Tasha Hubbard’s nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up snags DOXA’s Colin Low Award

Tasha Hubbard walked away with the Colin Low Award for Canadian Documentary for nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (pictured) at the 2019 DOXA Documentary Film Festival on May 11. Produced by her Downstream Documentary banner with the NFB in association with CBC Docs and APTN, nîpawistamâsowin follows the case of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, a young Cree man who died in a shooting incident in August 2016. Additionally, when it came to the prize, the jury also gave an honourable mention to Dark Suns from Julien Elie, which previously won Best Canadian Feature at the Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) in 2018. Produced by Elie alongside Richard Brouillette, the doc examines violence in Mexico through various testimonials. Also, in the festival’s DOXA Feature Documentary Award section, Midnight Traveler (U.S./Qatar/Canada/U.K.) from director Hassan Fazili and writer Emelie Mahavian received an honourable mention from the jury for its “courageous and genuine storytelling.” The doc captures the Afghan director’s journey when a bounty is put on his head by the Taliban.

MVP Project receives $900,000 grant and three-year extension

The Canadian Academy and RBC’s Music Video Production Project (MVP Project) has received a $900,000 grant from the RBC Foundation, extending the program for three more years. Introduced this September, the initiative aims to give emerging Canadian recording artists and filmmakers financial support towards the creation of their music videos, in addition to networking and mentorship opportunities. The program was originally set to see two rounds of funding, with filmmakers receiving grants between $5,000 and $15,000 for the production of music videos. This $900,000 grant bumps up funding for the program, increasing coin for select music video artists to $300,000 per year. In addition, this donation represents the RBC Foundation’s largest per annual basis gift in its history. According to a press release, to date, the program has administered 19 grants to emerging Canadian artists. Some of the inaugural MVP recipients include director Jordan Canning (Baroness von Sketch Show) and Telefilm Talent to Watch recipient Lulu Wei.

Season two of My Roommate’s an Escort wraps

The sophomore season of comedic webseries My Roomate’s an Escort has wrapped in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Created by Katie Uhlmann and Trish Rainone, the 10-episode series from Katie Chats, Parallel Universe Pictures and David Carruthers (Murdoch Mysteries) follows the misadventures of a non-confrontational woman and her roommate as they try to get her inheritance back. Exec producers on the project include Carruthers and Rebeka Herron (Land of Nod) from Parallel Universe Pictures. My Roommate’s an Escort stars Uhlmann (Workin’ Moms), Rainone (V Wars), Bobby Del Rio (IRL: The Series), ACTRA National president David Sparrow (Serendipity), Tianna Nori (The Sublet), Giovanna Moore (V Wars), Timothy Murphy (Lou-Anne and Tim in the Morning) and Sonya Christine Ostrowski (The Book of Nightmares). In addition to acting in the series, Uhlmann also serves as director. Toronto’s Parallel Universe Pictures holds the rights to the series, which will subsequently be released on ONNtv, Seeka TV in the U.S. and on social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.