Canadian-Latina filmmaker Patricia Chica won the Best Debut Canadian Feature award at this year’s Female Eye Film Festival for her drama Montreal Girls.

Chica directed Montreal Girls (pictured) and co-wrote it with Kamal John Iskander. Montreal-based Objectif 9’s Bahija Essoussi and Samuel Gagnon are producers on the film.

Other Canadian titles feted at the festival were Phyllis Ellis’ sports doc Category: Woman (Best Canadian Feature Documentary), Jennifer Linton’s Ouroboros (Best North American Animation), Paula Brancati’s Juniors Giant (Best Short Film in a gala program), and Faith Leone Howe’s The Nature of Healing, which won the special jury prize for the Most Impactful Film.

In the screenplay category, Alyssah Richards’ The Test won Best Series and Brishkay Ahmed’s Afghan Smoke won Best Fresh Voice.

Forest City Film Festival expands pitch program

London’s Forest City Film Festival (FCFF) has expanded its pitch program to three categories, with a total prize money of $120,000 on offer.

Project Pitch, open to filmmakers across Canada, will include short film, web series and feature film pitches this year. Finalists in each category will make their pitch to a panel of film industry experts in London during the festival’s Ontario Screen Creator’s Conference that runs from October 20 to 22. FCFF will accept submissions through its website until Sept. 10.

The program’s prize money includes goods, services and cash from regional and national film industry businesses. The winning pitch in the feature film category will receive $60,000 in cash and prizes, web series up to $50,000 with Bell Fibe, and the short film winner will take $15,000 in cash and prizes.

Toronto filmmaker Faran Moradi’s Cry Wolf won the $60,000 pitch prize at FCFF last year.

The 2023 edition of the festival runs from Oct. 14 to 22.

MVP Project grant recipients announced

RBC and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television have selected 11 grant recipient teams for the latest round of the Music Video Production (MVP) Project.

The MVP Project provides funding for emerging Canadian musicians and filmmakers to produce their music videos.

Artists receiving funding in the 10th round of the MVP Project include: Saya Gray with director Jennifer Cheng and producer Loies Kim; Majo with director Monica Thi and producer Hajer Mustafa; Lokre with director Yazmin Monet Butcher and producer What I Like; Gina Burgess, who is also co-directing the video with producer Lisa Milosavljevic; Louis-Étienne Santais with director Fred Gervais and producer Elyse Belmont-Stroh; Noble Son with director Sterling Larose and producer Luis Guerra; Eric Stephen Martin with director Nicole Cecile Holland and producer Dylan Jewers; The Moon & I with director Karine Dashney and producer Jordan Lavery; Apacalda with director Maïlis and producer Alexe Laroche; Kat Duma with director Austin Hutchings and producer Scott McCuaig; and Nemahsis with directors Norman Wong and Amy Gardner and producer Cam Frengopoulos.