Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009.

News release: October 16, 2009

Twenty feature film writers and producers – hailing from BC to New Brunswick – will come together for five days of industry training as part of the Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program (FASP). They will be taught by leading lights in the Canadian film industry.

The National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI) has been chosen for a second year running to deliver training for this program.

Liz Janzen, Director of Programming for the National Screen Institute returns to manage the program along with Liz Jarvis of Buffalo Gal Pictures (producer, The Stone Angel). They have gathered a who’s who of industry leaders to work with program participants.

Close to 40 industry experts are generously contributing their time in workshops, seminars, lectures and one-on-one consultations covering topics ranging from story structure through feature film financing, marketing and distribution.

Special guests throughout the week include director Zacharias Kunuk, Isuma Productions (The Fast Runner); producer Niv Fichman, Rhombus Media in conversation with director Patricia Rozema (Kit Kittredge, An American Girl); Marie-Hélène Cousineau co-writer and co-director with Madeline Ivalu of Before Tomorrow; and director Michael McGowan (One Week).

Training starts this weekend in Toronto with a five day intensive known as “Jump Start to Film Immersion” which overlaps with the final two days of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. FASP participants will attend screenings at imagineNATIVE and network with festival attendees at industry events.

The final afternoon of Jump Start features a “speed dating” event, where participants can have individual 20 minute meetings with some 20 funders, distributors, broadcasters, agents, producers and financers from the Canadian feature film industry.

Jump Start to Film Immersion will be followed by a five month mentorship period which will see the writer participants in the program matched with a professional story editor while the producers will be mentored by some of the top working feature film producers in the country. Ultimately, it is hoped that this professional development will move these projects on to the next stage of production so that they will eventually find their way to theatre screens across Canada.

In addition to the 11 English language programs in the mentorship phase, the screenwriters of four French language projects will also receive the services of a story editor between now and next March.

“We’re pleased to once again provide the training component for the Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program,” said Liz Janzen.

“This year we’re continuing to build on NSI’s excellence in training and relationship with the Aboriginal community through existing NSI programs such as NSI New Voices and NSI Storytellers, both of which were developed specifically for Aboriginal writers, directors and producers.

"We have some innovative new components this year like the “speed dating” at the end of the week. And it’s wonderful that we can take advantage of the networking opportunities at imagineNATIVE, an international festival right here in Canada that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Combined with the stellar group of industry leaders that have agreed to give their time, this year’s training program will raise the bar.”

The Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program is an initiative of Telefilm Canada in partnership with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). For more information on the program and the selected participants and their projects, visit the Telefilm Canada website.

About Telefilm Canada: 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. Visit www.telefilm.gc.ca.

About APTN: September 1, 2009 marked the 10-year anniversary of the launch of the first national Aboriginal television network in the world with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples to share with all Canadians and viewers around the world. APTN is available in approximately 10 million Canadian households and commercial establishments with cable, direct-to-home satellite (DTH), telco-delivered and fixed wireless television service providers. APTN does not receive government funding for operations but generates revenue through subscriber fees, advertising sales and strategic partnerships. APTN broadcasts programming with 56% offered in English, 16% in French and 28% in Aboriginal languages. For program schedule or for more information, please contact APTN at (204) 947-9331 Ext. 358 or toll free at 1-888-330-APTN (2786), or visit www.aptn.ca.

Media contacts

Telefilm Canada
Eva Hartling: hartlie@telefilm.gc.ca
514-283-0838 or 1-800-567-0890, ext. 2090

APTN
Sylvia Kolopenuk: skolopenuk@aptn.ca
204-947-9331 ext. 339

National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI)
Glynis Corkal: glynis.corkal@nsi-canada.ca
204-956-7800 ext. 205 or 1-800-952-9307

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