TIFF 2021 Rising Stars – The New Generation

The Toronto International Film Festival has revealed their TIFF 2021 Rising Stars.

TIFF 2021 Rising Stars highlight Canadian and international actors as the next generation. Furthermore they are then given professional development with international casting directors, filmmakers, producers and industry executives.

The 2021 roster will be lead actors in the Official Selection feature films at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Let’s meet the actors:

Arooj Azeem

Making her onscreen debut at TIFF 2021, Arooj is a Canadian born actor new to the scene. She stars as Sheila in Haya Waseem’s Quickening, which makes its World Premiere at the prestigious Film Festival this year.

Emma Ferreira

Dominican/Canadian actor and artist Emma Ferreira trained at York University’s Acting Conservatory. She played Juliet in Measure for Measure, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing at Canadian Stage’s Shakespeare in High Park (Dream In High Park). She’s making her feature film debut in Learn To Swim.

Phillip Lewitski

Born in Canada, Phillip has French, Ukrainian and Mohawk ancestry and strives to learn and explore his cultural roots. He starred in Hulu’s Utopia Falls and has had guest appearances in Supernatural and Vikings.

Jaden Michael

Jaden will play young Colin Kaepernick in Ava DuVernay’s Colin in Black and White. The Netflix series will premiere at TIFF 2021. He also starred in Netflix feature Vampires vs. the Bronx. Jaden also appeared in The Get Down, indie film Custody alongside Viola Davis and Ellen Burstyn as well as Amazon’s Wonderstruck.

Amber Midthunder

Native New Mexican actor Amber Midthunder is perhaps best known for her role in FX/Marvel show Legion where she played Kerry Loudermilk. You can currently see her on the CW’s Roswell, New Mexico where she plays Rosalie. Amber is an enrolled member in the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe and a huge supporter of her community. Her philanthropic efforts speak to representation in the industry, environmentalism, and the humane treatment of animals.

Thomas Antony Olajide

Screen and stage actor Thomas Antony Olajide is from Vancouver, BC. He starred in Thyrone Tommy’s short film Mariner and appeared in the French-language Québécois television series Les Nomades II, for which he was nominated for Best Actor at the 2020 Prix Gémeaux. He appears in Tommy’s latest film, Learn To Swim, which will have its world premiere at TIFF 2021.

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi made his big-screen debut in The Jonah Lomu Story while still in school. Now He will appear as the lead of Tom Hern and Halaifonua Finau’s The Panthers, premiering at TIFF 2021. The series follows a group of young protesters in New Zealand who, inspired by the Black Panthers in the US, form the Polynesian Panther Party to fight racial injustice levelled against them.

Being half Samoan and half Tongan himself, he connected with the history and themes surrounding the series on a personal level. And brings not only a commanding charisma but also an authenticity to his standout performance. He will next be seen as the lead of Damon Fepulea’i’s DOX, which shoots this year. He’s represented by Stride Management and Red Rocket Actors.

Karam Taher

Born in 2004 in Jordan born, Karam is making her film debut this TIFF. She plays the titular role in Darin J. Sallam’s Farha, which will have its world premiere at TIFF 2021. Taher underwent intense acting training for several months with the film’s director, leading her to transform into and embody the character in this period piece.

The Toronto International Film Festival will take place later this week from 9-18 September.