PREVIOUS WINNERS
TREVOR ANDERSON - “ROCK POCKETS”
2007
The inaugural winner of the Lindalee Tracey Award, Trevor Anderson is a self-taught, independent filmmaker based in Edmonton, Alberta. Since winning the award, Trevor’s films have screened at many major international film festivals, including Sundance, Berlin, SXSW, Toronto, AFI Fest, Melbourne, Hot Docs, True/False, Slamdance, Outfest, Frameline, Los Angeles Film Festival, and many more. His films have been broadcast on CBC, Canal+ France, Bravo! and MTV. In January 2012, Anderson was selected to study under master filmmaker Werner Herzog at his Rogue Film School.
ELIZABETH LAZEBNIK - “ABEER”
2008
Elizabeth Lazebnik traveled the world extensively before making her home in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of York University's Film & Video Production program, she has written and directed several short films, including "Partial Eclipse" and the award-winning documentary "The Multiple Selves of Hannah Maynard". In 2012 her film “Safe Room” was chosen as part of the Short Cuts program at the Toronto International Film Festival..
WILL INRIG - “THE FANTASTIC BALLET OF THE MIND AND ITS MASTER”
LAURA BARI - “ANTOINE”
2009
Will Inrig won the Lindalee Tracey Award at age 18, having already produced a film with the National Film Board of Canada. His LLT award-winning film was a work-in-progress documentary inspired by his younger brother, who had severe autism. The funding from the award went towards completing this project. Renowned Canadian filmmaker Allan King was assisting Will with this film before he passed away.
Originally from Argentina, Laura Bari has been living in Montreal for over 20 years. Already in her 30’s, Laura’s LLT award winning film was her first feature film and was selected by the Tribeca Film Festival, Hot Docs, and others. It has won over 15 prizes to-date. She has a BA in Early Childhood Education from University of Argentina and an MA Education from UQAM. Since winning the award, Laura has started her own production company Besofilm where she now employs a staff of nearly 10 in Montreal.
AYANIE MOHAMED - “FORGOTTEN”
2010
Somali-Canadian, Ayanie Mohamed was 20 years old when he won the Lindalee Tracey Award for his film “Forgotten” made for just $40 with a few friends. Ayanie attributes winning the LLT Award with giving him the confidence to take himself seriously as a filmmaker. Since then, he has made a second short, directed a slew of music videos and shot two commercials.With the help of the Kodak stock from the Award, Ayanie is getting ready to shoot another short using super 16 film. He has written his first feature film.
ALEXANDRE HAMEL - CLÉ 56”
2011
Alexandre Hamel is a 29 year old Montreal native and Concordia Film Production graduate. He believes that documentary film is a medium that has the power to work against misinformation and promote understanding. After winning the Lindalee Tracey Award he was able to fund a documentary series based on his LTA-winning film. The series was nominated for 2 Gemini Awards and won the Gemini for the best directing for a documentary TV series. He has since gone to the UK to work on contract for the BBC and is now back in Montreal working on his next project.
JASAMINE OORE - “GLAMOUR GUTS”
2012
Jasmine Oore is a graduate of Dalhousie University and currently still lives in Halifax, where her films have received continual recognition at the Atlantic Film Festival. Her LTA-winning film “Glamour Guts” was selected as one of the 15 best films to come out of the Filmmaker’s Cooperative scholarship program in the last 10 years. Since winning the award, Jasmine has been able to complete her most recent film, a tragicomedy titled “There’s Been a Terrible Mistake”, which won the screenwriter award at the 2013 Atlantic Film Festival.
RODRIGO BARRIUSO - “FOR DORIAN”
ANTOINE BOURGES - “EAST HASTINGS PHARMACY”
2013
In 2013, Rodrigo (Rocco) Barriuso’s film “For Dorian” participated in over 25 festivals in over 15 countries and received 6 national and international awards, including the Lindalee Tracey Award. Since then, he has received the rights to direct a short biopic based on the late years of internationally acclaimed Hungarian-American 20th century photographer, Andre Kertesz. The film is being developed between his production company and the Estate of Andre Kertesz in NYC. He plans on using the funds from the Lindalee Tracey Award to help make this film. He has also just received a grant from the Toronto Art Council to support the production of his film.
Born in Paris, Antoine Bourges lived in Montreal before moving to Vancouver in 2006 to study film at the University of British Columbia. After shooting several short films, “East Hastings Pharmacy” was his first medium-length documentary. The film debuted at Cinema du Reel Festival in Paris and has screened widely at festivals, including the Viennale, the Images Festival, RIDM, and the Kasseler Dokfest, where it recently won the festival’s top prize, the Golden Key. Antoine has teamed up with MDFF, an award-winning Toronto-based production company helmed by past White Pine Pictures’ filmmakers Dan Montgomery and Kazik Radwanski.
MATT JOHNSON - “THE DIRTIES”
MADELEINE GRANT - “THE BACKWARD CLASS”
2014
Matt Johnson’s innovative debut feature-length “mock-doc” THE DIRTIES was inspired by the Columbine high-school shooting. It mixes drama, doc and even comedy techniques to tell a killer’s chilling backstory.
Madeleine Grant’s film THE BACKWARD CLASS was also part of the 2014 Hot Docs lineup… it also takes place at high school, a real one, in India. It follows the trials and triumphs of several untouchable-caste students whose best hope of escaping poverty is to graduate with high enough marks to get into college or university
YOSEF BARAKI - “MINA WALKING”
2015
Yosef Baraki is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and film producer. He is best known for his feature film debut Mina Walking which premiered at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and won the inaugural Discovery Award at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016. His work is characterized by unconventional dramatic structure and realism focused on the spiritual.
MICHAEL CHEN - “LOST”
2016
Michael Chen’s short drama “Lost” impressed the jury with its stunning cinematography and deeply emotional storytelling, revealing the world of a child struggling with a dysfunctional home life. Chen says he made “Lost” because he “wanted to tell a story that was real, yet hopeful” and “to capture that while not everything will be just or fair or even happy, there will always be a chance for a better tomorrow.”
THYRONE TOMMY - “MARINER”
2017
Thyrone Tommy is an award winning, Toronto-based filmmaker. His work has been supported with grants from NBC Universal Canada, Kodak Motion Picture Film, and the Ontario Council for the Arts. His films have been celebrated internationally at over 30 festivals, including his most recent short film MARINER, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, and was named one of TIFF Canada's Top Ten shorts of the year. He is an alumni of the Cineplex Entertainment Film Program Directors' Lab at Norman Jewison's Canadian Film Centre.
FAZILA AMIRI - “THE RED BICYCLE”
TIM TRACEY - “KREB”
2018
Fazila Amiri is an Afghan-Canadian writer, director, producer. She holds a master's degree in Film Production from York University. Her films have been shown in international film festivals including Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Canadian Film Festival, Atlantic International Film Festival. She is the winner of the 2018 Hot Docs Lindalee Tracey Award, 2019 Amnesty India Film Festival, 2019 Hot Docs Don Haig Award Pay it Forward Prize.
Tim Tracey is an award winning stop motion animator/writer/director based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Working primarily with reclaimed materials, he fabricates vast worlds to tell his surreal stories. Creating old school practical effects, he approaches animation like a magician.
His practice ranges from feature length documentaries, to no-holds-barred action, to experimental stop motion animation.
His short animated films Kreb (2013) and DataMine (2016) have screened at prominent festivals at home and abroad, and recognized with several awards.
ANDY ALVAREZ - “OUR HOME”
2019
Born in Cali, Colombia, Andy Alvarez is an award winning director based in Vancouver, BC. Graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BFA in Film Production. Her directorial debut based on her personal story is the award winning short film La Mariposa. It was awarded the Leo Award for Best Student Production in June of 2018, and is now streaming on CBC Gem and Air Canada. Andy won the Lindalee Tracey Award at Hot Docs 2019 Film Festival for her other short film, Our Home. In January of 2020, Andy was selected as one of the Top 6 filmmakers for the Crazy 8s Film Competition in which she directed and co wrote her latest short film; Sol. Along with her team and production company; Studio 104 Entertainment, Andy was awarded 20K for a TELUS Storyhive Funded Pilot set to release in the summer of 2020.
SALAR PASHTOONYAR - “BAD OMEN”
2020
Salar Pashtoonyar is a writer, director, and producer originally from Afghanistan and currently based in Toronto, Canada.
After graduating with a diploma in Film Production from Toronto Film School, Salar wrote and directed the trilogy of short films "Forsaken, Screaming on the Inside, and Jummah," which deals with the issues within the diasporic families. These films were screened at festivals worldwide, including Atlantic International Film Festival, Canada Film Fest, and Toronto Urban Film Festival, where his film was awarded Best Local Film.
Salar worked as an executive assistant and post-production supervisor on the academy award-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta's "Anatomy of Violence." He is currently finishing his master's degree in Film Production at York University.
Ava Shahnavaz - “THE UNTOUCHABLE”
2022
Ava Shahnavaz is an Iranian Canadian filmmaker. Born in Tehran, Iran, she moved to Canada in 2007. Avazeh graduated in film production from Toronto film school. She started her career making documentaries about places and people, as well as producing advertising videos for various purposes. Avazeh moved back to Iran in 2018 and has since started making films in her home land, since Iran is the main source of inspiration for her.
CAILLEAH SCOTT-GRIMES - “BETWEEN US”
2021
Cailleah Scott-Grimes is a Toronto-based director and illustrator. From death positivity to struggles with gender identity, Cailleah's work brings an intimate lens to transgressive topics that are difficult to talk about. Working in both documentary and fiction, her films have been featured on CBC Short Docs, Air Canada, and Cinema Politica. Her work has screened at 50+ international festivals, including Hot Docs, BFI Flare, and Outfest LA. She is also a creative partner at JbyJ Production, which works closely with the Japanese-Canadian community.
In 2021, Cailleah received the Lindalee Tracey Award for her Master’s thesis film Between Us (2020), set in her former home of Yamagata, Japan. The film received a Best Director Jury Award at Image+Nation and was a finalist for the 2021 Iris Prize, the world’s largest award for LGBTQ+ short films. Cailleah is currently writing her first feature, and her fantasy short, Overgrown, will be released in 2022.
When she’s not shooting, you can find her dead-lifting at the gym, jamming with her electro-acappella group, Beatsync, or curled up with her manga.
Gaëlle Graton - “L’Autre rive” (a shore away)
2023
Gaëlle Graton studied Sociology, Women's Studies, and Film Production at Concordia University in QC, Canada. L'AUTRE RIVE (A Shore Away) is her first short film. She is currently developing other projects in the short and feature format with the production companies UGO Media and Les Films Camera Oscura. She also works in feature film distribution at h264.