Board of Directors

Board of Directors
(Current as of December 2025)
Contact | hr@lift.on.ca














Aimée Mitchell, Board Chair
Dr. Aimée Mitchell (she/her) is the Project Manager for Archive/Counter-Archive, a seven-year SSHRC Partnership grant hosted by York University that is dedicated to activating and remediating Canadian audiovisual archives created by Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, Inuit), the Black community and People of Colour, women, LGBT2Q+ and immigrant communities. She is the former Distribution and Collections Manager at the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC), Canada’s largest collection of independent artisanal film. Dr. Mitchell was the Project Manager for “XL-Outerworlds,” a Canada 150 commission of five new short IMAX films created in 2019 by Canadian experimental artists led by Janine Marchessault of the Public Access Collective. She is an independent media art programmer, a founding member for the Toronto Queer Film Festival, and a current board member of the8fest, a one-of-a-kind small-gauge film festival in Toronto. She is an advocate for audiovisual media makers across formats and gauges big and small.














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Daniel McIntyre, Secretary
Daniel McIntyre is a celluloid-based artist working with concepts of memory, identity, and history. Working with hand-processing, found footage, and photographic technique, his work involves a crucial connection between visual structure and subject matter. McIntyre holds an MFA from York University and exhibits worldwide at venues including Oberhausen Kurzfilmtage, The National Gallery of Art, Cinémathèque québécoise, The British Film Institute, the Istanbul Modern, and the Museum of the Moving Image. He is currently experimenting with organic film chemistry, animation techniques, and formal structures. https://www.danielmcintyre.info

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Moussa Djigo, Member at Large
Moussa Djigo is an award-winning director, screenwriter and producer. He has written, directed and produced “Obamas” and “Rosalie,” two fiction features that have earned more than 20 awards, and have been screened in more than 60 venues around the world, including Rome, Spokane, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, London, New York, Miami, San Francisco, Denver, Columbus and Montreal. Both films have aired on television in 2020 and 2021, and have been recently been programmed as part of a retrospective at the Cinémathèque québécoise. He is currently completing a hybrid feature, “Tomorrow at Dawn,” and developing a new one (“Snow Princesses”) and a television series (“The Classroom”). Author of academic publications, including a book entitled “Spike Lee: Aesthetics of Subversion in ‘Do the Right Thing,’” Moussa has taught in many colleges and universities in France and in Quebec, and is currently working as a professor of Film Production at York University. https://ampd.yorku.ca/people/moussa-djigo

 












Aeyliya Husain, Member at Large
Aeyliya Husain is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on issues of representation, women, and photography. Her latest film “An Unfinished Journey,” a feature for CBC, ARTE France, and ERT. She has exhibited at festivals both nationally and internationally including, Tribeca Film Festival, where the film “Shooting War” was nominated for best short documentary. This film examined the Iraq War through the lens of a photojournalist, revealing the stories behind the images and the story of the war itself. “The World at Ten,” follows the story of two ten-year-old inner-city children as they navigate the world around them. Her film “Daughters of the Revolution” tells the story of Iranian activist lawyer and her fight for women’s rights in Iran. These films have also screened at San Francisco Docfest; Glasgow Short Film Festival and São Paulo Film Festival and have been broadcast on CBC, BBC, RSI (Swiss Public TV) and France 4. Her most recent film “The Fifth Region” had its premiere at the ImagineNATIVE Film Festival (October 2018) and aired on The Documentary Channel, SBS Australia, Knowledge Network, amongst others. https://www.novemberfilms.ca














Peter McAuley, Member at Large
Peter has worked professionally as a VFX Supervisor and VFX Editor since 1999. In 2024, he completed a feature-length documentary with Jim Shedden called “I Drink.” He has a passion for film in all its forms, enjoying the technical and creative aspects of all media. He actually reads manuals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cheryl Nierves Sunio, Member at Large
Cheryl Nierves Sunio (formerly Cheryl Teodosio) is a Filipino-Canadian producer, casting director, actor, writer, director, and human resources professional. Her work spans drama, dramedy, rom-com, fantasy, and psychologically layered mysteries, exploring identity, resilience, and the immigrant experience with warmth, humor, and nuanced storytelling. She has produced and cast multiple short films, including “Goodbye With a Side of Lechon” with award-winning director King Louie Palomo (CFC Director’s Lab alumnus), “Unwritten” (2025), and “An Open Box.” Cheryl has also served as Casting Director for student films from George Brown College and York University, including “Cash Only” and “Hay Nako” (also Executive Producer). She recently wrote, directed, starred in, and produced “Tabo Is My Everything” (2025 Sine 48-Hour Challenge) and contributed to Jo Gustin’s LGBTQ+ short “Don’t Text Your Ex” (Cannes Short Film Festival, 4 wins, 7 nominations). Cheryl developed her acting through Star Magic ABS-CBN and AMP Studios Canada, served as Producer and Casting Director at Fairytales Studios, and starred in the FTV series Halo Halo TV. She is a newly appointed Board Director at the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and a member of Women in Film & Television (WIFT) and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA). She is currently developing a fantasy-drama web series, a feature film, and other narrative projects. A graduate of York University in Human Resource Management, with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering from the University of Mindanao, Cheryl combines creativity, analytical discipline and commitment to produce meaningful stories that highlight underrepresented voices.Cheryl Nierves Sunio (formerly Cheryl Teodosio) is a Filipino-Canadian producer, casting director, actor, writer, director, and human resources professional. Her work spans drama, dramedy, rom-com, fantasy, and psychologically layered mysteries, exploring identity, resilience, and the immigrant experience with warmth, humor, and nuanced storytelling. She has produced and cast multiple short films, including “Goodbye With a Side of Lechon” with award-winning director King Louie Palomo (CFC Director’s Lab alumnus), “Unwritten” (2025), and “An Open Box.” Cheryl has also served as Casting Director for student films from George Brown College and York University, including “Cash Only” and “Hay Nako” (also Executive Producer). She recently wrote, directed, starred in, and produced “Tabo Is My Everything” (2025 Sine 48-Hour Challenge) and contributed to Jo Gustin’s LGBTQ+ short “Don’t Text Your Ex” (Cannes Short Film Festival, 4 wins, 7 nominations). Cheryl developed her acting through Star Magic ABS-CBN and AMP Studios Canada, served as Producer and Casting Director at Fairytales Studios, and starred in the FTV series Halo Halo TV. She is a newly appointed Board Director at the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and a member of Women in Film & Television (WIFT) and the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA). She is currently developing a fantasy-drama web series, a feature film, and other narrative projects. A graduate of York University in Human Resource Management, with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry/Chemical Engineering from the University of Mindanao, Cheryl combines creativity, analytical discipline and commitment to produce meaningful stories that highlight underrepresented voices.