Jason Ryle is a Canadian film producer and festival programmer, most noted for his longtime role as head of the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival.[1]
An Anishinaabe member of the Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba,[2] he first joined the festival’s board of directors in 2004, becoming executive director in 2010.[1] During his time with imagineNATIVE, he also served as an advisor on indigenous film to the Berlin Film Festival, and as coordinator of indigenous film programs at the European Film Market.
After announcing his departure from imagineNATIVE in 2020, he was named the recipient of the Clyde Gilmour Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2020.[3] He subsequently joined the programming team for the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022,[4] and is currently programmer for films from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and global indigenous cinema.[5]
He has also had a number of credits as a film producer, most notably on the 2025 animated documentary film Endless Cookie.
Filmography
- Snip – 2016, producer
- Keewaydah (Let’s Go Home) – 2017, producer
- Meneath: The Hidden Island of Ethics – 2021, consulting producer
- Stellar – 2022, associate producer
- Amplify – 2023-24, television series producer
- Singing Back the Buffalo – 2024, producer
- Endless Cookie – 2025, producer
- Wilfred Buck’s Star Stories – 2025, producer
- Aki – 2025, executive producer
- Shaaghan Neekwaii (Two Old Women) – 2025, producer
Awards
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2026 | Best Feature Length Documentary | Endless Cookie with Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver, Daniel Bekerman, Alex Ordanis, Chris Yurkovich, Neil Mathieson |
Pending | [6] |
| Film Independent Spirit Awards | 2026 | Best Documentary Feature | Nominated | [7] | |
| Toronto Film Critics Association | 2020 | Clyde Gilmour Award | Won | [3] |
References
- ^ a b Patrick Mullen, “imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival”. The Canadian Encyclopedia, January 24, 2025.
- ^ Elena Hudgins Lyle, “An ‘incredible bounty’ of Indigenous films is lighting up Canadian festival screens”. CBC Radio One, September 21, 2025.
- ^ a b Clarence Moye, “‘Nomadland’ Takes Three at Toronto Film Critics Awards”. Awards Daily, February 7, 2021.
- ^ Barry Walsh, “TIFF unveils new programmers, details for 2022’s in-person edition”. RealScreen, February 24, 2022.
- ^ Nicholas Sokic, “Three programmers depart TIFF, team realigned”. Playback, March 21, 2025.
- ^ Pat Mullen, “Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story Leads Canadian Screen Awards Documentary Nominations”. Point of View, March 25, 2026.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 3, 2025). “Three Animated Projects Nominated for Film Independent Spirit Awards”. Animation Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
External links
- Jason Ryle at IMDb