Contact LIFT

Location:
Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT)
1137 Dupont Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6H 2A3  CANADA

Tel: 416.588.6444
Operating Hours: Monday to Friday, 10am – 6pm ET

*** Due to multiple prior incidents, we ask that you do not contact staff through any personal accounts for LIFT related matters. ***

 

Staff List:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Kennedy
Executive Director  |  director@lift.ca |  ext. 222
In-Office and Remote Hours: Monday – Friday from 10am – 6pm

Chris Kennedy is an independent filmmaker, film programmer and writer based in Toronto. He programmed for the Images Festival from 2003-06, Pleasure Dome from 2000-06 and for TIFF Cinematheque’s monthly artist film and video series (The Free Screen/Wavelengths) from 2012-2019. He co-founded and co-programmed Early Monthly Segments from 2009 to 2018. His experimental films have screened at over two hundred film festivals worldwide and have been featured in solo shows at the Canadian Film Institute, Los Angeles Film Forum, Nam June Paik Art Center and the Pacific Film Archive. His film Watching the Detectives won the Ken Burns Award for the Best of the Festival at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2018. He has presented the work of other artists in Belgium, Egypt, Germany, the US and Canada. He holds an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute.

Please contact Chris in regard to the following concerns:
– Current employment opportunities that may be listed on our website (LIFT does not accepted unsolicited résumés or curricula vitae)
– Questions regarding LIFT’s Statement of Inclusion and Code of Conduct
– Capital fund and Monetary donations
– establishing a fund in someone’s memory
– Programming collaborations submitted with the required information indicated on our Project and Partnership Inquiries page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Renata Mohamed
Deputy Director  | membership@lift.ca | ext. 221
In-Office and Remote Hours: Monday – Friday from 10am – 6pm

Renata is a filmmaker and arts administrator based in Toronto, Canada.

Please contact Renata in regard to the following concerns:
– Individual membership applications and inquiries
– Organizational membership applications and inquiries
– Communications
– Co-presentation opportunities with other arts organizations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iman Abbaro
Education and Outreach Administrator | workshops@lift.ca | ext. 223
In-Office Hours: Monday and Thursday from 10am – 6pm
Working remotely: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am – 6pm

Iman is a Sudanese community organizer and multidisciplinary artist currently residing in Toronto. She is the co-founder of creative collective “Diaspora Express”; which is dedicated to fostering Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA) communities through creative expression. She has collaborated with a range of local creative initiatives such as Toronto Arab Film, and the Regent Park Youth Media Arts Centre. Iman is passionate about exploring the intersections of mental health, art and activism in BIPOC communities. She aims to push her creative practice towards bridging the gap between different diasporic communities through an intersectional lens.

Please contact Iman in regard to the following:
– Questions regarding workshop registration,
– Cancelling your workshop registration as per the current workshop policies
– Details about content of the workshops if you have questions before paying to register

 

Robin Riad
Technical Administrator  |  tech@lift.ca  |  ext. 224
In-Office Hours: Monday – Friday from 10am – 6pm

Robin Riad is an Egyptian-Canadian experimental filmmaker. Robin works primarily with analogue mediums, and likes to find new ways to mess with film. She devotes her time to the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (CFMDC), the8fest, and teaching many workshops throughout the year. As one LIFT’s technicians, she supports many artists and independent filmmakers with their arts practice, and enjoys hearing about all their fun, exciting projects. When not at LIFT, Robin can be found making potions in the darkroom.

Please contact Robin in regard to the following:
– Book equipment, facilities, proficiency tests, and Technical Consultations.
– Equipment donations
– General technical help in relation to LIFT’s equipment and facilities
– Ordering items from the LIFT Store

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Karl Reinsalu
Technical Coordinator  |  techsupport@lift.ca |  ext. 224
In-Office Hours: Tuesday – Friday from 10am – 6pm

Based in Toronto, Karl is a “do-it-yourselfer” with expertise in analog film techniques and an honours diploma from the Film and Television Program at Humber College. Since 2006, Karl has honed his craft through experimentation with various camera techniques including camera modifications and innovating creative solutions to accomplish cinematic feats blending both analog and digital workflows. In his role as Technical Coordinator for the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT), Karl supports hundreds of productions and fellow film artists realize their vision. In his personal time Karl is found caring for the life in his garden, actively working on projects in his workshop, cooking up a storm for his loved ones, or simply enjoying time in natural environments.

Please contact Karl in regard to the following:
– Technical help related to equipment bookings and facilities

 

Noah Henderson
Technical Coordinator | techcoordinator@lift.ca |  ext. 224
In-Office Hours: Monday – Thursday from 10am – 6pm

Noah Henderson is passionate about working with film and understanding how older forms of filmmaking can be combined with modern techniques. He has interests in both analog film photography and filmmaking along with the variety of developing processes that he has explored through his work at Niagara Custom Lab and Downtown Camera. He has worked to showcase these skills and educate others on different photographic formats through his work on the Analog Resurgence YouTube channel. Noah has too many cameras and just doesn’t know how to stop. In his spare time, Noah can be found trying to find room for all these cameras.

Please contact Noah in regard to the following:
– Technical help related to equipment bookings and facilities

 

Workshops at LIFT are designed by Screen Industry Training Hub (SITHub).
Education Consultant |  instructor@lift.ca
Please contact Screen Industry Training Hub directly at the above email in regard to the following concerns:
– Wanting to be an instructor for a workshop, please submit via the instructions listed here
– Requesting new workshops to be added to a season
– Private workshops for arts organizations and community groups submitted with the required information indicated on our Project and Partnership Inquiries page