JAYU Festival of the Arts: Short Films Screening
Short Films Screening
Sometimes, a few minutes on screen can stay with you long after the credits roll.
Join us for the JAYU Festival of the Arts Short Film Screenings, bringing together filmmakers who explore human rights, social justice, and the lived experiences that shape how we see ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Through stories that challenge assumptions, spark curiosity, and bring underrepresented perspectives to the forefront, these films invite us to look a little closer at the world we share.
A Clay Horse, unable to speak since escaping Kabul, Aarash, a 12-year-old Afghan refugee, relies on his radio to survive the memories that haunt him.
Semillas, a dual-screen documentary of three “1.5” generation Latine individuals through their voices, likenesses, memories, and interlaced experiences exploring their stages of transplantation.
Can You Feel It Now?, a poetic Afrofuturist and Indigenous Futurist vision of Black and Indigenous kinship, where ancestral wisdom, shared resistance, and imagined futures reimagine First Contact as a journey of connection and healing.
Getting There, a heartwarming stop motion film about 2 best friends trying to get to the beach whilst navigating public transit in the big city. Will they make it?
Dad's Camera, a story written about the relationship between a mixed-race first-generation student graduating from film school, and her working-class Latin-immigrant father who is her biggest supporter, critic, and inspiration all at once.
After watching the films, stick around for a panel discussion with the filmmakers, where you'll hear directly from the creatives behind the films. Learn more about their work, the stories and ideas that inspired them, and the perspectives that shape their filmmaking. It's an opportunity to go beyond the screen and get to know the people behind the stories.
In Collaboration with CinéFilm
CinèFilm
CinéFilm is a Toronto-based film community bringing filmmakers and film lovers together through a shared love of storytelling, connection, and conversation. They approach film with intention, curiosity, and care, creating spaces to discover bold and meaningful films that explore diverse experiences, identities, and perspectives. Through curated screenings, they create opportunities for filmmakers and audiences to engage in thoughtful discussions, extending the film experience beyond the screen and fostering connection in the room. Whether behind the camera or in the audience, there is a place for everyone in their community.
Meet the Filmmakers
Abdullah Khan
Abdullah Khan (he/him) is a Pakistani writer and director. His work often centers on childhood in Pakistan, approached through a raw and naturalistic lens, foregrounding poignant socio-political tensions within intimate fictional narratives. His documentary works have been exhibited and screened at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and Rich Mix in London. His short film A Clay Horse screened at several Oscar-qualifying festivals, including the Odense International Film Festival and the Tirana International Film Festival, where it received the Best Divergent Minds' Award. Khan is an alumnus of the Film Talents Program 2023 by Goethe-Institut. He is a recipient of the Explore & Create Grant 2025 from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Esteban Powell Suárez
Esteban Powell Suárez (he/him) is a Mexican-Canadian artist based in Scarborough, ON. Often platforming and exploring Latinx cultural experiences, his work focuses on the Gothic, delving into spiritual and folkloric aspects of our inner dark. Through painting, writing, and filmmaking, he believes in casting a light on the often unseen, to better understand ourselves and each other.
Francisca Rojas
Francisca Rojas (she/they) is a Chilean-Canadian documentary filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. With a background in history and Latin American studies, they depict collective historical traumas in their community through an autoethnographic and testimonial lens. She strives to portray community-based, decentralized healing that collectivizes and politicizes mental health struggles.
Isak Vaillancourt
Isak Vaillancourt (he/him) is an award-winning film director, multidisciplinary artist, communications professional, and community organizer of Somali-French ancestry. His creative practice spans filmmaking, photography, multimedia installation, and arts-based programming, exploring identity through Black healing, memory, visual culture, decolonization and liberation. He is the director and producer of the films amplify (2020), Collective Resistance (2023), and Can You Feel It Now? (2025). His documentary and experimental films have screened at regional, national, and international festivals, and his multimedia installations have been presented in galleries and group exhibitions. Collective Resistance is available to stream on OUTtv and Amazon Prime Video. Can You Feel It Now? won Outstanding Northern Ontario Short Film at the 2025 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival and earned Isak a nomination for Outstanding Director – Short Format at the 2026 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards. Isak is also a contributing author to Free to Be More: Creative Activism in the Era of Black Lives Matter, edited by Syrus Marcus Ware and Ra’anaa Yaminah Ekundayo, with d’bi.young anitafrika. He holds a Master of Arts in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University, where his graduate research focused on Black-Indigenous relations, immersive technologies, visual culture, advanced media production, and social justice. Alongside his creative practice, Isak specializes in strategic messaging, partner engagement, project management and public advocacy. His professional work supports First Nations advocacy and the priorities of Black communities in rural and northern regions. Isak is a Co-Founder and Director of Black Lives Matter Sudbury, a non-profit organization established in 2020 to dismantle systemic racism and support cultural creation in Northern Ontario.
Pree Rehal
Pree Rehal (they/them) is a maker of things and artist, based in Tkaronto. ‘Getting There’ is their 2nd stop motion film. Pree's work is guided by their multi-hypenate identity as a queer, trans, Disabled, brown artist.
Ruben Dario Chavez-Munoz
Ruben Dario Chavez-Munoz (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. With roots in Guatemala/Honduras, Ruben’s work explores the relationship between mark-making and identity. Focusing in lens based mediums has allowed him to explore his diaspora through traditional photography, filmmaking, and experimental processes that mix textiles and visuals.
Sam Abendanio-Guevara
Sam Abendanio-Guevara (she/they) is a T(ka)ronto-born-and-based artist, who specializes in photography and filmmaking, and whose projects focus on portraying stories about place-making, primarily by, for, and about intersectional marginalized identities. In addition to photo and film, Sam has a background in urban planning, and she is passionate about community-building, evident in their art and work. Beyond cinematic arts and city planning, Sam is experienced in content creation and also pursues media and marketing.
Agenda
- 6:30 pm
Doors Open
Arrive and connect with the community and filmmakers.
- 7:00 pm
Welcome & Introduction
Opening remarks and an introduction to the JAYU Festival of the Arts and this year’s short films.
- 7:10 pm
Screening Begins
- 8:00 am
Panel Discussion
Hear directly from the filmmakers as they discuss their work, creative processes, and the ideas behind their films.
- 9:00 pm
Event Concludes
FAQs
- What is JAYU?
JAYU is a registered Canadian charity that equips and platforms equity-deserving individuals dedicated to using art for change. Rooted in community and informed by human rights, we deliver transformative arts programs and mentorship for youth across the GTA, as well as education and employment opportunities for emerging arts professionals.
Our work is guided by a shared belief in the power of art to transform lives. With the support of our staff, artists, educators, and Board of Directors, we create safe creative spaces through our iAM programming, showcase opportunities like our annual poetry slams, the JAYU Festival of the Arts and by partnering with organizations across the city to bring arts into community hubs and public spaces.
- What is JAYU Festival of the Arts?
JAYU Festival of the Arts (JFA) is a 7-day celebration of creative expression rooted in human rights and social justice, featuring films, workshops, performances, an exhibition, and an artist market. We believe art can be a tool for change by sharing human rights stories, building empathy, fostering healing and community, and sparking the conversations that help push the world toward a more equitable, loving place.
- How does ticketing work?
As part of JAYU’s commitment to accessibility, we offer different types of ticketing to every event to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to enjoy the festival.
Free Admission: Creates access to our space and events for those who may not be in a position to give.
Give-What-You-Can: Builds welcoming spaces for everyone to share their stories. This option is for folks that are able to donate and wish to support JAYU Festival of the Arts and our programming.
- What is accessibility like at your venue?
401 Richmond is wheelchair accessible with gender neutral washrooms. Wheelchair entrances are located:
At the front entrance near the Roastery Café (east of Spadina Avenue)
At the north-east corner of the building, near the Spacing and Swipe retail shops (west of the corner of Richmond and Peter Streets).
Paid parking is available within the area. We recommend:
83 Peter Street (underground lot; card and online payment options available; 5 minute walk)
448 Richmond Street West (outdoor lot; physical card required; 2 minute walk)
Thank you to our sponsors and funders!
As a registered charity, JAYU’s work is made possible by the generous support of our funders and partners. We gratefully acknowledge the Government of Canada, through Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Arts Presentation Fund and Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program Events Stream, for supporting the JAYU Festival of the Arts.
We also thank our year-round supporters: TD Bank, Lead iAM Core Sponsor; Ontario Trillium Foundation; Charles H. Ivey Foundation; Canada Life; TELUS Friendly Future Foundation; The Daniels Corporation; Canada Council for the Arts; Sony Canada; and the F.K. Morrow Foundation.
Our year-round operations are supported by Toronto Arts Council, with funding from the City of Toronto, and the Ontario Arts Council.
Thank you to all our supporters for helping JAYU keep art, storytelling, and community at the heart of everything we do.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
