The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) has named late filmmaker Charles Officer (pictured) as the recipient of its annual Company 3 Luminary Award.

The award is one of three special prizes that will be awarded at the TFCA’s annual gala on March 4, along with the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize and the Telefilm Canada Emerging Critic honour.

The Luminary Award is given to an industry member who has made a significant contribution to Canadian cinema, and includes a pay-it-forward prize valued at $50,000 to be given to an emerging filmmaker of their choosing, with representatives for Officer to announce the designate at a later date. Officer directed acclaimed projects such as Akilla’s Escape, Unarmed Verses and CBC series The Porter. He died on Dec. 1, 2023, at the age of 48.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person director Ariane Louis-Seize was named as the winner of the $10,000 Jay Scott Prize, while writer Winnie Wang won the Emerging Critic prize.

Doc on Dr. Bonnie Henry to debut at Victoria Film Festival

Telus original documentary Our Time to Be Kind will make its world premiere at the Victoria Film Festival, which runs from Feb. 2 to 11.

Written, directed and produced by Vancouver’s Adrian Buitenhuis, the film shines a spotlight on Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, who rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for her public health work. Henry and Buitenhuis will be in attendance for a post-screen Q&A.

Giuliana Bertuzzi produced the film alongside Buitenhuis, with Ken Tsui serving as the production executive from Telus. Financing for the film came from Telus, as well as provincial and federal tax credits.

Finalists named for 2024 Crazy8s challenge

Six teams have been selected for the annual Crazy8s Film Society challenge, which provides emerging filmmakers with funding – including $2,000 in cash and up to $50,000 worth of in-kind services – and support to create a short film in eight days.

The six finalists for 2024 include director Kevin Cheng, writer-producer Stephanie Joan, and producer Luke VandenBerg, making the short Astronaut; writer-director Jess McLeod, writer-actor Sam Krochmal, and producers Erin Purghart and, Garfield Wilson, with DTF?; and writer-director Kevin Ang and producer Moheb Jindran with Gone Abroad.

Rounding out the teams are writer-director Dave Beamish and producer Eva Tavares with Our Long Goodbye; writer-director Teresa Alfeld and producer Kiefer Doerksen with Toe Pick; and writer-director Larissa Thompson and producer Amanda D’Silva with What Are You Supposed To Do With Your Hands?

Canadian drama The Burning Season heads to Glasgow

Sean Garrity’s romantic drama The Burning Season will make its international premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in Scotland, running from Feb. 28 to March 10.

The film is directed by Garrity, and co-written by Jonas Chernick and Diana Frances, with Chernick also starring in the film alongside Sara Canning. It is produced by Chernick under his company Banana-Moon Sky Films and Andrew Bronfman. Northern Banner Releasing is distributing in Canada.

The Burning Season is a tragic love story told backwards, following a summer affair across seven seasons. The film won the Best Screenplay in a Borsos Film award following its world premiere at the Whistler Film Festival last year, and is up for Best Male Actor at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards.

Chernick told Playback Daily that the Glasgow festival shines “a bright light on the films they program,” adding that previous films, including Ashgrove, were able to pick up U.K. sales following the festival run.

Media Ranch to bring Horsepower talent incubator overseas

Montreal’s Media Ranch has announced that Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) will host a Horsepower intensive in late February, training participants in the writing and pitching of global unscripted TV formats.

The event is organized by the Lithuanian creative enterprise The Ethnic Kitchen Productions in partnership with Media Ranch, the Embassy of Canada to Lithuania, and Lithuanian National Radio and Television.

Horsepower is a proprietary talent incubator created by Media Ranch to foster new talent in the creation of unscripted formats. The program, started by Media Ranch founder and CEO Sophie Ferron in partnership with Quebecor, was first held in Montreal in 2018.

Formats from the incubator have been optioned around the world. Highlights from past years include partnerships with TF1, Quebecor and La Fabrique des Formats, and deals with the CW Network, Diga Studios, Wheelhouse, and gaming giant Ubisoft, where a first-year participant’s project is now the official TV format for the global hit Just Dance.

With files from Realscreen

Photo by George Pimental