The Canada Media Fund (CMF)  is supporting nine Canadian producers from sovereignty- and/or equity-seeking communities who are taking part in next month’s European Film Market (EMF) Doc Toolbox Programme. 

The CMF is covering participants’ fees and travel costs for the in-person event running Feb. 16 to 22, with support from the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), Creative BC, and the CMPA-BC, according to a news release. 

The producers selected include Omolola Ajao from Manitoba, Aisha Jamal, Sharon Yeung and Alejandro Valbuena from Ontario, Swaysən William George and Kevin Fitzgerald from British Columbia, and Paola Arriagada-Nunez, Victoria Catherine Chan, and Gentille Menguizani Assih from Quebec. 

SODEC and Hot Docs chose the producers after a call put out last September for projects suitable for international coproduction or sales/distribution, according to the release. The EMF’s Doc Toolbox Programme provides documentary creatives from sovereignty- and/or equity-seeking communities with workshops, one-on-one meetings and consultations, and access to networking and matchmaking events.

Women Talking builds awards buzz

Sarah Polley took home multiple wins for her film Women Talking as part of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ (AWFJ) annual EDA Awards. Polley won Best Director, and co-won Best Screenplay, Adapted and Best Woman Screenwriter with Canadian author Miriam Toews, who wrote the novel on which the film is based. The U.S. film is produced by Plan B Entertainment, hear/say Productions and Orion Pictures.

Women Talking tied with Martin McDonagh’s film The Banshees of Inisherin for the most wins. The EDA Awards have run for 16 years and honour women creatives in cinema and the perspective of women critics in film. 

Women Talking also picked up a nomination this week for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Canadian cast members included in the nomination are Sheila McCarthy, Kate Hallett, Michelle McLeod, Liv McNeil, and August Winter. Canadian Martin Short also picked up a nomination for his work on Hulu original Only Murders in the Building.

DGC members recognized in U.S. guild awards

Members of the Directors Guild of Canada are racking up nominations during the 2023 awards season. Three Canadian directors – Deborah Chow, Jeremy Podeswa and Helen Shaver – are each up for a Directors Guild of America award for their work on limited series. Chow is nominated for Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi, while both Podeswa and Shaver picked up nods for the HBO Max series Station Eleven, based on the novel by Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel.

Meanwhile, producer designers Tamara Deverell and Shayne Fox are nominated for the 27th annual Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Awards. Deverell earned the nod for the limited Netflix series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, while Fox was recognized for the FX series What We Do in the Shadows.

Image courtesy of CMF