Baba

Jay Kamal is an award-winning director and cinematographer working full time in the Vancouver film industry. His directorial debut, Terrorist, about an Arab child facing racism immediately after the September 11th attacks, toured internationally and won Best Short Film at both the Edmonton International and Montréal World film festivals. Jay holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours in Film Production from the University of British Columbia as well as a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Film and Theatre from the University of Alberta. After traveling the world, learning four languages, and living in Asia for most of his life, Jay developed a passion for diverse storytelling and incorporates unique cultural elements into his films. Jay strives to tell the true stories of the most misunderstood and disenfranchised humans and uses his real life experiences to bring authenticity to his films.

Javier Badillo is a Venezuelan-Canadian filmmaker whose company Spitshine Flicks has been producing independent movies since 2008. His films have been showcased in numerous countries including Canada, U.S.A., France, Japan, and the U.K., where his comedy FATAL RHAPSODY won an Audience Choice award (Harrogate Film Festival, 2018). His short inner-city drama COCO BLUE won Best Female Lead and Best Music at the Pacific Rim Film Festival, and was nominated for a 2019 Leo Award. Previously, he co-produced the drama AFTERPARTY for director Michelle Ouellet (Whistler Film Festival, 2013), and the comedy THE COVER-UP for director Erick Boychuk (2014). In 2020, Badillo completed production of ROADS OF ITHRIYAH, a feature length drama following a concussed Syrian militant from the desert battlefield to the streets of Vancouver. The film is currently in post-production.

For his contributions to Canada’s multicultural communities, Badillo was nominated for the 2018 Latincouver Inspirational Latin Award and was awarded the 2019 RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards. He currently serves on the board of the Venezuelan Canadian Society of BC (VCSBC), supporting Venezuelan immigrants and refugees worldwide. Badillo worked as Director of Programming for the annual Vancouver Short Film Festival from 2012 to 2020, supporting hundreds of new filmmakers’ careers. Previously, he moderated the public forums of the Institute for International Film Financing (IIFF) and was the first Vancouver Director for Raindance, an international filmmaker’s society.

Made in Singapore, she is a test tube baby, born in West Asia and raised in Asia and North America. Panta graduated from the University of Victoria Bachelor of Arts Degree. She has also lived in Japan and the United States. She currently resides in Vancouver, BC. In addition to working on several big-budget TV Shows, MOW’s and commercials as the Production Coordinator, Panta independently produced and shot award winning short films and music videos. Panta currently divides her time between producing, production coordinating and acting, bringing her unique flair to every project. Panta is currently developing a feature script that is an extension of the short film “Pass the Salt”. Panta has produced multiple award winning projects such as “Pass The Salt” or “Dama Branca”,which have been on CBC, CBC Gem, Telus Optic TV VOD, Super Channel, Apply TV+ and Air Canada. She has also worked as an Associate Producer on Canada’s first Transgender Sitcom, “The Switch” airing on Out TV and Revry, an LGBTQ+ streaming service.