Eight women and non-binary directors have been selected for the latest round of the Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) Career Advancement Module. A partnership with the Reelworld Film Festival and the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, the fall 2022 edition includes workshop sessions running through this month to coincide with both festivals.

The selected directors (pictured) include Toronto-based Mexican-Canadian filmmaker Andrea Martinez Crowther, who is developing her fifth feature film, the drama Beulah & Willemina; Indo-Canadian filmmaker Asis Sethi with the feature Slam Dunk, Sehaj!; Toronto-based director and illustrator Cailleah Scott-Grimes, who is developing their first feature, The Voice of Calling; and B.C.-based fiction and documentary director Catharine Parke, who is developing her coming-of-age feature Her Giant Self.

The cohort is rounded out by Elizabeth Fraser, who is developing her debut feature film, Makayla_Does_Rituals, a micro-budget teen horror; Jamaican-born writer, actor, filmmaker Giselle Miller, who is developing a feature film and a new web series, Just Trying; Montreal-based screenwriter and director Holly Brace-Lavoie, whose development projects include her debut feature film drama, Tears of my Enemies; and Korean-Canadian filmmaker, writer, director, producer and actor Shelly Hong, who is developing a half-hour comedy series, Model Minorities.

Nova Scotia grows tax refund program to enhance local film crew workforce

The Government of Nova Scotia has expanded its income tax program for young workers to attract more skilled tradespeople for the province’s screen industry. Premier Tim Houston announced the expansion to the More Opportunity for Skilled Trades (MOST) program, which offers an income tax refund to workers under 30 on their first $50,000 of eligible income, earlier this month. Houston said the province recognizes “labour gaps” in the industry, and is “taking concrete action to address the problem now to help the film industry grow sustainably and become a year-round economic generator.”

Eligible positions include camera and technical crews, props and set dressing, grip, and sound workers. The MOST program was first announced in June and was initially available for construction, automotive, industrial, and service industries. It will apply to the 2022 income tax year.

The province more than doubled the cap of its Film and Television Production Incentive Fund earlier this year, raising it from $4 million per project to $10 million. It has also provided funding for the creation of a permanent soundstage and launched the Nova Scotia Content Creator Fund with Screen Nova Scotia to give local productions a funding boost and support local writers, directors and performers.

CBC, APTN, ISO select three scripted series for early development program

Three Indigenous scripted series have been selected for pre-development in CBC and APTN’s Early Stage Scripted Development Program.

The program, which was launched in June by the APTN and CBC, in association with the Indigenous Screen Office, aims to move the projects into development and, ultimately, into production.

The three scripted series are: The Break, produced by Lisa Jackson (Ojiibikaan) under her Toronto-based banner Door Number 3 Productions with producer Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Night Raiders) and Red River Métis writer Katherena Vermette; Rez in the City, produced by Gail Maurice (Rosie) under her banner Assini Productions; and Misty Dior, produced by 7 Forward Entertainment and executive produced by Jessica Matten (Frontier).

According to a news release, the program provides training and support for Indigenous creators who are ready to launch a major scripted series production in their careers.