DRIFF: Alumni Spotlight 2020
In 2020 DRIFF was accomplishing its yearly festival under restrictive circumstances due to COVID-19. Even though we could not hold our typical in-person festival, DRIFF pushed through and still provided a memorable experience by honouring its participants…online. DRIFF wants to shoutout a few winners in today’s post including Mirjam Leuze for receiving the award for Best Feature Film for her work The Whale and the Raven, Paula Ner Dormiendo for receiving the award of Best Student Film for her work On the Fence, and Peter Findley for receiving the Best Regional Film for his work The Company.
Mirijam Leuze has gone on to direct and found her own film production company –TOPOS Film—in 2012 to produce her first documentary style film Flowers of Freedom and the film she showcased at DRIFF The Whale and the Raven. On top of that Mirijam has done work writing monthly blogs for Deutsche Welle, focusing on renewable energies, gender issues and cultural anthropology, topics that bleed into her documentaries. Mirjam has been proud to honour her colleagues for their film Bread and Roses, a film following women defending their rights in Afghanistan. Through this film, her partnerships with other filmmakers have allowed Mirjam to open important discussions and further her work in activism through film.
Next, we would like to shine the spotlight on Paula Ner Dormiendo and honour some of her accomplishments since DRIFF 2020. Paula has since written and directed two short films, The Art of Quiet and Seph & Danny Were Here. Her short On the Fence has since won a Festival Award at Barrie Film Festival. Paula focuses on commercial film work and has directed campaigns for Wealthsimple, MilkUP Ontario, and one campaign that was screened at the Scotiabank Theatre called The Future of Film Showcase. In her most recent work, she has been selected as one of nine artists for Brampton Arts Organization's Artist Residency and VIBE Art’s Desire Lines Program to partner with Pattison Sign Group and RBC to publicly promote her photography at a participating TTC location.
Finally, we want to direct an honourary spotlight to Peter Findley. His film Company Town not only won awards for DRIFF but went on to be nominated for four 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, including best documentary director and best documentary. His film was recognized many times in 2021 and 2022 at various film festivals for categories such as Best Feature Documentary at Workers Unite Film Festival and Official Selection at Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, Northwest International Documentary Festival, Belleville Downtown Docfest, and Mayworks Festival of Working People & Arts.
Even with the uncontrollable setbacks due to the quarantine DRIFF still found a way to celebrate and honour these talented award winners. From documentary style films to commercials the selected alumni have continued to change the environment of filmmaking and create space for their voices in this industry. Mirijam Leuze, Paula Ner Dormiendo and Peter Findley continue to make DRIFF proud.