The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and CBC have named the 2023 cohort for the CBC Actors Conservatory.

The six-month program began this week at the CFC campus in Toronto and runs until Feb. 28, 2024. It offers tailored mentorships and intensive workshops to eight performers to enhance their film and TV careers.

The 2023 program residents are Ali A. Kazmi (The Queen of My Dreams), Christine L. Nguyen (The Bold Type), Dorrett White (What We Do in the Shadows), Gwenlyn Cumyn (Slo Pitch), Milcania Diaz-Rojas (Slip), Rebekah Miskin (Night Owl), Ryan Rosery (Mayor of Kingston) and Sam Asante (The Porter).

The program is supported by CBC, the RBC Emerging Artists Project and the Government of Ontario. Previous residents include Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Varun Saranga (Wynonna Earp), Humberly González (Ginny & Georgia) and Eli Goree (One Night in Miami).

Toronto’s film schools, programs partner with TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has rolled out the red carpet for local film schools as the annual event gets underway.

The Toronto Film School (TFS) announced Thursday (Sept. 7) that it has signed a new partnership with the festival to give students exclusive access to the conference and film screenings to network with attending filmmakers and decision-makers. TFS will also film its Inside Track docuseries, which helps increase awareness of career opportunities in the Canadian screen sector, during the 2023 festival.

Meanwhile, OCAD University will host events via the Experimental Animation program and OCAD U LiVE at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Student-produced programs will be showcased between Sept. 7 to 10 at the TIFF venue.

The university recently announced that Michael Fukushima, the former National Film Board of Canada’s animation studio head, will be the first executive producer-in-residence for the Experimental Animation program.

Bilal Baig to receive Barrier Breaker honour

Bilal Baig, co-creator and star of the CBC dramedy Sort Of, will be honoured with the CMF Barrier Breaker Award at the second annual Trans Filmmakers Summit at TIFF on Sunday (Sept. 10).

The award, which recognizes members of the media who are blazing a trail for the trans community on and off the screen, will be presented to Baig by fellow Sort Of co-creator Fab Filippo.

The Trans Filmmakers Summit serves as a spotlight for festival selections either made by trans and non-binary filmmakers, or featuring trans and non-binary talent. It was founded in 2022, and is produced by the Trans Film Mentorship and Adani Pictures.

Meredith Hama-Brown signs with Gersh

Japanese-Canadian filmmaker Meredith Hama-Brown has signed with The Gersh Agency ahead of the world premiere of her film Seagrass at TIFF on Friday (Sept. 8). The title serves as Hama-Brown’s feature directorial debut, following her work in short films (such as 2020’s Cosmic) and music videos.

Written and directed by Hama-Brown, Seagrass stars Ally Maki as a woman who takes her family to a retreat following the death of her mother, but ends up bringing the family’s troubles further to the surface. It is produced by Experimental Forest Films’ Tyler Hagan and Ceroma Films’ Sara Blake. Game Theory Films is handling Canadian distribution and worldwide sales for the film.

Pictured (L-R): (Top) Ali A. Kazmi, Christine L. Nguyen, Dorrett White, Gwenlyn Cumyn, (Bottom) Milcania Diaz-Rojas, Rebekah Miskin, Ryan Rosery, Sam Asante