January 19, 2026

Films We Like Co-Founder Ron Mann Wins 2025 Company 3 Luminary Award

Xiaodan He Wins Jay Scott Prize for an Emerging Artist 

Nirris Nagendrarajah Wins Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award

The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) announced today Ron Mann, filmmaker and co-founder of independent distribution company Films We Like, as the recipient of the 2025 Company 3 Luminary Award. The award recognizes a Canadian industry figure who has made a substantial and outstanding contribution to the advancement and/or history of Canadian cinema.

Mann is a tireless champion of Canadian and independent cinema. As a filmmaker, he directed his first feature Imagine the Sound in 1981, followed by Poetry in Motion in 1982, and his films Comic Book Confidential (1989) and Grass (2000) both won Genie Awards for Best Documentary Feature. His latest film, Clairtone (2025), tells the story of the short-lived success of the Canadian record player company. Mann’s films frequently tackle stories of artists and creative communities, positioning him as a cultural historian through documentary filmmaking.  In 2003, Mann co-founded the boutique distribution company Films We Like to help bring offbeat independent films to audiences while furthering the careers of fellow independent filmmakers. Films We Like titles previously honoured by the TFCA include Phoenix (2015), Drive My Car (2021), All We Imagine as Light (2024), and Flow (2024). Mann also played a hand in the restoration of Canadian films such as The Grey Fox (1984) and The Sweet Hereafter (1997), bringing Canadian cinema to a new generation of audiences worldwide.

In the pay-it-forward spirit of the award, Mann will select one emerging Canadian filmmaker to receive $50,000 in post-production support, courtesy of Company 3. His selection will be named at a later date.

Additionally, the TFCA announced winners of two awards recognizing individuals seen as advancing Canadian cinema and culture through their work. Xiaodan He was named the winner of the 2025 Jay Scott Prize for an Emerging Artist, and Nirris Nagendrarajah was named the winner of the 2025 Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award for aspiring film reviewers.

Xiaodan He directed, wrote, and co-produced the feature Montreal, My Beautiful (Montréal, ma belle), marking her third feature as a director. The film tells the story of a Chinese-Canadian mother discovering new love in her fifties. It was previously honoured by the TFCA with awards for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Canadian Film for Joan Chen and a runner-up citation for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Canadian Film for Charlotte Aubin. Montreal, My Beautiful was also recognized as Best Canadian Feature at Toronto’s Reel Asian International Film Festival and the Windsor International Film Festival. He’s previous films include the drama A Touch of Spring (2017) and the documentary My Father’s Journey (2020).

Nagendrarajah’s work as a film critic has appeared in MUBI Notebook, Little White Lies, The Film Stage, In the Mood Magazine, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and publications from Metatron Press. His work spans the creative arts to include literature, theatre, and opera in addition to film criticism, with a particular focus on centring queer and Asian voices. The Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic Award comes with a cash prize of $1,000, courtesy of Telefilm Canada.

These awards will be presented alongside the prestigious Rogers Best Canadian Film and Rogers Best Canadian Documentary awards on Monday, March 2, 2026, at a gala held at Toronto’s Omni King Edward Hotel, hosted by acclaimed Canadian actress Tamara Podemski (Outer Range, Youngblood).

The nominees for Rogers Best Canadian Film are Blue Heron, directed by Sophy Romvari; Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, directed by Matt Johnson; and The Shrouds, directed by David Cronenberg. The nominees for Rogers Best Canadian Documentary are Endless Cookie, directed by Seth Scriver and Pete Scriver; Ghosts of the Sea, directed by Virginia Tangvald; and Who Killed the Montreal Expos?, directed by Jean-François Poisson. Both awards carry a cash prize of $50,000, courtesy of Rogers Communications. The two runners-up in each category will receive $5,000.

The TFCA is extremely grateful to founding sponsor Rogers Communications for the Rogers Best Canadian Film and the Rogers Best Canadian Documentary. TFCA thanks returning sponsors Netflix as Dinner sponsor, Prime Video as Cocktail Reception and After Party sponsor and Air Canada as Official Airline. TFCA salutes Telefilm Canada as Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic sponsor and Company 3 as Company 3 Luminary Award Sponsor.and welcomes new sponsors McCain Foods Limited and A/V sponsor The Magen Group. The TFCA also thanks sponsors Omni King Edward Hotel and salutes stalwart supporters, G.H. Mumm Champagne, L’Eat Catering, Zoomer Magazine, The Printing House, Element Event Solutions.

Under the TFCA’s rules, eligible contenders for this year’s awards include films released in theatres or on streaming platforms in Toronto in 2025, as well as films that qualify for the 2025 Academy Awards or Canadian Screen Awards and have a Toronto release scheduled by the end of March 2026.