Telefilm commits $4.9 million to 21 feature-length documentaries

The funding is being allocated through Telefilm's Theatrical Documentary Program.

Telefilm Canada has selected 21 feature-length documentaries to support with a $4.9 million investment through their Theatrical Documentary Program.

Of the selected projects, eight hail from Quebec, including Back Home (Metafilms), written and directed by Marianne Métivier. The film’s languages are Tagalog, Ilocano, Ilonggo and Bicolano, and it is being distributed by H264 distribution.

The French and English-language Cut Print Thank You Bye (Item 7), written and directed by Marie-Julie Dallaire and distributed by Immina films, also picked up funding.

Other projects include the French-language film La vie extraordinaire de Robert Charlebois (La Tribu) from writer-director Louis-Philippe Héneault, distributed by Distribution La Tribu; and filmmaker Sophie Deraspe’s Le dernier acte (Corporation ACPAV), distributed by Maison 4:3.

Also receiving funding are La méthode scandinave (Les Films Camera Oscura) from writer-director Anik Salas, filmed in French, English, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish; and Esprits rebelles (Fauve Film), which hails from filmmaker Marlene Edoyan and is filmed in Armenian and Georgian. Both features are distributed by Les Films du 3 Mars.

Rounding out the Quebec projects are the English-language film The Prophet of Ecstasy (Laurus Productions), co-directed by Elias Varoutsos and Karen Cho and co-written by Lori Braun, Charles Beaudette and Cho, distributed by Raven Banner Distribution; and In Praise of Invasive Species (EyeSteelFilm), filmed in English, Spanish, Afrikaans and Swahili. The doc is directed by Mila Aung-Thwin and written by Aung-Thwin and Samantha Neboschizkij, and is being distributed by EyeSteelFilm Distribution.

Nine Ontario films were chosen for funding, including Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions (Anti-Diva Inc.), written and directed by Michelle Mama and distributed by Motion 58 Entertainment.

Two docs from distributor Elevation Pictures are Captain Newfoundland: The Geoff Stirling Story (86 Media House), co-directed by Mike Feehan and Jamie Miller and written by Jono Hunter; and Feedback: Music for the Climate Emergency (Mercury Films, Carousel Pictures), co-directed by Nicholas de Pencier and Jennifer Baichwal and written by Baichwal.

Also from Ontario are From Solitary (Soft Studio Productions, Arbitrage Pictures, Isserley Films), written and directed by Joel Walinga, and the English and Spanish-language Seeing Green (HitPlay Productions), from filmmaker Su Rynard. Both docs will be distributed by Game Theory Films.

The remaining Ontario projects include The Acid Rain Movie (working title; Muse Entertainment, Parrhesia), directed by Victoria Lean and written by Lean and Sean Devlin, distributed by Mongrel Media; The End of the Internet (Dylan Reibling Productions), an English, Spanish and Portuguese-language film from Dylan Reibling; Jade-Kenya Pinto’s The Sandbox (Compy Films), distributed by EyeSteelFilm distribution; and Ali Weinstein’s Your Tomorrow (OP8 Productions, Big Cedar Films), distributed by Blue Ice Docs.

Three English-language projects hail from British Columbia, including Jen Muranetz’s Fairy Creek (Understory Films), distributed by Cinema Politca; Relax, Open Your Eyes (Grand Scheme Productions) from writer-director David Ehrenreich, distributed by Game Theory Films; and The Island (Studio BRB Productions), co-directed by Steve Adams and Sean Horlor and written by Jennifer Baynham.

From the Atlantic region comes the Newfoundland and Labrador project Chasing Light (LJH Films), an English-language film written and directed by Latonia Hartery.

Telefilm said more funding decisions will be announced shortly and that statistics on all films funded will be released once those decisions are made.

Image: Unsplash