My feature screenplay “Through the Eyes of an Ibis” won the Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize at the 2025 Writers Guild of Canada Awards. It’s a huge honour to have my work selected as the best original unproduced script in the country, named after one of the most vocal champions of Canadian independent film.

I never met Mr. Burt but from all accounts from the people I’ve spoken to about him, he believed strongly supporting our national voice. He worked at the CBC and saw the “production of some 75 long-form dramas, including Big Bear, The Boys of St. Vincent, Little Criminals, and Million Dollar Babies.” (WGC site). I am humbled to have been picked as this year’s recipient.

The story follows a woman who seems to be travelling through time, but when she realizes her dementia is giving her these delusions she resolves to set everything right in her life before she has no time left.

The film is a very personal one, adapted from my own short story, which itself was inspired by my mother Suraiya Lutchmedial’s  journey with Parkinson’s dementia. For more information on the film please visit the development page for Green Dragon Productions. Photo credit: Lu Chau / Photagonist.ca

Here’s a sample of what I can do.

Faisal Lutchmedial Editing Demo from Faisal Lutchmedial on Vimeo.

Three short clips from documentary projects I’ve edited.

1) Burgundy Jazz “Vice”. Part of the award winning interactive web series for Radio-Canada, produced by Catbird Productions. This clip has some fun motion graphics integrated with the interviews, putting live video “inside” the newspaper archives.

Winner – Digi Awards
Winner – Prix Boomerang
Winner – Prix Numix
Nominee – Canadian Screen Awards
Nominee – Prix Gémeaux
Nominee – Rockie Awards (Banff World Media Festival)
Nominee – Interactive Design Awards
Nominee – Webby Awards

2) Boogeymen “Lagarfljótsormurinn”. 1 hr doc series about tourist destinations where “monsters” reside. Aired on Evasion, a travel network in Quebec. I edited 5 episodes of this show, and assisted on a number of others.

3) Burgundy Jazz “Trains & Porters”. Another clip from this series about the history of Jazz culture in the Little Burgundy neighbourhood of Montreal.

A little late of a posting, but thought I’d throw something up here since we’re still very excited about the web-interactive project’s success. Pictured below is Tamara Scherbak (assistant editor) and I (DP, editor) at the ceremony which was super fun, especially as they were serving champagne (well, sparkling wine) on stage when a team won an award. Congrats to the whole team of people who made this project happen from Catbird Productions.