The National Directors Division (NDD) of the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has announced the 13 pairings for its inaugural mentorship program.

Five mentors hail from B.C.: Rachel Leiterman, mentoring Alberta’s Kylie Hitchcock; Michael Nanikin with Quebec’s Anjali Nayar, Heather Hawthorn Doyle with fellow B.C. director Hayley Gray, Kathleen Hepburn with Ontario’s Christopher Yip and David Frazee with Kevin Eastwood.

Another four mentors are from Ontario: Clement Virgo, mentoring Alison Murray, Michael Kennedy with Virginia Abramovich, Carl Bessai with Manitoba’s Shelagh Carter and Jordan Canning with B.C.’s Brianne Nord-Stewart.

The two L.A. mentors are Jon Cassar with Ontario’s Zarrar Kahn and Rob Cohen with B.C.-based Kyle Rideout.

The sole Manitoba mentor Norma Bailey is paired with Quebec’s Isabelle A. Girard, while Tim Southam is paired with Aisling Chin-Yee, both based in Quebec.

As part of the 2025 Director Mentorship Program, mentors and mentees will meet one-on-one monthly from January to August. Mentees will also take part in group sessions with participating directors such as Atom Egoyan, Deepa Mehta, Molly McGlynn, Ken Girotti, Deborah Chow and Rachel Talalay.

“This cohort represents both the breadth and depth of talent in the Guild, and also the willingness of seasoned directors to lend their time and wisdom to fellow filmmakers,” said NDD chair Zach Lipovsky in a statement.

The program, announced in October, is one of three created by the NDD. The Director Observer Initiative, launched earlier this month, helps producers connect with potential placements to shadow directors on set. Launching next year is the Director Market Accelerator, which will help DGC members access national and international markets.

Image: Unsplash