Gabriela Osio Vanden (BFA ’16) and Jack Weisman (BFA ’15) arrived at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as fellow alumni and longtime collaborators, ready to premiere their feature documentary Nuisance Bear.
They left not only with the Grand Jury Prize but also as newlyweds.
Both graduates of York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), Osio Vanden and Weisman met as students in the Cinema & Media Arts - Film Production program, where their creative partnership first began.
From AMPD sets to Sundance
After graduating from York, Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman began building careers that quickly grew beyond the classroom to international festival circuits.
As directors, cinematographers and producers, both have established distinct creative voices while continuing to collaborate across projects. Their work has premiered at leading festivals including Sundance, SXSW, TIFF and IDFA, earning industry recognition and critical acclaim.
As directors, cinematographers and producers, both have established distinct creative voices while continuing to collaborate across projects. Their work has premiered at leading festivals including Sundance, SXSW, TIFF and IDFA, earning industry recognition and critical acclaim.
That momentum culminated in Nuisance Bear, first released as a short film in 2021.
Set in Churchill, Manitoba, the film offers a powerful study of polar bears navigating a landscape shaped by tourism, wildlife officers and human intervention.
The short received an honorable mention for Best Canadian Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Short Documentary at the Canadian Screen Awards and was shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards.
Building on that success, Osio Vanden and Weisman expanded the project into a feature length film. The 90-minute documentary premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize, marking a defining moment in their creative journey.
A milestone moment at Sundance
In the middle of Main Street in Park City, in front of the Egyptian Theatre, Weisman proposed to Osio Vanden as festival goers looked on.
The moment was spontaneous yet rooted in years of shared work and friendship within their creative circle. Executive producer Alex Pritz, an old friend of Weisman’s who happened to be ordained, offered to officiate their wedding. The two took him up on that offer and had a spontaneous wedding in the midst of the festival. The ceremony took place inside the Egyptian Theatre.
Reflecting on their journey together, they wrote:
“We’ve allowed each other the space to fail and not give up on one another. I think from our time at York this trust grew into something special.”
Reflecting on their time at AMPD
Looking back on their time at AMPD, both filmmakers reflect on the relationships and creative environment that shaped their growth.
“What stands out most for me is the relationships,” says Osio Vanden. “We made many close friends that we continue to work with to this day. It’s important to work with collaborators you trust and believe in your work and those relationships can take years to develop. It gets harder to make those bonds as you grow older. York was like this primordial soup where many of those initial connections began.”
Weisman recalls the program as a space that encouraged experimentation and risk taking.
“What stands out for me from York was the attention and support that we received as students,” he says. “Our program created a safe space to experiment and develop our voices as filmmakers. It’s wonderful to see the alumni of this program starting to spread their wings in a big way.”
A partnership that continues
From student collaborators to married, award-winning filmmakers, Osio Vanden and Weisman’s journey reflects the lasting impact of creative communities built at AMPD.
We extend our congratulations to Gabriela and Jack on an unforgettable week at Sundance and wish them continued success in both their creative and personal endeavours.
To learn more about Nuisance Bear, visit sundance.org.
Explore Gabriela Osio Vanden’s work at gabrielaosio.com.
Explore Jack Weisman’s work at jackweisman.com.