Mintslate Media’s Job Seekers And The Hidden Emotional Cost Of Seeking Opportunity In A New Country

 Mintslate Media’s Job Seekers And The Hidden Emotional Cost Of Seeking Opportunity In A New Country

For many immigrants, opportunity comes with conditions that are rarely spoken aloud. It asks for gratitude. It demands silence. And often, it requires emotional surrender.

Mintslate Media’s upcoming psychological horror film Job Seekers captures this reality with unsettling precision. Rather than framing immigration as a hopeful journey alone, the film explores the quiet emotional toll of having one’s future hinge on approval within unfamiliar systems.

Founded in February 2025 by filmmaker Seyi Oluwatimilehin, Mintslate Media was created to tell stories that reflect lived experience. Job Seekers, directed by Seyi Oluwatimilehin and Alan Vega, embodies that mission by centring its story on Maya, a young immigrant navigating a job interview that could determine her right to stay.

“One of the reasons I founded Mintslate Media was to tell stories that are real, stories that are relatable, honest, and true to our time and existence,” Seyi Oluwatimilehin says. “Every one of these films carries a piece of my story, from feeling unwanted, to living through and understanding racism, to the quiet horrors of job seeking.”

In Job Seekers, the interview does not function as a neutral exchange. It becomes a space where Maya must manage fear, uncertainty, and vulnerability while presenting herself as grateful and compliant. The private research facility where the interview takes place feels polite on the surface, yet increasingly hostile beneath it.

Mauranda Nunes plays Maya with restraint and emotional precision, allowing the audience to feel the weight of each moment rather than be told what to feel. Across the table sits Dr Wendi, portrayed by Marcel Albers, a figure whose authority is expressed through calm detachment rather than overt cruelty.

“Audiences should expect me to portray my character with the psychotic tendencies that he has. And to display his lack of caring for other people,” Marcel Albers says.

Through their interaction, Job Seekers highlights how immigrants are often expected to endure discomfort quietly. The fear of losing opportunity can make even unreasonable demands feel unavoidable. In these moments, politeness becomes a tool of control, and silence becomes a survival strategy.

“These films are deeply rooted in real experiences,” Seyi explains. “This, to me, is one of the things I feel is lacking in the Canadian film industry, a genuine human connection and a sense of relatability that allows audiences to truly see themselves on screen.”

Mintslate Media’s storytelling approach allows viewers to sit inside Maya’s experience rather than observe it from a safe distance. The camera lingers on pauses, expressions, and moments of internal conflict. There is no rush to resolution. The tension grows slowly, mirroring the way uncertainty builds in real life.

By framing job seeking through the lens of psychological horror, Job Seekers exposes the emotional labour immigrants often perform in pursuit of stability. It asks audiences to consider what is lost when survival requires constant self monitoring and restraint.

As an upcoming release, Job Seekers positions Mintslate Media as a film company committed to telling stories that reflect the emotional realities of migration, work, and belonging. It is a film that gives language to an experience many live through quietly, and in doing so, invites recognition, empathy, and reflection.