Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Unpredictable, a screwball feature screenplay by writer/director Allison Beda (NSI Features First) and writer Eileen Cook, is shortlisted for the BET Network Project CR8. Watch the project’s pitch video above.

Unpredictable also just won best feature screenplay at the Boomtown Film & Music Festival in Beaumont, Texas.

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Supernatural horror film The Hollow Child from Jeremy Lutter (NSI Drama Prize, NSI Features First) and Ben Rollo (NSI Script to Screen) has secured a US distribution deal with Vertical Entertainment via UK sales agent Devilworks.

The Telefilm Canada micro-budget production (now named Telefilm Talent to Watch) follows troubled teen Samantha (Jessica McLeod) 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.

Vertical is scheduling a day and date release later this month.

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The complexities and dualities of bisexuality and relationships.

Creative team

Writer/director: Patrick Gratton
Producers: Patrick Gratton, Jenny Ng-Turner, Justin Burke

Filmmaker’s statement

When I was starting to form my conception of Double Date, my sole intention was to spark discussions on the silent, maligned and forgotten B in LGBT.

In the day and age of marriage equality, where queer artworks have finally hit the mainstream, I feel like LGBT storytellers are leaving their bisexual brothers and sisters behind.

Whether due to personal bias or troubles navigating the muddled waters of a bisexual story arc, the majority of LGBT filmmakers skip over bisexual stories for more broadened gay or lesbian ones. Which isn’t to say all LGBT representation aren’t equal, but by focusing on the underrepresented bisexual stories we wanted to pave a new discussion both inside and outside the community. Hopefully Double Date starts this discussion.

As we break down barriers on other fronts, there’s still a lot of work to be done both inside and outside our community. There is still struggle and confusion for those grappling with their sexuality. When discussing bisexuality, I call it the “Swinging the Fence” syndrome: neither homosexual nor heterosexual, bisexuals endure prejudice, shame and biphobia from either side.

The bisexual struggle is this: rejected by both sides, bisexuals choose either to be ostracized or choose to erase their bi-ness by conforming to heterosexual and homosexual social norms.

Double Date might not be the happy-go-luckiest of queer short films (which are currently in vogue), but we hope it gives a voice to those voiceless and starts broadening the discussion on bisexuality.

About Patrick Gratton

Writer/director/producer Patrick Gratton is a native born and bred Winnipegger. Growing up watching the films of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, his fascination with the visual medium grew to a full-blown obsession.

Delving into cinephilia, he eventually graduated from the University of Manitoba, holding a BA with an advanced major in film studies. During his time at university, he took part in the collective feature film production of The Assignment, loosely adapted from the Robert Cormier novel The Chocolate War.

Patrick later joined the film work force, becoming a member of the Director’s Guild of Canada. His credits as a production assistant include Channel Zero: Season 3, A Dog’s Purpose, Sunnyside, Devil’s Gate, Break My Heart 1,000 Times, among others.

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A look at the inaugural MyToronto photo contest which placed disposable cameras in the hands of people who have experienced homelessness. Photos by the participants were published in a calendar which they could then sell.

Creative team

Writer/director/producer: Anne-Marie Jackson

Filmmaker’s statement

Views From The Street started as an interest in the inaugural year of MyToronto, a photo contest aimed at seeing the city through the eyes of people who have experienced homelessness. It quickly became so much more.

While news outlets helped bolster the project at its launch, I decided, along with my colleague Emily Mathieu, to experience the entire journey, following a dozen participants over more than six months. Why? Because homelessness is an ever-growing reality in Toronto and throughout Canada.

While it is often ignored, we cannot discard the statistics and the people behind those numbers. [For example], in Toronto alone, 94 homeless people died in 2017. The shelter system is overcrowded and there are few long-term solutions.

MyToronto was a way to empower and give a voice to people often misunderstood and overlooked in our society. But the reality is that anyone can be homeless. It could be the loss of a job, a relationship, an unexpected illness. The participants are students, fathers, grandmothers, professionals but most importantly they are human and any one of us could end up in a similar situation.

Through this project I met many, many beautiful and talented people. Some had just become homeless, some were enduring it and some had overcome their housing issues.

MyToronto allowed the participants to partake in a positive and uplifting project, putting money in their pockets and empowering them to showcase their endless potential.

About Anne-Marie Jackson

Anne-Marie is an award-winning photographer, videographer and multimedia producer and has national and international experience across newspapers, magazine and online formats.

Anne-Marie is an instructor and speaker for a variety of clients on the topic of visual journalism and multimedia and is a EPPY, POYi winner and WEBBY honouree. She is currently a visual journalist and producer for the Toronto Star.

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