RAYMOND DESMARTEAU

President of the jury

Raymond Desmarteau’s music, radio, TV and film career spans over 30 years. Currently hosting the weekly show Tam-tam Canada on Radio Canada International, he also hosted a morning radio show for Radio-Canada Toronto (CJBC) and Vancouver (CBUF), was the programming director for the Canadian Forces Network in Lahr, Germany and for Espace Musique, the CBC’s French-language music radio service. Raymond Desmarteau played many lead and supporting roles on film and on television. He also had a successful career as a singer-songwriter and as a guitar accompanist.

PHILIPPE FEHMIU

Philippe Fehmiu is a well-known Quebec TV and radio host, as well as a director. Viewers saw him on MusiquePlus, Ztélé, Canal Évasion, TV5 and Canal Vie. Despite having a very busy career, he always finds time to contribute to his community and does volunteer work for several foundations.

BENZ ANTOINE

Born in Montreal, Benz Antoine has already made 75 film and television appearances. Benz enrolled at Concordia University intent on a career in Economics, which quickly turned into Philosophy. In 1993, while reluctantly accompanying his then girlfriend to an audition, he was coaxed into reading for a role as a businessman in a corporate video. The rapper quickly turned actor and he hasn’t looked back since. He made his first big screen appearance in Romeo Must Die as the Crabman. Since then, he has appeared in the blockbuster hits Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Four Brothers, the critically acclaimed, I’m Not There, and most recently, Death Race! He is currently a lead actor in CBC French Network series 19/2.

PATRICIA RIMOK

President of the jury
Patricia Rimok is the President and CEO of the Immigration Business Network ib2ib, a Web portal devoted to helping immigrants start a business venture in Canada. She has more than 25 years of experience in communications, marketing, immigration and politics, both in the private and public sectors, in Quebec and abroad. She was recently the President of the Conseil des relations interculturelles du Québec (the Council for Intercultural Relations in Quebec). She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Political Science from McGill University and a master’s degree in Organizational Communications and New Technologies from the University of Montreal.

ROBERT COHEN

Robert Cohen has successfully combined the experience of a senior executive of the City of Montreal and local development organizations with over 10 years of working internationally. His professional career as a lawyer has been dedicated to the fields of social and community development, reduction of poverty, sustainable human settlements, public and private finances, urban planning and institutional management and governance. Robert has worked in South Africa for the past ten years as a technical adviser on affordable housing to all three levels of government.

LYNDA THALIE

Lynda Thalie is the first Algerian singer-songwriter to make a name for herself on Quebec’s music scene. Her unique vocal and musical signature, “a mix of honey and maple sirup,” has wowed audiences on four continents, making her music truly universal. She won over the critics who see her as the embodiment of Quebec’s modern diversity. From Vancouver’s Olympic Games to the London ones, to Paris’s Olympia, to Kigali, Lynda Thalie is an international performer, the expression that art knows no bounds and is assuredly cosmopolitan.

(fiction, documentaires, animation)

JENNY SALGADO

President of the jury
Jenny Salgado : This Quebec singer-songwriter of Haitian origins has three albums to her credit (two with her band Muzion and one solo album) for which she received many awards including one from the National Assembly recognizing her work as a committed activist, two Félix Awards from the ADISQ, one Miroir Award and one Much Music Video Awards nomination. In 2011-2012, she was a TV reporter for Radio-Canada. She wrote the lyrics and/or the music for many Quebec, French and American singers and contributed to several books published in Quebec. Jenny also scores music for documentary and fiction films.

HASSAN SERRAJI

Hassan Serraji is a columnist and blogger. With a bachelor’s degree in Economy and a certificate in Journalism, he’s an informed observer of local, national and international current events. Not only does he write a blog and a column for Metro, he also contributes to the Morrocan weekly magazine Telquel. You may have heard him on the radio shows Dessine-moi un dimanche, Culture physique and Montréal maintenant on 98.5 FM.

ALEJANDRO JIMENEZ RAMOS

Alejandro Jimenez Ramos is a Montreal filmmaker of Mexican origins whose career started at Paideia Film School in Querétaro, Mexico. He explored the world of fiction and of music videos with several independent productions. He studied filmmaking in Montreal and graduated from INIS in 2010. His work has been shown at several international festivals.