Kirk Shaw has handed $10,000 to the National Screen Institute in Winnipeg in order to establish an alumni fund for Canuck writers, directors and producers.

Speaking at the institute’s FilmExchnage festival on Wednesday, the NSI alumnus and head of B.C.’s Insight Film Studios expressed hope that other NSI grads would also make contributions.

‘My training showed me the importance of building relationships in the industry and introduced me to producers, broadcasters, financiers and distributors,’ said Shaw.

The first filmmakers to benefit from the NSI Alumni Fund will be producer Michael Linton and writer/director Shelagh Carter, whose short film Night Travellers is set to premiere at NSI in 2008.