Alison Duke

Co-founder, Oya Media Group

An artistic activist, award-winning filmmaker and passionate producer committed to boldly telling stories of resistance and change. Recently, she co-wrote and co-produced the television documentary 'Mr. Jane and Finch' (19) directed by Ngardy Conteh George (and edited by Sonia Godding Tobogo) for CBCDocs POV. The was the recipient of two 2020 Canadian Screen Awards: the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary and Best Writing for a Documentary. She also directed 'Cool Black North' (19), a two-hour television documentary special for CityTV/Rogers which aired on the same night. In 2016, she produced the 'Akua Benjamin Legacy Project', the award-winning digital web series which celebrates the legacies of Canadian-based black activists. Inspired by Ava Duvernay, #metoo and the reality that opportunities for women behind the camera in Canada are long overdue, Alison hired five black female Canadian directors to helm these legacy films. She is also the founder of Black Youth! Pathway2Industry, a 3-year initiative to support black youth who are graduates of film, television and digital media programs access essential training, mentors, networks and film industry spaces. She's finishing post-production on, 'Promise Me', a powerful dramatic short inspired by her seminal HIV documentary, 'The Woman I Have Become' (08).