Nine documentaries are set to receive funding via Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch program. The docs represent half of this year’s slate of 18 features supported through the program to bolster emerging talent. The full list of films will receive a total of $3.6 million in production support through Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund. Doc projects represent six of the provinces and territories: Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Quebec.
“Films from the Talent to Watch Program consistently shine a spotlight on emerging talent spread across the country,” said Julie Roy, Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada, in a statement. “The opportunity we give to propel their careers as filmmakers and establish themselves amongst our nation’s vibrant film community is one we take pride in. This year’s selections present a dynamic range of cinematic gems, and we cannot wait to see the final product.”
This year’s slate draws from 126 applications through the English and French markets and the Indigenous stream. Projects were selected by a panel of internal and external assessors with an eye for creating “a balanced portfolio of productions that reflect a variety of genres, budgets and company sizes, regions of the country and points of view.” Audiences can also expect to see a wider range of experiences reflected in these stories as the projects expand linguistic representation with films told Spanish, Farsi, Wayuunaiki, Hungarian, Vietnamese, Kinyarwanda, Arabic, Punjabi, and Nehīyaw (Plains Cree) in addition to English and French.
The list of 2023 Talent to Watch projects is as follows:
A Cree Approach (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Tristin Greyeyes
Producers: Kaitlyn Redcrow and Tristin Greyeyes
Province: British Columbia
Languages: English and Nehīyaw (Plains Cree)
Stream: Indigenous Stream
Partner organization: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Autonomy & Dignity (Working Title) (Documentary)
Directors: Daniel Ennett and Frederick Kroetsch
Screenwriter: Daniel Ennett
Producer: Rebecca Campbell
Province: Alberta
Language: English
Stream: Industry Partner
Partner organization: Directors Guild of Canada
Blue Heron (Drama)
Director/screenwriter: Sophy Romvari
Producers: Ryan Bobkin and Sara Wylie
Executive Producer: Riel Roch Decter
Province: British Columbia
Languages: English and Hungarian
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Con Nhang I Enfants d’encens (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Eva-Loan Ponton-Pham
Producer: Marie-Michèle Cyr
Province: Québec
Languages: French and Vietnamese
Stream: Industry Partner
Partner organization: Hot Docs
El Padrote (Drama)
Director/screenwriter: Andrés Estrada
Producer: Irène Bessone
Province: Québec
Language: Spanish
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Foreigner (Horror)
Director/screenwriter: Ava Maria Safai
Producer: Nicco Graham
Province: British Columbia
Languages: English and Farsi
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Her Last Supper (Drama)
Director/screenwriter: Becca Willow Moss
Producers: Becca Willow Moss and Stephanie Chiasson
Province: Ontario
Languages: English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Invisibles (Drama)
Director/screenwriter: Junna Chif
Producers: Leslie Dabit and Pierre Villepelet
Executive Producers: Laurent Allaire, Yanick Létourneau and Junna Chif
Province: Québec
Language: French
Stream: Industry Partner
Partner organization: Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema – Concordia University
Joan’s Kitchen Table: Stirring the Revolution (Documentary)
Director: Olesya Shyvikova
Screenwriter: Louise Delisle
Producer: Karim Kafafy
Executive Producer: Walter Borden
Province: Nova Scotia
Language: English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
KUBANA (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Alunaya
Producer: Will Prosper
Province: Québec
Languages: English, French and Kinyarwanda
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Last Stop Video Rentals (Comedy)
Director/screenwriter: Eric Janvier
Producer: Megan Shott
Province: Alberta
Language: English
Stream: Indigenous Stream
Mute Out Sound (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Kenza Derkaoui
Producer: Stefan Supplice
Province: Ontario
Languages: French, English, and Arabic (Darija)
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Séga : la musique de l’océan Indien (Working Title) (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Vincent Toi
Producer: Guillaume Collin
Province: Québec
Language: French
Stream: Industry Partner
Partner organization: Main Film
Strong Son (Drama)
Director/screenwriter: Ian Bawa
Producers: Ian Bawa and Markus Henkel
Executive Producer: Kyle Bornais
Province: Manitoba
Languages: English and Punjabi
Stream: Industry Partner
Partner organization: TIFF, Winnipeg Film Group, and OnScreen Manitoba
The Snake (Dark Comedy)
Director: Jenna MacMillan
Screenwriter: Susan Kent
Producers: Sharlene Kelly
Province: Prince Edward Island
Language: English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
The Wind’s Thirst (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter/producer: Alejandro Valbuena
Province: Ontario
Languages: Wayuunaiki, Spanish, and English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Women of No Nation (Documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Diana Saqeb Jamal
Producer: Caroline Cox
Province/Territory: Northwest Territories and Alberta
Languages: Farsi and English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
Yo, We’re Dying… (Comedy)
Directors: Keisha Phoenixx-McLeggon and Jay Carolyn Wu
Screenwriter: Keisha Phoenixx-McLeggon
Producer: Fonna Seidu
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Stream: Filmmaker Apply-Direct
