Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund have announced the 16 projects selected under this year’s $2.2 million Talent to Watch Program.
Of the 16 first feature films and narrative web projects to be made, 13 are from emerging filmmakers who are culturally diverse, with one who self-identifies as gender diverse. Fifty per cent of the selected stories are directed by women.
Telefilm has also upped the feature film project allocation to $150,000, up from $125,000.
“This year’s Talent to Watch program selections provide our emerging filmmakers with some piece of mind at a time of great uncertainty. This funding gives them the opportunity to begin planning and fine-tuning their projects while we wait for some local productions to resume,” said Christa Dickenson, Executive Director, Telefilm Canada, in a release. “From Heather Young’s Murmur, to Jasmin Mozaffari’s Firecrackers, we have seen how the Talent to Watch program works as a career launchpad for filmmakers, while showcasing their stories to audiences around the world.”
Projects selected for 2020-2021:
Alter Boys
Director and Writer: Jonathan Lawrence
Producer: Ryan Cooper
Province/Territory: Manitoba
Partner organization: On Screen Manitoba
Language: English
Bitter Sweat
Director: D.W. Waterson
Writer: Caitlin English
Producer: Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Canadian Film Centre
Language: English
Blokus
Director and Writer: Josiane Blanc
Producer: Ania Jamila
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Le Laboratoire d’art – Le Labo Inc.
Language: French
Compulsus
Director and Writer: Tara Thorne
Producer: Nicole Steeves
Province/Territory: Nova Scotia
Partner organization: Women In Film and Television – Atlantic
Language: English
Doug Find Rose
Director and Writer: Grace Glowicki
Producer: Harry Cepka
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Festival Selection Stream
Language: English
Fred l’handicapé
Director: Emmanuelle Landry
Writer: Frédéric Mallet
Producer: André Roy
Province/Territory: New Brunswick
Partner organization: New Brunswick Filmmakers’ Co-operative
Language: French
Golden Delicious
Director: Jason Karman
Writer: Gorrman Lee
Producer: Kristyn Stilling
Province/Territory: British Columbia
Partner organization: Cineworks Independent Filmmakers Society
Language: English
Jour de merde
Director and Writer: Kevin T. Landry
Producer: Kélyna N. Lauzier
Province/Territory: Quebec
Partner organization: Institut national de l’image et du son
Language: French
Les quintessences
Director, Writer and Producer: Philippe David Gagné
Province/Territory: Quebec
Partner organization: Festival Selection Stream
Language: French
Mariam
Director and Writer: Hamza Bangash
Producer: Anam Abbas
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Festival Selection Stream
Language: English
Mongrels
Director and Writer: Jerome Yoo
Producer: Nach Dudsdeemaytha
Province/Territory: British Columbia
Partner organization: Telus Storyhive
Language: English
Querencia
Director and Writer: Mary Galloway
Producer: Jessie Anthony
Province/Territory: British Columbia
Partner organization:
ACADEMY OF CANADIAN CINEMA AND TELEVISION – CANADIAN ACADEMY DIRECTORS PROGRAM FOR WOMEN
Language: English
The Chinatown Diner
Director and Co-writer: Lawrence Le Lam
Co-writer: Tesh Guttikonda
Producer: Thomas Affolter
Province/Territory: British Columbia
Partner organization: Crazy8s Film Society
Language: English
The Good Guise
Director and Writer: Chrisann Hessing
Producer: Tanya Hoshi
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Festival Selection Stream
Language: English
The Green Waterways
Director and Writer: Kennlin Barlow
Producer: Corrina Merasty
Province/Territory: New Brunswick
Partner organization: New Brunswick Filmmakers Co-operative
Language: English
When Morning Comes
Director and Writer: Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
Producer: Tamar Bird
Province/Territory: Ontario
Partner organization: Festival Selection Stream
Language: English
Lending their expertise a part of this year’s selection committee were: Sharon Lewis (director – Brown Girl Begins), Yonah Lewis (co-director – White Lie), Lori Lozinski (producer – The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open), Allison White (Talent to Watch alumna, producer – Cast No Shadow), and Heather Young (Talent to Watch alumna, director – Murmur), while the external jury for the Indigenous selections has asked to remain anonymous. This year, French-language projects were evaluated by an internal jury at Telefilm due to limitations caused by COVID-19.
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