Subtext is an online journal that showcases the select writing of Dawson students in the field of film and media. This wide-ranging journal features exemplary essays, articles, interviews, and video essays written by students.
Our team
Justine T. McLellan – Faculty Advisor
Justine T. McLellan has been teaching at Dawson since 2020. She has taught Media and Society, Cinema Styles, Video Basics, Communications Theory, Scripting for Media, Writing Lab, Film and Culture, Explorations and Media Lab. She has a DEC in Cinema and Communications from Dawson, an undergraduate degree in Cultural Studies from McGill, a Master’s degree in Film Studies and a certificate in post-secondary education from the University of Montreal. She wrote her master’s thesis on the representation of BDSM in film between 2000 and 2015, and produced the third season of the podcast on the history of sex work and sex workers, The Oldest Profession. Her writing has been featured in Offscreen Journal and the anthology I Confess: Constructing the Sexual Self in the Digital Age.
Magdalena Olszanowski – Faculty Advisor
Magdalena Olszanowski has been teaching at Dawson since 2019. She has taught a range of writing, theory, and production courses. She received a PhD in Communication Studies from Concordia University, with her dissertation girl.is.a.four.letter.word: The Collective Practices of Amateur Self-Imag(in)ing and Personal Website Production 1996 to 2001. Her MA (York University) thesis was microfemininewarfare, a database documentary about women electronic dance musicians. Her bylines and work has appeared in esse, Feminist Media Studies, Visual Communication Quarterly, n+1, nomorepotlucks, SXSW, Elle Canada, among others. She was recently named CBC’s Featured Columnist for 2022. She was born in Warsaw, Poland and now lives in Villeray.
Kayliya Phongsavath Sananikone – Video Essay Editor
Kayliya is a Dawson student who has always been interested in film and artistic media. Her love of art media has sprouted an interest in film. She enjoys talking about the things she loves in long personal essays, with a primary focus on character and scene analysis. Kayliya hopes to see and help other people talk about films and media the same way.
Alina Sudarikova – Editor
Alina Sudarikova graduated from Dawson College where she indulged herself in her studies of Cinema | Communications. She enjoys sharing her love for new stories when it comes to books and movie scripts as well as animated series! She hopes to one day become a movie director. Alina works as an editor for Subtext, sharing her love for writing along with it.
Past Collaborators
Philippe Beauchemin – Co-Administrator, Editor
Philippe graduated from the Interactive Media Arts program with a certificate in Women & Gender studies and a certificate in Peace studies, and was awarded the Paul Gallagher Award at graduation. He worked as a Paratech at the Cinema | Communications program, and was involved in the Dawson Student Union. Philippe loves expressing themselves through their art and writing, and they believe that media is a powerful tool for change.
Élise Léger – Co-Administrator, Editor
Élise Léger graduated from the Social Sciences program in Fall 2024. She is pursuing her endeavours, like learning Korean, which she can read at kindergarten level! She would love to become a librarian one day, if McGill will take her. Élise believes that Subtext can showcase students’ authenticity and talent in the era of Chat GPT.
Tamara Galinato – Promotion Coordinator
Tamara Galinato is a graduate from Dawson College’s Psychology program. She currently studies Journalism at Concordia University. In her spare time, she likes to read, journal, and scroll on Pinterest. Moreover, she is always on the lookout for a new brunch spot. Before graduating from Dawson, she was the Curiosities Editor at The Plant, filling the last pages of each issue with crosswords and horoscopes.
Clarisse Boutin is the founder and former Editor-in-Chief of Subtext. She graduated from Dawson College in Cinema and Communications in 2023 with a certificate in Women & Gender studies where she also founded the Dawson Film Club and wrote for the school’s Academic Humanities Blog. In 2023, her work was nominated at the Dawson Film Festival’s Experimental, Documentary and Fiction categories. Her short 16mm film titled Places We Won’t Walk won the prize for Best Cinematography and the IA Award as part of Dawson College’s ALC festival. She is currently pursuing her passion for editing and visual storytelling at Concordia University in Film Production where she directed and edited the documentary Bleu & Blanc.
Angélique Babineau a former Editor-in-Chief of Subtext. She graduated from Dawson College’s Cinema and Communications program in the Fall of 2023 with a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. During her time at Dawson, Angélique was involved in the student-run publication, The Plant, where she successively assumed the roles of Voices Editor and Managing Editor. In the Winter of 2023, her work was nominated in the Experimental category at the Dawson Film Festival and her film Beauté fragile won the AI award in her class as part of the ALC festival. Her work was also featured in the Winter 2023 edition of the Dawson English Journal. She is currently completing a double major in Journalism and Political Science with a minor in Arabic Language and Culture at Concordia University to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming a foreign correspondent. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Concordia Business Review, a student-run magazine featuring articles addressing business development.
Sofia Timotheatos was part of the founding committee of Subtext as a copy editor and fact checker. She graduated from Dawson College in Cinema and Communications. She is in the process of continuing her studies at Toronto Metropolitan University’s The Creative School in Media Production. Sofia is interested in film and voice acting, producing and the film industry.
Asmaa Boudjaadar was part of Subtext’s founding committee as copy editor and social media manager. She graduated from Dawson College in Social Sciences and is now studying at the Université de Montréal’s faculty of law. After graduating, she wishes to work in entertainment or intellectual property law. She also wishes to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a writer and film director.
Saima Mazumder was part of Subtext’s founding committee as a member of the marketing team. She graduated from Dawson College in Cinema | Communications and is now attending Concordia University in Journalism. She dreams of working in broadcasting journalism. Saima was also the Digital Managing Editor for The Plant, a Dawson student-led publication.
Ana Camila Torchia was part of Subtext’s founding committee as the graphic illustrator and logo designer. She also designed the portraits for the “About” page. Ana is currently studying 3D Animation and Computer Generated Imagery at Dawson College. Ana is interested in the animation and film industry, illustration, and the arts.
SUBTEXT JOURNAL 