DRIFF: Rewind 2017
In 2017, the Durham Region International Film Festival (DRIFF) was laying the groundwork for what has since become a thriving celebration of cinematic talent. That year introduced audiences to filmmakers whose careers would continue to flourish beyond the festival, artists whose impact is still being felt across film and television today.
Some of DRIFF’s outstanding alumni we want to shine the spotlight on include Cat Hostick, for winning not only one, but two major awards at the 2017 DRIFF Award Ceremony. Cat won the Best Regional Film award and the Best Feature Film award for her film The Meaning of Life. Since the 2017 DRIFF film festival Cat has gone on to develop her film career through directing ten movies and various episodes of nine television shows including a popular and long-running Murdoch Mysteries. Several films she has directed have gone on to win three awards, including Best Ensemble Cast award at the 2024 Northeast Film Festival for directing The Martini Shot and Best Direction award at the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards for the film Eli Roth Presents: A Ghost Ruined My Life.
Another emerging filmmaker from the 2017 festival is Katerina Zoumboulakis who since premiering her short Okay at DRIFF and winning Best Comedy has developed her career significantly. Since then, Katerina has since worked on a variety of roles—including Art Director, Writer, and Producer—on an astounding 38 films and TV episodes. She has also worked as a cinematographer for 9 films including her most recent work on the short, Please Love Me in 2024. She was awarded Best Director for her film Okay that was presented at the Hollywood North Film Awards in 2018.
Finally, we want to shine our final spotlight of 2017 on Anastasiia Platoshyna, a Ukrainian-Canadian animation filmmaker who has reached global audiences. Anastasiia won the award for Best Student Film for her work Alkonos at the 2017 DRIFF Award Ceremony. She currently works for Netflix Animation Studios as a character art director and has contributed to major animated projects including Angry Birds: Mystery Island, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and the new 2026 animated film Steps. She has gained much experience post DRIFF and has many big companies on her resumé such as DreamWorks and graduating from Sheridan College’s Animation Program in 2018 with a Bachelor of Applied Arts.
The achievements of DRIFF’s 2017 alumni reflect the festival’s ongoing commitment to identifying and supporting exceptional creative voices. From award-winning directors to global animation professionals, their filmmakers continue to elevate the industry, and DRIFF is proud to have been part of their early journeys.