One of North America’s most celebrated writers, Joy Kogawa is the award-winning author of three novels, seven collections of poetry, and two books for children. Obasan, which The New York Times called “a tour de force… brilliantly poetic in its sensibility,” continues to be taught across North America, and the opera based on her children’s book Naomi’s Road has toured in Canada and the United States. In 1986, Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2016 she was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia. In 2010, the Japanese government honoured her with the Order of the Rising Sun. Kogawa has worked to educate Canadians about the history of Japanese Canadians and is a long-time activist in the areas of peace and reconciliation. Her childhood home in Vancouver is now the Historic Joy Kogawa House, which frequently hosts writers-in-residence who seek to heal society’s struggles through literary expression. 

Anne Canute is a multiracial, multidisciplinary designer based in the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations. They are in their final year at the University of British Columbia, where they study Cognitive Systems and Asian Canadian and Migration Studies. Their interests lie in digital storytelling, intersecting the arts with technology, and community-driven media. Following East of the Rockies, Anne continues to explore forms of storytelling and recently worked on their first short film, Ricecake, which premiered at the 2019 Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Currently, they are in the process of putting together an art show about mixed identity called Canned Foreign. The exhibit, featuring installation art, experimental video, soundscapes, and drag, will go up at the Hatch Art Gallery in November 2019. Anne hopes to continue work in immersive storytelling and emerging media.

Jam3 is a design and experience agency known for smart, innovative and inspired work. They work closely with their clients to first understand their problems and then solve them in creative ways. From their offices in Toronto, Los Angeles and Montevideo, they team up with forward-thinking brands from around the world.

Their partners include Google, Spotify,Microsoft, Adidas, Facebook, Ford, Sephora, MTV and Disney Pixar. Modesty aside, their diverse work has received global recognition from Cannes to The One Show, and even the Pulitzer Prize. To learn more, visit jam3.com.

A pioneering creative and producer in digital storytelling, Jason Legge is a veteran of both Secret Location and Jam3 whose work includes projects for the LA Philharmonic, PBS Frontline, and the National Film Board of Canada. Among his recent collaborations with the NFB are the highly acclaimed Homestay and Biidaaban: First Light, which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Jason is also the co-creator of East of the Rockies, an augmented-reality experience written by Joy Kogawa and co-produced by Jam3 and the NFB.

Rob McLaughlin is a Canadian producer and journalist most known for his work in digital media. He is currently the Executive Producer and Head of the National Film Board of Canada’s Digital Studio in Vancouver. From 2008 to 2011, he was the Director of Digital Content and Strategy at the NFB, where he led the development of the institution’s digital programming strategy and pioneering interactive documentary work, including Welcome to Pine Point and Bear 71. His most recent credits include the VR projects Homestay and Biidaaban: First Light.

 From 2011 to 2015, he was an editor, publisher and senior executive at Canada’s largest newspaper chain, responsible for leading newsroom staff through a time of radical transformation in the newspaper industry. 

Prior to working at the NFB, Rob was a producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. There he focused on developing new forms of audiovisual content designed to attract new audiences for public broadcasting, including the interactive radio service CBC Radio 3. He also served as the CBC’s director of digital programming, responsible for the creative development of digital platforms in the areas of documentaries, arts and entertainment shows for television and network radio programming. 

A former tree planter and fishing guide from small-town Saskatchewan, Rob now lives in North Vancouver with his wife and the world’s two most brilliant girls, aged 10 and 14.