The Toronto International Film Festival each year spotlights the best new short films by young Canadians as part of its Student Film Showcase.

Now the prestigious festival and William F. White International are joining forces to give young filmmakers a better chance to get their work in front of the industry.

WFW and TIFF have inked a four-year agreement that will see the rental equipment giant provide the first and second place winners of the annual Student Film Showcase with major equipment rental grants.

The in-kind gifts, valued at $100,000, will run through to 2017 to give the winning filmmakers time to develop and complete future projects.

“TIFF has a world-class reputation as the leading festival and launch pad for Canadian cultural ingenuity,” said Whites chairman and CEO Paul Bronfman in a statement.

“This, in concert with Whites’ mission to nurture and develop the next generation of Canadian talent, sets the stage to help build the foundations for a successful future,” he added.

The Whites support was welcomed by Piers Handling, director and CEO of TIFF, who said in his own statement that “their gift will benefit emerging filmmakers and make a lasting impact.”

Whites already provides education and training support to young filmmakers via its education and training department.

Whites manager of education and training Bruce Dale will participate as a guest instructor at Bell Lightbox.

Set image via Shutterstock