New award at TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled a new prize, and will present the CFTPA Producer’s Award at next month’s festival. The prize is meant to recognize ‘entrepreneurship and bold vision’ among feature producers in Canada, and comes with a cash prize of $10,000.

Producer David Hamilton (Water, Bollywood/Hollywood) will chair the jury that also includes Movie Central exec Shelley Gillen and producer Pierre Even (C.R.A.Z.Y.).

CBC helping women

The Toronto branch of WIFT is calling for applications to the CBC Canadian Reflections Award, which will give an emerging female filmmaker the chance to develop a project showcasing the diversity of Canada, with creative support from the Ceeb. The winner will receive $7,500 in cash to cover production costs for a program up to 30 minutes in length. The deadline for applications is Oct. 4. Application forms are available at www.wift.com.

Opportunity for docmakers

Hot Docs, the Documentary Organization of Canada and Quebecor are offering fellowships to five mid-level documentary filmmakers – looking to offer professional development and networking to those from underrepresented ethno-cultural communities.

The newly established Quebecor Documentary Fellowship program will also match its participants with doc veterans, who will act as mentors. Fellows also get full accreditation to Hot Docs. Applicants should apply by Aug. 28 at www.hotdocs.ca.

History Congress confirms speakers

Four leading history and documentary producers will speak at this year’s World Congress of History Producers. The event has confirmed British media veteran Sir Jeremy Isaacs (The World at War), broadcaster Peter Snow (Battlefield Britain), filmmaker Alexandre Trudeau (Embedded in Bagdad) and journalist Richard Gizbert of ABC News.

Isaacs will participate in the prevalent ‘In Conversation With’ series, while Snow will lead the ‘The Great Debate: Producers versus Academics.’ Trudeau and Gizbert will share some of their experiences as war zone filmmakers in the session ‘The Dangers of Covering History in the Making.’

The congress takes place Nov. 16-19 in London.

Whistler welcomes Doc Talk

The Doc Talk conference has joined with the Whistler Film Festival and will present sessions on documentary production and financing, one-on-one meetings, and pitch sessions with Canadian and international broadcasters when the festival gets underway in B.C. on Nov 29.

Now billed as Doc Talk @ Whistler, the event is designed to showcase and promote the Western Canadian doc community, and is a joint initiative between the WFF and the B.C. chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada.