Telefilm Canada has presented some changes in eligibility for its Indigenous Production Stream for 2022, which will accept applications from Feb. 7 to Feb. 21. The funder held a webinar this week to explain the three eligibility criteria for the stream, one of which is that the project must be under the financial, creative and distribution control of Indigenous people or an Indigenous person.

Adriana Chartrand, lead of Indigenous initiatives and content analyst at Telefilm , said the word “distribution” in the sentence is new and doesn’t mean applicants have to apply with a distributor attached or need a distributor figured out; it just means the Indigenous applicant or the Indigenous people involved also need to be a part of the distribution aspect so they’re the decision-makers on that front. Also new is the requirement that two-thirds of the total creative team related to the roles of producer, director and screenwriter must be Indigenous. The third eligibility criteria is that the production company applying has to be majority-owned by an Indigenous person.

2022 Episodic Writers’ Lab cohort

BIPOC TV & Film has revealed the eight participants for its 2022 Episodic Writers’ Lab for emerging to mid-career creatives. The co-hort includes Raf Antonio, a queer non-binary artist who wrote two episodes of Emmy-nominated preschool series Miss Persona; Eva Grant, an Indigenous filmmaker working for Winnipeg-based prodco Eagle Vision as an apprentice; and Jason Ip, an emerging screenwriter whose project Fill Me In was selected for ACTRA’s Working the Scene in Colour table read in 2021.

Also selected for the lab for Amanda Lo, a queer Chinese-Canadian writer and creator who has produced short films that have screened at TIFF and Image+Nation; Alok Narekkattuvalappil Revi, a writer-director from India who has helmed short films including the horror Inside; Nick West, a writer and editor from Toronto with a background in autobiographical short stories; Letay Williams, the creator and screenwriter of Traytown, which was the Creators of Colour – Big Pitch at TIFF 2021 Audience Choice award winner; and Shirley Yip, a writer-director whose scripts have placed in Austin Film Festival, ATX Festival and Script Pipeline.

They will workshop their original drama pilot scripts over a period of four months. Each writer will be paired with a senior writer mentor who will provide feedback and notes on their script, as well as supervisory support for their simulated writers’ room day.

Bell Media launches Noovo.info

Bell Media has launched an all-news website described as the final piece to its multi-platform, French-language news division, Noovo Info. Noovo.info features news, original content and exclusive features. Bell Media launched the Noovo Info news division last year as part of the ecosystem that also includes the Noovo channel, the Noovo.ca website, the Noovo app and the Noovo Moi site for entertainment and lifestyle information.

CBC, CAVCO and CMPA workshop

CBC is launching another edition of its free One Stop Business Workshop series in partnership with the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). The fourth edition runs virtually from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2 for emerging independent producers and content creators from traditionally underrepresented groups (including those who are Indigenous, Black, people of colour, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ2+). The workshops will cover topics related to the business and financing side of content creation.

Canadian feature wraps in Lebanon

Production in Beirut, Lebanon has wrapped this month on Valley of Exile, the feature film debut of Anna Fahr. The film is produced by Toronto’s Morning Bird Pictures in collaboration with Beirut prodco placeless films. Six Island Productions’ Paul Scherzer and Hawkeye Pictures’ Aeschylus Poulos are executive producers.

The feature was shot in a real-life refugee camp amid the continuing Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. “The devaluation of the country’s currency has left the majority of the Lebanese population in poverty. There is a major shortage of electricity, gas, and medicine. On top of that, there’s the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the scenario we were grappling with when we ventured into the Bekaa Valley to begin production. With a month’s supply of masks and just enough gasoline in our tanks for a one-way trip, we were a cast and crew ready and eager to make cinematic magic,” said Fahr in a statement.

Valley of Exile was supported by the Game Theory Films Black, Indigenous and People of Colour Distribution Fund, which is accepting submissions for its third round of support until Jan. 28. Game Theory holds the Canadian distribution rights.

With files from Kelly Townsend

Image: Unsplash