Quebec audiovisual training and development organization L’inis has selected three participants for its documentary screenwriting program for French-speaking Indigenous creators.

The newly-launched program, initiated and funded by Telefilm Canada, is aimed at boosting the representation of French-speaking Indigenous creators in Quebec. The program provides participants the opportunity to develop medium- and feature-length projects with the guidance of industry experts and culminates with a pitch to doc producers.

Participants for the inaugural edition of the program are Widia Larivière from Timiskaming First Nation, Isabelle Kanapé from the Innu Nation of Pessamit and Mélanie Lameboy from the Cree Nation of Chisasibi.

The 80-hour program is spread over 27 weeks and sees participants take part in lectures, practical workshops and one-on-one mentoring. Industry experts include Pascal Sanchez, Mélissa Beaudet, Miryam Charles and Kim O’Bomsawin. Veteran filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin will conduct a master class. It kicked off on March 14 and runs until Sept. 13.

The program was developed at L’inis under the direction of Stéphanie Verrier, director of program development, in collaboration with Élisabeth Lebel and Frédérique Proulx. The program is also supported by the Indigenous Screen Office.

Yan England’s Rematch wins Grand Prize at Series Mania

France/Hungary coproduction Rematch, co-created and directed by Quebec’s Yan England, won the Grand Prize in the international competition of the television festival Series Mania in Lille.

The 6 x 52-minute mini-series is co-created by England, André Gulluni and Bruno Nahon. England and Gulluni are the screenwriters, with Nahon among the producers.

Rematch is produced by France’s Unité, Arte France, Fédération Studios and Hungary’s Proton.

The psychological thriller is inspired by true events and centres on the duel between chess legend Garry Kasparov and IBM’s supercomputer, Deep Blue.

Franco-German network Arte is the broadcaster of the series, which made its world premiere at Series Mania. Fédération is handling international sales.

Harrison Weinreb wins inaugural Misdirect: The Nick Nemeroff Comedy Grant

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (Canadian Academy) has named Montreal-based comic Harrison Weinreb as the first recipient of the Misdirect: The Nick Nemeroff Comedy Grant.

The $10,000 grant was launched last June in memory of Nemeroff, who died in 2022, and supports emerging Canadian comedians in the creation of a comedy-related project.

Weinreb will use the grant to record an album of his stand-up work for release in fall, according to a news release. The comic has been featured at comedy festivals in New York and Edinburgh and won the New Face of Comedy prize from Montreal’s Just for Laughs festival in 2021.

Hot Docs names Deal Maker pitch projects

Nine Canadian documentaries are among 40 projects selected for the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival’s Deal Maker pitch program.

The initiative gives producers the opportunity to pitch projects at various stages of completion (from development to post-production) to the international marketplace. Canada is one of 31 countries represented in the 2024 selection.

The documentaries include 2024 Hot Docs films such as Josephine Anderson’s Curl Power (Studio 104 Entertainment, Secret Bench Films) and Tasha Hubbard’s Singing Back the Buffalo (Buffalo Song Productions).

Also selected are Victoria Lean’s Acid: Who Stopped the Rain? (Parrhesia Films, Muse Entertainment), Weichao Xu’s Breaking the Wall (Touchstone Productions), Patrick Shannon’s Saints and Warriors (Grand Scheme Productions, Ball is Life Entertainment, First Take Entertainment) and Robinder Uppal’s The Golden Door (Lost Time Media).

Rounding out the Canadian docs in the program are Kenya-Jade Pinto’s The Sandbox, Dawn Lavell Harvard and Pam Palmater’s Until Our Hearts are on the Ground (Warrior Life Studios, The Digitalist) and an untitled Chilean documentary from director Carola Fuentes and producer Rafael Valdeavellano, with Montreal’s Intuitive Pictures coproducing.

Photos by Lucile Ponsolle/L’inis; pictured (L-R) Widia Larivière, Isabelle Kanapé, Mélanie Lameboy