

Best International Documentary Feature

Alex Eskandarkhah

Alex Eskandarkhah is a Canadian-Iranian filmmaker, founder and entrepreneur born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He’s one half of The Gifted Gab and a co-founder of the Collective for Black Iranians. Alex is also the executive producer at Gamble Ave Filmworks and has recently completed his directorial debut, COACHING WHILE BLACK, which is a selection in the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival.

Alex Eskandarkhah
Sean Patrick Shaul

Sean Patrick Shaul is a documentary filmmaker based in Vancouver. For over 15 years, Sean has dealt with stories that lie beneath the radar of the common observer. From comedians to punk rockers to high-ranking government officials, Shaul has shown an ability to adapt to his subjects and present a variety of film styles. Sean Patrick Shaul has produced and directed four feature-length documentaries: COVER YOUR EARS (CIFF 2023), THE DECLINE (2020), F**K YOU ALL: THE UWE BOLL STORY (2018), ALONE UP THERE (2012), OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND SAY… MR. CHI PIG (2009), as well as the TV documentaries CATCH THE WESTBOUND TRAIN (2013) and SILENT LEGEND: THE MACK SENNETT STORY (2016).

Sean Patrick Shaul
Anastasiia Gushchina

Anastasiia Gushchina is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Communication, Media and Film at the University of Calgary and a Frances Spratt Fellow at the Calgary Institute for Humanities. Her Ph.D. project examines techniques and production processes of independent animated documentaries of the 1990s-2010s. She presented at multiple international conferences and published her work in Animation Studies, Senses of Cinema, and Fantasy/Animation. She is a winner of the Maureen Furniss Award 2022, Sherry Clarkson Prize 2022, and Jonathan Kahana Graduate Student Writing Award 2023 for her writings in animation and documentary.

Anastasiia Gushchina

Short Film Jury

RyanVonHagen

Ryan Von Hagen is an animator and an interdisciplinary Artist living in Mohkinstisis, also known as Calgary, Alberta. Ryan is the current Artistic Director at the Quickdraw Animation Society and has programmed the GIRAF Festival of Independent Animation since 2016. He also teaches animation and storytelling practices at the Alberta University of the Arts. In his own practice, he has worked on feature-length documentaries, AFA and Canada Council-funded short animated films, and theatre productions. He has a wide technical background in the world of animation and believes in the power of cinema through collaboration and community.

Ryan Von Hagen
Robert Hilton

Robert Hilton graduated from the Alberta College of Art (1989) with a major in photography. After graduation, he opened a commercial photography studio specializing in advertising and editorial photography. Soon after, he was given an opportunity to work on the film LAST OF THE DOGMEN. From then on, Robert was hooked, and he used his photography skills to develop a career as a unit location manager and scout. His film portfolio includes 20 years of television series, feature films and commercials of all sizes and budgets. Robert was the business agent for the Alberta District Council of the Directors Guild of Canada from 2017-2022.

Robert Hilton
Benjamin directorheadset

Benjamin Howard is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and alum of UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television. In 2019, his short film, DEVIANT, starring Rudy Pankow, won a Student Emmy Award for its riveting exploration of ex-gay shock therapy. Since its release in 2021, the short has amassed a quarter-million views online. As a Bruin, Benjamin's short film RENDEZVOUS was selected for the esteemed Director's Spotlight, the yearly collection of the ten best films to come out of the prestigious film program. In 2023, Benjamin expanded the short into RILEY (CIFF 2023), a based-on-real-life story which will act as his directorial debut.

Benjamin Howard
Vargas Natalie

Natalie Vargas is a proud second-generation El Salvadorian-Canadian residing in Mohkinstisis, also known as Calgary, Alberta. Her film career began as an eager member of the local community; now, she proudly stands as a valued contributor. With a vibrant journey spanning over three years in the heart of the production office and as a committed DGC member, she strives to create an impact that extends far beyond the screen. Her hobbies include biking, camping, and maybe shooting a small project on her favourite Super8mm camera.

Natalie Vargas
Brock Mitchell

2022 Alberta Film and Television Award winner for Best Short Form Documentary Director Brock Davis Mitchell made his directorial debut through narrative music videos. He completed his first feature film, A GENTLEMAN, in 2018. Mitchell's work has garnered numerous accolades nationwide, being nominated for the 2020 Western Canada Music Award for Video Director of the Year and the 2020 Toronto International Film and Video Award for Best Music Video. His film recently won the Audience Choice award at CIFF 2022 and CUFF, as well as Best Documentary Short at the 2022 Alberta Film and Television Awards. Mitchell has recently found fulfillment through teaching and mentorship with the Indigenous youth of Tap Root Actors Academy, based in Kikino Métis Settlement, as the program's Director of Photography and Technical Lead.

Brock Davis Mitchell