Indigenous Moving Image Mentorship Program

The Indigenous Moving Image Mentorship Program (IMIMP), presented in partnership with the Indigenous Curatorial Collective (ICCA), creates a space for emerging 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous curators to develop a touring short film program alongside experienced mentors. The program is rooted in a commitment to the leadership and development of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ artists. Through hands-on curatorial work, participants build practical skills, expand their professional networks, and gain experience in film programming and exhibition. The resulting film programs will tour festivals across Canada (including the 10th Annual Toronto Queer Film Festival), fostering dialogue, community, and visibility for Indigenous and queer storytelling.

Read on to learn more about this year’s
curators and submit your film today!

We’re deeply honoured to welcome Theo J. Cuthand and Jason Baerg as this year’s program mentors. 

Theo J Cuthand (b. 1978 Regina SK) is an experimental/narrative filmmaker working with topics of sexuality, madness, Indigiqueer/2S identity and Indigeneity, which have screened in festivals and galleries internationally. He is Plains Cree/Scots, a member of Little Pine First Nation, residing in Toronto, Canada.

Raised Red River Métis in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Jason Baerg is a registered member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, with family names including Moreau, Ledoux, Desjarlais, and, further back, Montour. An Indigenous activist, curator, educator, and interdisciplinary artist, he is Assistant Professor in Indigenous Practices in Contemporary Painting and Media Art at OCAD University, holds a BFA from Concordia University and an MFA from Rutgers University, and co-founded The Shushkitew Collective and The Métis Artist Collective, reflecting his commitment to community engagement. His visual art practice integrates digital interventions across drawing, painting, and new media installation. More information about his practice is available at JasonBaerg.ca.

 

We’re excited to welcome Billy Parrell, Isaac Partridge, and Dan Cardinal McCartney as this year’s program curators. 

Billy Parrell (she/they) is a Two Spirit and Red River Métis interdisciplinary artist who tells stories about movement and belonging. Her practice is rooted in community arts and the creative acts of resistance and care that sustain environments for change-making. She is a filmmaker, writer, and textile artist. Their recent work has been concerned with layers created slowly with the use of tension. Whether it be selling earrings or teaching workshops, Billy brings a passion for relationship building and sharing knowledge. 

Billy’s film program, titled Two-Spirit Continuum, focuses on intergenerational stories of Queer joy and radical embodiment. They are accepting new and existing film submissions within the genre of experimental documentary or narrative film from any and all filmmakers, with a focus on Indigenous, 2-Spirit, and Indigiqueer creators. 

Submit your film to Billy’s program now!
Submissions close on June 29, 2026.

Isaac Partridge (He/Him) is a 2-Spirit transgender Inuk-Kanien’keháka (Inuit and Mohawk) artist from Kuujjuaq and Kahnawake Mohawk Territory working in filmmaking, beadwork, and graphic arts. His practice is influenced by themes of his Inuit and Mohawk cultures, queer identity and popular culture. 

Isaac’s film program focuses on the theme of home and land-based media. He is accepting new and existing film submissions shot “at home/on home land” within the genre of documentary from any and all filmmakers, with a focus on Indigenous, 2-Spirit, and Indigiqueer creators. 

Submit your film to Isaac’s program now!
Submissions close on June 29, 2026.  

Dan Cardinal McCartney (he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist and curator who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from AUArts (2016) in Drawing. Most importantly, they are a full-time caregiver for their sister, Karri. Dan is of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations with family ties of Mikisew Cree, Metis, and mixed settler lines from Treaty 8 territory, specifically Fort Chipewyan. He was raised in foster care in the northern boreal region of Fort McMurray. As a Two Spirit transgender artist, Dan sifts through patterns of intergenerational trauma. He relates his personal, ongoing reconnection with his family to his yearning for gender euphoria through storytelling. Dan focuses on mixed media collage, painting, moving images, and performance. He is interested in the horror genre through a contemporary Indigenous lens. Currently, Dan works at Stride Gallery in so-called Calgary, Alberta.