Jury 2020

Emmy Award-nominated, Michael Prupas is a veteran film and television executive producer. He founded Muse Entertainment Enterprises in 1998 which is a major production house with facilities in Montreal, LA, Toronto and Vancouver and is known around the world for high-quality programming. His best known credits are The Kennedys, The Pillars of the Earth, Tut, Human Trafficking, The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries (1-16) and Coroner.

Élie Castiel studied French literature, film and translation at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) and received training in library science. He is a film and other visual arts at KinoCulture Montréal, and held the same position Séquences magazine for several years. He holds a Masters Degree from Concordia. His Thesis is on the long-take in The Traveling Players, by Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos. He was for some time president of the AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma), a member organization of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics). He has also sat on the juries of several local and international film festivals (Toronto, Montreal, Thessaloniki, Palm Springs, Festival du film israélien de Montréal…).

Jamie Elman is an actor, writer, director, producer and musician. He has appeared on some of television’s most acclaimed series including Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and House M.D. and for three seasons of NBC’s critically lauded drama American Dreams. His breakout role was Cody on the FOX/YTV teen sitcom Student Bodies.Along with Eli Batalion, Jamie co-created the award-winning Yiddish web series YidLife Crisis, which has over 3 million online views. As ‘comedy peacekeepers’, YidLife regularly performs live all over North America. On stage, Jamie has starred in three runs of the hit play BAD JEWS in Montreal and Toronto. Career film highlights include California Dreamin’ (Grand Prix, 2007 Cannes Film Festival), When Nietzsche Wept, and voice work on animated Disney blockbusters Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. A native of Montreal and graduate of McGill University, Jamie is a pianist and singer who has recorded with Ben Harper, Natalie Maines and Rickie Lee Jones, and plays most Monday nights for the last decade at the Varnish cocktail bar in his adopted hometown of LA.

Claude Fournier began his career as a journalist before going into documentary filmmaking, first with the National Film Board of Canada and then with Time-Life in New York. When he returned to Montréal in the 1960s, he founded his own production house, Rose Films Inc. and has since worked as a director and screenwriter of fictional films for theatrical release and for television. He has made films around the world and has won numerous awards at international festivals (Moscow, Montréal, Karlovy Vary, Toronto). Claude Fournier is also known as an author. His publications include poetry, two novels, an essay and most his memoirs, entitled À force de vivre. With Marie-José Raymond, Claude Fournier has founded Éléphant: The memory of Quebec cinema.

Lorne has over 20 years of experience in the Canadian and International Film and Television industry in development, production and distribution.  Early in his career he worked alongside pioneers John Dunning and Andre Link in a development role.  He then worked with producer Ina Fichman at Rock Demers’ Productions La Fete in development and production of fiction and documentary.  He was at the award winning NFB/ONF for over 14 years including as Head of Sales and Market Development responsible for all domestic and International sales and business development. Lorne then served as Director of Sales at Seville International before founding WaZabi Films with Anick Poirier.

Beverly Shaffer has earned an international reputation for her insightful and finely crafted documentaries, winning over 40 awards including an Oscar, in a 30 years career at the National Film Board of Canada. Her numerous credits include the Oscar winning I’LL FIND A WAY; its sequel, JUST A WEDDING; TO MY BIRTHMOTHER; TO A SAFER PLACE; and the acclaimed series CHILDREN OF JERUSALEM. Early in her career she worked on the Emmy award winning series NOVA and ZOOM, both productions of the Boston-based PBS station WGBH.

Gerald Wexler is a scriptwriter who graduated from McGill University and The Hornsey College of Art, London, England. Some of his writing credits include Margaret’s Museum, featuring Helena-Bonham Carter, which received the Genie for Best Screenplay, Best Film at San Sebastian, and numerous other awards. He was a writer/Producer of The Hunger, a TV series produced by Tony and Ridley Scott, featuring David Bowie. His Radio Canada Téléfilm, Manuel, Le Fils Emprunté won five best film awards at international festivals and was selected for competition in Berlin. He’s written numerous other films and TV series including 3 produced adaptations of works by Mordecai Richler and adapted many other writers such as Brian Moore and Harlan Ellison. In the states he has had development deals and/or produced films with Paramount, Warner Bros., USA Network, Showtime and others.