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Maissa Houri (she/her) is an Arab-Canadian award-winning independent filmmaker and ACTRA actor based out of Ottawa, Canada. Maissa attended Montreal’s Vanier College Theatre and Film Program and is a current graduate from Algonquin College’s Social Media Certificate Program. She is passionate about telling stories from the perspective of being an Arab-Canadian. Maissa is the Director of Equity Initiatives for the Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival and is committed to fostering inclusivity and growth within the local filmmaking community. In a few short years, Maissa released an award-winning web series, short films and has been actively producing, writing, directing, and acting. Out of thousands of candidates, Maissa was chosen to be part of Netflix-Banff’s Diversity of Voices Initiative for the Banff World Media Festival in 2023 and was recently voted as ACTRA Ottawa’s Woman of the Year 2024. Currently, Maissa is in pre-development for her new television comedy series THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE with GAPC Entertainment and Vérité Films which received CMF funding; and her new webseries Touch. When she’s not on set, you can find her at home reading smutty romance novels or spending time with her husband and two young daughters.

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As the Director of Equity Initiatives at the Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival, my role involves orchestrating strategies to amplify opportunities for underrepresented voices. Over the past five years, our organization has excelled in hosting impactful events such as Women’s Day programming, French youth, and French BIPOC talents, as well as others.

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