SARAH WALSH
Born and raised in Vancouver and now based in Los Angeles, Sarah Walsh is an Actor, Producer, and Programmer. She serves as an integral part of the programming and procurement team for the Vancouver Horror Show, scouting and championing the next wave of premier independent genre talent.
RACHEL TALALAY
Rachel Talalay’s eclectic career spans four decades of directing and producing. She recently completely directing Yaga, a mini-series for Crave with the new superstar Hudson Williams and Carrie Ann Moss.
Her best known work includes directing classics of British television: eight episodes of Doctor Who, the acclaimed BBC Sherlock series, the final installment of Good Omens, and American television, including American Gods, Marvel’s Iron Fist, DC’s Doom Patrol, Quantum Leap, Riverdale, Sabrina, SuperGirl, and The Flash.
TIM RIEDEL
Tim Riedel is a Red River Métis filmmaker from Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. Working across film, television, and streaming, he began his career in animation before moving into documentary filmmaking and developing a practice rooted in ethical storytelling and the representation of marginalized communities. His credits include the award-winning documentary Jackstones and the upcoming psychological horror feature Ancestral Beasts, which he wrote, directed, and produced. The film draws on Métis identity, intergenerational trauma, and the horror of mental illness.
CHRISTOPHER NASH
Christopher Nash is a screenwriter, independent filmmaker, film critic, and academic whose work explores new meaning within familiar forms and genres. He holds a Master's degree in English from Dalhousie University, where his thesis reconsidered Harold Bloom's arguments on literary utility. During his schooling, he received several major awards including the Governor General's Silver Medal. Christopher has written, produced, and directed several no-budget features and operates a YouTube channel releasing micro-budget independent films, with an emphasis on horror and cult cinema. His film criticism has appeared in Vancouver Weekly and BeatRoute, and his academic criticism has appeared in The Dalhousie Review and W49. He wrote the screenplay for Remnant and serves as a producer on the film.
ALEX MONTILLA
I've been making movies since high school. When my friends and I took over the morning announcements, we saw an opportunity to produce short films for a captive audience (and by that, I mean an audience that literally had to watch. The entire school was held hostage by our silliness).
ZACH LIPOVSKY
Emmy-nominated director Zach Lipovsky started his career on Spielberg's filmmaking competing "On the lot" where he placed 5th out of 12,000 directors worldwide. Zach has gone on to direct and produce projects many film and TV projects, most recently directing the reboot of FINAL DESTINATION for Warner Brothers, and is currently releasing the sequel to his film FREAKS.
RACHEL LANGER
Rachel Langer is an award-winning screenwriter for dramatic television. She served as a writer and executive producer on the hit CTV/NBC series TRANSPLANT, and currently has a series adaptation in development with CRAVE.
KAREN LAM
Karen has worked full-time in the film and television industry since 1996. Starting as a producer and lawyer, Karen has written and directed ten short films, three music videos, directed a true-crime documentary series for Investigation Discovery (US), a TELUS web series, and five feature films, including “Stained” (2010), “Evangeline” (2013) and “The Curse of Willow Song” (2020).
MEGHAN HEMINGWAY
Meghan Hemingway is the Artistic Director of the Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival, where she oversees festival curation, programming, and the screenplay competition. An award-winning screenwriter and actor, her work spans horror, thriller, comedy, and drama. Her current projects include the feature The Final Girl, developed with Mackenzie Donaldson, and Addendum, which received a 2026 Creative BC screenwriting grant. She is currently developing two original television series: the family thriller Archipelago with writing partner Stephen Sheffer and the comedy Ice Queens with writing partner Ambika Vas. As an actor, she has appeared in Disney+’s The Mysterious Benedict Society, Apple TV+’s Schmigadoon!, and Encryption, premiering at VHS 2026. She trained at New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre School and serves on the board of Aphotic Theatre Company.
DENNIS HEATON
Award-winning writer, director and showrunner Dennis Heaton is renowned for his deft balance of comedy and dark subject matter, as showcased in his cult classic zombie movie FIDO and his short films, CANNIBALISM AND YOUR TEEN and HEAD SHOT.
SEAN HARRIS OLIVER
Sean Harris Oliver is a Canadian film producer who most recently wrote and produced the award-winning independent horror feature Hunting Matthew Nichols, which received seven Leo Award nominations, and was the winner of FilmQuest’s 2024 Best Found Footage Feature Film. Sean helped spearhead and develop an innovative self-distribution theatrical model, releasing Hunting Matthew Nichols on more than 900 screens across North America. The film went on to earn more than $700,000 at the domestic box office, and was subsequently acquired by IFC/Shudder and Bell Media.
ADRIAN GARCIA BOGLIANO
Writer, director born in Madrid, Spain, now residing in Mexico. For nearly two decades, Adrián García Bogliano has been an innovative force in Latin American horror cinema. Starting his directing career at just 19 years old, his filmography spans horror, thriller, and fantasy films that blend classic elements with a modern, unsettling sensibility. His most notable works, including Here Comes the Devil (2012), Late Phases (2014), and Scherzo Diabolico, have earned acclaim at prestigious festivals like Toronto, Tribeca, Fantastic Fest, Raindance and SXSW. Beyond feature films, he has successfully directed series for streaming platforms like Netflix and Vix+. His commercial appeal is reflected in box office successes like Come Play With Me (2021) and La Exorcista (2022), which both ranked in Mexico's top 10. Having worked across Argentina, Costa Rica, the US, Mexico, Sweden, and Colombia, his international reach is clear. His latest film, Talking to a Stranger, was the only Latin American film selected at Competition at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2026.
MICHAEL DOUGHERTY
Michael Dougherty is a writer, director, and producer who has worked with some of the world’s most iconic characters, including the X-Men, Superman, Godzilla, and King Kong. Beginning his career as an animator for MTV and Nickelodeon, he then co-wrote the blockbusters X-Men 2 and Superman Returns before making his directorial debut with the Halloween horror comedy, Trick ‘r Treat.
BRAYDEN DeMOREST-PURDY
Brayden DeMorest-Purdy is an award-winning director, producer, and writer. He started his career in Toronto, Ontario at Rogers Television as a studio assistant, and worked his way to directing and producing segments for the station. His directorial debut Beyond the Woods won four best picture awards, a best directing award, and a variety of other awards and nominations. And is available to watch on Apple TV, Prime, Cineplex, and more.
ELI CRAIG
Eli Craig wrote and directed the horror-comedy cult classic, Tucker & Dale vs Evil. Recently he co-wrote and directed the hit indie horror-comedy, Clown in a Cornfield, which premiered at SXSW 2025 and went on to break the opening weekend box office record for IFC/Shudder, and was the 3rd highest streamed movie worldwide on HBO Max.
SHANNON BAKER
Shannon Baker, an Indigenous Actor from the Stellat'en First Nation reserve is Dakelh Dene. Shannon was raised by her Grandmother on her reserve in Northern B.C., Canada. Shannon is an actor, producer, writer and TV host. Shannon's television experiences include TV shows such as: "CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION", ""BLUE MOUNTAIN STATE", "BONES OF CROWS" and “SMALLVILLE". She also appeared in Justin Ducharme's Seventeen which had it's world premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.