This article is part of a seven-part series celebrating Niagara College’s Alumni of Excellence — the highest honour bestowed upon NC alumni. The series features outstanding graduates who were also nominees for the 2025 Ontario Premier’s Awards. John Thimothy (Palliative Care – Multidiscipline, 2012) was recognized in the Cultural and Creative Achievement category.
Award-winning Indo-Canadian filmmaker, Registered Nurse, and social innovator John Thimothy has built a remarkable career at the intersection of health care, cinema, and social justice. Guided by compassion and a deep belief in human potential, he has become a powerful advocate for accessibility, creative expression, and culturally inclusive support systems across Saskatchewan and beyond.
Trained as a nurse in India, Thimothy immigrated to Canada searching for deeper purpose and meaningful ways to help others. He completed a postgraduate certificate in Palliative Care (2011) at NC–an experience he describes as transformative. While his nursing education in India focused on theory and clinical procedure, his Canadian college experience emphasized holistic, person-centred care. That shift, he says, reshaped not only how he approached health care, but how he would later build programming in the arts sector.
“Whether I’m working in clinical settings or community spaces, the empathy I developed at Niagara College continues to guide how I engage with people and support their healing,” said Thimothy.
After earning his Ontario College diploma in 2012, he moved to Saskatchewan to begin his health-care career, starting as a Personal Support Worker and eventually becoming a Registered Nurse. It was during one of his clinical placements that he rekindled a lifelong passion for the arts–an interest that would grow into a visionary platform for emerging filmmakers and underrepresented voices.
Today, Thimothy is the President, CEO, and Founder of the Regina International Film Festival & Awards (RIFFA) Foundation, a federally incorporated charitable arts organization including more than 80 year-round professional volunteers. Under his leadership, RIFFA has become one of Saskatchewan’s largest volunteer-driven arts institutions and home to several groundbreaking initiatives:
- Regina International Film Festival & Awards – the province’s largest and most inclusive film festival, launching emerging filmmakers and storytellers.
- RIFFA Bridge Screen – a cinema-based accessibility program designed for individuals with disabilities.
- RIFFA Virtual Gateway – immersive VR content that supports entertainment, therapeutic rehabilitation, and mobility-related accessibility needs.
- RIFFA Academy – an educational initiative offering skills development and mentorship for underrepresented artists.
- LOOK: A Mental Health Film Initiative – a six-month therapeutic and vocational film program created with the University of Regina and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, supporting youth and individuals with lived mental-health experience by blending clinical care with creative expression.
Thimothy’s filmmaking career has earned international acclaim. His films have screened at more than 38 international festivals, and he served as a jury member for the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards, appointed by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. He has contributed to programming at major festivals such as OUTFEST, the San Diego International Film Festival, and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, where he served as a programming advisor for five years.
Through RIFFA, Thimothy has also embedded his health-care expertise into the arts community. While working at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, he recognized that traditional theatre spaces were often inaccessible for many patients. In response, he introduced a fully accessible auditorium during the 2017 RIFFA Festival, an initiative that has since evolved into ongoing work focused on advancing accessibility within cinema and performance spaces. He continues to work toward future initiatives that aim to set a new standard for global accessibility in the arts.
He also led the creation of a RIFFA-funded virtual-reality therapeutic program at the Centre, equipping staff with VR technology and training to integrate storytelling into rehabilitation care.
One of his most celebrated initiatives is LOOK, which has supported more than 65 youth with mental health challenges, guiding them through an intensive, therapeutic creative process that culminates in the production of their first short film. These films premiere as opening showcases at RIFFA, offering a public platform that honours their voice, growth, and talent. Graduates have gone on to post-secondary film programs, including one at the University of Toronto’s Cinema Studies program. Several now work in screen-based industries.
Thimothy’s leadership and artistic contributions have earned significant recognition, including:
- Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, Government of Saskatchewan (2023)
- Golden Sheaf Awards Nominee, 72nd Yorkton Film Festival (2019)
- CBC Future 40 People’s Choice Award (2016)
- Best Bed-side Nurse, Royal College of Nursing, India
Through visionary leadership rooted in compassion, Thimothy proves how storytelling and care can intersect to transform lives and inspire meaningful impact across communities.
“I am truly humbled and deeply grateful to receive this Alumni of Excellence recognition from Niagara College,” he said. “My journey since studying Palliative Care in 2011 has been guided by a desire to serve, create, and give back, whether through health care or the arts. This honour reminds me that compassion and purpose can shape lives far beyond our own.”
