Canada’s home to some of the best talent in the world. Different perspectives are what set our content apart. But now is the time to push beyond what we know and seek a greater variety of voices. SEEK MORE inspires Canadians to search out more content and creators from more backgrounds, cultures, and communities.
The campaign features six of Canada’s top creators, including Simu Liu, Shamier Anderson, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs, Mélissa Bédard, Adib Alkhalidey, and Cynthia Wu-Maheux, telling their stories in their own words and sharing what we can gain when we seek more.
Shamier Anderson is a Scarborough-born actor, producer, and writer, and co-founder of B.L.A.C.K., with his brother Stephan James. He is the co-chair and co-founder of The Black Academy which aims to combat systemic racism while celebrating and inspiring Black talent in Canada. Anderson sits on the Canadian Academy’s board of directors and is an ambassador for their Equity & Inclusion Fund. He recently sold his story, Super High, to New Line Cinema, and executive produces the film which stars Andy Samberg, Common, and Craig Robinson. Anderson stars in Stowaway for Prime Video opposite Anna Kendrick, Toni Collette, and Daniel Dae Kim; Halle Berry’s directorial debut Bruised (TIFF 2020); and leads Simon Kinberg’s upcoming Invasion for AppleTV+. Anderson co-founded Bay Mills Investment Group with his brothers with the mission to increase diversity in venture capital and entrepreneurship in Canada.
Born and raised in the Kanien’kehá:ka Mohawk Territory in Quebec, Jacobs is a multi-talented artist who in addition to being an active voice for Indigenous and LGBTQ2+ issues, has made extensive contributions to the Canadian film and television industry through her work as an actor and creator. Jacobs first broke onto the scene with her Canadian Screen Award-nominated performance in Rhymes for Young Ghouls in 2013. Since then, she’s had a long and exciting career with roles including Jeff Barnaby’s 2019 zombie film Blood Quantum, the hit CTV series Cardinal, Netflix’s supernatural series The Order, joined the cast of the critically acclaimed series for Season 2 of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods as Sam Black Crow, and was recently announced as joining the cast of the upcoming Taika Waititi-executive produced half-hour comedy series Reservation Dogs. A filmmaker herself, Jacobs has written and directed two award-winning short films and is currently in post-production on her first feature-length film, This Place, in which she co-wrote and starred in.
From the first time young Simu Liu saw Star Wars, he was hooked on the magic of movies. Now, over 20 years later, the Chinese-Canadian actor is on the other side of the screen as he is poised to take over Hollywood. It took a failed stint as an accountant for Liu to follow his acting dream and he quickly landed roles on shows such as The Expanse and Orphan Black. His turn as Jung on CBC’s Kim’s Convenience got Marvel’s attention; he’s set to star in the studio’s upcoming blockbuster Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, making him the first Asian actor to headline a movie in the ongoing MCU.
Born in the desert of Morocco to an Iraqi father and a Moroccan mother, the eight-month-old Adib Alkhalidey arrived in Quebec very much underage. His first joe job? Selling dresses at the Langelier Marché aux puces with country music blaring in the background. The couture was definitely not haute. The multidisciplinary artist finally got his career on track by chucking the schmatta gig and hitting the stage at comedy clubs (“Je t’aime,” “Ingénu”), on TV (Les beaux malaises, Like-moi!), and in directing the film Mon ami Walid. The secret to his success: eating his Mom’s couscous to excess. The best of the best, he says.
Originally from Haiti, Mélissa Bédard made her Quebec debut at nine months old with her twin brother in tow. Her career really took off in 2012 when she knocked them dead with her interpretation of Le cœur est un oiseau by Richard Desjardins on Star Académie. She’s been knocking them dead in show after show ever since as well as playing a leading role in the hit television series M’entends-tu? Her guiltiest pleasure: listening to Mario Pelchat, Britney Spears, and Céline Dion CDs she picks up at Village des Valeurs discount stores. Mother of three and stepmother to three more, she loves scouring advertising flyers for deals to mention in her LA CLEF videos that a growing number of thrifty-minded parents absolutely swear by. Wonder Woman’s got nothing on her!
Trois-Rivières native Cynthia Wu-Maheux dreamt of becoming an actor as a child while she played in the restaurant owned by her mother, a go-getter Chinese-Quebec entrepreneur. But before she assumed the role of killer crime analyst Da-Xia Bernard on District 31, she earned her chops at the M. Claude Butcher Shop, watched far too movies, and had a serious crush on Canadian actor Devon Sawa. Major projects to date on the small and silver screen include Trauma, Mémoires vives, L’empire Bo$$é, and L’origine des espèces (On My Mother’s Side). To keep busy during the lockdown, she’s taken up knitting with a vengeance and long walks in the parks when she’s at wits’ end. And she never sets foot outside in socks and sandals at any time for that would be a major crime.
Handmaid’s Tale, Kim’s Convenience
Letterkenny, The Man in High Castle
Transplant, My Salinger Year
Riverdale
As a 1st generation Canadian and daughter of brave immigrants, my family & I faced our fair share of prejudice and racism over the years. Like many BIPOC and LGBTQ+ within our country, we have all experienced moments where we have felt either completely mistreated, unrepresented or misrepresented at school, at work, in our communities and especially, within the media.
Until recently, our frustrations and grievances have been mainly discussed internally about not being granted equal opportunities, treatment and representation as our white counterparts. Although previously, inequalities faced by minorities have either been exasperatedly tolerated and/or little change has been made, the time has come now for a broader shift in conversation and real change to be made across the board.
It is through our understanding and empathizing with one-another on a basic human level, that we can truly connect and evolve collectively towards a better inclusive world. We are stronger together when our differences are respected, appreciated and celebrated. Fortunately, this Made/Nous “Seek More” campaign has allowed BIPOC and LGBTQ+ creators within the entertainment industry to team up and share our diverse experiences to help create a paradigm shift within our industry and country. Our collective intention is to create allies AGAINST racism, and not one-another. This is not “us vs. them”; this is “us vs. racism”.
Raha ‘Euphoria’ Moshfeghian, a rising music video, commercial, art installation, fashion film director and producer, is blazing a trail for young, diverse filmmakers in Canada’s arts and film industry.
Early in her career, Raha earned a B.A. (Hons.) in Media Studies from the University of Guelph, in addition to, a diploma in Communications from Humber College.
Protégé of legendary music video, commercial and film directors, Director X and Director RT!, Raha has spent years working closely with and continuously learning from these iconic music video directors. Through this time, she’s gained an impressive resume through her work on various music video sets for artists such as: Drake, Sean Paul, Rihanna, Shawn Mendes, B.O.B. and many more.
She has evolved to produce projects for Director X and has become involved with a number of highly notable projects such as: TIFF BoomBox’s Andy Warhol “15 Seconds of Fame” art exhibit (as Art Director) and Nuit Blanche Toronto’s “Death of The Sun” (directing / editing official case study). More recently, she successfully showcased her debut art installation at the 2017 TIFF BoomBox’s FAME art exhibit titled “Step Into The Video: Firefly”.
Raha continues to forge her career through independent projects such as national commercials for Spin Master, Showcase Canada, Slow Rise Squishies Toys and Dream Away Weighted Blankets, Nyx Cosmetics, along with a variety of music videos for rising artists. She is motivated by uplifting and equality-promoting content, while focused on creating enticing visual performances inspired by the artistic interpretation of music as a foundation of all of her projects in her career.
Canada is home to award-winning television, movies, and special effects that have captured global audiences and swept box offices worldwide. MADE | NOUS shines a spotlight on the achievements of Canadians who bring exceptional stories to life, and encourages audiences to discover and celebrate their work. MADE | NOUS is the result of a collaborative effort between key entertainment industry players such as the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada.
