The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) will hold the 2024 Indiescreen Awards at the 44th Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) in Halifax in September.

The annual juried awards celebrate independent film producing in Canada in the form of two prizes: the Established Producer Award and the Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Award.

The 2024 ceremony will take place on Sept. 12, during the AIFF Partners coproduction and co-finance market, which runs from Sept. 11 to 13. Applications for the awards open on June 4, with a deadline of July 19.

The CMPA’s Indiescreen Awards were long-held during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), but 2022 saw the ceremony moved to the Whistler Film Festival as part of a plan to hold the Indiescreen Awards in various parts of the country. The 2023 awards took place at TIFF.

Last year’s winners were Metafilms’ Nancy Grant with the $20,000 Established Producer Award and Anam Abbas with the $10,000 Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer Award.

In addition to the Indiescreen Awards, AIFF is re-launching its Festival Music House after a multi-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative connects delegates with music producers, supervisors, distributors, and more, and is supported by Music Nova Scotia and the province’s Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.

AIFF Partners will also have New Zealand as its coproduction partner for the second year in a row.

“For over 25 years, AIFF Partners has honed our reputation as a welcoming, laid-back place to do business, find remarkable projects and meet life-changing collaborators,” said AIFF executive director Martha Cooley in a statement. “With the new inclusion of the CMPA’s Indiescreen Awards and the return of our beloved Festival Music House, there is even more to celebrate and look forward to at this year’s event.”

Andrew Addison, the CMPA’s VP, communications, marketing and membership added: “The Indiescreen Awards celebrate the best and brightest in Canadian independent feature film from across Canada, reflecting the diverse content that comes from every corner of the country.”

The 44th Atlantic International Film Festival runs from Sept. 11 to 18.

Photo courtesy of AIFF Partners