{"id":402768,"date":"2026-01-09T15:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/?p=402768"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:02:08","slug":"tiff-positions-york-u-filmmakers-among-canadas-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2026\/01\/09\/tiff-positions-york-u-filmmakers-among-canadas-best\/","title":{"rendered":"TIFF positions York U filmmakers among Canada\u2019s best"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Each year, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) selects Canada\u2019s Top Ten, a list celebrating the best in recent Canadian cinema, from feature-length films to shorts.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Members of York University\u2019s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design<\/a> frequently appear on the annual list, reflecting the creative impact of York graduates and their status among Canada\u2019s top filmmaking talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, four former and current AMPD students were recognized for their feature-length or short films.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Sophy<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sophy Romvari (MFA \u201920), Blue Heron<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Since completing her MFA at York, writer-director Romvari has gained international recognition for her short films. Blue Heron<\/em>, her first feature-length movie, explores the internal dynamics of a family of six on Vancouver Island through the perspective of its youngest member. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After premiering in Fall 2025, Blue Heron<\/em> won the Swatch First Feature Award at the 78th Locarno Film Festival and was named Best Canadian Discovery at the Toronto International Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"Matt<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Matt Johnson (BFA \u201906, MFA \u201916), Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Johnson has become one of Canada\u2019s most prominent filmmakers, most recently earning international acclaim and multiple Canadian Screen Awards for the film BlackBerry<\/em>. His latest feature-length directorial effort, Nirvana the Band the Show the Movie<\/em>, adapts the cult television and web series he co-created with longtime collaborator and fellow AMPD alum Matthew Miller<\/strong> (BFA \u201903, MFA \u201916).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before being named to the Canada's Top Ten, the film was the recipient of the TIFF \u201925 People\u2019s Choice Midnight Madness Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Martin Edralin (current MFA student), La Mayordom\u00eda<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Edralin is an award-winning Canadian director whose previous short films include Hole<\/em>, which won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Action Short, and Emma<\/em>, which was named to TIFF\u2019s Canada\u2019s Top Ten list in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His latest short film, La Mayordom\u00eda,<\/em> premiered at the 2025 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where it won the Audience Award for Short Films. The film documents a Mexican ritual where families are chosen to care for baby Jesus figures \u2013 some dating back to the 16th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n
\n
\"Lesley<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Lesley Loksi Chan (BFA \u201908, MFA \u201918), Lloyd Wong, Unfinished<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Born as an archival initiative while Chan was a graduate student at York, the short film Lloyd Wong, Unfinished <\/em>tells the story of a Chinese-Canadian artist who documented his life living with HIV in early 1990s Toronto but died before completing the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the lost footage was found around 2020, Chan brought the unfinished work to life through her short film, which has received several additional recognitions<\/a>, including the prestigious\u00a0Teddy Award for Best Short Film\u00a0and the\u00a0Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about Canada's Top Ten, visit the TIFF website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrates York University talent who are defining Canadian cinema. Meet the filmmakers who earned a spot on the festival's Canada's Top Ten list. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2293,"featured_media":402780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,11],"tags":[30,58,18,12,4],"yfileauthor":[204],"qualifier":[198],"yfile-author":[248],"tags-to-show":[203,172,155,146],"workflow":[],"class_list":["post-402768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards-recognition","category-latest-news","tag-alumni","tag-ampd","tag-awards","tag-students","tag-yfile","yfileauthor-yfilestaff","qualifier-by","yfile-author-alex-huls","tags-to-show-alumni","tags-to-show-ampd","tags-to-show-awards","tags-to-show-students"],"acf":{"internal_publish_date":"20260112","original_image":null},"yoast_head":"\nTIFF positions York U filmmakers among Canada\u2019s best - YFile<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2026\/01\/09\/tiff-positions-york-u-filmmakers-among-canadas-best\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"TIFF positions York U filmmakers among Canada\u2019s best - YFile\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrates York University talent who are defining Canadian cinema. 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