2010 Toronto Student Film Festival Judges

TSFF is proud and excited to announce the Judges for the 2010 Festival Showcase.

Deepa Mehta

Sarah Polley

Niv Fichman

Deepa Mehta

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With her epic trilogy of films named after the elemental forces of Fire, Earth , and Water , Indian‐Canadian director Deepa Mehta (born 1950) vaulted to the first rank of artists concerned with the status of women, as traditional roles collided with the forces of the contemporary world.

Exploring the experiences of women in her native has placed Mehta in the midst of intense controversy. She has been burned in effigy, seen the stars of her films threatened with violence, and struggled to see her films completed and shown. Nevertheless, she has persisted in the face of daunting obstacles. "I see myself as a very emotional filmmaker rather than a radical," Mehta told Diane Taylor of London's Guardian newspaper (referring to

Fire ). "I made [ Fire ] because I want to understand myself." Early in her career she told Pamela Cuthbert of Take One , "The point is: if you want to make films, you'll find ways of making them." Her career has borne out that confident assertion.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement‐Ka‐M/Mehta‐Deepa.html

Sarah Polley

A professional actress since the age of four, Sarah Polley’s diverse career took her from child star in her native Canada, to an acclaimed adult performer whose fiercely independent streak applied to both her demeanor and her choice of films. Along the way, she impressed audiences in features ranging from ’s heart‐rending drama “The Sweet Hereafter” (1997), to Zach Snyder’s caffeinated revamp of “Dawn of the Dead” (2005) – even finding time to make her directorial debut in 2006 with “Away From Her,” which earned rave reviews from critics around the globe.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800013030/bio

Niv Fichman

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Niv Fichman is a founding partner of Rhombus Media, renowned as one of the world’s most respected producers of high quality feature films, television series and films on the performing arts.

He has produced most of Rhombus’ output, which now stands at around two hundred films over the past thirty years. He is responsible for several highly renowned feature films, the most recent being the Canadian World War I epic PASSCHENDAELE, written, directed and starring Paul Gross, as well as a feature film adaptation of Nobel Laurieate José Saramago’s book BLINDNESS, written by Don McKellar, directed by the Academy Award nominated Fernando Meirelles and starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover and Gael Garcia Bernal. Fichman has previously produced such directors as Francois Girard, Olivier Assayas, Guy Maddin, Don McKellar, Peter Mettler, David Wellington, Peter Wellington, Kevin McMahon, Marc Evans, as well as his partners at Rhombus, Larry Weinstein and Barbara Willis Sweete.

Some of Fichman’s best known productions include SILK, , THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, SEPTEMBER SONGS, and LAST NIGHT.

Away from Rhombus, Niv recently ended an eight‐year stint on the Board of the Toronto International Film Festival. He has also received a Doctor of Letters degree (honoris causa) from York University in June, 1998. Most recently, Niv Fichman was named the Canadian Producer of the Year for 2007 by the CFTPA. http://www.wildsound­filmmaking­feedback­events.com/niv_fichman.html