MA Alumni

Edem is a PhD student in the Film and Media Department. She holds a first-class undergraduate degree in Communications and recently completed her Master’s degree researching feminist documentary filmmaking in Ghana. She is a journalist turned documentary filmmaker/photographer, feminist and queer activist from Ghana and has almost a decade of working experience. Edem mostly volunteers/ works in activist spaces providing intersectional multimedia and communications support to activist courses and groups. She comes to film as an activist and is interested in ways in which marginalized populations can use documentary filmmaking to self-represent, and trigger social change. She is a cofounder of, and the Director of the African Grad Students’ at Queen’s Club.

Tyler Adair was an MA student in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies. He previously completed an MA in Comparative Literature at Brock University where he also received his undergraduate degree in Art History and Film Studies. He is interested in film theory, modern art (especially painting), Marxism, and curatorial studies, and is currently researching the films of Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huillet.

Austin Benson did an Undergraduate degree in Film & Media and an MA in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies at Queen's. His research interests are in experimental and narrative production as well as film theory, history and criticism. For his Film 460 creative thesis he wrote a novel which he is now redrafting and created a work based on the text. He had a short film screened at KCFF '18 and as a writer has had publications in literary journals. Currently he is intent on taking his interests further in the 2019-2020 academic session to enhance the scope and style of his experimental media works, films and writings.

Hilary Jay is a PhD student in the Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies program. Prior to this, she completed her B.A. in Philosophy and Art History at McGill and her M.A. in SCCS at Queen’s in 2022. Her research is engaged with the contemporary relevance of archives, time-based media, and curation. Hilary is also currently a Research Assistant in the Vulnerable Media Lab. 

William Jennings is a PhD student in the Film and Media department. He holds an MA in Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies from Queen's University, and a BA in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Victoria. Interests include slow cinema, continental philosophy, memory, materiality, and new media. Not to be confused with the 41st US Secretary of State.

Lindsay K. Muir is a Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies Ph.D. student within the Film and Media department at Queen’s University. She recently completed her M.A. in the same department with her thesis, Where the Willow Meets the Moon: Lessons in Settler Curation Through Indigenous Storytelling. Prior to graduate school, Lindsay earned a double major in Art History and English Literature with a minor in World Cinemas from McGill University. Her current research revolves around the representations of Celtic and Indigenous women in various media.

Naomi Okabe is a filmmaker, writer, and MA student in the Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies program. Naomi’s films have premiered at festivals such as Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival and Kingston Canadian Film Festival. Her current research explores space exploration, motherhood, and caring futures through speculative fiction, film, and media art. Naomi also co-runs Séance Centre, a record label and publisher.

Miranda Ramnares is an aspiring artist, writer and graphic designer from Toronto, ON. Her research interests include post-colonial theory, feminist film theory, and contemporary art; with a focus on how these topics interact with themes of representation, colonial legacy, and identity politics. Her work in arts administration is focused on promoting diversity and advocating for marginalized and racialized peoples. She previously served as the Vice-President of the Board of Directors at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, and is a recent graduate of Queen’s University, completing a BAH in Art History with a minor in Film & Media.

After graduating from Queen's University with an Undergraduate degree in Film and Media, Emilie Surette has transitioned into the Screen Cultures and Curatorial Studies MA program. Her research interests include animation, feminist film theory, and aesthetics.