21 feature documentaries will receive funding from Telefilm Canada. The docs receive a total commitment of $4.9 million, as per a release from the public funding body. Telefilm reportedly received a whopping 31.5% increase in applications for this round of the Theatrical Documentary Program with 122 projects assessed between the French and English markets.
Selected projects offer coast-to-coast representation with docs by veterans and newcomers alike. Among the projects tapped for funding is Ali Weinstein’s Your Tomorrow, which was just announced as one of the Canadian feature docs selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. The doc tells about the fight to save Ontario Place, and public space more broadly, amid Doug Ford’s ongoing assault against the livability of Toronto.
Also tapped for funding is Marie-Julie Dallaire’s hotly anticipated Jean-Marc Vallée documentary Cut Print Thank You Bye, which looks back at the career and influence of the director behind C.R.A.Z.Y., Wild, and Big Little Lies and a talent lost too soon.
Titles from doc veterans include Feedback: Music for the Climate Emergency by Nicholas de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal, who tackle an environmental tale after their eco trilogy that wrapped with Anthropocene. Meanwhile, Su Rynard will helm Seeing Green for HitPlay productions, while Michelle Mama is set to direct Antidiva about Rough Trade rocker Carole Pope, and Mila Aung-Thwin will direct In Praise of Invasive Species for EyeSteelFilm.
On the West Coast, the Satan Wants You duo of Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams will direct The Island and David Ehrenreich will helm Relax, Open Your Eyes and Jen Muranetz will step behind the camera for Fairy Creek.
The funding list also boasts several titles from up-and-comers, including but not limited to, Kenya Jade-Pinto’s The Sandbox, Joële Walinga’s From Solitude, and Victoria Lean’s The Acid Rain Movie.
Docs receiving funding in this round of the Theatrical Documentary Program are:
Atlantic
Chasing Light
Director and Screenwriter: Latonia Hartery
Production: LJH Films Inc.
Province: Newfoundland / Labrador
Language: English
Quebec
Back Home
Director and Screenwriter: Marianne Métivier
Production: Metafilms Inc.
Distributor: Studio h264 Inc.
Province: Quebec
Languages: Tagalog, IIocano, Ilonggo and Bicolano
Cut Print Thank You Bye
Director and Screenwriter: Marie-Julie Dallaire
Production: Item 7 Inc.
Distributor: Immina Films
Province: Quebec
Languages: French and English
Esprits rebelles
Director and Screenwriter: Marlene Edoyan
Production: Fauve Film inc.
Distributor: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec
Languages: Armenian and Georgian
In Praise of Invasive Species
Director: Mila Aung-Thwin
Screenwriters: Mila Aung-Thwin and Samantha Neboschizkij
Production: EyeSteelFilm Inc.
Distributor: EyeSteelFilm Distribution Inc.
Province: Quebec
Languages: English, Spanish, Afrikaans and Swahili
La méthode scandinave
Director and Screenwriter: Anik Salas
Production: 9097-4767 Quebec Inc.
Distributor: Les Films du 3 Mars
Province: Quebec
Languages: French, English, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish
La vie extraordinaire de Robert Charlebois
Director and Screenwriter: Louis-Philippe Héneault
Production: Les Films La Tribu Inc.
Distributor: Distribution La Tribu Inc.
Province: Quebec
Language: French
Le dernier acte
Director and Screenwriter: Sophie Deraspe
Production: Corporation ACPAV Inc.
Distributor: Maison 4:3 Inc.
Province: Quebec
Language: French
The Prophet of Ecstasy
Directors: Elias Varoutsos and Karen Cho
Screenwriters: Karen Cho, Lori Braun and Charles Beaudette
Production: 9337-7190 Quebec Inc.
Distributor: Raven Banner Distribution
Province: Quebec
Language: English
Ontario
Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions
Director and Screenwriter: Michelle Mama
Production: Anti-Diva Inc.
Distributor: Motion 58 Entertainment
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Captain Newfoundland: The Geoff Stirling Story
Directors: Mike Feehan and Jamie Miller
Screenwriter: Jono Hunter
Production: 86 Media House Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Feedback: Music for the Climate Emergency
Directors: Nicholas de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal
Screenwriter: Jennifer Baichwal
Production: Mercury Films Inc. and Carousel Pictures Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Ontario
Language: English
From Solitary
Director and Screenwriter: Joële Walinga
Production: Soft Studio Productions Inc., Arbitrage Pictures Inc. and Isserley Films Inc.
Distributor: Game Theory Films
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Seeing Green
Director and Screenwriter: Su Rynard
Production: HitPlay Productions Inc.
Distributor: Game Theory Films
Province: Ontario
Languages: English and Spanish
The Acid Rain Movie (working title)
Director: Victoria Lean
Screenwriters: Sean Devlin and Victoria Lean
Production: Muse Entertainment (Ontario) Inc. and 2429014 Ontario Inc.
Distributor: Mongrel Media
Province: Ontario
Language: English
The End of the Internet
Director and Screenwriter: Dylan Reibling
Production: Dylan Reibling Productions Inc.
Province: Ontario
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
The Sandbox
Director and Screenwriter: Jade-Kenya Pinto
Production: 1000543880 Ontario Inc.
Distributor: EyeSteelFilm Distribution Inc.
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Your Tomorrow
Director and Screenwriter: Ali Weinstein
Production: OP8 Productions Inc. and Big Cedar Films Inc.
Distributor: Blue Ice Docs Inc.
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Western Region
Fairy Creek
Director and Screenwriter: Jen Muranetz
Production: Understory Films Inc.
Distributor: Cinema Politica
Province: British Columbia
Language: English
Relax, Open Your Eyes
Director and Screenwriter: David Ehrenreich
Production: Grand Scheme Productions Inc.
Distributor: Game Theory Films
Province: British Columbia
Language: English
The Island
Directors: Steve Adams and Sean Horlor
Screenwriter: Jennifer Baynham
Production: Studio BRB Productions Inc.
Province: British Columbia
Language: English
