This weekend brought devastating news to Canada’s film & television community of the passing of DGC Director Charles Officer, a friend and mentor to many and a champion of the underrepresented. He truly brought the best out of all of us. 

Charles was an acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker. Just last year, he won both the DGC Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement and two Canadian Screen Awards for his brilliant work on the BET/CBC series The Porter – the largest Black-led television production in Canadian history. He left his lasting imprint on the Canadian film & television landscape, gliding seamlessly from acting, writing and producing to directing in feature films, documentaries and series television. His versatility and creative passion led to an expansive range of acclaimed and groundbreaking work including The Porter, Akilla's Escape, Unarmed Verses, The Skin We’re In, The Mighty Jerome and Nurse.Fighter.Boy as well as episodes of Rookie Blue, Coroner, Private Eyes and 21 Thunder.

And yet, with all that, the impact of Charles’ on-screen work is rivalled by the indelible mark he left on our community through the sheer number of the countless people he mentored or championed. Charles Officer was a co-founder of the Black Screen Office, a founding member of the DGC’s BIPOC Members Committee and served the Guild as Creative Director of the DGC Awards, helping to revamp and reimagine how we honour each other. But more than any of that, Charles lifted people up every day through his pure, relentless generosity of spirit and compassion – always ready to serve and to support; always seeking out and sustaining diverse voices and emerging talent; always there with that infectious, heartfelt smile that brought joy to so many of us. 

His loss will be felt and his presence missed. 

Thank you, Charles Officer, for everything you brought to our community.