Filmmakers are being invited to submit to the third round of the National Screen Institute’s Features First program. Aimed at filmmakers in the early stages of their careers, the program is designed to help teams composed of a writer, a producer and a director (or two individuals who split these roles between them) see their first or second feature from script to screen.

"Features First is not a production program, it’s a development program – development of people and projects," says Shirley Vercruysse, program producer.

Vercruysse, also producer of Gary Burns’ Waydowntown, says the program is intended "to be specific to the individual. It’s about what each person needs to learn. My role is to facilitate the training for these people so they will get the training that will work for them, be it an internship, shadowing someone or mentoring."

Five teams will be selected based on the creative and market potential of scripts and the teams’ readiness to take on feature production. Those selected will begin workshops at the Banff Television Festival in June.

The program has quite a pedigree: product from past participants includes Genie-winning My Father’s Angel (developed through the ’97/98 program) from Vancouver director Davor Marjanovic and Violet (’97/98), written/directed by Rosemary House and produced by Mary Sexton of Dark Flower Productions, St. John’s, Nfld.

Some program alumni have firm shoot schedules in place for their projects: Inertia (a product of the 1999/00 program) from producer Brendon Sawatzky and writer/director Sean Garrity will shoot until mid-April. Poor Super Man (working title) from producers Ken Mead and Paul Stiles and writer/director Brad Fraser (from the ’97/98 program) has a May-June shoot scheduled, and Nothing Feels Good from producer Carolyn McMaster, writer Jason Long and director/cowriter Robert Cuffley (also from ’97/98) will go before the cameras this year.

Applications must include a script that is ready to go to production. The application deadline is April 13. *

-www.nsi-canada.ca/featuresfirst