(2-minute read)
ACTRA Toronto members are in the spotlight at the 25th anniversary year of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
From June 3 to 8, 2025, imagineNATIVE will showcase one ACTRA Toronto feature film and three short films. The festival’s virtual edition will take place from June 9 to 15, 2025.
Below you’ll find a round-up of ACTRA Toronto productions at this year’s festival and the talented casts of ACTRA Toronto members who bring these stories to life.
SEEDS
Seeds is a sharp, unsettling thriller and black comedy that digs deep into Indigenous anxieties. Ziggy, a Toronto bike courier and emerging influencer, is drawn back to her community and into the orbit of a suspicious seed company, Nature’s Oath.
Featuring: Joshua Bainbridge, Morgan Bedard, Cherish Blood, Meegwun Fairbrother, Graham Greene, Peter Keleghan, Brandon Oakes
Closing Night; Premieres Sunday, June 8 at 9 p.m.
MAWTINI (MY HOMELAND)
Together, Nawal, a young Palestinian woman, and Tanya, an older Indigenous woman, start a guerrilla garden on the lawn of their apartment building and battle middle management to make it to harvest.
Featuring: André L.A. Blissett, Monique Mojica, Edsson Morales
Shorts: NEXT GEN; Premieres Saturday, June 7 at 3:15 p.m.
SWEETGRASS RINGS
On the day of her wedding, a young Ojibwe woman contemplates the consequences of her decision to marry a non-Indigenous man as she prepares for their impending nuptials.
Featuring: Tatyana Rose Baptiste, Liam Bell, Lisa Cromarty
Shorts: LIVING IN TWO WORLDS; Premieres Thursday, June 5, at 3 p.m.
THE LIGHT BEFORE THE SUN
After a book tour, self-help guru Daniel Wolf battles loneliness and anxiety. Reconnecting with an estranged friend, he spirals into a drug-fueled journey, confronting his mental health and addiction.
Featuring: Jamie Thomas King, Karen Leblanc, Rose Napoli, Tony Nappo, Jennifer Podemski, Tamara Podemski, and 2025 Outstanding Performance – Male ACTRA Award winner Rick Roberts
Shorts: LIVING IN TWO WORLDS; Premieres Thursday, June 5, at 3 p.m.
Photos and capsule descriptions courtesy of imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
