Two winning documentary pitches will go from the concept stage to television and web broadcast thanks to a $45,000 cash prize for each from the National Film Board and TVOntario, which on Monday unveiled the winners of the Calling Card Program.

Aaron Hancox and Allie Caldwell’s 30-minute doc Unheralded will be developed for broadcast on TVO’s flagship doc series The View From Here, while Shahid Quadri and Alex Jansen’s new media project The Next Day will be created and launched on both nfb.ca and tvo.org. Both projects will debut during the 2010/11 season.

Unheralded follows the big personalities behind small newspapers in Ontario who cover regional stories, while Next Day tells the story of three survivors of failed suicide attempts, through an interactive graphic novel form.

‘The winning pitch for Unheralded impressed us with its subtle humor and its affectionate appreciation of the value of the local press,’ commented TVO’s Jane Jankovic, who is commissioning editor of The View From Here.

Next Day combines ‘a very serious and moving subject matter with a surprising and beautiful interactive style,’ added TVO’s manager of interactive and digital media Christine McGlade.

Each documentary team will also receive mentorship from industry leaders to get their projects broadcast-ready. The Calling Card program supports emerging filmmakers from Ontario to work with the NFB and TVO to create docs for new media platforms and television broadcast.