The WFG is pleased to introduce, and reintroduce, the WFG team and announce important updates such as staff promotions and new staff.
Staff Promotions
The WFG is pleased to recognize several members of our team who have recently moved into expanded roles.
Dylan Baillie
(he/him)
Director of Production, Production
Email: dylan@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Dylan is responsible for the strategic leadership, administration, and business development of the WFG’s Production Centre, including production training, artist support initiatives, technical resources, production funding programs, film scanning services, and production facilities. Dylan oversees the department’s budget, human resources, and operational priorities while ensuring the Production Centre remains responsive to the evolving needs of the independent filmmaking community. Dylan has been working at the WFG for 11 years.
Olivia Norquay
(she/her)
Director of Programming, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Email: olivia@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Olivia is responsible for the artistic vision, strategic development, operations, and public presentation of the Winnipeg Film Group’s Dave Barber Cinematheque (DBC). Olivia leads the planning, curation, and execution of year-round programming while fostering a culture of independent cinema appreciation that advances the Winnipeg Film Group’s mandate to support and promote the art of the moving image. Olivia oversees the artistic, technical and daily operations of the DBC including the annual Gimme Some Truth Documentary Film Festival, and curating a variety of special events and film series. In addition to her programming work, Olivia is an emerging experimental filmmaker, independent concert promoter, and host of the punk radio show Circle One on CKUW 95.9fm. Her practice is informed by cultural theory, sex, punk, gender, and transgressive films and literature. Olivia has been working at the WFG for 7 years.
Eric Peterson
(he/him)
Head of Projection, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Email: projectionist@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Eric is the key technical leader within the WFG’s Dave Barber Cinematheque (DBC) Department and is responsible for overseeing and executing all technical aspects of film exhibition. Reporting directly to the Director of Programming, the Head of Projection oversees the operation, maintenance, and advancement of the DBC’s analog and digital projection systems while ensuring exceptional technical presentation standards across all screenings, festivals, special events, and venue rentals. Eric manages all DBC Projectionist staff. Eric has been working at the WFG for 12 years.
We congratulate Dylan, Olivia, and Eric on their new roles and recognize their continued contributions to the WFG!
Welcoming New Staff
We are ecstatic to welcome several new members of the Winnipeg Film Group team.
Ben Williams
Training and Memberships Coordinator
Email: ben@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Ben designs and coordinates filmmaking workshops during the calendar year, which is one of the most important programs that the WFG runs. These workshops cover a wide spectrum of skills and include above-the-line and below-the-line film training as well as experimental, artist-driven practice that will utilize both analog and digital equipment from the WFG’s Production Centre. Ben also manages and promotes General and Production Memberships through specialized outreach.
Ben Williams is a filmmaker, mentor, and arts leader who has been championing independent voices since 2005. A U.S. citizen, Ben has worked on projects in New York, Toronto, and Shanghai for global names like Apple, TIFF, and Nike—including work with NBA legend Kobe Bryant. As a first-generation YouTube and podcast trailblazer, he has been producing digital content and teaching smartphone filmmaking for over 20 years. A former Production Center Director for the Winnipeg Film Group, Ben is one of only 16 people in history named a Lifetime Honorary Member for his impact on the local scene. He also heads The 48 Film Festival, packing sold-out venues at the Gimli Film Festival and CCFM with some of the largest screenings in the province. His instructional work ranges from teaching Advanced Picture Editing at the University of Winnipeg to leading youth labs with Creative Manitoba. Ultimately, Ben is dedicated to making professional storytelling accessible so you can own your narrative using the tools already in your pocket.
Christina Oyawale
(they/them)
Short Film Programming Assistant, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Email: christina@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Christina is currently the Short Film Programming Assistant for the Cinematheque’s Gimme Some Truth Documentary Festival. They are a queer disabled interdisciplinary image artist, curator, and writer from Toronto, currently based in Winnipeg. Their practice maintains an autotheorical approach with ties to leftist-political economy, social identity theory, and cultural studies. Christina’s work continues to be influenced by punk culture, the failures of Occupy Wall Street, 2010s Tumblr, and anti-aesthetics.
They are currently the Curator-in-Residence at PLATFORM centre for photographic + digital arts where their curated group exhibition will open in 2027. Additionally, they recently finished their MFA at the University of Manitoba, and hold a BFA in photography with a minor in music and culture from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Zoë McKay
Digitization and Collections Assistant, Distribution
Email: zoe@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Zoë McKay is an Environmental Science student at the University of Winnipeg with an interest in the natural world and images. Through WFG, she has discovered a love for experimental filmmaking as a tool to explore and document the natural world.
Academically, Zoë is interested in learning about the lake systems of Manitoba and hopes to pursue a career as a limnologist. She believes in conserving our lake systems and watershed for future generations to enjoy, and plans to explore documentary filmmaking with a local and environmental focus to support and enhance this work. Working as a digitization and collections assistant at Winnipeg Film Group is an exciting opportunity for Zoë, as it combines her love of scientific procedure and applied research with her passion for preserving the cultural and artistic artifacts of the city.
Madelyn Gowler
Casual Projectionist, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Madelyn Gowler is a queer, film-based artist focusing on materiality and experimental processes of image making. They currently reside in Winnipeg, MB., Canada, and received their BFA from the University of Manitoba. They work with textiles, installation, 16mm film, and analog photography. Their practice explores memory, nostalgia, and the physical nature of images through hands-on, process-driven methods. Often working with found and repurposed materials, Gowler is interested in how images and objects change over time through use, handling, and transformation. Their films have been screened internationally at ‘Engauge Experimental Film Festival’ in Seattle WA (2023), and ‘Experiments in Cinema v18.4’ in Albuquerque, NM (2023).
James Jansen
Casual Projectionist, Dave Barber Cinematheque
We are grateful to have Ben, Christina, Zoë, Madelyn, and James join the team bringing their perspectives, skills and experience to the WFG!
Meet the Rest of the WFG Team
Leslie Supnet
Executive Director
Email: leslie@winnipegfilmgroup.com
As Executive Director, Leslie Supnet oversees the strategic operations and management of the Winnipeg Film Group, serving as the organization’s primary spokesperson and representative. Beyond arts administration, she is an active moving image artist, educator, and designer whose personal practice utilizes animation, collage, and material exploration to examine themes of loss, change, and inner worlds.
Leslie holds an MFA in Film Production (Experimental Stream) from York University and brings a deep commitment to mentorship, having facilitated community arts workshops extensively. She currently serves as Sessional Faculty at OCAD University, where she has taught for a decade. A long-time advocate for media arts, she has served on artist-run boards in both Winnipeg and Toronto. Leslie is deeply passionate about artist-run centres, viewing them as vital community hubs that enrich everyday life by providing essential spaces for connection and art-making.
Luke Roach
Technical and Rentals Coordinator, Production
(he/him)
Email: luke@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Luke is responsible for coordinating equipment and facilities bookings, maintenance and assisting in the administration of production training programs. He works closely with the Production Programs Manager with the rentals and maintenance of production equipment and facilities, workshop set-up and payment processing.
Jillian Groening
Director of Distribution
(they/she)
Email: jillian@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Jillian oversees the artistic, promotional, and business development of the Winnipeg Film Group’s Distribution Department as well as looking after departmental finances, human resources, and collections.
Jillian approaches the world of independent film distribution and collections management from a love of moving image and recorded liveness. They have a background in dance and performance and extensive experience working within artist-run models. Their writing has been published through Artspeak, The Dance Current, and the Journal for Curatorial Studies. Jillian holds an MA in Theatre and Performance Studies from York University. She is an Aries.
Skye Callow
Distribution and Collections Coordinator, Distribution
(she/her)
Email: skye@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Skye Callow currently works as the Distribution and Collections Coordinator with the Winnipeg Film Group. She works to ensure the distribution film collection is cared for and effectively managed, and assists in active-distribution. Skye’s day to day tasks contribute to the artistic direction and goals of the distribution department and to the Winnipeg Film Group overall.
Skye Callow is an artist based on Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, originally from Sandy Hook, Manitoba. Her work investigates formal aesthetics and the ways in which form generates and communicates meaning in images. Callow’s practice considers hierarchies of beauty and value within image-based visual culture, while seeking to disrupt accepted conventions in contemporary photography. She is fascinated by film grain and the digital pixel, and often utilizes both analog and digital photographic processes in her work. She is a constant experimenter, influenced and inspired by the approach of experimental filmmaking, with her practice often shifting between mediums and techniques.
Skye holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Degree from the University of Manitoba’s School of Art. Her work has been exhibited in Winnipeg at aceartinc., PLATFORM Centre for Photographic and Digital Arts, and the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. She was the recipient of the 2024 PLATFORM Photography Award, with having her first solo exhibition in March 2025. Skye is a member of the Open City Cinema Collective (Winnipeg Underground Film Festival).
Julianne Taron
Box Office Manager, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Email: julianne@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Julianne is the Box Office Manager at Dave Barber Cinematheque, where her work is grounded in community-oriented cultural practice. She manages front-of-house operations at DBC events, festivals, and rentals, and created and now coordinates the DBC volunteer program. Julianne also plans and oversees the Huge A$$ Sale, the Winnipeg Film Group’s annual poster sale and fundraiser. She is interested in the ways that thoughtful operations, audience engagement, a thriving volunteer culture, and labour organization for arts and cultural workers interconnect as part of a vibrant film and arts community at the Cinematheque.
Julianne studies political science and film at the University of Winnipeg and brings to the box office years of management, marketing, and sales leadership experience, alongside a background in community-based non-profit work, volunteer and youth mentorship, and worker and housing cooperatives. A cinephile first, with a strong passion for local film and music, she continues to nurture her filmmaking practice through classes and workshops at the Winnipeg Film Group. Contact Julianne with questions about ticketing, memberships, volunteer opportunities, merchandise, and your audience experience at the Cinematheque.
Nathan Flores
Part-time Projectionist, Dave Barber Cinematheque
(he/him)
Email: nathan@winnipegfilmgroup.com
Nathan Flores (he/him) is a Filipino-Canadian Artist, Filmmaker, Colourist, and Cinematographer based in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
His multidisciplinary work spans narrative films, digital and analog film and photography, multimedia installations and exhibitions, and experimental A/V projects, which he often writes, directs, edits, and lenses. Rooted in storytelling and community engagement, Nathan’s creative output is driven by a deep exploration of memory, nostalgia, cultural identity, longing, and the surreal nature of self.
His work has earned national and international recognition, including a Best Student Cinematography nomination from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) for his debut short film 1000 Paper Cranes. His most recent short film, Memories of Youth (CBC Gem), received Best Cinematography and Best Editing at the UWPG Film Festival, alongside a nomination for Sound Editing, and has also screened globally in places such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Serbia, The United States, and Canada. Nathan’s multimedia exhibits, The Renaissance of Memory (2022), Closure (2023), and I Remember a Time (2024), premiered at Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, and his video installation Tell Me When The Time Has Come (2023) was featured at Kultivation Festival, sponsored by CBC Manitoba. In 2024 and 2025, he served as Festival Director for SALA Film Festival, an evening dedicated to celebrating Filipino arts, film, and culture at WAG-Qaumajuq as part of Kultivation Festival. He is also a board member at Video Pool Media Arts Centre, contributing to the advancement of experimental and independent media arts in Manitoba.
His films and installations have been showcased across local and international festivals and platforms, including CBC Gem, the CSC Awards Gala, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Nuit Blanche, FascinAsian Film Festival, WUFF, and more. More recently, he has worked as a Colourist for Levers, which premiered at TIFF 50 (Toronto International Film Festival), VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival), NYFF (New York Film Festival), Festival Internacional de Cine de Valdivia 2025, FNC (Festival du nouveau cinema 2025), ICA London (Institute of Contemporary Arts London), and continues to circuit in festivals and theatres globally.
As an emerging artist, Nathan continues to evolve his visual language, blending personal narrative, experimental form, and emotional resonance to create immersive, genre-fluid experiences that speak to collective memory and individual truth.
Mulch
Box Office Staff, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Sam West
Box Office Staff, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Rae Chen
Box Office Staff, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Sharyn Gutierrez
Projectionist, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Victoria K
Projectionist, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Sky Parenteau
Box Office Staff, Dave Barber Cinematheque
Evan Rivard
Box Office Staff, Dave Barber Cinematheque