Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Caw from Jeremy Lutter, Ryan Bright, Arnold Lim screens at Bucheon film fest in South Korea

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 01:08 PM PDT

Caw, a short film from writer Ryan Bright, producer Arnold Lim (both NSI Features First) and director Jeremy Lutter (NSI Drama Prize, NSI Features First) screens next week at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.

Caw screens on July 15, 17 and 20, 2017.

The film is about a shy teenager who falls in love with the strange new girl at school who always wears a mysterious red backpack.

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TIFF and CBC announce screenwriting grant for under-represented filmmakers

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:45 AM PDT

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the CBC Breaking Barriers Fund have announced (PDF) a new screenwriting grant aimed at supporting Canada’s diverse screenwriting talent.

The grant offers $10K to a Canadian writer along with support to further develop their feature film project.

The TIFF-CBC Diverse Screenwriters Grant is open to screenwriters who are female, Indigenous, belong to visible minorities or identify with a disability.

Applications are being accepted (for screenplays between 85 and 120 pages) until August 21, 2017.

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Frances Koncan contributes op-ed to CBC on class and resistance

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:24 AM PDT

Read a new op-ed, entitled On avocado toast and the Indigenous millennial resistance, from Frances Koncan (CBC New Indigenous Voices) on CBC Arts. In the piece, Frances explores class and which storytellers get to tell which stories.

In her words, “People are so conditioned to expect and anticipate the Indigenous poverty narrative that they have trouble viewing us through any other lens. They don’t understand that our similarities are so much stronger than our differences. That when they wept for Harambe, so did I.”

Frances recently won the Winnipeg Arts Council RBC On the Rise Award.

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The Hollow Child screens at San Diego Comic Con, July 20

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:17 AM PDT

Feature film The Hollow Child from Jeremy Lutter (NSI Drama Prize, NSI Features First) and Ben Rollo (Movie Central Script to Screen) celebrates its California premiere at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con.

The screening happens July 20 at 8:55 p.m.

This Telefilm Canada micro-budget production is about troubled teen Samantha whose position in her new foster family is jeopardized when her new sister Olivia goes missing in the woods, only to reappear, apparently unharmed, days later.

When Samantha suspects that what emerged from the woods is not Olivia, her investigation brings her face to face with an evil presence which has haunted their town for generations.

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The Streets

Posted: 07 Jul 2017 10:06 AM PDT

Filmed over six years throughout Canada, the United States and the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, The Streets is an auditory and visceral study into the pathways that divide and define our communities.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Kelly Conlin

Filmmaker’s statement

My latest film, The Streets, is both highly personal and an incredibly observational exploration into one of the most obvious, yet overlooked, aspects of human existence: the streets we live on.

I was inspired by the idea in 2008 when I embarked on a road trip throughout the United States and observed how juxtaposed the landscape and living situations were between small towns and big cities, busy highways and dead-end streets. When I compared in my mind what I saw and heard, I began to ask myself why someone would decide one street was a better place to live over another.

I started seriously shooting the project in 2010 and captured the last clips in 2016, after which time I edited the six-year journey into a short, punchy and visceral six-minute film.

My hope is that audiences experience the landscape through visuals and sound and see how different life is when we travel through the various arteries of society.

About Kelly Conlin

Kelly is a Canadian filmmaker and professional commercial videographer based on the west coast of Canada. Born in Vancouver, she graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA in political science and a minor in film studies.

The last narrative film Kelly produced, No Breath Play, had its North American premiere at the Portland Indie Film Festival before screening at eight more festivals including San Francisco, Memphis and Johannesburg, ultimately winning audience favourite at the Victoria Film Festival.

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Claddagh

Posted: 07 Jul 2017 10:01 AM PDT

Weaving conflicting narratives together, truth and loyalty blur when three brothers discover a lifeless body at the river’s edge.

Creative team

Writers: Brett Ferster, Shaun Crawford, Brett Connors
Director: Brett Ferster
Producer: Jayson Therrien

Filmmaker’s statement

Most of us as adults see the world in shades of grey. But as children most see it in absolutes – black or white. At some point there must be a point where it transitions from one to the other. I wanted to explore what this moment could be.

Coming from a family of three brothers, I thought exploring this theme against the relationships of brothers would allow me to speak this story in an authentic way.

Now, no part of me is Irish, so the ‘Claddagh’ ring became a device early in the script writing process. Tabled by my co-writer, Shaun Crawford, this became the perfect way to construct the story because of its connected themes to brotherhood and loyalty in relationships.

About Brett Ferster

Having been raised in the UK, Norway, Indonesia, Mexico and Canada, Brett grew up immersed in cultures and stories from around the world. These experiences probably seeped into his subconscious and guided him toward the idea of crafting stories, through film, as a career.

After gaining a BFA from the University of Lethbridge, he quickly started working in the industry and pursuing ideas that interested him.

The work he directs is often described as genuine, engaging, entertaining and visually compelling. He has won a handful of awards for his last short film, One Night in Aberdeen, and is working to cement his foothold as a professional director of narrative and commercial work.

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