Telefilm Canada finances 17 English-language feature films through the Canada Feature Film Fund
Montreal, December 4, 2009 – Telefilm Canada is delighted to announce that 17 new English-language feature films across the country will move forward through several of Telefilm Canada’s feature film production programs under the Canada Feature Film Fund, including the Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program.
“I am very pleased to see an increasingly diverse portfolio of national feature films,” stated Michel Pradier, Director of Project Financing, Telefilm Canada. “We are excited to be supporting such promising emerging talent from all across Canada through our regional funding stream.”
“Telefilm is extremely proud of the quality of our newly announced projects,” stated Stephanie Azam, National Feature Film Executive – English language, Telefilm. “These films reflect a diversity of genres from both new and established filmmakers from across the country. We are confident that an impressive number of Canadians and worldwide audiences will see and enjoy these films.”
Canada Feature Film Fund – National projects
Beat the World (Ontario & Nunavut Region; BTW Productions Inc.; Executive Producers: Alfons Adetuyi, Amos Adetuyi and Robert Adetuyi; Writer/Director: Robert Adetuyi; Distributor: E1 Films Canada Inc.; Telefilm investment: $3.2 million) takes a look at three dance crews – one Latin American, one European and one from Windsor, Ontario – as they prepare to do battle at the international Beat the World competition in Detroit. Along the way, they struggle with personal issues ranging from gambling debt, bad break-ups and their own egos. In the final showdown to become world champions lifelong hopes, dreams and even lives, are at stake.
Fubar II (Western Region; FU2 Productions Ltd. & Cardinal Film 11 Inc.; Producers: Shirley Vercruysse, George Baptist, Jennifer Wilson, Michael Dowse, Dave Lawrence & Paul Spence; Director: Michael Dowse; Writers: Dave Lawrence, Paul Spence, & Michael Dowse; Distributor: Alliance Films Inc.; Telefilm Investment: $1.9 million). In this sequel to Fubar, headbangers Terry and Dean are tired of scraping by so they head north to make sweet cash working on the pipelines. Their buddy Tron hooks them up with jobs and soon they’re rolling in good times. Terry falls for Trish, a waitress at Peelrz. When Terry and Trish plan to move in, Dean can’t watch his best buddy swap the banger life for domestic captivity. Dean starts to spiral out of control ultimately ruining his friendship with Terry. Dean must fight for the things that mean the most: life, love, friendship and Christmas.
Hockey: The Musical (Ontario & Nunavut Region; Mulmur Feed Co. Ltd.; Executive producer: Richard Hanet; Producer: Michael McGowan; Writer/Director: Michael McGowan; Distributor: Mongrel Media Inc.; Telefilm investment: $2,245,753) is the story of 17-year-old Farley Gordon, who is plucked from obscurity and goes from shinny legend to prospective first pick in the NHL draft in only a matter of weeks. The film takes our national game and pairs it with fantastic music while chronicling Farley’s transition into the sometimes boorish world of Junior A hockey.
The Kate Logan Affair (Quebec Region; Gala Films; Producers: Arnie Gelbart; Writer/Director: Noel Mitrani; Distributor: E1 Films Canada Inc. /Les Films Seville Inc.; Telefilm investment: $1.3 million) tells the story of Benoit Gando, an innocent man mistaken by Kate Logan, a young policewoman, for a wanted rapist. Annoyed that he reveals her mistake to his superiors, Kate tries to seduce Benoit who succumbs to her advances. This innocent flirtation takes a turn and Gando realizes he is caught in a relentless machine changing his life forever.
The Whistleblower (Ontario & Nunavut Region; Gen One Films Inc.in co-production with Barry Films GmbH (Germany), with the participation of Voltage Pictures and Perfect Corporation; Executive Producers: Amy Kaufman, Celine Rattray & Nicolas Chartier; Producer: Christina Piovesan; Writers: Ellis Kirwan & Larysa Kondracki; Director: Larysa Kondracki; Distributor: E1 Films Canada Inc.; Telefilm investment: $2,635,000) is a tense political thriller based on the harrowing true story of a single woman’s quest for justice from within an organization that is facilitating the very crimes they were created to stop.
Wrecked (Western Region; Wrecked Productions Inc.; Producer: Kyle Mann; Director: Michael Greenspan; Writer: Christopher Dodd; Distributor: Alliance Films Inc.; Telefilm Investment: $1,650,000). A badly injured man is trapped in a car wreck at the bottom of a steep ravine. He’s lost his memory and there’s a dead man in the back seat and another body just outside of the wreckage site. The man must find a way out of the car, discover his identity, and overcome enormous obstacles in order to survive.
Canada Feature Film Fund – Regional Projects
The Future is Now! (Western Region; BFL, Future Inc. in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB); Producers: Shirley Vercruysse, George Baptist (BFL, Future Inc.) & Bonnie Thompson (NFB); Writer/Director: Gary Burns & Jim Brown; Telefilm Investment: $382,848). A journalist meets the Man of Today, a representative everyman who has closed himself off from society along with any hope or optimism for the future of mankind. The journalist, aka Woman of Tomorrow, decides to take this man under her wing with the goal of turning around his worldview. To achieve her goal she introduces the Man of Today to a variety of the world’s great minds in the arts and sciences, with the hope of opening his eyes to the possibilities that the future has to offer.
Rain Down (Western Region; Rain Down Pictures Inc.; Executive Producer: Alyson Drysdale; Producers: Alyson Drysdale & Johanne Gregory; Director: Garwin Sanford; Writer: Alyson Drysdale; Telefilm Investment: $249,000). Carla Springer, 28, ekes out a living on her ranch by training reining horses and barrel racing riders. Tall, lean and taciturn, Carla has successfully shielded herself from meaningful human contact after an abusive upbringing and a divorce. But the unexpected arrival of her 5 year-old niece who clearly needs her help, followed shortly by the reappearance of her felonious ex-husband, and the pressures on her carefully constructed world exacerbated by a government with plans to expropriate her ranch, all force Carla to face her past and take drastic measures to save that which is most precious.
Red Coat Justice (Ontario & Nunavut Region; Travesty Productions Inc.; Producers: Phillip Daniels & Michael Vernon; Writers: S. Wyeth Clarkson, Grant Sauve & Charles Johnston; Director: S. Wyeth Clarkson; Telefilm investment: $612,500) is a Western drama that takes place in 1894 in Canada’s Yukon Territory just before the gold rush. Wade Grayling an N.W.M.P., who began a promising career, was dishonourably reassigned to the most desolate area of the Yukon to survey land for a new garrison. Instead, he finds himself sitting down to eat with the leader of a small Russian pioneer community while a limp body hangs from a nearby tree. Wade soon finds himself in the midst of an opium dispute with a murder to solve.
Stained (Western Region; Goonworks Films Ltd. & Angel Entertainment Corporation; Executive Producers: Karen Lam & Bob Crowe; Producers: Katie Weekley, Wally Start & Bob Crowe; Director/Writer: Karen Lam; Telefilm Investment: $350,000). Isabelle & Jennifer have been friends since childhood. When Isabelle rekindles a romance with an abusive ex-boyfriend, Jennifer is the only one who can save her. But does Isabelle really need saving?
The Year Dolly Parton was My Mom (Quebec Region; Palomar & Buffalo Gal Pictures; Producers: Barbara Shrier & Liz Jarvis; Writer/Director: Tara Johns; Distributor: Mongrel Media Inc. / Métropole Films; Telefilm investment: $800,000) is a charming and funny coming of age story. It’s 1976 and Elizabeth is just your average 11-year-old living in the suburbs of Winnipeg when she discovers her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination and an Ouija Board to guide her, Elizabeth runs away in search of her true identity. Her adoptive mother, Marion is then forced to go after her daughter. This leads to a cathartic cross-country trek by a mother searching for a daughter who’s searching for a mother – both of them really searching for themselves.
Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program
Billy (Western Region; Winesto Films Inc.; Producer: Winston W. Moxam & Ernesto Griffith; Director: Winston W. Moxam; Writers: Ernesto Griffith & Winston W. Moxam; Telefilm Investment: $15,000). A young journalist arrives at a retirement home to interview Billy, a 94 year-old Black man. Billy tells him the story of his eventful life, dating back to his early recollections of a time when he left the United States to move to northern Manitoba. He recalls his struggle as a homesteader, the racism he endured, his love of a woman, and his gift of photography. Billy is the story of one man’s constant search for acceptance.
Excited (Western Region; Slewfoot Productions Inc.; Producer: Bruce Sweeney; Director: Bruce Sweeney; Writer: Bruce Sweeney; Telefilm Investment: $200,000). This film is about the nature of sexual dysfunction, the difficulties of intimate relationships, and unwanted parental intrusion. Kevin Staal, 36, is a successful businessman. He’s divorced and has been single for 8 years, but he’s finally met someone he likes. Hayaam, 39, has two degrees and works in a shoe store. They date and things look promising until his sexual problem stalls the relationship.
Fathers & Sons (Western Region; Raven West Films Ltd.; Executive Producer: Laura Lightbown; Producers: Carl Bessai & Jason James; Co-Producer: David Lee; Director/Writer: Carl Bessai; Telefilm Investment: $200,000). "Fathers & Sons” follows the lives of four very different families as they confront a pivotal moment in their relationships; the film celebrates those unchosen bonds that shape our lives, the
blessings and burdens.
A Gun to the Head (Western Region; ASAP Films Inc.; Producer: Oliver Linsley; Director: Blaine Thurier; Writer: Blaine Thurier; Telefilm Investment: $100,000). Reformed criminal-turned-bored husband Trevor leaves his wife’s awkward dinner party to get some wine. He reunites with his coke-dealing cousin, Darren, who entices him into making the rounds. Trevor finds himself descending into his dark past of drugs and street fights. When he learns Darren’s life has been threatened by a local gangster, Trevor tires to broker a deal, only to be abandoned by his cousin. The gangster’s thugs hold his wife’s dinner party hostage until Trevor can produce Darren. Trevor’s desperate effort to fix his mess only makes things worse until the inevitable happens.
Modra (Ontario & Nunavut Region; PUNK Films Inc.; Producer: Ingrid Veninger; Writer/Director: Ingrid Veninger; Telefilm investment: $135,000) tells the story of a 17-year-old girl and boy at a crossroads. It captures the longings and confusion of a precise moment in our lives, when adulthood has not yet arrived, but childhood has already long vanished.
A Night for Dying Tigers (Western Region: Dying Tiger Films Inc.; Producers: Terry Miles & Sidney Chiu; Director/Writer: Terry Miles; Telefilm Investment: $200,000). In 24 short hours, Jack goes to prison for five years. Tonight, for the first time since the sudden death of their parents one year earlier, the family is summoned to their ancestral home for Jack’s farewell dinner. What begins as a civil, if not joyful, reunion filled with food, drink, and acerbic conversation, quickly devolves into a morally questionable whirlwind of regret, reveals, reversals, and revelations. As they duke it out in a half-savage, half-civilized fashion, these characters and the truths behind their long history of conflict and tragedy, are slowly and surprisingly revealed. “A Night for Dying Tigers” is a dark, heartfelt and ultimately revealing portrait of a family on the edge of disintegration.
Telefilm Canada: Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry
Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. The Corporation also administers the funding programs of the Canada Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund.
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Media inquiries:
Alejandra Sosa – Communications Officer & Press attaché
(416) 973-6436 or 1-800-463-4607
sosaa@telefilm.ca