ANUP SINGH, IFFR & TIFF WINNER

Anup Singh is an internationally renowned writer, film director and teacher of cinema whose feature “Qissa – The Tale of a Lonely Ghost” (2013), starring Irrfan Khan, premiered at TIFF, where it won the award for “Best Asian Film” (NETPAC). One of the most critically acclaimed films of our times, it has won 15 international awards to date. His next masterpiece, “The Song of Scorpions” (2017), starring Irrfan Khan and Golshifteh Farahani had its world premiere at Locarno Film Festival in front of 8000 people on the world’s largest film screen. The film has won numerous accolades worldwide. His first feature, “The Name of a River” (2001) was awarded the Aravindan Award for best debut filmmaker in India. Currently he is working on his next feature film “Lasya – The Gentle Dance”, an Indo-Swiss co-production, and a French language Swiss-French-Senegalese feature film titled, ‘A Powerful Woman’, based on  Marie N’Diaye’s Goncourt award-winning novel, ‘Trois Femmes Puissantes’.

Anup Singh was born in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa. He studied Literature and Philosophy at Bombay University and Film at the Film & TV Institute of India, from which he graduated in direction in 1986. He now lives & works in Geneva, Switzerland. Anup Singh has taught and lectured on cinema at numerous universities and film schools in the UK, India and Switzerland. He has also written and directed numerous TV projects and consulted for BBC.

SAMI KHAN, OSCARS NOMINATED CANADIAN FILMMAKER

Sami Khan is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker whose work has been supported by the Sundance and Tribeca Film Institutes, Rooftop Films, IFP, the Berlinale, and the NBC/Universal’s Directors Fellowship. His films have screened at leading festivals including Tribeca, Toronto, Hot Docs, and Mumbai. Sami’s feature documentary THE LAST OUT (with Michael Gassert) won a Special Jury Prize at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and the Audience Award at the 2020 Hot Springs Documentary Festival. The verite doc tells the harrowing tale of three Cuban baseball players and their dangerous journeys to the United States. The Hollywood Reporter called THE LAST OUT “a powerful true story of athletics and exile.” His 2019 short documentary ST. LOUIS SUPERMAN (with Smriti Mundhra) about the inspiring story of Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson activist turned state legislator, was nominated for an Academy Award and won prizes at Tribeca, Hot Docs, Big Sky, Traverse City, AFI Docs, and Indy Shorts. KHOYA, Sami’s fiction feature debut was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access fellowship and was released in 2016. The film was co-produced by the filmmakers behind Cannes prize-winner THE LUNCHBOX and received financial backing from Spike Lee. The Globe & Mail called KHOYA “an often startling work of compact storytelling.” Sami’s narrative shorts 75 EL CAMINO and THE WORKOUT both premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He is also a writer and consulting producer on the show TRANSPLANT, for NBC and CTV, about a Syrian refugee doctor living in Toronto.

AVI GREWAL, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT PROFESSIONAL

Avi is an accomplished leader in the intersection of business, arts, and film, currently working within the Media and Entertainment realm at the Royal Bank of Canada. As an executive with Canada’s largest bank, she navigates the intricate landscape of film and television production financing, collaborating with studios, animation houses, and publishing firms. Notably, Avi champions emerging producers through RBC’s BIPOC Emerging Producer Program, facilitating access to bank funding.

Her ardor for cinema and the arts is evident as Director of Films & Programming at IFFSA Toronto, the largest South Asian Film Festival in North America. Avi’s impact extends to education and innovation as a Board member at Sheridan College, a prominent Canadian institution renowned for screen industries. Holding an MBA from Ivey Business School and a Bachelors of Science from the University of Wisconsin, Avi embodies multifaceted excellence.