This month, alumni made headlines with an impressive list of new projects and announcements. With theatres opening up across the country, we were thrilled to see the release of Tracey Deer’s feature film Beans and Charles Officer’s drama Akilla’s Escape hit the big screens. Plus, TIFF 2021 unveiled its selections for contemporary world cinema and discovery programmes, which include an array of alumni films. Read on for the latest updates on CFC alumni.

Thomas Antony Olajide in Learn to Swim

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS

Cordillera International Film Festival Awards

• Liminal, from Ali Mashayekhi (producer) Dan Abramovici (producer, writer and director) Mike Reisaccher (editor), is nominated for Best LGBTQ Short Film at the Cordillera International Film Festival

FESTIVALS

TIFF 2021

September 9-18, 2021

TIFF unveiled selections for contemporary world cinema and discovery programmes, which include the following alumni works: Selections include a range of alumni featured films including:

• Learn to Swim: Thyrone Tommy (director), Alona Metzer (producer), Thomas Antony Olajide (star), Baun Mah + Shaun Rykiss (editors), Simon Poole (composer), TiKA + Casey MQ (original songs by), and Marni Van Dyk (writer)
• Quickening: Haya Waseem (writer/director) and Spencer Creaghan (composer)
• Scarborough:Rich Williamson (co-director) and Rob Teehan (composer)
• Wildhood: Bretten Hannam (writer/director), Gharrett Patrick Paon (producer), Neil Haverty (composer), Shaun Rykiss (editor), Joel Thomas Hynes (actor), and Damon D’Oliveira (executive producer)
• Kicking Blood: Leonard Farlinger (co-writer), Benjamin Sutherland (actor), Matt Lyon (editor), and Nicole Hilliard-Forde (casting)
• All My Puny Sorrows: Tyler Levine (producer) and Orlee Buium (co-editor)

Full announcement here.

Cordillera International Film Festival

July 29 – August 2, 2021

• Liminal: Ali Mashayekhi (producer) Dan Abramovici (producer, writer and director) Mike Reisaccher (editor)

See full list and schedule details here.

Luca

FOR YOUR WATCHLIST

• Beans, from Tracey Deer (director/co-writer), Meredith Vuchnich (co-writer) and Anne-Marie Gélinas (producer) and supported by CFC Features, hit theatres across Canada on July 23, 2021
• Lethal Love, written by alum Heather Taylor and edited by alum Ben Lee Allan, is now streaming on Netflix US, UK, and Australia

• Akilla’s Escape directed by alum Charles Officer and written by Motion is now available in selected theatres and VOD/Digital. Additionally, you can catch the flick on digital TIFF Bell Lightbox
• Querencia The Web Series by CFC Film resident Mary Galloway is now available to stream on APTN lumi
• Disney Pixar’s Luca, featuring alum Giacomo Gianniotti, is now available to stream on Disney Plus
• Catch alum Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal in the Disney+ series The Mysterious Benedict Society

• Sugar Daddy is available to watch on Super Channel On Demand. The alumni featured film includes: Lauren Grant + Lori Lozinski (producers), Christine Armstrong (editor), and actor Andy McQueen
• Brotherhood produced by Mehernaz Lentin and Anand Ramayya is also available on Super Channel on Demand

FOR YOUR PLAYLIST

• Heather Taylor’s podcast ANOMALY was an official selection of the 2021 Tribeca Film Fest, the first major festival to feature podcasts in its programming. Listen here
• “Anywere but Here” by TiKA; find it on Spotify, YouTube, and Deezer

• Onyx, from FJØRA (current Slaight Family Music Lab resident Alexandra Petkovski) is out now
• Soft, a recent album from Kat Burns is out now
• Wild Again by Ava Kay; find it on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube

The Sympathizer

ALUMNI INDUSTRY NEWS AND UPDATES

• Rhombus Media, A24′s The Sympathizer greenlit by HBO: the espionage thriller series, which originated in Canada, will co-star Robert Downey Jr., with CFC alum Don McKellar serving as co-showrunner and head writer.
• WarnerMedia finalizes the participants joining its inaugural Access Writers Program, an initiative to support writers from underrepresented communities in the U.S. (entry-level) and in Canada (mid-level) in partnership with the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, which include Faisal Lutchmedial (CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator participant), and CFC alum Jessica Meya, Michael Hanley and Murry Peeters.
• Filmmaker Charles Officer explores his Jamaican-Canadian story in a one-on-one with Complex (watch)
• Hit web series Detention Adventure, produced by CFC alumn Lauren Corber’s LoCo Motion Productions, was greenlit for season three
• Detention Adventure also took home awards at T.O. WebFest Gala.
• Jennifer Holness’ documentary Statelesswas featured in New York Times in a piece highlighting “upending typical narratives about the triumph of the human spirit”
• Tracey Deer discusses her new film BEANS, an Indigenous coming of age story (read)
• Schitt’s Creek actress and CFC alum Annie Murphy will star in and EP Witness Protection from Alloy Entertainment for MRC female comedy label
• Randall Okita’s virtual-reality film about his Japanese Canadian grandparents bridges numerous distances (read)
• Telefilm Canada to fund the production of 29 English-and-French-language feature films across Canada, including the following alumni projects:
  • Lucky Star (drama): Gillian McKercher (director and screenwriter)
  • Queen Tut (drama): Reem Morsi (director), Kaveh Mohebbi (screenwriter), Fae Pictures Inc. (production company)
  • The Players (drama): Sarah Galea-Davis (director and screenwriter)
  • The Well (drama): Kathleen Hepburn (screenwriter)

• Telefilm Canada announces its commitment to 10 English-language national feature film projects from the 2021 selective process under the Production Program, including the following alumni projects:
  • Bloody Hell: Molly McGlynn (writer/director)
  • NIGHT OF THE ZOOmbies: Steven Hoban (writer)
  • Suze: Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark (writers/directors)
  • We Forgot to Break Up (director Chase Joynt) – supported through the CFC/Netflix Marketplace Accelerator; Youngblood: Charles Officer (director), Kyle Rideout and Josh Epstein (writers)

ALUMNI! DO YOU HAVE NEWS TO SHARE? WANT TO UPDATE YOUR ALUMNI PROFILE? GET IN TOUCH ANYTIME AT ALUMNI@CFCCREATES.COM

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