Meet Our 2025 AIFF Filmmaker Lab Cohort!

Now in its third year, the AIFF Filmmaker Lab is a program that supports the next generation of Atlantic Canadian filmmakers through hands-on mentorship, industry workshops, with a focus on artistic growth. Presented by the RBC Foundation.

Our 2025 cohort includes filmmakers hailing from all four corners of Atlantic Canada. Their films span styles and genres: Exploring themes on representation and identity through documentation and voices of marginalized and Indigenous communities, with subjects touching on childhood, resettlement and community memory.

A. Laurel Lawrence

A. Laurel Lawrence is an artist and filmmaker making work in Kjiputuk/Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their work explores intimacy, queerness, gender and performance embodied through experimental analog film and sound practices in narrative form. Their first film Knife Play won the jury prize at the Festival des cinémas différents et expérimentaux de Paris. Their most recent film Pan & Syrinx won the RPCÉ Grand Prix at the 53rf Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal and is currently on the festival circuit. At the moment, they are absolutely hooked on Sex and the City.

Ailsa Galbreath

Ailsa Galbreath (she/her) is a producer, creator and performer based in Punamu’kwati’jk (Dartmouth, NS). Recently, Alisa produced a short film called The Girls working with writer/director Kristen Bruce as part of AFCOOP’s Film 5 program. She co-produced and performed in Fizzy, a short film written by Kevin Hartford and directed by Koumbie, with AfroViking Pictures which premiered at AIFF in 2022. As a theatre actor, Alisa recently performed Neptune Theatre’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Alisa is 1/4th of Tea Time Creation Co, a clown troupe who seek to subvert the status quo with wacky fun, through the creation of new work and reinvention of classics. Alisa is Co-Artistic Director of LunaSea theatre Company and a certified teacher of the ITM Alexander Technique.

Allison Basha

Allison Basha (she/her) is a Newfoundland-born artist of Lebanese-Irish descent with a background in acting, writing, and producing. Raised in a musical family and shaped by the Stephenville Theatre Festival, she earned a Theatre degree from Dalhousie University and an MFA in Acting from East 15 in London. Allison co-produced and starred in the award-winning short Little King, performed her solo show Newfie Electra, and co-created the documentary Lorraine. She currently works as Executive Assistant on CBC’s Son of a Critch.

Brandon Boyd

Brandon Boyd, An Austistic/Neurodivergent award winning Filmmaker born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first short film What Do You Think? was a DIY Documentary that made it nationally in Winnipeg Reel to Real Festival, Yorkton Film Festival, Silver Wave Film Festival. His recent short documentary WAVE THEORY was the winner of Lunenburg Doc Festival 2023 “The Launch” contest with a prized package of cash and in-kin services from industry sponsors. It recently became a Screen NS nominee at this year’s Screen NS Awards for best documentary film.

David Gosine

David Gosine (he/him/they) is a multidisciplinary artist, activist, and filmmaker from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, with Lebanese and British Newfoundlander roots. A performer since childhood, his credits span Tokyo Disney to Covent Garden Opera House. He co-directed/co-produced Lorraine, an award-winning short documentary about his cousin, politician Lorraine Michael, that has screened internationally. A former Chair of the Rainbow Refugee Association of Nova Scotia, David has worked extensively in LGBTQI+ refugee resettlement. He’s also a food, wine, and travel writer, with features in Harper’s UK, The Buyer, and CBC. His web series Wine with Gosine brings humor to wine culture, and he hosted CBC Live’s Home Cooking series during the pandemic.

Induk Lee

Induk Lee is a Korean Canadian writer, director, producer born in South Korea and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Induk’s debut short film, Baduk, premiered at the Atlantic International Film Festival in 2021 where it won Best Atlantic Short. The film Baduk has continue to screen internationally and has won Best Short Film at the 2022 Screen Nova Scotia Awards and participated in CBC’S national competition Short Film Face Off. Outside of directing, Induk has worked in various roles across Film & Television in the writer’s room, art department, and production office. Induk recently participated in the CMPA Production Mentorship Program with Shut Up & Colour Pictures and has produced short film, Gal Pals.

Jessica Brown

Jessica Brown is a Nunatsiavut Inuk filmmaker and a founder of Ujarak Media and Inuit Nunangat Productions, both dedicated to amplifying Inuit voices through powerful, culturally grounded storytelling. Based in St. John’s with her two children, Jessica has produced and directed three documentary series for Fibe TV1, with two new projects set in the Torngat Mountains currently underway. A participant in the Reelworld Producer Program and the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative, she is also the founder of the Northern Film Initiative and St. John’s Fashion Week. Her work celebrates Inuit resilience, representation, and legacy—aiming to inspire future generations to dream boldly.

Joe Nadeau

Joe Nadeau is a theatre and film artist who shares her time between creation and performance. Since completing their training in dramatic arts in Moncton, Joe has been involved in performing and creating socially engaged theatre and films that advocate for trans and queer issues. Their short film GendrBendr won Meilleur Court-métrage Acadien at FICFA in 2023 and their co-directed film Votre appel is important pour nous won Coup de Coeur Régional at Plein Écran Festival in 2025.

Kate Solar

Kate Solar is a filmmaker and artist based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Her documentary and experimental film work probes the boundaries of memory, examining what exists in the interstitial space between landscape and documentation. Approaching the analog film frame as tactile material offers new ways to investigate text and image as archive poetics. Solar holds a BFA in Film from NSCAD University. Her practice has been supported by Arts Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Filmmakers' Cooperative, the Centre for Art Tapes, Lunenburg Doc Fest, and more.

Nathalie Javault

Paris-born set designer and filmmaker Nathalie Javault now calls St. John's home. Inspired by Newfoundland’s culture and weather, she created the web series Justine à St. John's (TV5Unis). She directed the short documentary De corps et d’esprit (2022) and her first narrative short Kid Me Not (2025), which is now heading to festivals.

Sarah Segal-Lazar

Sarah Segal-Lazar is an award-winning writer, director, actor, and singer-songwriter. A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, her work spans theatre and film. Her play The Barely Wives Club was a finalist at Red Bull Theater’s Short New Plays Festival and has been produced across Canada. She debuted in New York with the immersive musical Talk, Mackerel and is the Founding Festival Director of the Island Fringe Festival in Prince Edward Island. Sarah’s acclaimed play Don’t Read the Comments has been remounted five times, and Baggage was translated into French for the Festival du Jamais Lu. Her short film Elvira, funded by FilmPEI, marked her screenwriting and directing debut. She is currently developing both a feature film and a documentary.

These selected participants will explore key areas such as marketing, distribution, and festival strategy—guided by leading professionals. Their experience will include full access to the Atlantic International Film Festival, personalized meetings with a festival strategist, and culminates in a private cinema screening of participants' work.