Telefilm Canada is supporting 17 scripted and documentary film projects in the 2025-26 edition of its Talent to Watch program, which will share in a total of $3.45 million in funding provided through Telefilm’s donation-based Talent Fund initiative.

According to a release, the projects were selected from more than 155 submissions across four streams. Eleven of the selected projects are receiving support through the filmmaker apply-direct stream, which is eligible for creative teams composed of women, racialized individuals, LGBTQ+ and/or gender diverse individuals, persons with disabilities and/or members of an official language minority community.

Four projects have been selected through the industry partner stream, while one each have come through the Indigenous and festival selection streams.

The projects included in the 2025-26 Talent to Watch cohort are listed below, organized by stream and province:

Filmmaker Apply-Direct Stream

Ontario

Away With Dad (sci-fi/fantasy/fairytale)
Director/screenwriter: Kyle Credo
Producer: Farah Abdo
Languages: English and Filipino (Visayan)

Hypothetical Baby (drama)
Director: Nicole Bazuin
Screenwriter: Rachel Cairns
Producers: Rachel Cairns, Nicole Bazuin
Language: English

Nadine Pick Up the Phone (drama)
Director/screenwriter: Vanessa Magic
Producer: Bonnie Do
Language: English

Nobody Sees Me Like You Do (drama)
Director/screenwriter: Keith Hodder
Producers: Ariel Yang, Maxine Grossman
Language: English

Place des aubes (drama)
Director/screenwriter/producer: Sébastien Higgins
Languages: French and English

Stages of Change (drama)
Director: Cassidy Civiero
Screenwriter: Alanna Schwartz
Producer: Katie Billo
Language: English

Quebec

Good Morning Vietnam (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Luis Petranko
Producers: Charbel El Melhem, Andres Molina
Languages: French and Spanish (Castilian)

Hiding in My Cells (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Ali Naqi
Producers: Ali Naqi, Christina Saliba
Languages: English and Kannada

Les ombres de la métropole / The Shadows of the Metropolis (documentary)
Director/screenwriter/producer: Ahana B. Murumbi
Languages: French and English

British Columbia

Kage No Hana (drama)
Director: Latif Ullah
Screenwriters/producers: Latif Ullah, Mako Fujimoto
Language: Japanese (Kansai-ben)

Trans Girls: Raw and Uncut (documentary)  
Director/screenwriter: Mily Mumford
Producer: Erin Purghart
Language: English

Industry Partner Stream

Quebec

De plein fouet (suspense)
Director: Léonard Giovenazzo
Screenwriters: Léonard Giovenazzo, Janie Faucher-Roy
Producers: Tristan Alain, Laurence Wells
Languages: English, French and Korean
Partner organization: Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema, Concordia University

Parrandas (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Constance Chaput-Raby
Producer: Isabelle Grignon-Francke
Languages: French, English and Spanish (Castilian)
Partner organization: Forum RIDM

Les rescapés du paradis (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Bogdan Stefan
Producer: Stéphanie Gagné
Language: French
Partner organization: Bande Sonimage

Yukon

From Me To You (romantic comedy)
Director: Daniel Little
Screenwriters: Daniel Little, Peter Jickling
Producer: Martin O’Brien
Language: English
Partner organization: Yukon Film Society

Indigenous Stream

Saskatchewan

POW WOW (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Pete Kolopenuk
Producer: Laura Faul
Languages: English and Cree

Festival Selection Stream

Quebec

The Ruin of the Earth (documentary)
Director/screenwriter: Yannick Jamey
Producer: Ophelia Spinosa
Languages: English and Irish (Gaelic)

Image: Unsplash