ALEX SANGHA – FESTIVAL MANAGER

Alex Sangha is an award-winning social worker and documentary film producer. He produced a short documentary, My Name Was January, about transgender people of color, and a feature documentary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows, about coming out in the South Asian community of Metro Vancouver. He received the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada for founding Sher Vancouver which is a registered charity for LGBTQ+ South Asians and their friends, families, and allies. Alex is a member of the Documentary Organization of Canada and is a graduate of the Business for Producers program at the National Screen Institute. He has served on the youth jury for the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival and the feature film jury for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.

VINAY GIRIDHAR – FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

Vinay Giridhar is an award-winning director, editor, and visual artist. His debut feature documentary, Emergence: Out of the Shadows, was an official selection at nearly 50 established film festivals around the world including Out On Film in Atlanta which is an Academy Award qualifying festival, Frameline in San Francisco which is a BAFTA qualifying festival, and five Canadian Screen Award qualifying festivals including the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, Vancouver Queer Film Festival, and the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival where it was the Closing Night Film and picked up Best Documentary. The film was also broadcast on Knowledge Network in British Columbia, TVO in Ontario, and OUTtv across Canada. Vinay is a graduate of the Classical Animation program at the Vancouver Film School.