CiTR

CORY STEWART (he/him) has been described by Billboard Magazine as a wickedly witty pop artist with a “smooth voice” and by Canadian Beats as someone who creates “fearless, unapologetic and relentlessly catchy” music.

Cory has been a supporting act for several legendary artists including Boy George and Crystal Waters. Stewart’s debut album ‘TOV’ was released in January 2021, hitting #9 on the iTunes Pop Charts and receiving overwhelming praise from critics.

A Royal Conservatory of Music vocal program graduate, Stewart has been a songwriter and student of music since the age of seven, receiving accolades from numerous music festivals across Canada. Cory has also toured and performed in several countries around the world including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. Cory recently completed The QUEERANTINE North American tour for which he was recognized with an award from the 2022 Wavy Awards for his work in the Queer music community.

He has a new release called I SHOULDA KNOWN BETTER which is available on all the streamers. Check out the artist online on Insta at @coryjstewart



LAURIE TOWNSEND (she/her) is a Toronto-based filmmaker, writer and educator. Raised by a Jamaican mother—the family’s eloquent griot—Laurie learned early on that before we shape stories, stories shape us.


Her films centre on the human capacity to transform small acts of courage into quiet revolutions, as seen in their dramatic short The Railpath Hero (2013), the unscripted series Human Frequency Streetdocs (2014) and the award-winning short doc Charley (2016). A MOTHER APART is Laurie’s first feature-length film and it will make its Western Canadian premiere on Sept 19th at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival.

In an extraordinary tale of grace and forgiveness, and co-produced with the NFB, Laurie profiles one woman’s inspired and deeply intentional parenting. A Mother Apart catches up with protagonist “Staceyann Chin” as she picks up the trail of her elusive mother—a trail that leads to Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne and, finally, back to her native Jamaica. Along the way she just may find the sense of home she’s been longing for.
For more info on this award-winning film, visit www.amotherapartfilm.com or www.laurietownsend.com