Janine Windolph (Atikamekw/Woodland Cree) is a Saskatchewan-based filmmaker, Interdisciplinary artist, curator and storyteller. She is working at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity as the Associate Director of Indigenous Arts. Prior, Janine was the Curator of Community Engagement at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan. Filmography includes Stories Are In Our Bones (Director and Writer) Lifegivers: Honoring Our Elders and Children (Director and Writer), The Land of Rock and Gold (Co-Director, Co-Writer and Co- Producer), Ayapiyâhk ôma niyanân “Only us, we are here at home” (Production Mentor and Narrator), From Up North (Producer) and The Beacon Project: Stories of Qu’Appelle Valley (Production Support, Storyteller and Producer) available on CBC Gem. Janine also worked on RIIS from Amnesia: Recovering the Lost Legacies (Co-Director and Co-Producer), a feature-length documentary that explores the history of the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS). Janine is working on a 20-minute documentary called Our Maternal Home: Waswanipi (Director, Writer and Narrator). She continues to homeschool and collaborate with her sons, Dawlari and Corwyn, who are working on the Buffalo Mountain Video Project. Janine had served Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative, mispon: A Celebration of Indigenous Filmmaking Inc., RIIS Commemorative Association, Inc., Common Weal, and Reconciliation Regina. She is currently a board of director for Prince of Trust Canada and volunteers for Buffalo Mountain Banff.
Board of Directors
Dianne Allen
Dianne Allen, BA Hons, MSW. Dianne has been a social worker in Regina area almost 30 years. The first 10+ yrs, her career focussed on child abuse. Dianne was one of the founding members of The Regina Children’s Justice Centre, an interdisciplinary child abuse centre investigating physical and sexual abuse allegations in partnership with city police and medical professionals; the first of its kind in North America. She went on to provide treatment at the Family Sexual Abuse Centre, spent a number of years on the Regina Sexual Assault committee, and worked in various affiliated positions and roles related to child abuse and child protection. The past 2 decades, Dianne has worked in mental health at Child & Youth Services, Regina Mental Health Clinic and Public Health. Among her roles, she worked in the adolescent forensic program, provided treatment for adolescent sexual offenders, and spent many years with the Early Psychosis Intervention Program. Due to her passion for putting clients first, Dianne was chosen to work on an elite team to lead client-directed care across Mental Health & Addiction Services.
Dianne chaired the Regina SASW social work association committee for many years. She also taught yoga at the YMCA for close to a decade. Currently, she volunteers with the LOOK program; A Mental Health/Film Initiative which is the cornerstone community-based program in the RIFFA foundation.
Abhishek Gupta
John Thimothy
John Thimothy is an Indo-Canadian filmmaker, Film Executive, and the founder of the Regina International Film Festival and Awards (RIFFA). His directorial work has received international recognition with official selections at more than 38 film and media festivals around the world; nominated for the Golden Sheaf Award at the 72nd Yorkton Film Festival, was a semi-finalist at the 67th Columbus International Film Festival, and was an Official Selection at the 41st Big Muddy Film Festival. John has served as one of the feature film Jury for the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, appointed by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He has also served as a member of the San-Diego International Film Festival, OUTFEST, and Vancouver Asian Film festival programming panel. He is currently serving as a programming adviser for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. In 2016, John was awarded the Future 40 – People’s Choice Award by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). He is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal by the Government of Saskatchewan.
Dilani Rabindran
Dilani Rabindran (she/her) is the Founder of Viewfinder Film Productions (VFP) Inc., a marketing & production company headquartered in Toronto devoted to the international promotion of creators, especially those of South Asian descent. Dilani has creatively consulted on & represented 45+ films, securing over 120 official festival selections; many VFP films also went on to Indian National Awards and are now available on international streaming platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video. VFP has also produced award-winning short films and is in the process of developing new film and TV projects for international platforms and broadcasters. Dilani was one of 12 candidates selected from across Canada for the inaugural 2021 Reelworld Producer Program, presented by Bell Media and was honoured by the City of Toronto as one of the “Top 40 Under 40 Tamils in Commerce” in 2023. In her full-time role she is the Senior Manager of Marketing Partnerships for Cineplex Entertainment Ltd., and also volunteers her time as the Director, Programming for In-Competition & Non-Competition Films for RIFFA’s annual festival.