Patricia Ellingson, Creative Head, Children's Media Content & Programming, TVO

Patricia Ellingson has been the Creative Head of Children's Programming for TVO since October 1998. Children's programming is the cornerstone of TVO's commitment to educational broadcasting. It encompasses over 70 hours of TVO's weekly scheduling, about 90 hours per year of in-house TV production and the number one educational website for kids in Canada, tvokids.com. TVO is a publicly funded media organization based in Toronto, Canada.

Patricia has a particular passion for presenting programming that makes a difference in the lives of kids and parents. She has been instrumental in building the trusted tvokids educational brand, overseeing multi-platform productions developed for every kind of young learner and covering virtually all areas of the Ontario JK-5 curriculum. The tvokids internally produced series includes Gisèle's Big Backyard, The Space, Reading Rangers, Super Citizens and Tumbletown Tales, to name just a few. Patricia was responsible for the convergence of TVO children's television and new media teams and rebuilding the tvokids.com website, which has become one of the most popular kids' online destinations and one that continues to push the envelope on multiple platforms.

Pat has worked with some of Canada's most notable producers who share her commitment to innovative kids content that has substance and "makes you think". Her international co-productions have included Rob the Robot, Dino Dan, The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog, Wild Kratts, Miss BG, George Shrinks, Timothy Goes to School, Swap TV, Think Big, Heads Up, Taste Buds, This is Daniel Cook and Peep and the Big Wide World.

Annya Miller, Photographer

Toronto native, Annya Miller, was 2011's Filmpossible winner for her image "Lucky Fin Love" which was a close up look at the "little hands" of Gavin and Gabrielle, two of her young clients who have in common LBE amputations.

  Annya is a self taught, award winning photographer, who has been published in a variety of media across North America. Specializing in newborn, maternity and children's portraiture, she has a passion for children and for telling their stories through images of sly smiles, serious pouts and mischevious grins.

Sam Obeid – Photographer

Sam Obeid is a Toronto-based wedding photographer. Along with his contemporary portrait style, he is known for his lighthearted documentary style and ability to capture the true sprit and essence of his subjects. Inspired by some of the world’s top journalists and cinematography from Hollywood greatest filmmakers, Sam has built a strong presence among local and North American photographers and has become one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the Toronto area.

Justin Hines, Singer, Songwriter

At 14 years old, Justin Hines won a vocal competition to sing the national anthem in front of 17,000 people. Since then, he has traveled the world from China to Dubai, the U.K and South Africa, released four studio albums, performed at Olympic ceremonies and given his voice to charities worldwide. Within the year, he has landed on the Top 30 U.S Billboard Charts, appeared on CBS Sunday Morning as well as on PBS, where his special aired over 400 times across North America. Though Hines has Larsen Syndrome which has him permanently using a wheelchair, his optimism is inspiring and his message, extraordinary. He is currently working on his fifth studio album, due out Spring 2013.

Jen Schlumberger, Freelance writer/producer

Jen Schlumberger is currently a freelance writer / producer (and new Mom) who has her BA in Television Production from Concordia University. Over the past seven years, she has worked for Corus Entertainment, CBC, as well as Astral Media. She also runs her own company called Hollywood Birthdays, where she makes short films with kids at their birthday parties. Last year, Jen participated in Filmpossible with the Daley & Cherng family to create the film, "I Can Be Me" starring Gavin and Gabby, which proudly took home two top prizes. She is thrilled to be a part of Filmpossible this year as a judge, and cannot wait to be inspired by the amazing films she is about to see. 

Karen Shopsowitz, Independent filmmaker

Karen Shopsowitz is an award winning film-maker, whose work has been screened nationally and internationally. Her most recent credit is One Summer at Camp Winston, a one hour doc about a camp for children with complex neurological disorders, produced in association with documentary, which premiered in September 2010 and has been shown at several festivals in Canada and the United States. Other credits include My Father's Camera, (produced by the NFB, and winner of a Peabody Award), Canada's War in Colour, A Place to Save Your Life (about the Jewish refugee community of Shanghai), and My Grandparents Had a Hotel. As a director, editor, writer and occasional cameraperson, Karen has worked on dozens of productions, ranging from stand-alone documentaries to documentary series, music videos and fiction.

Denise Wilson, Home school mom

Denise lives in Erin, Ontario with her husband Brad and children George (9) and Josiah (6).

In 2010 Denise first entered Filmpossible with Are You Smarter Than a 3 year old With Down Syndrome, this was followed in 2011 with another video entitled As Long As it’s Healthy, and for this she won first place.

Josiah, who has Down syndrome, was Denise’s inspiration for entering the contest. Denise was 41 when Josiah was born which statistically gave her a 1 in 69 chance of having a child with Down syndrome. Denise likes the way her husband looks at the odds, according to him, their chances of having a baby with Down syndrome were actually 100% because that’s the child God had for them.

Denise has never met a parent of a child with a disability that didn’t feel that their life was richer for having that person in their life.