About

Isak Vaillancourt is an award-winning director, multidisciplinary artist, and communications professional of Somali-French ancestry, whose practice spans photography, filmmaking, and arts-based programming.

As a creative, he relies on bold, dynamic imagery to explore the entanglement of identity and aesthetics through a lens of Black healing and decolonization. Through the unapologetic use of creativity*, he recognizes that we can construct our own liberation through cultural creation. Isak’s documentary films have been officially selected and showcased in regional, national, and international festivals.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours, Cum Laude) in Communication Studies from Laurentian University and completed his Master of Arts in Media Production at Toronto Metropolitan University. His graduate research focused on Black-Indigenous relations, advanced media production, immersive technologies, and visual culture within a social justice framework.

Isak is the proud recipient of multiple awards, including the Ontario Arts Council New Works Grant, OUTtv Award in Media Production, Aditya Jha Graduate Award in Media Production, Black Graduate Student Scholarship, and the Ryerson Graduate Fellowship.

In addition to his creative practice, Isak is a seasoned communications professional with expertise in strategic messaging, stakeholder engagement, project management, and content strategy and development. He has a particular focus on supporting First Nations advocacy efforts and works to elevate Black communities.

Isak is also a Co-Founder and Director of Black Lives Matter - Sudbury, a non-profit organization dedicated to dismantling systemic racism and advancing cultural production in Northern Ontario.

To contact him for project inquiries, collaboration opportunities, or booking information, reach out here!

*Bell, D. (1995). Who's afraid of critical race theory? University of Illinois Law Review. , 4, 893–910.