Karen Lam
Director Advisor
Karen Lam has worked full-time in the film and television industry since 2000.
Starting her career as a producer and entertainment lawyer, Karen was one of the architects of the British Columbia tax credit program before being recruited by PwC accounting firm to assist with creating tax shelters for their US studio clients.
Since leaving the world of film finance, Karen has written and directed 10 short horror films and three music videos. She has directed two seasons of the true crime series Very Bad Men for Discovery+ and a web series Mythos (2015) for TELUS.
She has also directed five feature-length films, including Stained (2010), Evangeline (2013) and The Curse of Willow Song (2020), Bring It On: Cheer or Die (2023) and Armageddon Road (2025).
Ursula Lawson
Senior Programs Manager
Ursula has been with the National Screen Institute since 2004 and is the senior programs manager.
She is currently working on the Access BIPOC Producers program. She also oversees the mentorship, development and delivery of projects for TELUS STORYHIVE.
In 2013 Ursula was honoured to receive the YMCA-YWCA Women of Distinction Circle of Inspiration Award along with colleagues Lisa Meeches and Melissa Kajpust for their contribution to CBC New Indigenous Voices. In 2019, Ursula was nominated for the Winnipeg Arts Council Making a Difference award which celebrates contributions to the growth and development of the arts in Winnipeg.
Instrumental in helping the National Screen Institute develop and deliver culturally sensitive film and television training to emerging Indigenous content creators, Ursula previously managed CBC New Indigenous Voices, NSI IndigiDocs and NSI Aboriginal Journalism. She coordinated NSI Global Marketing, NSI Totally Television, NSI Aboriginal Cultural Trade Initiative and NSI Pitch to Win!
Jessica Gibson
Manager of Programs & Development
Jessica has built a successful career as a film and television producer and production manager since transitioning from her role in front of the camera as an actor to behind the scenes over 10 years ago.
She has extensive experience managing televised live events, including the Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards and Indigenous Day Live. She was an associate producer on the award-winning We Were Children for the National Film Board and produced the short films Platypus (dir. Trevor Kristjanson) which received funding from BravoFact and Tides (dir. Rowan Grey) which received funding from Harold Greenberg Fund.
In her spare time, she and her dog Pepper are a volunteer St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog team.
Meet the students
Ethan Billard Dooley
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Ethan Billard Dooley is a passionate, emerging Manitoban filmmaker and active member of the film community in Winnipeg. Since 2019, he has written, directed and produced dozens of his own short films, in addition to working on many local independent and large studio films.
Ethan holds a BA in filmmaking from the University of Winnipeg, where he received the gold medal for highest grade in his faculty. Beyond his university education, Ethan completed Creative Manitoba’s mentorship program in 2022, working with director Sean Garrity for seven months.
Ethan’s films aim to be personal and thematically complex, exploring how individuals find meaning in their relationships with others and through their own internal battles, often delving into themes of mental health.
Beyond filmmaking, Ethan has a love for foreign languages and cultures. He speaks Spanish fluently and is currently learning French.
Ande Brown
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Ande Brown is an early career filmmaker focusing on contemporary transgender stories about Trans men. He’s had much success, recently winning the 2025 RBC $15,000 Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition at Gimli Film Festival in Manitoba for his third film Half-Naked, currently in production. He is also one of three mentees in the 2025 Yorkton Film Festival Mentorship Program.
Ande’s first film, Better Late Than Never, won the jury selection for best Manitoba short at the 2024 Reel Pride Film Festival in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
After winning the 2024 OurToba Live Pitch Competition he made his second film, First Shave. The film screened at the 2025 Reel Pride International Film Festival winning an audience choice award honourable mention and will screen in 2026 at the Muskoka Queer Film Festival and Calgary Fairy Tales Queer Art & Film Festival.
Taryn Edgeworth
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Taryn Edgeworth is a writer and director based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As a storyteller, Taryn has always been drawn to film as a means of connecting people and articulating internal worlds.
She is inspired by introspective stories about the female experience, existentialism, self-discovery and connecting with one another. Her style often melds drama with surrealism.
Taryn got her start in film as a teenager, pursuing any opportunity to collaborate and create. She got her BA in film from the University of Manitoba in 2024, while also working in freelance videography.
After graduating, she spent a year with a production company where she assisted with development, conference management, series pitches and communications. During this time, she honed her writing and production skills independently and produced her short film Between the Seams. She then transitioned into working in film and TV on an industry level, where she has served as production manager, assistant director and producer.
Coby Friesen
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Coby Friesen is an emerging writer and filmmaker based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After years of helping friends on short films, participating in the 48 Hour Film Festival and working on union film sets, Coby made his debut short film Hook Up, which screened at the 2023 Vancouver Queer Film Festival and won the top emerging director award at the Reel Pride Film Festival in Winnipeg.
In 2024, he competed at the RBC Filmmaker Pitch Competition at Gimli International Film Festival with the idea for the erotic horror Cruising in Gomorrah, which had its world premiere at the festival. It also screened at the 40th annual Reel Pride International Film Festival, winning the jury’s choice best short film award.
In fall 2025, Coby screened his latest short film Dream Life at the 20th annual WNDX Festival of Moving Image.
Sarah Luby
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sarah Luby is a Canadian filmmaker, performer and producer whose work blends empathy, inclusion and humour to tell bold, human stories. Drawing from lived experience and advocacy around invisible disabilities, she uses wit and warmth to create space for both laughter and truth.
A classically trained singer (B.Mus., vocal performance), Sarah brings a multidisciplinary approach to storytelling across film, television, music and theatre. Her credits include Crave, CTV, Hallmark, CBS, CBC, Netflix and Universal. She will next lead the Lifetime thriller, I Have to Kill My Neighbour and appears as comic relief lead Lexi in Universal’s Violent Night 2.
Upcoming producing credits include the feature NORMAL, starring Bob Odenkirk. Her directorial debut, Silent Sonata, premiered at Whistler Film Festival.
Matthew Van Ginkel
Winnipeg, Manitoba
From high school to professional-level productions, Matthew has created exceptional projects over the years. He is an energetic and performance-driven filmmaker.
While creating his own projects, Matthew is an active participant in the film industry as a video editor and colourist working on a wide variety of productions.
Whether working in the edit suite or directing his next film, Matthew is a passionate filmmaker who is committed to realizing each project’s fullest potential.
Program Partners
