2026 Lunenburg Doc Fest
Jurors
Thank you to our incredible jurors
Introducing the 2026 jurors
Every year, the festival team invites knowledgeable guests to sit on our jury. They bring their experience and care to the selection of the 2026 prize winners.
Lunenburg Doc Fest is delighted to feature our festival
jurors for 2025
new! Best Sustainability Documentary Award
Lunenburg Doc Fest is delighted to feature our festival
jurors for 2025
Thanks to the Kaia Sustainability Project and their commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals, the Lunenburg Doc Fest will be awarding a prize to a documentary focused on combatting climate change and its impact. The prize is called the Best Sustainability Documentary Award and 2026 is its inaugural year.
To support us in selecting the award winner, we are very pleased to include two jury members who work daily with environmental issues, Maggy Burns and Brooke Nodding.
Thank you to all jurors. We are most appreciative for their contributions.
Lunenburg Doc Fest is delighted to feature our festival
jurors for 2025
Peter Hall
Jury Coordinator
Peter Hall is happily retired after nearly four decades working in Canadian broadcasting. He was a story editor, producer, director and executive producer at various information and news programs at the three major networks. As a senior manager with CBC Atlantic Peter worked closely with independent producers commissioning documentaries and other programs for broadcast in the region and on network television.
Peter Hall
Jury Coordinator
Peter Hall is happily retired after nearly four decades working in Canadian broadcasting. He was a story editor, producer, director and executive producer at various information and news programs at the three major networks. As a senior manager with CBC Atlantic Peter worked closely with independent producers commissioning documentaries and other programs for broadcast in the region and on network television.
Tazeen Ahmed
DOC
Tazeen is a lifelong cinephile who found her way into the film industry and has been watching, discussing, arguing about, and obsessing over films for most of her life. Currently Associate Director, Operations & Programming at the Documentary Organization of Canada, she also serves on screening and programming committees for Canadian festivals. A former lecturer in film and media studies, her interests include Indigenous storytelling, contemporary Canadian cinema, and Asian cinema.
Her work with independent filmmakers has included producing, festival consultancy, subtitling, and script supervision. She is the associate producer of Things I Could Never Tell My Mother, which screened at Visions du Réel and IDFA in 2022. A member of Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts, Tazeen supports its work with rural and Indigenous communities in north-western Bangladesh. Her writing has explored film viewing habits in Bangladesh and the representation of women on screen.
Tazeen Ahmed
DOC
Tazeen is a lifelong cinephile who found her way into the film industry and has been watching, discussing, arguing about, and obsessing over films for most of her life. Currently Associate Director, Operations & Programming at the Documentary Organization of Canada, she also serves on screening and programming committees for Canadian festivals. A former lecturer in film and media studies, her interests include Indigenous storytelling, contemporary Canadian cinema, and Asian cinema.
Her work with independent filmmakers has included producing, festival consultancy, subtitling, and script supervision. She is the associate producer of Things I Could Never Tell My Mother, which screened at Visions du Réel and IDFA in 2022. A member of Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts, Tazeen supports its work with rural and Indigenous communities in north-western Bangladesh. Her writing has explored film viewing habits in Bangladesh and the representation of women on screen.
Andre Anderson
Filmmaker
Andre Anderson is a historical African Nova Scotian documentary filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He creates documentaries that explore history and identity, with a particular focus on Black Canadian voices.
Andre has been recognized as the Black Business Initiative’s Youth Entrepreneur of the Year and as a Volunteer of the Year by the Halifax Regional Municipality. He is also a recipient of an Atlantic Canada 30 Under 30 award and a human rights award from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. He is currently nominated for Business Leader of the Year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
Andre Anderson
Filmmaker
Andre Anderson is a historical African Nova Scotian documentary filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He creates documentaries that explore history and identity, with a particular focus on Black Canadian voices.
Andre has been recognized as the Black Business Initiative’s Youth Entrepreneur of the Year and as a Volunteer of the Year by the Halifax Regional Municipality. He is also a recipient of an Atlantic Canada 30 Under 30 award and a human rights award from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. He is currently nominated for Business Leader of the Year by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce.
Annette Clarke
Producer
Annette Clarke has produced and co-produced 100+ films with some of Canada’s leading directors and nurtured the careers of numerous emerging filmmakers. During a successful NFB career, her documentary, animation and interactive productions have garnered awards and screened at Sundance, TIFF, IDFA, CPH: DOX, Hot Docs, the Berlinale, and many other festivals around the globe.
Annette returned to independent production in 2022 with Ruby Line Productions Inc. and a commitment to develop stories with a deep resonance in the place she is proud to call home. She recently completed the documentary Sing the World Better co-directed by Lian Morrison and Wanda Nolan; and is in pre-production with Tamara Segura’s first feature film MIGRATORY BIRDS.
She has received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial for her contributions to Canadian culture; and the inaugural St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival Trailblazer Award.
Annette Clarke
Producer
Annette Clarke has produced and co-produced 100+ films with some of Canada’s leading directors and nurtured the careers of numerous emerging filmmakers. During a successful NFB career, her documentary, animation and interactive productions have garnered awards and screened at Sundance, TIFF, IDFA, CPH: DOX, Hot Docs, the Berlinale, and many other festivals around the globe.
Annette returned to independent production in 2022 with Ruby Line Productions Inc. and a commitment to develop stories with a deep resonance in the place she is proud to call home. She recently completed the documentary Sing the World Better co-directed by Lian Morrison and Wanda Nolan; and is in pre-production with Tamara Segura’s first feature film MIGRATORY BIRDS.
She has received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial for her contributions to Canadian culture; and the inaugural St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival Trailblazer Award.
Andrew Connors
Director & Producer
is the Executive & Artistic Director of the Yukon Film Society and director of the Available Light Film Festival which he co-founded in 2002. He is the producer of the NFB co-produced environmental feature documentary, Sovereign Soil, the environmental portrait doc The Ballad of Caveman Bill and the silent-film and theatre feature The Grubstake Remix with filmmaker and composer, Daniel Janke. He’s executive producer on a feature doc by filmmakers, Jackie Olson and David Curtis, about Yukon River salmon currently in co-production with the NFB. Andrew has directed and written short and medium length film and television productions that have broadcast internationally and at film festivals around the world. Andrew’s own passion for the Canadian North informs the heart of his work.
Andrew Connors
Director & Producer
is the Executive & Artistic Director of the Yukon Film Society and director of the Available Light Film Festival which he co-founded in 2002. He is the producer of the NFB co-produced environmental feature documentary, Sovereign Soil, the environmental portrait doc The Ballad of Caveman Bill and the silent-film and theatre feature The Grubstake Remix with filmmaker and composer, Daniel Janke. He’s executive producer on a feature doc by filmmakers, Jackie Olson and David Curtis, about Yukon River salmon currently in co-production with the NFB. Andrew has directed and written short and medium length film and television productions that have broadcast internationally and at film festivals around the world. Andrew’s own passion for the Canadian North informs the heart of his work.
Pauline Dakin
Producer & Author
Pauline Dakin is a journalism professor at the University of King’s College in Halifax, where she specializes in audio and podcasting. She spent more than 20 years with the CBC, where she was the national health reporter, a senior producer, and host of the regional documentary program Atlantic Voice. Pauline is also the author of Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood, which won the prestigious 2018 Edna Staebler Prize for Creative Non-fiction and was named one of the best 100 books of 2017 by The Globe and Mail. The CBC podcast series Run, Hide, Repeat based on the book topped international podcast charts, had more than a million downloads in Canada, and won a prestigious New York Festivals award.
Pauline’s first novel will be published by Vagrant Press in spring of 2027.
Pauline Dakin
Producer & Author
Pauline Dakin is a journalism professor at the University of King’s College in Halifax, where she specializes in audio and podcasting. She spent more than 20 years with the CBC, where she was the national health reporter, a senior producer, and host of the regional documentary program Atlantic Voice. Pauline is also the author of Run, Hide, Repeat: A Memoir of a Fugitive Childhood, which won the prestigious 2018 Edna Staebler Prize for Creative Non-fiction and was named one of the best 100 books of 2017 by The Globe and Mail. The CBC podcast series Run, Hide, Repeat based on the book topped international podcast charts, had more than a million downloads in Canada, and won a prestigious New York Festivals award.
Pauline’s first novel will be published by Vagrant Press in spring of 2027.
Donna Davis
Writer/Producer/Director
Donna Davies is a filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her career began with NFB feature documentaries The Kitchen Goddess and A Sigh and a Wish, Helen Creighton’s Maritimes. She went on to build a strong reputation in genre documentary with Nightmare Factory — which pulled back the curtain on Hollywood's monster makers and played in over 30 territories — along with Pretty Bloody, Zombiemania, and Fanarchy. Her work has aired on Netflix, HBO, Shudder, CBC, and other major platforms, and collected dozens of festival awards.
Her most recent feature, 1000 Women in Horror, premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival and went on to SITGES, SXSW Sydney, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Imagine Film Festival Amsterdam, ahead of its Shudder premiere. An alumna of NBC Universal's Feature Film Incubator and the Trans-Atlantic Partners program, Donna is recognized with the Women in Film and Television WAVE Award for leadership in the Atlantic Canadian film community.
Donna Davis
Writer/Producer/Director
Donna Davies is a filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her career began with NFB feature documentaries The Kitchen Goddess and A Sigh and a Wish, Helen Creighton’s Maritimes. She went on to build a strong reputation in genre documentary with Nightmare Factory — which pulled back the curtain on Hollywood's monster makers and played in over 30 territories — along with Pretty Bloody, Zombiemania, and Fanarchy. Her work has aired on Netflix, HBO, Shudder, CBC, and other major platforms, and collected dozens of festival awards.
Her most recent feature, 1000 Women in Horror, premiered at Melbourne International Film Festival and went on to SITGES, SXSW Sydney, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Imagine Film Festival Amsterdam, ahead of its Shudder premiere. An alumna of NBC Universal's Feature Film Incubator and the Trans-Atlantic Partners program, Donna is recognized with the Women in Film and Television WAVE Award for leadership in the Atlantic Canadian film community.
Samara Grace Chadwick
Writer/Producer/Director
Samara is an Acadian filmmaker, curator, scholar, union organiser, and mother. Her critically acclaimed debut feature 1999 premiered at Visions du réel and Hot Docs and has since played 50+ festivals and educational institutions worldwide. She has served as the Executive Director of The Flaherty in NYC, Senior Programmer at the Points North Institute and Camden International Film Festival in Maine, Programmer for Hot Docs in Toronto (2011-2012) and RIDM in Montreal (2015-16), and has served on film festival juries across Canada, the US, as well as in Poland, France, Switzerland, and the UK. Samara lives in Lunenburg county with her family.
Samara Grace Chadwick
Writer/Producer/Director
Samara is an Acadian filmmaker, curator, scholar, union organiser, and mother. Her critically acclaimed debut feature 1999 premiered at Visions du réel and Hot Docs and has since played 50+ festivals and educational institutions worldwide. She has served as the Executive Director of The Flaherty in NYC, Senior Programmer at the Points North Institute and Camden International Film Festival in Maine, Programmer for Hot Docs in Toronto (2011-2012) and RIDM in Montreal (2015-16), and has served on film festival juries across Canada, the US, as well as in Poland, France, Switzerland, and the UK. Samara lives in Lunenburg county with her family.
Robert Hardy
ScreenSask
Robert Hardy is the Executive Director of ScreenSask, an association of over 250 creatives, producers, crew & stakeholders in Saskatchewan’s film and television industry. In this role Robert advocates for this dynamic and growing industry which adds tens of millions of dollars to the province’s economy every year. Robert has been working in Canadian television production for over 25 years as an executive, writer, producer & director focusing on documentary, lifestyle & scripted television. Among his recent credits are Pamela’s Cooking With Love (StackTV/flavour), Pamela’s Garden of Eden (HGTV/Hulu), Big Timber (History/Netflix) and Extracted (Fox/Crave). Robert helped create one of the world’s first web series in 1997 and has built an extensive network within the media industry since then. He has served as President, Canada for Fireworks Media Group, Senior Vice President Development at Entertainment One, VP Development at Paperny Entertainment, network executive with Bell Media and Senior Communications Officer with CBC-Radio Canada. Before that he was a fundraiser, communications director and advertising writer & director.
Robert Hardy
ScreenSask
Robert Hardy is the Executive Director of ScreenSask, an association of over 250 creatives, producers, crew & stakeholders in Saskatchewan’s film and television industry. In this role Robert advocates for this dynamic and growing industry which adds tens of millions of dollars to the province’s economy every year. Robert has been working in Canadian television production for over 25 years as an executive, writer, producer & director focusing on documentary, lifestyle & scripted television. Among his recent credits are Pamela’s Cooking With Love (StackTV/flavour), Pamela’s Garden of Eden (HGTV/Hulu), Big Timber (History/Netflix) and Extracted (Fox/Crave). Robert helped create one of the world’s first web series in 1997 and has built an extensive network within the media industry since then. He has served as President, Canada for Fireworks Media Group, Senior Vice President Development at Entertainment One, VP Development at Paperny Entertainment, network executive with Bell Media and Senior Communications Officer with CBC-Radio Canada. Before that he was a fundraiser, communications director and advertising writer & director.
Christine McLean
Director
Christine McLean is an accomplished documentary director based in Halifax. With more than thirty shows to her credit, she has earned a reputation for strong storytelling and innovative visual approaches. Christine wrote and directed The Berg, for CBC’s The Nature of Things. This followed Dad Bods, a cheeky episode on the science of fatherhood, The New Human, an entertaining look at the future of human evolution and The Power of Play, a show exploring the impact of outdoor play on human intelligence. Previously Christine was head writer and story editor on the Science Channel series Mega Marine Machines and the second season of If We Built it Today. She has also written and directed several wildlife documentaries for CBC’s Land and Sea.
Christine has taught language, writing and TV broadcasting at the University of Kings College, Universite de Moncton and St. Thomas University. In 2017 she received a Wave Award from Women in Film and Television for her professional dedication and mentorship.
Christine McLean
Director
Christine McLean is an accomplished documentary director based in Halifax. With more than thirty shows to her credit, she has earned a reputation for strong storytelling and innovative visual approaches. Christine wrote and directed The Berg, for CBC’s The Nature of Things. This followed Dad Bods, a cheeky episode on the science of fatherhood, The New Human, an entertaining look at the future of human evolution and The Power of Play, a show exploring the impact of outdoor play on human intelligence. Previously Christine was head writer and story editor on the Science Channel series Mega Marine Machines and the second season of If We Built it Today. She has also written and directed several wildlife documentaries for CBC’s Land and Sea.
Christine has taught language, writing and TV broadcasting at the University of Kings College, Universite de Moncton and St. Thomas University. In 2017 she received a Wave Award from Women in Film and Television for her professional dedication and mentorship.
Peter Raymont
Filmmaker/Producer
Peter Raymont is a Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto.
He is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, a Sundance Audience Award and many other honours.
Peter Raymont
Filmmaker/Producer
Peter Raymont is a Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto.
He is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, a Sundance Audience Award and many other honours.
Christopher Richardson
Filmmaker/Producer/Educator
Christopher Richardson is a Newfoundland-based documentary filmmaker, producer and educator whose career in film and television spans more than three decades. He has directed and produced more than 35 documentaries, including more than 20 films for CBC’s Land & Sea, and films for Documentary Channel that have been broadcast regionally, nationally and internationally.
Christopher developed the curriculum for College of the North Atlantic’s Television and Film Production program and has taught documentary filmmaking at Memorial University. Today, he leads immersive media initiatives for CNA, exploring how virtual reality, immersive video and emerging technologies can open new possibilities for storytelling, education and audience experience.
Christopher Richardson
Filmmaker/Producer/Educator
Christopher Richardson is a Newfoundland-based documentary filmmaker, producer and educator whose career in film and television spans more than three decades. He has directed and produced more than 35 documentaries, including more than 20 films for CBC’s Land & Sea, and films for Documentary Channel that have been broadcast regionally, nationally and internationally.
Christopher developed the curriculum for College of the North Atlantic’s Television and Film Production program and has taught documentary filmmaking at Memorial University. Today, he leads immersive media initiatives for CNA, exploring how virtual reality, immersive video and emerging technologies can open new possibilities for storytelling, education and audience experience.
Marie Thompson
Journalist/Producer/Director
Marie Thompson is a retired CBC television journalist with an extensive body of work as a documentary producer and director. Her focus over 35 years has been to highlight struggles of resource producers on land and sea in Atlantic Canada. More recently these stories included the arrival of refugees to small towns in Nova Scotia and the challenges they faced in their new lives.
Marie Thompson
Journalist/Producer/Director
Marie Thompson is a retired CBC television journalist with an extensive body of work as a documentary producer and director. Her focus over 35 years has been to highlight struggles of resource producers on land and sea in Atlantic Canada. More recently these stories included the arrival of refugees to small towns in Nova Scotia and the challenges they faced in their new lives.
Maggy Burns
Ecology Action Centre
Maggy Burns is the Ecology Action Centre's Executive Director. Her involvement with EAC goes back 25 years and includes 10 years as the Managing Director (2007-2017). Maggy has a BA (Philosophy) and BSc (Biology) from Dalhousie University. Her non-profit career spans sub-sectors including entrepreneurship, international development, experiential education and inclusion as well as consulting work in facilitation, strategic planning and conflict resolution.
She is the owner of Re-cover Journals which creates one-of-a-kind journals out of discarded hardcover books. She enjoys poison dart frogs, urban cycling, wooden canoes and being called a scientist by her nieces.
Maggy Burns
Ecology Action Centre
Maggy Burns is the Ecology Action Centre's Executive Director. Her involvement with EAC goes back 25 years and includes 10 years as the Managing Director (2007-2017). Maggy has a BA (Philosophy) and BSc (Biology) from Dalhousie University. Her non-profit career spans sub-sectors including entrepreneurship, international development, experiential education and inclusion as well as consulting work in facilitation, strategic planning and conflict resolution.
She is the owner of Re-cover Journals which creates one-of-a-kind journals out of discarded hardcover books. She enjoys poison dart frogs, urban cycling, wooden canoes and being called a scientist by her nieces.
Carole MacNeil
Journalist/Writer/Producer
Carole is an award winning journalist who was born and raised in Nova Scotia. Her career started in private radio, including working for Annapolis Valley Radio, and CKBW in Bridgewater. Since then, she moved into television news and her work has taken her all over the world. Carole is equally at home writing and producing documentaries as she is doing live unscripted news events such as 9-11, the War in Afghanistan, politics, religion, the economy and more. An intense curiosity has driven a career that spanned almost 4 decades, multiple disciplines and numerous countries. Carole now lives full time on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
Carole MacNeil
Journalist/Writer/Producer
Carole is an award winning journalist who was born and raised in Nova Scotia. Her career started in private radio, including working for Annapolis Valley Radio, and CKBW in Bridgewater. Since then, she moved into television news and her work has taken her all over the world. Carole is equally at home writing and producing documentaries as she is doing live unscripted news events such as 9-11, the War in Afghanistan, politics, religion, the economy and more. An intense curiosity has driven a career that spanned almost 4 decades, multiple disciplines and numerous countries. Carole now lives full time on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
Carole MacNeil
Coastal Action
Brooke is the Executive Director of Coastal Action. Since 2001 she has led the successful development and growth of the organization from a small 2-person to a highly credible professional corporation with a staff of 50. Her background is in fluvial dynamics, conservation management planning, and community-based stewardship initiatives. She worked with both Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada before joining Coastal Action.
Brooke currently leads numerous programs and projects on the South Shore of NS, collaborates on Atlantic regional projects, and has worked on international projects in Uruguay and Sweden. Brooke lives with her husband, Jeff, and daughter, Morgan, in Lunenburg and is an active volunteer within the community.
Carole MacNeil
Coastal Action
Brooke is the Executive Director of Coastal Action. Since 2001 she has led the successful development and growth of the organization from a small 2-person to a highly credible professional corporation with a staff of 50. Her background is in fluvial dynamics, conservation management planning, and community-based stewardship initiatives. She worked with both Environment Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada before joining Coastal Action.
Brooke currently leads numerous programs and projects on the South Shore of NS, collaborates on Atlantic regional projects, and has worked on international projects in Uruguay and Sweden. Brooke lives with her husband, Jeff, and daughter, Morgan, in Lunenburg and is an active volunteer within the community.