Warren P. Sonoda Elected DGC National President

Directors Guild Ushers in New Generation of Leadership

Toronto – This weekend, at the Directors Guild of Canada’s online session opening the elections for its National Executive Board, Warren P. Sonoda was acclaimed as DGC President alongside the Guild’s new 1st Vice-President, Tracey Deer.

“It’s not lost on me that this weekend saw remarkable election results from across North America, and in its own way, the Directors Guild of Canada bent its arc towards inclusion with the historic election of a Japanese Canadian as President and a Mohawk filmmaker from Kahnawake as its 1st Vice-President,” said the newly-elected Sonoda. “I'm honoured to serve our Guild with Tracey Deer and the entire DGC National Executive Board. We will continue our fight to improve the quality of life for our members, not just the economic returns of our livelihoods. We can do this by uniting our country through storytelling while celebrating our specificity of voice which makes us creatively exceptional. I hope this sends a strong signal to filmmakers and film-workers everywhere that the DGC is part of this progressive journey.”

Sonoda and Deer will be joined by returning National Executive Board members Wanda Chaffey (2nd Vice President), Grace Gilroy (Secretary-Treasurer), Warren Carr (Production Department Rep) and Paul Day (Editing Department Rep), each of whom was also acclaimed.

National Executive Director Dave Forget also thanked outgoing DGC President Tim Southam: “In six years as DGC President, and in six years before that as National Directors Division Chair, Tim has led the Guild through a period of immense change that saw our membership more than double and our industry shift into the digital era. Tim Southam is above all a keen intellect, talented artist, stalwart defender of his fellow members and a true champion of Canadian culture. It has been a pleasure for all of us at the Guild to serve under his leadership.”

Candidates elected to fill the board’s six remaining open seats will be announced November 23rd after the two-week members’ voting period is closed.

The full list of elections for the National Executive Board is below:

President: Warren P. Sonoda**

1st Vice President: Tracey Deer**

2nd Vice President: Wanda Chaffey**

Secretary-Treasurer: Grace Gilroy**

Production Department Rep: Warren Carr**

Editing Department Rep: Paul Day**

Locations Department Rep: Adrian Knight**

 **acclaimed

National Directors Division Chair:
Jim Donovan
Zach Lipovsky

Assistant Directors Caucus Rep:
Esteban Sanchez
Matthew Tingey

Art Department Rep:
Naz Goshtasbpour
Matt Middleton
Marian Wihak

Production Accounting Department Rep: 
Karen Chandler
Lenore Nemani

Production Coordinators Department Rep:         
Aaron Graham
Tamara Harland