Forum RIDM has expanded eligibility for its Rough Cut Pitch doc program, opening it up to production companies Canada-wide.
Part of the 20th Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM), Forum RIDM offers workshops, lectures, roundtables and networking opportunities. Previous iterations of Rough Cut Pitch have only been open to documentaries from Quebec-based companies.
Projects must be in post-production and have the potential for international distribution. Selected film projects will also have the opportunity to take part in the one-on-one pitches. Filmmakers must be backed by a Canada-based production company with majority status to be eligible.
Selected teams of will have the opportunity to pitch and present a 15-minute excerpt of their film before a panel of industry professionals, including festival programmers, as well as distributors and broadcasters. Applications close Aug. 26.
Forum RIDM runs from Nov. 22 to 27, with the 20th edition of RIDM running from Nov. 20 to Dec. 1.
Fantasia reveals jury awards for 28th edition
The 28th Fantasia International Film Festival revealed its jury award winners this week, including a few Canadian titles.
The Canadian film Self Driver won the New Flesh Competition for Best First Feature. Self Driver hails from director Michael Pierro, produced by Pierro and Kire Paputts. The film follows a Toronto rideshare driver who gets an opportunity to make more money with a mysterious and demanding app.
Kidnapping Inc. (Canada/Haiti/France) from director Bruno Mourral received Special Jury Mention in the same category. The film is produced by Montreal-based Périphéria, France’s Promenades Films, BHM Films and Haiti’s Muska Films. Yanick Létourneau is producing for Périphéria, and Samuel Chauvin for Promenades. Gaëthan Chancy, Mirambeau and Mourral also produced.
Shot in Haiti, Mourral’s debut feature follows the misadventures of two hapless kidnappers who find themselves in the middle of a political conspiracy. Kidnapping Inc. will be distributed in Canada by Filmoption International, with a theatrical release set for later this year.
Itch, directed by Maggie Zeng, was given the Silver in the Best Short Film category via the Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation.
The Director’s Guild of Canada Award for Best Feature Director was given to Toronto writer-director Naomi Jaye for Darkest Miriam. The film is a romantic-thriller about a librarian, set in Toronto’s Allan Gardens and based on the novel The Incident Report, produced by Julie Baldassi and Brian Robertson.
RBC Pitch Competition winner announced
On Screen Manitoba, RBC and the Gimli International Film Festival announced Coby Friesen as the winner of the 13th Annual RBC $10,000 Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition.
Friesen’s project, Cruising in Gomorrah, follows two childhood friends who go camping together at a supposedly haunted beach. Things get weird when the presence of good and evil pervades the beach, awakening unconscious desires forcing them to come to terms with their sexuality.
In addition to the $10,000, Friesen will also receive a $5,000 Sunbelt Rentals Grant Certificate; a story-editing and directing mentorship from the National Screen Institute Canada; a $2,000 equipment rental credit and a one-year membership to the Winnipeg Film Group; a one-year On Screen Manitoba membership; and a premiere screening of his film at the 2025 Gimli International Film Festival.
Photo by Maryse Boyce, courtesy of Forum RIDM