The Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds have awarded development and completion grants totaling CAD$236,000 (US$217,250) to nine Canadian documentary projects, including the latest films from Min Sook Lee, Jamie Kastner and Alan Zweig (pictured).

Two projects receiving completion grants from Shaw Media-Hot Docs previously received development grants: Michael Shannon Micheal Shannon John and Fractured Land.

Four completion grants totaling $186,000 were awarded to the following projects, with descriptions provided by Shaw Media and Hot Docs:

Michael Shannon Michael Shannon John
Production Company: One Thousand and One Productions
Director: Chelsea McMullan
Producer: Nadia Tavazzani
Executive Producer: Nick de Pencier

Michael, Shannon, Michael, Shannon and John Jr. are the five children of Canadian cop John Hanmer. This is not a typo. Left behind and scattered across the globe by John’s troubled life and tragic death, they have one thing in common — each has been left to resolve their father’s past without him.

Fractured Land
Production Company: Two Island Films
Directors: Fiona Rayher, Damien Gillis
Executive Producers: Daniel Conrad, Mark Achbar, Charlotte Engel

Caleb Behn, a young Dene warrior defending his land from the natural gas industry, must first heal fractures within himself and his community. He becomes a lawyer. As 350.org founder Bill McKibben puts it, “Anyone who can throw a hatchet and sue you is a force to be reckoned with.”

Lost & Found
Production Company: Frank Films
Directors: Nicolina Lanni, John Choi
Producers: John Choi, Nicolina Lanni

Lost & Found follows a few colorful characters who have been finding items washed ashore from the Japanese tsunami and are on a quest to reunite these items with their rightful owners in Japan. It explores the unlikely friendships and transformations that have been forged in the wake of a disaster.

Migrant Dreams
Production Company: Tiger Spirit Productions
Director: Min Sook Lee
Producers: Min Sook Lee, Lisa Valencia-Svensson

Migrant Dreams takes you into the world of three migrant women workers in Canada. The women come from Mexico, Jamaica and Thailand under federal guest worker programs. While in Canada they undergo great travails to support their families back home and dare to dream new lives amidst hardship.

The Shaw Media-Hot Docs Development Fund dispensed five loans totaling $50,000 to the below projects:

Lanois – A Film
Production Company: White Pine Pictures
Director: David Acomba
Producer: Peter Raymont

Lanois is the story of a French-Canadian kid, whose love of music and brilliant musicianship made him a multi-Grammy award-winning producer, sought-after by legendary artists including Bob Dylan and U2. Lanois will be a soulful experience, a road trip that takes Daniel Lanois back, full circle, to where it all began.

Cut to the Chase
Production Company: Spontaneous Human Productions
Director and producer: Kenton Vaughan

Cut to the Chase charts the history and evolution of the chase scene in cinema and tries to figure out why individuals love to watch people chase each other.

The Skyjacker’s Tale
Production Company: Cave 7 Productions
Director: Jamie Kastner
Producers: Jamie Kastner, Diana Warmé

Wrongly convicted of murder, a man hijacks a plane with 200 passengers and gets away with it. Thirty years on, he’s still at large. His story, filmed for the first time, unfurls as a political thriller, a murky morality play, and a whodunit.

Status
Production Company: Reprieve Productions
Director: Alan Zweig
Producer: Wyeth Clarkson

Status will be award-winning filmmaker Alan Zweig’s unique exploration of Canada’s First Nations Culture. Following in the footsteps of his Genie Award-winning A Hard Name that lets ex-cons share their lives on camera, Status will give our Aboriginal citizens the opportunity to do the same.

Man Made Mora
Production Company: Blue Plate Productions
Director and producer: Alan Goldman

Artist and filmmaker Philippe Mora is fascinated by the banality of evil, a theme that flows through his work. Guided by his belief that many historical artifacts are hiding in plain sight, he continues to delve into the impact of Nazism, questioning the past through his art and exploring how history has shaped our lives.

From Realscreen