OTTAWA — David Hamilton, producer of Deepa Mehta’s latest, Heaven and Earth, is among the five finalists for the third annual $10,000 CFTPA Feature Film Producer’s Award to be given out during the Toronto International Film Festival.

The other nominees are Dean English, producer of Perfect Circle Productions’ stop-motion animation Edison and Leo; Jennifer Jonas, producer of New Real Films’ anthology Toronto Stories; Barbara Shrier, producer of Palomar Films’ Un été sans point ni coup sur, currently playing in Quebec; and Rob Merilees, producer of Infinity Features’ Scottish-set period piece Stone of Destiny. All of the nominees will be screened at TIFF.

The award, to be given out on Sept. 4, was founded in 2006 to acknowledge the vision and entrepreneurship of an independent Canadian producer with a homegrown feature at the festival.

‘Although we do face ongoing challenges in creating feature films in Canada, we know it is not because of a shortage of creative and technical ability. The CFTPA award recognizes the very high caliber of producers across the country,’ said CFTPA president and CEO Guy Mayson.

The five-member jury — which chose the five finalists from the 32 eligible films being screened this year at TIFF — is headed by 2007 award winner Niv Fichman of Toronto-based Rhombus Media.

‘As a producer, it is wonderful to have the opportunity to explore the work, passion and commitment of our very talented colleagues across the country,’ says Fichman. ‘It was not an easy job to narrow the field — a testament to the talent we have in this country.’

The other members of the jury are Barbara Doran of Morag Loves Company, Patricia Rozema of Vos Productions, Blake Corbet of Anagram Pictures and Manitoba Film and Sound CEO Carole Vivier.

The CFTPA has also announced that nominations are now open for its 2008 Indie Awards, which recognize and honor the outstanding achievements of Canadian independent producers in various genres. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 15. Those awards will be given out at the CFTPA annual conference in Ottawa on Feb. 18.