Telefilm Canada has selected 17 Talent to Watch projects to share $3.45 million from 155 submissions.
It’s quite revealing to look at the numbers in detail.
Let’s start with Type.
| Narrative | 9 |
| Documentary | 8 |
The Narrative features break down thusly:
| Drama | 6 |
| Romantic Comedy | 1 |
| Sci-fi, Fantasy and Fairytale | 1 |
| Suspense | 1 |
Province?
| Quebec | 7 |
| Ontario | 6 |
| British Columbia | 2 |
| Saskatchewan | 1 |
| Yukon | 1 |
Let’s look at Language next.
| English | 6 |
| French and English | 2 |
| English and Cree | 1 |
| English and Filipino | 1 |
| English and Irish | 1 |
| English and Kannada | 1 |
| English, French and Korean | 1 |
| French | 1 |
| French and Spanish | 1 |
| French, English and Spanish | 1 |
| Japanese | 1 |
And let’s finish up with Stream.
| Filmmaker Apply-Direct | 11 |
| Industry Partner | 4 |
| Festival | 1 |
| Indigenous | 1 |
In addition, if Gender is assumed from names:
| Female | approx. 20 |
| Male | approx. 18 |
Some observations:
- The number of submissions is about the same as last year.
- Non-fiction continues to be almost as successful as Fiction.
- Drama is the most popular narrative genre.
- Almost all of the successful projects are from Quebec and Ontario.
- Almost half of the successful projects include other languages in addition to English and/or French — and one is in Japanese exclusively.
- The vast majority of successful projects continue to be Filmmaker Apply-Direct.
- Less than a quarter of the successful projects are from Industry Partners.
- For the first time, two projects are helmed by one individual filling the director, screenwriter and producer roles, rather than a team of two or more.
- For the second year in a row, no projects are selected from Atlantic Canada.
Hey, Atlantic Canada, what gives?
My take: this is the fourth year that filmmakers could apply directly and Telefilm has rewarded them well! Therefore, if you can apply direct, bypass your local industry partner, for odds of approximately one in nine.
In your online article you wrote: “this is the fourth year that filmmakers could apply directly and Telefilm has rewarded them well! Therefore, if you can apply direct, bypass your local industry partner, for odds of approximately one in nine.” I attended a DSO (Disability Screen Office) zoom meeting that was done with Norcity surveys this past year. 20+ disabled screenwriters attended. I was the only BC attendee. Most were from Ontario and the Maritimes. ALL of us suffered from funding application burn out. Not one of us ever received any funding from Ontario Arts Council, BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm – you name it. One attendee worked as a lead writer for 11 years on a TV series – he went for tests on his own accord and found out he was autistic. Within 3 months of sharing this with his work mates, he was pushed out. Brutal! At that time at that zoom meeting he had been without a position for more than 8 months. Some of us wondered how non-disabled writers could write about persons with disabilities (and often so inaccurately!) and gain funding whereas disabled writers are shunned. None of knew of the person or persons who got into the AccessCBC program, and we wished the person or persons who did was in attendance. We wanted to ask “What is your disability? What are your connections? What producer picked you up on your TV series? What is the TV series about?” One writer however was asked by a producer, “How can you write about non-disabled people when you are disabled?” A double standard that is burningly hypocritical even for that guy who was an Afghanistan war veteran now in a wheelchair! It was his word against the producers since one needs at least two witnesses to pursue any Human Rights issue in a Tribunal. (Some of us, including myself, already know this.) Another question asked was how many of you have found it even more difficult in obtaining a job or position in film and television since MAiD came into effect? ALL of us put our hands up. Some of us older ones reminisced about our first temporary jobs in the 1980s. Some of the young writers who are new to the game never experienced any form of employment, not even a temporary one, in the past 2 to 3 years after training or graduation. ALL know that the Accessible Canada Act does not come into effect until 2040. The conclusion to the meeting? Needless to say, it was an enlightening meeting that only confirmed what we older ones already know. Disability goes across the board whether one is man, woman, LGBTQ+, black, Indigenous, you name it, but equity does NOT include disability. The word ‘equity’ is a simply a word to pacify us into a false belief.