Toronto-based filmmakers Noa Im and Mariam Zaidi have won this year’s DOC Institute Breakthrough Development Award. Im (pictured left) received the honour for her film Dance of Knives while Zaidi (pictured right) won for her film Shapes of Us.

This is the fourth year for the honour, which gives a $20,000 cash prize from the Rogers Group of Funds and a development deal from CBC to each of the winners. They also receive a mentorship and professional development support from the DOC Institute.

The jury members were Sandra Kleinfeld (CBC), Robin Mirsky (Rogers Group of Funds), and Rebecca Celli (Chicken & Eggs Pictures).

CBC New Indigenous Voices announces cohort

Nine emerging writers have been chosen for the 2022 CBC New Indigenous Voices program, presented by the National Screen Institute.

The majority of the participants hail from Manitoba: Broden Halcrow-Ducharme of Brandon, and Winnipeg-based Farrah Murdock, Jesse Nobess, Clay Mykietowich, and Katherine Haynes. Several are also from Saskatchewan: Julianna Maggrah of Prince Albert, and Kesha Tipewan and Dwayne Noon of Saskatoon. Hailing from Lachine, Que., is Alyssa Isaac.

The paid, 14-week online training program is centred on the film, TV and digital media industries. The program, which culminates in a podcast project and six-week internship, is designed with traditional and spiritual elements.

Paperboat Animation sets new slate

Toronto-headquartered Paperboat Animation Studios, which was recently acquired by Singapore-based Vistas Media Capital, has announced its debut animation slate of the three diverse projects for the global market.

The projects include Tattva 118, a multi-platform, metaverse-centered franchise being developed for an animated feature film, a TV series and a game for all age groups. The franchise anthropomorphizes 118 elements from the periodic table and will begin with the release of NFTs.

The other Paperboat projects include Kabuliwala: Man from Kabul, a 3D animated feature based on the short story by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Soumitra Ranade adapted the story for Paperboat and will direct the feature, which is being shepherded by producer and financier Benjamin Waisbren, who leads Vistas’ new North America division.

Ranade also wrote and plans to direct another project in the slate, the adult web series Itch. The story of 10 individuals living in London is being produced by Golden Ratio Films, the content production label within Vistas Media Capital.

Future of Film Showcase expands to features

After nine years of exclusively screening short films, Toronto’s Future of Film Showcase (FOFS)  is introducing a yet-to-be-announced opening night feature film to its programming. The ninth annual FOFS is set to run at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto and digitally nationwide from June 17 to 25.

The festival will showcase 14 short films from the next generation of Canadian filmmakers, all of whom are 40 and younger, and feature awards, panels, workshops and a keynote presentation.

The shorts lineup includes Bump by Maziyar Khatam; Chanson pour le nouveau monde (Song for the New World) by Miryam Charles and distributed by Serge Abiaad; Til It Blooms by Wendy Xu and Po Wei Su; Premium Pornography by Simon Ruscinski; Body of Light by David Gaudette; Johnny Crow by Xstine Cook and Jesse Gouchey (Cree Papaschase); and Abuela by Rebeca Ortiz.

Youth Media Alliance hands out Awards of Excellence

Les mimistoires, Six degrés and Jenny were big winners at the Youth Media Alliance’s 2022 Awards of Excellence, taking home two awards apiece. Les mimistoires, which is produced by Maki Média and aired by TV5/Unis.tv and TFO, won for Stimulation of Imagination and Creativity and the Coup de coeur des tout-petits (age 2-5) award.

Six degrés, which is produced by Encore Télévision and broadcast by Radio-Canada and ICI Tou.TV, won a Commitment, Openness and Respect (long) prize as well as the Coup de coeur des ados (age 13 +) award.

The Avenida Productions-produced Jenny, which aired on TV5/UnisTv, was honoured for Advancement of Personal Growth and Self-Transcendence, and for Stimulation of Imagination and Creativity/Commitment, Openness and Respect for its website.

Other winners included director-animator Francis Papillon (Explique-moi ça), who received the Emerging Talent Award, and Flippons host Pascal Boyer, who took the Award of Excellence for Youth Personality.

The Outstanding Achievement Award went to puppeteer Michel Ledoux, while the Award of Excellence for Inclusion, openness, and commitment was awarded to La soirée MAMMOUTH 2021, produced by Attraction Images and Pamplemousse Média, and aired by Télé-Québec.