Telus originals has greenlit 15 documentary titles as part of its 2024/25 slate.

The new projects include eight features, one limited series and six shorts, highlighting stories from across B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Calgary and Edmonton, according to a news release.

The greenlit features include Concrete Turned to Sand (Slag Pile Films), which is co-directed and co-produced by Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora and traces the environment of oyster farming in B.C.; Heard (Ruckus Machine Pictures), directed by Brian Ceci and produced by Ceci, Jamila Pomeroy and Nigel Edwards, about a filmmaker who is hard of hearing; and Métis Scrip & The Otipemisiwak (Stingray Pictures), which is directed by Sean Smith and produced by Smith and Scott Lepp, and uncovers the dark history of the Métis Scrip system.

Reckless Abandon (King Network), directed by Clayton Larsen and produced by Ryan Stutt, follows a group of individuals who have championed snowboarding to change mountain culture.

Director Michael Bourquin’s Salvaged (Taxam Films; pictured) looks at the cooperation between a Nuu-chah-nulth master carver and forest industry professionals to create an ethical supply of cedar for First Nations artists. Carey Newman, Mike Wavrecan and Cody Graham are producing.

Co-directors t̓agəm Eileen Francis and Dr. Evan Adams’ təm kʷaθ nan Namesake looks at how The Tla’amin Nation’s name change pushed the City of Powell River to explore Indigenous history. The film is produced by Francis, Adams, Peg Campbell, Angela Kendall, Claudia Medina, Davis McKenzie and Emily White.

Rounding out the feature titles are director Sandro Silva’s The Perfect Match (Dona Ana Films), produced by Silva and Sheena Rossiter; and director Laura O’Grady’s Thunder of Clouds: What Women Can Do (Snapshot Studios), produced by O’Grady, Robina Hamdard and Jenny Steele.

The Perfect Match looks at an Edmonton father’s advocacy for stem cell donation, while Thunder of Clouds: What Women Can Do centres on how Afghan-Canadian activists are supporting countrywomen arriving in Calgary.

The sole docuseries in the lineup is Our Ocean Table (3 x 22 minutes; Jugaad Sisters), co-directed by Sonya Lee and Jon Chiang and produced by Lee, Joanna Wong and Priyanka Desai. The series follows the journey of an ocean filmmaker and journalist as they explore how culture inspires conservation. Our Ocean Table will begin filming this summer.

The six shorts include Hearse Chasing, directed by Teresa Alfeld and produced by Melissa James; Kesar: Threads of Gold, directed and produced by Elisa Gonzalez; Light Through The Blindfold (Understory Media), directed by Alireza Kazemipour and produced by Sepehr Samimi and Sina Nazarian; Shifting Horizons (EyeSteelFilm), directed by Karen Cho and produced by Bob Moore; The Lady Architect, directed by Moira Simpson and produced by Simpson and Christine McDowell; and The Tyee Club (Perpetuum Films), directed by Nate Slaco and produced by Slaco and Jevan Crittenden.

The next Telus originals pitch intake window will open from June 3 to July 31, said the release. The initiative supports documentaries from mid-level and established filmmakers with a lens on locally-driven stories.

Image courtesy of Telus originals