Toronto May Olivia Chow is leading a film mission to Los Angeles this week to promote the city’s film and TV industry.

The mission runs from May 8 to 10, and was announced last week at the Cinespace Studios Marine Terminal campus, where Guillermo Del Toro’s film adaptation of Frankenstein is being filmed.

The delegation includes 39 individuals from more than 30 participating companies, along with eight City of Toronto staff members. The mission comes after Ontario Creates revealed the province saw a roughly 42% decrease in production volume in 2023 due to the dual writers and actors strikes.

The participating companies and organizations are ACTRA Toronto, BMO Media Finance, Centennial College, Cinespace Studios, CMU, Company 3, Directors Guild of Canada Ontario, Dufferin Gate Studios, East End Studios, Entertainment Partners, FilmOntario, GreenSpark Group, IATSE 411, IATSE 873, MBS, NABET 700-M UNIFOR, Northcrest Developments, Ontario Creates, Panavision Canada, Pinewood Toronto Studios, POV, RBC, RedLab, Rocket Science VFX, Sheridan College, SpinVFX, Starline Group, Toronto Film School, TriBro Studios, Urban Post and William F. White International.

Potluck Ladies wins at SeriesFest

The Hollywood Suite and Yes TV series Potluck Ladies emerged victorious at its debut at the Denver TV festival SeriesFest. The series won Best Drama in the Independent Pilot Competition at the festival, which ran from May 1 to 5. It is created, directed and produced by Shazia Javed of LifeSketch Media

The event also saw the Canadian series The Haunting of Trisha Lozada win the Pitch-A-Thon! program. The project is written by Robyn Matuto, produced by Malachi Ellis and developed by Matuto, Ellis and Dylan Pun.

Industry veterans inducted to Order of Canada

A number of members of Canada’s film and television industry were inducted into the Order of Canada on May 2, considered one of the nation’s highest honours.

Inducted as Officers are filmmaker Peter Pearson, who served as executive director of Telefilm Canada from 1985 to 1987, and Helga Stephenson, former CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Industry members inducted as Members are OUTtv chair Joy Kathryn MacPhail, Oscar-nominated makeup artist Donald James Mowat, filmmaker Gérard Le Chêne and performers Jackie Richardson and Guylaine Tremblay.

Edmonton filmmaker selected for Sundance Institute Native Lab

Edmonton-based writer-director Lindsay McIntyre is among the fellows for the 2024 Sundance Institute Native Lab. McIntyre, who is of mixed Inuit and settler descent, is developing the film The Words We Can’t Speak, about an Inuk interpreter who becomes unwelcome in her community after a terrible accident.

The Native Lab took place from April 29 to May 2 in Sante Fe, Mexico, and is designed to help Indigenous filmmakers refine film and episodic scripts with one-on-one support and roundtable discussions with advisors.

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