Board of Directors & Staff

Jeff Chiba Stearns

Jeff Chiba Stearns is an independent documentary and animation filmmaker born in Kelowna, BC, of Japanese and European heritage. After graduating from the Animation program at Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design in 2001, he founded Meditating Bunny Studio Inc. specializing in creating animation, documentary, and experimental films aimed at children and adults that combine different philosophical and social elements together to create humorous inspiring stories. In addition to animated films, Jeff has combined animation with live action in two documentaries that explore mixed heritage identity:  One Big Hapa Family and Mixed Match. He is also a college animation instructor who has written articles for national publications and lectured around the world on topics of multiracial identity, cultural awareness, filmmaking, and animation.

Scott Renyard

Scott Renyard brings background in science with a love of art and storytelling through film to create documentaries addressing environmental issues. His first feature documentary, The Pristine Coast, premièred at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2014. It examines the relationship between open-net pen fish farms and the collapse of many wild fish populations in the North Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Renyard's discovery that the loss of wild fish as a result of diseases from open net pen fish farms suggests this is a leading cause of global warming may prove to a significant climate change discovery.His filming of a federal inquiry, the Cohen Commission hearings on The Decline of the Fraser River Sockeye led to the creation of two subsequent films, The Unofficial Trial of Alexandra Morton and Trial of an Iconic Species. In 2020, he took a new approach to addressing environmental concerns with his comedy, Save the Planet Already!

Joshua Mao

Joshua Mao lived in Taiwan for 11 years before moving to Canada. A graduate of the Film Program at Simon Fraser University, he is interested in exploring Eastern and Western influences on his work done in Vancouver, Taipei and Shanghai. He has directed short films and worked as DOP on several projects. He is interested in bridging the gap of distribution between the North American and Asian markets.  Josh was the former Facilities and Equipment Manager for Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society. For the past two years, Josh has been working as the client and service representative at William F. White International, Camera Department. 

Gregory Coyes

Gregory has worked extensively in the Canadian broadcast community over the last thirty-five years as an award-winning film maker, an educator, and a writer. He has directed both documentaries and animation with the National Film Board, and his series and one-offs have aired on many of the major networks in Canada including APTN, CTV, and CBC. Gregory has also consulted and written for the Smithsonian at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.
In 1998, he produced the first Indigenous news magazine series in Canada for the CBC, All Our Relations. And in 2000, he collaborated with the Grand Shaman, Norval Morrisseau on the multi-award winning, four-part animated series, Stories from the Seventh Fire, the first animated series to be broadcast nationally in both English and Cree. Recent projects include LIVE from the HUNDRED YEARS CAFE, an 8 x 1 hour-long series featuring contemporary Indigenous music for APTN. His work has been recognized with awards from the Japanese Wildlife Film Festival, The Yorkton Short Film Festival, the Telenatura Awards in Pamplona,
Spain, and the Native American Film Festival in San Francisco.

Gregory is the founder of the SLOW MEDIA Community, an online video library that is actively promoting an Indigenous, decolonized model of cinema. Greg is Metis/Cree from St. Albert, Alberta and proud member of the L’Hirondelle family. He feels blessed to be living in unceded Squamish territory in North Vancouver, Canada.

Alex Sangha

Alex Sangha has a Masters in Public Administration and Public Policy from the Department of Government at the London School of Economics.  He has a Master of Social Work from Dalhousie University, as well as a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of British Columbia with a First Class Standing.

Alex is the founder of Sher Vancouver which is a registered charity for LGBTQ+ South Asians and friends, which has been established for nearly 16 years.  He is the Co-Founder of Goodness Pictures Ltd. Goodness Pictures is a member of the Canadian Media Producers Association.  Alex is also a member of the Documentary Organization of Canada and DOC BC YT NT.  Alex completed the Business for Producers Course with the National Screen Institute.

Alex has produced an award-winning short documentary film entitled, My Name Was January, and his debut feature documentary film, Emergence: Out of the Shadows. Alex’s next documentary film, I, Migrant, captures the journey of newcomers and settlers from different parts of India to different parts of Canada. Alex is also the Co-Founder of the Sundar Prize Film Festival which had its successfully inaugural edition at Surrey City in June 2024.

 Alex has received many awards and recognitions.  Most notably, he was the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada.

Karen Wong

Karen Wong has a Bachelor's of Commerce from UBC and began a career in accounting. In 2000, she transitioned to film and television as a production accountant, and eventually into producing.  She has steadily worked to support independent creators to produce many short works, webseries, series television and several feature films. Karen brings a solid commitment to equity, diversity and respect for artists. 

Caid Dow

Caid Dow is a filmmaker, photographer and visual artist.  Born in Halifax, raised in Calgary, currently in  Vancouver with a BFA in Film Production from UBC. As a writer, director and animator she has recieved awards for both her documentary and fiction shorts. Including the  H. Norman Lidster Prize in Documentary Filmmaking for i see stars. Her works have been shown across Canada at festivals such as Whistler International Film Festival and Canadian Diversity Film Festival where her film "It’s a Boy" received the award for Best Short Film. She focuses on films that tell honest stories exploring topics such as identity, gender and mental health. She puts a strong and conscious effort into creating unique, colourful worlds through intentional design. Striving to make stories that not only make one feel, but encourage a change in thought.