Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund are backing 17 film teams behind first features highlighting the country’s diverse storytelling communities including one with Guy Maddin on board as executive producer.
Maddin, whose Cannes entry Rumours is being positioned in the awards conversation, is on board the English-language dramedy Hue & Cry from director Maziyar Khatam. No further details were available at time of writing.
Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund have committed C$3.45m (approximately USD $2.5m) after receiving a “high volume” of projects for the fiscal year 2024-2025 representing nearly C$35m (approximately USD $26m) in funding requests, based on recommendations from an advisory committee of external and internal representatives.
Funds are invested in Telefilm Canada’s Talen To Watch career accelerator programme, which Julie Roy, executive director and CEO of Telefilm Canada, said “continues to be a driving force for discovering the remarkable talent that thrives within our country”.
Zarrar Kahn, whose 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight entry In Flames won the Canadian Screen Award for best first feature and the Red Sea Film Festival’s best first feature award, said anchor financing from the Talent Fund was “absolutely transformational”.
Kahn added, “The fund recognises the challenges faced by early-stage creators, and empowers them to take risks on projects that might otherwise never see the light of day.”
The projects selected under the streams of the Talent to Watch programme are:
Indigenous Stream
All key members of the creative team must be Indigenous.
Houseboat (sci-fi, fantasy)
Dir/wrtr: Jerry Wolf
Pdr: Adeline Bird
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Industry Partner Stream
Projects recommended by a designated industry partner.
Danse Laurence! (documentary)
Dir/wtr: Laura Marroquin-Éthier
Pdr: Francesca Rubartelli Barcenas
Province: Quebec
Language: French
Partner organisation: National Institute of Image and Sound (INIS)
EXP (drama)
Dir: Ted Sakowsky
Wtr: Ed Sakowsky
Prds: Momo Daud and Katarzyna Anielak
EPs: Joseph Sindaha
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Partner organisation: York University
Meat (sci-fi, fantasy)
Dir: Ryan Steel
Wtrs: Ryan Steel and Sean Henderson
Producer: Sean Maheux Galway
Province: Manitoba
Language: English
Partner organization: Winnipeg Film Group
Festival Selection Stream
For emerging filmmakers who have directed a short film that was selected at a recognized film festival.
Hair Or No Hair (drama)
Dir/wtr: Janessa St. Pierre
Prdr: Mariam Barry
Province: British Columbia
Language: English
Hue & Cry (drama-comedy)
Dir/wtr: Maziyar Khatam
Prds: Tyler Mason and Anya Chirkova
EP: Guy Maddin
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Filmmaker Apply-Direct Stream
All key members of the creative team must be Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, women, gender-diverse individuals, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, persons with disabilities; and/or members of an Official Language Minority Community.
Alice (documentary)
Dir/wtr: Mélissa Savoie-Soulières
Pdr: Sophie Gagnon-Bergeron
Province: Quebec
Language: French
Cette Terre m’appellera Maître (documentary)
Dir/wtr/pdr: Katia Café-Fébrissy
EP: Alexandrine Torres de Figueiredo
Province: Ontario
Language: French and Creole
Civilian (documentary)
Dir/pdr: Raya Hamdan
Wtrs: Mazin Almusharaf and Raya Hamdan
Province: Ontario
Language: English and Sudanese Arabic
External Neighbours (sci-fi, fantasy)
Dir/wtr: Anna Maguire
Pdrs: Erin Carter and Anna Maguire
EPs: Anaëlle Béglet, Jeanne-Marie Poulain - Art et essai
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Fios da Terra (documentary)
Dir/wtr: Kayla Fragman
Pdr: Amélie Tremblay
EP Dominique Dussault
Province: Quebec
Language: Portuguese (Azorean dialect), French and English
Homewrecker (drama)
Dir: Simon Paluck
Wtr: Caleb Harwood
Pdr: Graeme D. Blyth
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Les Priants (documentary)
Director and screenwriter: Martine Gignac
Producer: Evelyne Lafleur Guy
Province: Quebec
Language: French
MARCHEUSES (documentary)
Dir/wtr: Carlos Cortés
Pdrs: Hippolyte de Chanlaire and Nathalie Guérard
Province: Quebec
Language: French, English and Algonquin
Puddy Tat (drama)
Dir/wtr: Kaytlyn Turner
Pdrs: Kyla Ferrier and Kevin Dong
Province: Alberta
Language: English
Requiem For A Sad Girl (thriller)
Dir/wtr: Maude Michaud
Pdrs: Jen Viens and Maude Michaud
EP: Philip Kalin-Hadju
Province: Quebec
Language: English
Uninvited (documentary)
Dir/wtr:: Rose Katché
Pdr: Mérédith Gonzalez-Bayard
Province: Quebec
Language: French and English.
No comments yet