Film Forum

Saja Kilani is a Palestinian/Jordanian/Canadian actress and spoken word poet. She holds degrees in International Relations and Theatre from the University of Toronto, and a degree in Film/TV from the Toronto Film School (TFS), where she received the Best Female Performance Award at the TFS Film Festival. Her first feature film performance, SIMSIM, earned her the Best First Time Lead Actress Award at the Amman International Film Festival in 2025. A recipient of the Canadian Arab Institute’s 30 Under 30 Award, Saja is passionate about storytelling and bringing underrepresented voices to the screen.

Tomris Laffly is a freelance film critic and entertainment journalist based in New York, with bylines across Variety, RogerEbert.com, Vanity Fair, Elle, TIME, The New York Times, and others. A member of the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), Tomris covers various prominent film festivals around the world, and moderates awards season panels and opening-weekend Q&As. Previously, she has served as part of several Gotham Awards nominating committees, as well as a jury member at film festivals like SXSW, Florida, Montclair, and Hamptons. Prior to her journalism career, Tomris spent a decade in marketing and advertising production after earning her MBA.

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