Instructors are not listed in any particular order. But, shown to give you an idea as to who is teaching. what class since you may know some of our Instructors.
Instructors are listed ALPHABETICALLY by FIRST NAME. Not all are teaching this Fall, but many have created our “on-demand” videos.
Instructor: Aaron Fauteaux
Aaron Fauteux graduated Summa Cum Laude from York University’s BFA Film Production program in 2017. He is a director, writer, and production designer for the film as well as a multidisciplinary visual artist. From 2013 to 2016, he was a regular instructor and occasional Assistant Director. At the Film Camp for Kids and Youth but took over as; Youth Program Coordinator for the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media, and the Creative Arts from 2017 to 2019. He recently returned from a nine-month trip to New Zealand. During which time he visited (nearly) all of the shooting locations for the Lord of the Rings, his favourite films. There’s some speculation that he may in fact be a hobbit, though these rumours are mostly unsubstantiated. He’s excited to be back in Windsor and to teach this summer’s online francophone filmmaking camp!
Instructor: Courtney Spoiala (Class dates TBA)
Courtney Spoiala is a 4th-year Communications, Media, and Film student at the University of Windsor. Her passion for film started in her early teens when she attended Film Camp for Kids and Youth, as a camper which helped her excel in her work today. This will be her 2nd year instructing. She is a freelance photographer as well as someone who enjoys doing videography. Courtney’s goal within the Film Camp is to help kids with their passion for film making and teach them valuable skills for the future just as her instructors did when she was a camper.
Instructor: Demetre Kalmantis
Demetre Kalmantis is a filmmaker based in Windsor, Ontario. He has been making home movies since he was 13 and had one of his films accepted into the Windsor International Film Festival at the age of 15. Also at the age of 15, he attended the Film Camp for Kids and Youth, which inspired him to pursue a career in film. He now studies Communication, Media and Film at the University of Windsor. This will be Demetre’s third year as an instructor at the Film Camp for Kids and Youth.
Instructor: Haley LaBute
Haley is a 3rd-year film student at the University of Windsor. She has had experience working in multiple different film-related jobs such as working as a photographer, a video editor, graphic design artist, and has been involved in various productions for school projects. This is Haley’s second year working for the film camp and she is excited to be able to teach classes online as well as be able to adapt to the zoom platform.
Instructor: Jakob Skrzypa
Jakob has written and directed over thirty shorts as part of the comedy duo Fun Uncle, these films have earned him various festival awards. Additionally, he has worked on major television productions including the long-running CBS reality series Survivor, Adult Swim’s Decker, Big Brother Canada, as an editor for NYC-based Troma Entertainment (Lloyd Kaufman, The Toxic Avenger) and the award-winning Comedy Central series Nathan for You.
Instructor: Kirsteen Navarro (Class dates TBA)
Kirsteen Navarro is a Communications and Creative Writing graduate. She has been a producer for student short films and a literary editor for local poets and authors. In her spare time, she reads fantasy novels, reviews books on her blog, and edits gaming montages while hanging out with her calico cat.
Instructor: Mitchell Branget
Mitchell Branget is a passionate, Canadian writer, director, special effects/makeup artist, and production designer. Mitch has 7 years of experience working with children as a gymnastics coach and camp counsellor. He is currently in the Master’s program studying Cinema Production at the University Windsor. There he has written and directed several Internationally award-winning short films such as Die Kriste: The Crate and Dreamer’s Journey and has also worked as a special effects artist on over 15 films. Mitchell is currently running a local media production company called New Way Media Productions which specializes in commercial ads, wedding videos, music videos, live event recording, and short films.
Instructor: Nicole Gellman (Class dates TBA)
Nicole is a 2015 graduate from the University of Michigan’s Screen Arts and Cultures department, with a concentration in production, and also holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from the school. Nicole served as the Director of the Film Camp For Kids & Youth in its initial four years of operation. She currently works in LA as a freelancer in film editing and acting, as well as in Windsor as part of the MANAN Media Team. Nicole has worked on films that have been selected for Film Festivals as well as written and directed films and stage productions. She worked as a P.A. on Windsor’s hit local feature film, The Birder, produced by The Dot Film Company.
Instructor: Samantha Ainsworth
Samantha Ainsworth is a Drama, Film and Communications graduate from the University of Windsor and is currently studying Graphic Design at St. Clair College. She is known for her love of Disney but is also crazy about her cat, Emmy; reading, guitar, and typography. Her favourite movie is “The Princess Bride.” Samantha holds her third-degree black belt in Taekwondo. She is excited to be back with the Film Camp and looks forward to finding creative ways to connect with the kids on a digital platform. Her favourite camp video is “The Jewel of Windsor”.
Instructor, Sean Sweeney
Sean Dolan Sweeney is a recent graduate from St. Clair College’s 2d/3d animation program. He specializes in illustration, animation, and filmmaking. He is also an alumnus of the Film Camp, starting as a camper at the age of 14, then the camp’s first student volunteer, finally one of the camp councillors, where he supervised, taught and assisted with students aged 8 to 18 and completed over 10 short films, from story development to completion. His hobbies include drawing, watching movies and TV, animating, editing, and making music. He specializes in Autodesk Maya, Harmony Toonboom, Adobe products (Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop), and Final Cut Pro.
Instructor: Sebastien Gaspar Woods
Sebastien has produced several award-winning short films such as Dreamer’s Journey, and Decrescendo. In the past, he spent time at Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated as a studio assistant working on various films such as Kids Vs. Monsters, and Harbinger Down. His short story ‘The Red Window’ has also been published in the horror anthology ‘What Monsters do for Love.’ Sebastien is also the winner of several screenwriting awards including a Rome Independent Prisma Award for Best Short Screenplay, a New York Movie Awards win for Best Short Screenplay and an Underground Indie Film Festival Award for Best Short Screenplay.
Instructor: Sikandar Saleem
Sikandar Saleem is a graduate of the University of Windsor’s Communication, Media and Film program. He specializes in the audio department. Working on several projects, from production to post-production, he has built his resume and has become one of the top people for audio work in the Windsor scene for films, podcasts, audio editing and music production. He now runs his company based around audio production, called Six Visions Media.