Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Are you thinking about applying for NSI Features First? We recently talked to some of our program alumni to get their thoughts on how the program changed their careers and why they think you should apply.

Grad and All-in Madonna producer Arnold Lim had lots of thoughts to share about how the course made a positive impact on his life and career.

What were your expectations for NSI Features First going into it? Did these change over the course of the program?

My expectations going into the NSI Features First program were already quite high, after researching and speaking to past participants and being familiar with NSI’s reputation. I believed Susie [Winters, All-in Madonna writer] and I would experience tangible forward momentum with our feature All-in Madonna.

‘Development’ can be a somewhat ambiguous term and difficult to quantify, but what I discovered during the course of the program was an even greater benefit than I initially expected.

Line-by-line script readings, in-depth meetings with industry professionals and opportunities to meet people I otherwise never would have met opened up our project to new directions we never anticipated. During our year we secured $32,500 to shoot a short film based on our feature, and followed up by being recommended by NSI for Telefilm’s Talent to Watch program.

We are going to camera on All-in Madonna in 2019 and NSI programs and staff have played an important role in helping our team realize a lifelong dream.

Do you have any tips or advice for folks thinking of applying to the course?

Applying for the course, for me, was a thorough investigation of where I was in my film career, my family, where I wanted to be, where our project All-in Madonna was at the time, and our team’s work/life balance at the time. Those answers are obviously different for everyone, but what I can say to those thinking of applying is you truly get what you put into it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Any sacrifices I made in terms of a social life, free time and sleep during that year were paid back tenfold and I will absolutely be applying for a future NSI program (possibly as early as next year).

Why would you recommend NSI Features First?

I would wholeheartedly recommend NSI’s Features First program. As someone who works full-time, the program allowed me to continue to work and support my family while simultaneously improving All-in Madonna’s script, increasing the number of connections we had in the industry and helping us learn aspects of the film world we didn’t fully understand.

The result is that I’m a better filmmaker today than I was when I started and we have an opportunity to make our team’s first feature film – and for that I will always be grateful.

• • •

Find out more and apply for the course by September 14, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. CST.

NSI Features First is funded by Presenting Sponsor Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Super Channel, Corus Entertainment and Breakthrough Entertainment; Provincial Sponsor Creative BC through the Daryl Duke and William Vince Scholarship Fund; and Industry Supporters William F. White and Deluxe. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

The post Grad Arnold Lim’s insights into how NSI Features First boosted his filmmaking career appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

FIN Atlantic International Film Festival kicks off next month in Halifax.

They recently announced their 2018 programming and several NSI grads will have screenings at this year’s fest:

• An Audience of Chairs (pictured) from director Deanne Foley (NSI Totally Television) and writer Rosemary House (NSI Features First)

• Cahoots from writer/director/producer Jon Mann and producer Rob Ramsay (both NSI Totally Television)

• Giant Little Ones from writer/director Keith Behrman and exec producer Daniel Bekerman (both NSI Features First)

• Halloween Party from writer/director/producer Jay Dahl (NSI Drama Prize)

• Hopeless Romantic from co-director Deanne Foley, co-writer/co-producer Jay Dahl and co-writer Iain MacLeod (NSI Totally Television, NSI Features First)

• Missy from writer/director/producer Jon Mann and producer Rob Ramsay

FIN Atlantic International Film Festival runs September 13 to 20, 2018.

Did we miss your film? Let us know!

The post Films from NSI grads screen at 2018 FIN Atlantic International Film Fest appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Afterlight, a STORYHIVE 100K web series from project lead Rew Jones, premieres this weekend in Grande Prairie, Alberta with a screening at Grande Prairie Live Theatre on Saturday, August 25 at 7 p.m.

Afterlight explores the question of what would happen if, in one instant, all electricity stopped? If the power grid, batteries, spark plugs, and generators stopped working? Will the small town of Fort Agneau learn how to come together and survive?

The pilot episode will be available to watch on TELUS OPTIK on August 27, and on YouTube September 6.

Find out more and buy tickets.

• • •

STORYHIVE is a community-powered funding program that allows members of the community to influence which projects receive funding from TELUS. NSI delivers mentoring through the STORYHIVE mentorship program in partnership with NSI.

The post STORYHIVE 100K project Afterlight premieres in Grande Prairie appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Congratulations to Kirsten Carthew (NSI Features First, NSI Drama Prize), who has been chosen for the second female director apprenticeship run by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Kirsten Carthew is one of eight participants starting the Academy Apprenticeship for Women Directors in September.

The program provides intensive professional development to emerging female content creators by pairing each apprentice with an established director. The Apprenticeship for Women Directors runs from September 2018 to March 2019 and will kick off with a two-day summit during TIFF 2018.

The post Kirsten Carthew named one of Academy’s Apprenticeship for Women Directors participants appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Three new films in this week’s NSI Online Short Film Festival from directors Nicole Magne, David Robertson, Nick Wilson, Amelia Wasserman and Trevor Kristjanson.

Our Tomorrows, Today: Wahbung 1971

Our Tomorrows, Today: Wahbung 1971 | Documentary, 21:58, English, MB, 2017 | Directors: Nicole Magne, David Robertson

The history of Wahbung, Our Tomorrows, and how it was a catalyst for First Nations peoples’ right to self-determination.

Bree and Drew (Me & You)

Bree and Drew (Me & You) | Drama, 8:30, English, ON, 2017 | Directors: Nick Wilson, Amelia Wasserman

Bree and Drew just broke up. Panicking to pack up their stuff before the movers arrive, they fall back on witty repartee to mask their true feelings as Drew tries to force Bree to take back the ring she never wanted.

Surfacing

Surfacing | Drama, 4:58, English, MB, 2016 | Director: Trevor Kristjanson

A woman deals with trauma during a guided meditation session with her therapist.

• • •

Call for films / submit by September 4

We’re accepting films through FilmFreeway until Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

If your film is programmed, you have a chance of winning the A&E Short Filmmakers Award for best film. We accept films released after January 1, 2013.

All NSI Online Short Film Festival winners receive a complimentary Friend membership for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and are qualified to be nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (if award criteria are met).

See the most recent winners.

Your film must be less than 30 mins long. Drama, comedy, animation, documentary, sci-fi, horror, music video and experimental are all eligible and must be made by a Canadian writer, director or producer.

Submit your film

The NSI Online Short Film Festival is made possible through the support of Festival Partner Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media and Breakthrough Entertainment; Award Sponsor A&E Television Networks; and Industry Partner the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

The post Our Tomorrows, Today: Wahbung 1971 by Nicole Magne and David Robertson + 2 more films in this week’s NSI Online Short Film Fest appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).