CHRISANN HESSING

Chrisann Hessing is a documentary filmmaker and impact producer based in Toronto. She has produced award-winning short films that have screened at Hot Docs, RIDM, Global Impact Film Festival and the London Asian Film Festival. Her work has been supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Inspirit Foundation, BravoFACT! Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent and Telefilm Canada.

Chrisann’s latest film, Turning Tables, won Best Short Documentary at the 43rd American Indian Film Festival, and has screened in over 30 film festivals internationally.

She is passionate about using visual storytelling as a tool to educate, raise awareness, and inspire positive change, and has collaborated with a number of community arts organizations including TIFF, JAYU, Reel Asian, and This is Worldtown, an online magazine featuring art and first person expression of women of colour storytellers.

Currently, she is the Festival Manager at Breakthroughs Film Festival, the only festival in Canada devoted exclusively to short films made by emerging women & non binary directors.

Nenookaasi Ogichidaa is an Afro-Indigenous 2Spirit Queer mother and activist of Black, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ rights.

Homed in Takronto "The Meeting Place" where tall trees stand in water. Neno is known as a "truth seeker speak", powwow dancer, and a delighted traditional hand drum singer song composer and outdoor enthusiast.