LIFT Welcomes Summer Staff – June 2026

(L-R) Mia Buono, Victoria Bacani and Imogen J Lister
Photo by Renata Mohamed

June 26, 2026

Welcome to Summer 2026 Staff

Thanks to the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program, supported by the Canadian Government’s Employment and Social Development Canada (EDSC), we are able to welcome three new summer staff to LIFT this summer,
Victoria Bacani, Mia Buono and Imogen J Lister, who started last month. Victoria is our Education and Outreach Assistant, working with Iman Abbaro and Shenaz Baksh to deliver our exciting slate of workshops! It is great to welcome these staff through the busy months of the summer! Mia is our Summer 2026 Conference and Meeting Planner. She has already jumped into a busy summer to plan some upcoming events during the summer. Imogen is our Summer 2026 Technical Assistant, assisting our Technical team, Katerina Zoumboulakis and Noah Henderson in the equipment room and production facilities.

“Hello everyone!! I am so grateful to be joining LIFT as the Education and Outreach Assistant for this summer! There’s no doubt that LIFT is a prominent part of the Toronto film community and I’ve always admired the ways in which this organization makes education and filmmaking accessible. As an emerging filmmaker, it’s very inspiring to see how LIFT supports us artists and filmmakers! So whether you’re new to LIFT
or a returning member, feel free to come by and say hi—we’re happy to help out!
—Victoria Bacani

Victoria Bacani is an emerging Filipino-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto known for her compelling storytelling and dedication to diverse narratives. A proud graduate of Sheridan College with a Bachelor’s in Film and Television, Victoria is passionate about amplifying women and Asian-centered stories through her work. Her films aim to challenge conventional representation in media, offering nuanced perspectives that reflect the richness of her heritage and the experiences of underrepresented communities. As she continues to hone her craft, Victoria remains committed to exploring and expanding the boundaries of storytelling in the Canadian film industry.

“I’m so excited to be joining LIFT as a Conference and Meeting Planner this summer! I love working with analog film, and I’ve really enjoyed beginning to get to know LIFT’s wonderful community of members and staff who share this same passion. Many of the experimental filmmakers I found myself inspired by in film school have been or still are LIFT members, and I am honoured to be able to contribute in a small way to the history of this organization, and to the support and preservation of independent, experimental, and analog work that LIFT provides.”
—Mia Buono

Mia Buono is a filmmaker and community artist from Toronto who focuses on analog and alternative process mediums. Her favourite techniques include direct animation on 16mm, lumen printing, and souping film. She enjoys sharing these art forms with her community through facilitating workshops as a Toronto Arts Council Artist in the Library for 2026, and at other grant-funded and community events across Ontario. She also enjoys producing and production designing narrative short films, and shooting 35mm still photos. She holds a BFA in Film Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University.

“I am so grateful to be working at LIFT! I’m looking forward to all the opportunities the space gives me to learn and be involved with filmmakers from all backgrounds. LIFT has made filmmaking accessible for myself and so many others, and I’m looking forward to supporting so many projects. Spending my summer here is an honour! Happy shooting, and see you in the Tech Department!”
—Imogen J Lister

Imogen J Lister (they / them) is a filmmaker, photographer and multimedia artist based in Toronto. Since finishing their Bachelor’s in Film and Television at Sheridan College in 2024, Imogen has spent most of their time developing a close community in the arts and music scene while exploring their visual style. With a history in visual and media arts, they’ve created films with a variety of animation and analogue filmmaking techniques, and creating zines with an eye for collage and design. Imogen holds a strong passion for curation, storytelling, and documentation that they bring to their work to explore the world around them.