Filmmaker Boris Rodriguez has won this year’s TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award for his feature project Zoila and Andy.

The prize comes with a $15,000 grant, along with support from a script consultant and access to the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and its industry conference.

The TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award jury said in a news release it chose Zoila and Andy “for its epic, historical tale that resonates as both a love story and a timely contemplation on activism, democracy, communism, and ideology in a way that is at once deeply specific and hugely universal.”

Rodriguez — who holds Canadian, Mexican and EU citizenships — is currently developing Zoila and Andy with the support of the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Netflix. The writer-director is also developing projects including the features Covet and Blood Avocados and Butterflies, and the sci-fi family adventure series East Los Aliens.

Rodriguez’s first film, Beso Nocturno (Night Kiss), premiered in TIFF’s Discovery section in 2000, while his 2012 feature debut, Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, won the Méliès d’Argent award for best European fantasy feature at the Leeds International Film Festival.

Rodriguez also participated in NBCUniversal’s Emerging Directors Program, where he was coached to direct episodes for their scripted series on Syfy and USA.

Now in its fifth year, the TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award supports Canada’s diverse screenwriting talent and funds the development of high-quality productions “that reflect, represent, and reframe diverse perspectives through character-driven stories at the core of the Canadian experience.” The award is open to experienced screenwriters who are women and/or who belong to an equity-seeking group, and/or who identify as having a disability.

This year’s jury included Gosia Kamela, head of CBC Films; Larisa Gutmanis, screenwriter and producer of the International Financing Forum for Ontario Creates; Jennifer Weiss, Canadian producer; and Jane Kim, TIFF Industry programming producer.

TIFF says all screenplay applications were read and rated anonymously, without readers knowing the names of the screenwriters. Projects were considered based on the quality of the script; the originality of the idea, story structure, dialogue, and characters; and likely audience appeal and achievability.

“Receiving the TIFF–CBC Films Screenwriter Award is both humbling and surprising given the calibre of talent that not only applies [to the award] but is considered,” said Rodriguez in a statement. “It’s also the exact kind of support that will no doubt prove invaluable in bringing our story to the screen in Canada and to audiences around the world.”