Telefilm Canada and Birks joined forces once again this year to honour 12 Canadian Women in Film at the Birks Diamond Tribute.  Honourees were selected based on their accomplishments at home and abroad. Held traditionally during TIFF, the event took place tonight at the Shangri La Hotel in a dazzling display of fashion among many of Toronto’s top social influencers and screen talents.

Notables celebrating the affair included Nolan Funk, Kris Holden-Reid, Stacey Mackenzie, Tracy Moore, Steven Lund, Amanda Brugel, The Property Brothers, Kiesza, Eric Johnson and several more.

I am honoured to be among a jury of 20 who selected this year’s recipients of the Birks Diamond Tribute and together we selected the following brilliant women:

Amanda Crew
Tracey Deer
Caroline Dhavernas
Emma Donoghue
Ann Marie Fleming
Christine Horne
April Mullen
Sandra Oh
Jennifer Podemski
Léa Pool
Ann Shin
Marie Vien

See some Snaps from the Affair:

(Photo credit: Birks/Mr. Will Wong)

With $1.6 million in funding awaited to be distributed, some familiar and emerging names were granted support through Telefilm Canada and Rogers Group of Funds’ Theatrical Documentary Program. To date the program has provided funding for over 60 Films with $12 million granted.  Rogers alone has handed out over $29 million in grants over the last 22 years. These are the Films that will come to grace the Festival circuit and potentially go on to Awards Season glory for Canada.

The latest recipients include:

Anthropocene (Ontario and Nunavut)
Directors: Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark), Edward Burtynsky (Watermark)
Writer: Jennifer Baichwal
Production: Anthropocene Films

Anthropocene is a feature documentary film from the multiple-award winning team of Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky and Nicholas de Pencier. It marks the third in a trilogy that includes Manufactured Landscapes (2006) and Watermark (2014). The film follows an international group of geologists who want to change the name of our present interglacial epoch, Holocene, to Anthropocene in recognition of human impact. Using high-end production values and cutting-edge camera technologies, we will traverse the globe, go up in the sky, underwater and underground, to document evidence of human planetary domination: from the world’s biggest open-pit mine to the last remaining female northern white rhino, from vast swaths of illegal deforestation in Peru to subterranean salt mines in Siberia. Combining hard science with stunning visual sequences, Anthropocene will mark an historic moment in human history and bring a visceral and unforgettable understanding of our species’ reach and impact.

The Gordon Pinsent Documentary (Western Region)
Writer-Director: Brigitte Berman (Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got, 1987 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature)
Production/Distribution: Bridge Film Productions

Multi-award-winning actor/writer/director Gordon Pinsent is one of Canada’s most beloved performers, and after a six-decade-long career, he shows no signs of slowing down. This film will be a gripping new-form documentary featuring Gordon Pinsent reliving his stories at the major crossroads of his life. Filled with humour, passion and complexity, this film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Brigitte Berman will not only tell the story of Gordon Pinsent, but will tell a universal story about the human condition in a format that makes creative use of state-of-the art digital technology.

My Enemy, My Brother (Western Region)
Director: Ann Shin (The Defector: Escape from North Korea)
Writers: Ann Shin, Melanie Horkan
Production: Fathom Media
Distribution: A71 Entertainment

My Enemy, My Brother tells the real-life story of two former enemies from the Iran-Iraq War who become blood brothers for life. Zahed, an Iranian child soldier, risked his life to save a wounded Iraqi soldier, Najah, after finding a photo of his wife and child. Thirty years later, they met again by sheer chance in Vancouver. Now, Najah and Zahed embark on an emotional journey back to Iraq to face the ghosts of their past in a region that has endured decades of conflict. Najah searches for his missing wife and child, and Zahed reunites with his family for the last time. As the struggle for peace in Iraq continues, the two friends try and reconcile the sacrifices they made in war with present-day realities.

The New Corporation (Ontario and Nunavut)
Director: Mark Achbar (Manufacturing Consent, The Corporation)
Writer: Joel Bakan
Production: Grant Street Productions
Distribution: Blue Ice Distribution

Winner of 26 international awards, The Corporation was a sensation when it was released in 2003. The film’s central claim—that the institutional character of the publicly traded corporation is akin to that of a human psychopath—hit a nerve. But today, corporations are widely believed to have changed; renewed, socially responsible, often dedicated to philanthropic causes, and ecologically sustainable. Yet, as their influence on societies and governments continues to grow, these “new” corporations are coming under increasing scrutiny. Grassroots movements around the world, spurred on by new forms of political thought and action, are fueling change. The New Corporation asks: Will these trends converge? What would the role of corporations look like in a truly democratic, just and sustainable future?

French-language projects

Flying Sisters (Quebec)
Writer-Director: Julie Lambert (Un film de chasse de filles, funded under Telefilm’s Micro-Budget Production Program)
Production: Parallaxes
Distribution: Les Films du 3 mars, Spira Distribution

This feature-length documentary takes us into the world of hang-gliding though the story of Camille, 28, a mental-health worker and doctoral candidate in psychology, and Catherine, 35, a nurse practitioner, who combine their sport with a therapeutic health initiative. The women are unique in that they are two of only three women hang-glider pilots in Quebec—proud representatives of a sport with few adherents. They are known as the “Flying Sisters.”

Movements – Louise Lecavalier (Quebec)
Writer-Director: Raymond St-Jean (A Chair Fit for an Angel)
Production: Ciné Qua non Média
Distribution: Filmoption International

The feature length documentary film Movements – Louise Lecavalier is built around a series of cinematographic moments that create an intimate and honest portrait of the dancer and choreographer Louise Lecavalier.

Movements – Louise Lecavalier tells the inspiring story of this indomitable creator, who revolutionized dance in the 1980s with choreographer Édouard Lock and who now, at age 57, is seeing her solo career take off on the international scene. For the last 35 years, Louise Lecavalier has drawn from her life experience—its trials, injuries, sadness and joy—to feed her art. The artist, her close friends and collaborators talk openly about some of the events, equally light and somber, that marked the development of an extraordinary artist. Dance, words and music are linked by well-paced editing to create a moving, accessible and informative film in which are mingled interviews and spectacular dance sequences.

More on the Program here!  Can’t wait to see these on the big screen!

Willionaire$!  I’m thrilled to announce that for a second time, I have the great honour of being invited to Beverly Hills, California to attend AN EVENING WITH CANADA’S STARS!  The Gala pays tribute to Canadian accomplishments in Awards Season and Honorees, Winners and Nominees will be in attendance. It is now in its third year, brought to us by Telefilm Canada, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles.

We can all agree that Canada’s had a phenomenal year.  Did you know that Academy Award Best Picture Nominees ROOM and BROOKLYN are Co-Canadian productions?  Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada points out that this is the first time Canada ever has had two productions in-the-running for Best Picture. ROOM was filmed entirely in our City, also premiering in our City at TIFF ’15 to People’s Choice Award success at the Festival, propelling Writer Emma Donoughue, Director Lenny Abrahamson, Actor Jacob Tremblay and Actress Brie Larson onto a massively-successful Awards Season trail. Let us not forget Toronto’s The Weeknd who is up for Best Original Song for Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey) and also our Rachel McAdams’ Supporting Actress nomination for Toronto-filmed SPOTLIGHT – seen widely as a frontrunner for Best Picture.  Canada plays a more pivotal role in Hollywood and the international stage than one might think.

James Villeneuve, Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles says, “Canada’s talent—on screen and behind the scenes—is a sign of the strength of the entire range of Canadian creative industries. It’s a great moment to celebrate our filmmakers’ achievements and keep building on the momentum of our successful partnerships in the US and elsewhere.”

Taking place at the prestigious Four Seasons on Thursday, February 25, 2016 4-7 PM PST, the affair promises to be a star-studded one.  Expected this year are the likes of: Amanda Crew, Tricia Helfer, Greyston Holt, Jonathan Keltz, Brett Dier, Amanda Plummer, Sarah Rafferty, Maxim Roy, Jacob Tremblay, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anna Silk, David Sutcliffe and Laura Vandervoort. Lyriq Bent, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Adam Beach, who will soon be seen in Suicide Squad, will be presenting.

Both Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara will be honoured that night with an Academy Legacy Award.

Past attendees include Eric McCormack, Don McKellar, Sandra Oh, Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Robertson, Wendy Crewson, Lyndie Greenwood, Norm Jewison, Jason Priestley and Academy Award winner Craig Mann (whom I was classmates with in Music Keyboarding back at St. Mary!).

While this is our second time ever visiting Hollywood, we are thrilled to appear on SIRIUS XM as radio veteran Todd Shapiro brings THE TODD SHAPIRO SHOW show to Los Angeles through March, discussing Awards Season. Stay tuned for times as we’d love it if you tuned-in!

An Evening with Canada’s Stars takes place in advance of Canadian Screen Week festivities, running Monday, March 7, culminating in the Canadian Screen Awards Sunday, March 13, 2016.  We’ll definitely be there! More here.

Stay tuned for all the Red Carpet excitement!

Mr. Will

The Micro-Budget Production Program from Telefilm Canada serves to assist promising emerging Filmmakers an opportunity at funding their first Feature Films, not to exceed a budget of $250k.  Now in its third year, 15 Finalists across Canada were selected based on recommendations from 40 educational institutions and film cooperatives. Thus far, 37 full-length Films – many which have won awards on the Festival circuits nationally – have been funded through the Program which it was announced, is to be funded by the Talent Fund.  The Fund over the years collected over $15 million from companies, individuals and  foundations. Technicolor also generously is offering free digital distribution encoding services to cater to an ever-changing demand for viewing films digitally and online.

This morning, Finalists were unveiled at TIFF Bell Lightbox Bell Blue Room and headlining the names was a familiar face in Amy Jo Johnson for her Film, The Space Between. Johnson, known to many for her role as Pink Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, will direct and write.

New faces like upcoming Director Aidan Shipley, were present too as he works on his debut Feature, Cardinal.  While he might be busy starring in Toronto-filmed Blockbuster Suicide Squad, Adam Beach through his Institute, is responsible for partnering with Filmmaker Benjamin Ross Hayden in The Edict, which will be a part of the Micro-Budget Production Program‘s Aboriginal Component. A new Official-Language Minority Communities Component also has been added this year.

For more, visit http://www.telefilm.ca.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Communities participating in this historic Event include:

Vancouver, BC
Victoria, BC
Whistler, BC
Lethbridge, AB
Jasper, AB
Calgary, AB
Indian Head, SK
Regina, SK
Saskatoon, SK
Yorkton, SK
Flin Flon, MB
Glenlawn, MB
Winnipeg, MB
Ottawa, ON
Toronto, ON
St Catherine’s, ON
Peterborough, ON
Sault Ste Marie, ON
Thunder Bay, ON
Waterloo, ON
Montreal, PQ
Fredericton, NB
Saint John, NB
Charlottetown, PEI
St. John’s, NFLD
Halifax, NS
Yellowknife, NWT
Iqaluit, NU
Dawson City, YT
Whitehorse, YT

Films screening this year include the likes of Good Cop, Bad Cop, Passchendaele, The Sweet Hereafter, Meatballs and Decline of the American.

For a complete Lineup and Tickets, click here!

(Photo credit: Telefilm Canada)

Mr. Will Wong, Telefilm Canada and Touchwood PR want to give Readers a taste of the Red Carpet Experience at one of the most important Events to fall during TIFF ’13, the Birks Diamond Tribute to the Year’s Women in Film. The ultra-exclusive Event honours Ten Women in Canadian Film including Actors and Directors. Among those being honoured are the likes of Sarah Polley, Sarah Gadon, Deepa Mehta, Jessica Paré, Allison Pill, Geneviève Bujold and more!

When: September 11, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Where: Toronto Birks Store (55 Bloor Street W. – Manulife Centre)
There  will be a FanZone set-up for Fans to get up close and person with the Stars!  There will be several in attendance in addition to this year’s Honourees.

To enter to win Tickets, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will Wong on Facebook. Share this Post on Facebook and double your chances or Re-Tweet the below:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/birks @MRWILLW wants us to #win access to the @MAISONBIRKS Diamond Tribute to the Year’s Women in Film on 9/11/13!

Good luck.

(Photo credit: Maison Birks)