Luisa Alvarez Restrepo

Luisa is a Colombian-Canadian award-winning creative and Film and TV executive with a focus on diversity. She is the Director on Inclusion & Community Development at ACTRA Toronto. Recently she launched the Permit Access Fund, an innovative fund intended to help reduce barriers and create a pathway for performers from underrepresented communities to work towards gaining access and full membership into the union.

Previously she was at WarnerMedia (now Warner Brothers Discovery) where she led all film festival initiatives and launched Access Festivals, a first-of-its-kind international program that provides
underrepresented filmmakers robust access to film festivals; it launched at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival and expanded to the US at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. At Warner she worked closely with partners across Canada to support, expand, and create programs with festivals that showcase and nurture Canadian talent. Prior to WarnerMedia, Luisa was at TIFF where she helped to execute one of the world’s biggest film festivals, curated events for Hollywood’s biggest stars, and created cultural programming for major brands. There she launched the Amplify Voices Award in 2020, which highlights excellence in filmmaking by Canadian and international BIPOC filmmakers.

As a creative, Luisa’s short film Forbidden Tikka Masala won several awards internationally, was shown across Canada as part of TIFF’s Film Circuit and Reel Comfort programs, and was licensed by TIFF, Omeleto, CBC, and Air Canada. Luisa also acted in Lina Rodriguez's film SO MUCH TENDERNESS, which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Most recently, her script SITUATIONSHIP was selected to the pitch competition at the 2023 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and won the script competition at the 2024 Athena Film Festival.

Luisa was the recipient of WIFT Toronto’s Meridian Artists Agency Mentorship in 2020. She has been part of the programming teams at TIFF, HAAPIFest, and CGood TV where she advocated for greater diversity in storytelling. Luisa has been a juror on Canadian film funds, Industry Awards, and major film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Philadelphia International Film Festival, and the CMPA’s Indiescreen Awards. She is part of NASA’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access practitioner’s database.