CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS PANEL TALK

CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS PANEL TALK

In Conversation with RISE Tribe: Hyphenated - Filipinx Creativity Across Film

Moderated by Rielle Ramos - Producer & Production Manager

Rielle Ramos is a Toronto-based independent producer and production manager. Before moving to Canada, she was Head Producer at Seabiscuit Films in Manila, overseeing a range of advertising, digital, and lifestyle productions.

After relocating to Toronto, she began her film career as a Production Coordinator on two feature films and a documentary feature, including So Much Tenderness and Something You Said Last Night. Her most recent producing credit, A Fermenting Woman directed by Priscilla Galvez, premiered at the 2024 Regard Festival.

She is currently in production co-producing a Telefilm Talent to Watch feature with director Anna Maguire titled External Neighbours, and is drawn to projects that feel intimate, community-rooted, and a little bit off-centre.

Panelists:

Angel Navarro, Cinematographer

Angel Navarro III is a Filipino – Canadian cinematographer residing in the midst of the Greater Toronto Area. He moved to Canada in 2008, where he was able to have a fresh glimpse of Canada's film industry.

Beginning his career as a production assistant, Angel observed the importance of grip, lighting and camera departments as the foundations of strong cinematography. He later joined the union as a grip and lighting permit while continuing to work in the camera department across the commercial and non-union space. Working across the 3 departments provided Angel with a comprehensive hand-on experience of how images are shaped from the ground up. Later on this has led him to fully pursue his passion for cinematography. Today, Angel primarily focuses on commercial projects while also seeking new collaborations for narrative films.

Lester Millado, Cinematographer

Lester Millado is a Filipino-Canadian cinematographer born in Toronto and raised in Scarborough. His work is shaped by the multicultural communities that raised him and a deep respect for story, collaboration, and representation.

Growing up Filipino in Canada has informed both the stories he gravitates toward and how he works on set, shaping an approach rooted in listening, trust, and intention. Across narrative and commercial projects, he emphasizes texture, natural light, rich colour, and composed movement, always in service of story and voices too often left outside the frame.

An Associate Member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, his projects have screened at festivals internationally and received multiple awards. Above all, Lester values the process of making films: the trust built on set, the shared momentum between collaborators, and the quiet moments when an idea becomes a frame that feels true.

Raymond Tuquero, Cinematographer & Director of Photography

Raymond Ramon Sebido Tuquero is a Toronto-based cinematographer and director of photography with over 20 years of experience across commercial, corporate, and narrative filmmaking. In close collaboration with directors, he shapes images not just through technique, but through intention—using movement and light to guide the eye, evoke emotion, and let the visuals speak for the story itself. His work is rooted in a global perspective and a deeply collaborative approach with diverse creative teams and leading brands.

An instructor at LIFT and the Toronto Film School, Raymond is also an Associate Member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and Co-Chair of the CSC Diversity Committee. Driven by curiosity, mentorship, and purposeful storytelling, he continues to refine his craft while building meaningful creative partnerships across Canada’s film community.

ABOUT THE PANEL

For many diasporic Filipinx, “hyphenated” takes on many meanings, including being hyphenated-Canadians and wearing many hats. Often known for being multidimensional, multitalented and multipassionate, Filipinos weave the ethos of diskarte (ingenuity/creativity) and the value of kapwa (interconnectedness) in their life and art. This panel will explore how the “hyphen” shows up in creative practice and identity. Through the lenses of cinematography, composition, and acting/directing, panelists will share how being multifaceted shapes the way they create, collaborate, and lead.

Event Details:

Siné Institute Industry Conference is an all-day event holding six masterclasses from industry veterans and three free panel talks from Filipinx lens through the eyes of their Filipinx industry members to support film makers on their journey. As part of the Siné Institute Industry Conference, this free panel talk will start the day off at George Brown College’s Waterfront Campus, on March 5th between 9am and 1030am.

Why attend the free panel talk:

• Network in person with fellow film industry professionals, our expert panelists in Cinematography, The Rise Tribe Team and the Siné Institute team

• Engage in conversations regarding our panelists' pathways, insights, experience and ask questions most important to you

• Contribute to the event’s success with your insights and opinions

Also check out our other masterclasses:

https://sineinstitute-internationalmarketingdistribution-businessstream.eventbrite.ca

https://sineinstitute-filmdevelopmentandfinance-businessstream.eventbrite.ca

https://sineinstitute-insuringyourfilm-businessstream.eventbrite.ca

https://sineinstitute-documentaryfilmmaking-creativestream.eventbrite.ca

https://sineinstitute-performanceforlens-creativestream.eventbrite.ca

https://sineinstitute-cinematography-creativestream.eventbrite.ca

Also check out our free panel talks:

https://screencomposersguildofcanada-paneltalk.eventbrite.ca

https://canadiansocietyofcinematographers-paneltalk.eventbrite.ca

https://filipinxcreatives-paneltalk.eventbrite.ca

Discord Community:

For updates, promos, and communications on the day of the conference, please join our Discord. https://discord.gg/jt7nPPMw

ABOUT RISE TRIBE

RISE Tribe is a home base for Filipinx-Canadians to feel at home—in themselves and with each other. It’s a space where people can show up as they are, feel welcomed and supported, and explore identity without pressure or expectation. There’s no single way to be Filipinx here. Based in Toronto, RISE Tribe brings together youth and millennials to build real relationships, share experiences, and stay connected over time.

In 2016, over adobo and sinigang, a group of young Filipinx-Canadian professionals came together to leverage their networks and make it a mission to inspire the next generation of Filipinx-Canadian youth to reconstruct a more positive image that reshapes, reimagines and what it means to be Filipinx in Canada.

@rise_tribe

risetribe.ca

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