Nicholas Tabarrok liked what he saw when four ‘fresh-faced’ filmmakers approached him last year with a rough cut of their debut feature Portage and asked him to come on board as executive producer.

‘I thought it was a good film that showed promise and would generate some interest,’ says Tabarrok, who produces through his Toronto outfit Darius Films (Weirdsville). ‘They wanted to apply for some finishing funds, and Telefilm advised them to hook up with a more senior producer who had been through the process and knew the ins and outs,’ he tells Playback Daily.

Directed by newcomers Ezra Krybus, Matthew Miller and Sascha Drews, who also penned the script, the drama tells the story of four teenage girls whose adventure in the Canadian wilderness goes awry when their trip leader is accidentally killed, leaving them to find their way home with a body in tow. Miller also produces along with Jaty Tam through their prodco Common Films.

Portage, shot in northern Ontario in 2005, was one of 14 titles recently okayed by Telefilm Canada’s Feature Film Fund. Tabarrok says the money will go toward post-production, and has brought in editor Kathy Weinkauf (Monkey Warfare) to finish the film.

‘We’ll be complete in midsummer and hoping to do the festival circuit in the fall,’ Tabarrok says, adding ‘TIFF would be great.’

Other features that received funding from Telefilm include the documentary Forgotten Women, from writer/director Deepa Metha; the comic drama Real Time, helmed by Randall Cole; the doc Saving Luna, from directors Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfit; the psychological thriller They Wait, helmed by Ernie Barbarash; and David Cronenberg’s thriller Eastern Promises.