MEET OUR MENTORS Black2TheFuture Mentors Alia Aluma Alia Aluma is an artist, director, and writer, known for her contributions across academia, philanthropy, and the creative industry. With experiences spanning multiple countries, including Hong Kong, England, Uganda, and Canada. She currently works as a Curator at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, is the founding Perspective Film Curator at Contemporary Calgary, was the previous Art & Technology Director at GRETA, and is a creative with SRRYCinema. In 2023, Aluma officially founded Aluma Studio & Agency, a consulting and production company focused on developing arts programs, TV and film. As writer and director, her upcoming TV shows 'Yesterday, Last Year' and Gas Money are scheduled to debut in 2025 on Canadian Streaming platforms. Aluma has also built artist and creative residencies with a focus on education and entrepreneurship, leading consultations with diverse clients in Alberta and globally.Sarah Uwadiae Sarah is a Nigerian filmmaker, designer and multi-disciplinary artist based in Calgary. She also designs sets and costumes for stage and film productions all across Canada. Her short film Trapped (in her head) won a Merit Award at the 2020 Canada Shorts - Canadian & International Film Festival. More recently, her film To Belong premiered at the Toronto Documentary Feature and Short Film Festival 2023 and was recognized as the Best Human Interest film at the festival. She was a member of the Being Black in Canada 2021 film program by Netflix and the Fabienne Colas Foundation. Her short documentary Home premiered at the Calgary Black Film Festival in 2022 and toured several film festivals nationwide. Select theatre design credits include Death and the King’s Horseman, Wedding Band, Get That Hope (Stratford Festival); Trouble in Mind (MTC & Citadel Theatre); The Mountaintop, The Fiancée (Persephone Theatre); Steel Magnolia (Theatre Calgary). Sarah is also the Creator and Host of the podcast Afros in the Diaspora where Black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean come and share their experiences as immigrants in the diaspora. Sarah is the 2022 winner of the RBC Emerging Artist Award, an honour presented by the Mayor of Calgary. Modal Modal casts pixels into the void, as visualists do. Sampling the world via photography, video, and animation, modal works to lend shape and texture, in real-time visual/audio performance collaborations, to soundscapes delivered in social/art/dance spaces. Gbohunmi Beginning his career as an editor, gbohunmi, a Canadian-based Nigerian-born artist, creates in film, photography and music. Fueled by an insatiable drive to create, gbohunmi relishes in letting his skills and imagination push him to experimenting in different forms. From street to fashion photography, narrative films to music videos, gbohunmi embraces every opportunity to express his creativity through his lens. His art photography has been exhibited in one of Canada's largest arts centers (Arts Commons), while his films have premiered at notable international galleries and film festivals (The Photographers Gallery, CIFF). gbohunmi combines his skills in film and photography to develop a style that is bold, arresting, and layered. Kathryn Fashega Kathryn Fasegha is a Canadian filmmaker whose career bridges the Canadian and Nigerian film industries. As the founder of BalminGilead Movie Productions Group of Companies, Kathryn has dedicated her work to bringing authentic, underrepresented narratives to life on screen. Her past films include Treacherous Heart (2012) and 2 Weeks in Lagos (2021), the latter premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, garnering award nominations, and securing a release on Netflix after a successful theatrical run.Kathryn is currently developing a diverse slate of projects, including 2 Weeks in Calgary, a cross-cultural romantic comedy that explores the immigrant experience through themes of duty versus personal desire. Additionally, her work as a producer and line producer with the Being Black in Canada series highlights her commitment to mentorship, as she guides young Black filmmakers in creating their first short documentaries. Her mentorship supports them through navigating the complexities of film production, while emphasizing the importance of cultural authenticity and resonance in storytelling. Kathryn’s achievements in the film industry have earned her significant recognition, including the Global Woman of Vision award in June 2012 for her pioneering efforts to develop African content in Alberta. Her films reflect her unique ability to blend cultural perspectives with universal themes of love, resilience, and identity. Inspired by her own immigrant journey, her upcoming film 2 Weeks in Calgary captures the immigrant experience with a profound visual narrative, a passion she instills in her mentees by encouraging them to find and express their unique voices in every project.
