Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

National contest From Our Dark Side is seeking the best in Canadian women-driven genre film ideas including thrillers, science fiction, fantasy and horror.

To enter, you need to submit a three to five page genre film outline by October 31, 2018.

Winners receive a mentorship package designed to help get a feature-length project to the next stage. No previous film writing experience is necessary. Open to women writers and, new this year, women producers only.

Ten projects will be shortlisted and juried by top genre creators. Five projects will be selected for mentorship. The five winners receive a $500 cash prize and participate in a six-month incubator program from March to August 2019.

The program is led by producer Sharon McGowan (DramaLab) of the Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV) board of directors under the guidance of an advisory board of genre film experts including directors Karen Lam (NSI Drama Prize, NSI Totally Television), Amanda Tapping, Rachel Talalay and Rupert Harvey.

WIFTV board member and screenwriter Peggy Thompson (DramaLab) provides ongoing creative support as program mentor.

Read more and enter the contest.

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Above from left: Karen Moore, Matt Sadowkski, Sandi Somers, Jared Young

NSI Features First is presented in association with Telefilm Canada

Our NSI Features First writer participants recently attended the Toronto Screenwriting Conference, and then went straight into a two-day session with story-editing expert Corey Mandell.

NSI Features First is a renowned development training launch pad for producer/writer teams looking to produce their first or second feature film with strong commercial appeal.

• • •

Karen Moore | Writer, Must Kill Karl

I have been fortunate to attend the Toronto Screenwriting Conference for a number of years and always come away from the weekend an equal mixture of inspired and wanting to take a nap. I don’t mean that in a bad way – it’s a lot to process, and can be challenging to hear all the success and war stories and not have that bring out some amount of self-doubt.

Can I really do what these people are talking about? It’s intimidating, but then it’s inspiring. I have to sit in the feelings. Which sucks, until it doesn’t suck. Profound, I know.

My career thus far has been primarily in writing for television so I’ve always gone through the conference with a new TV pilot/series in mind. This year was all about NSI Features First. I had Must Kill Karl on my mind throughout the sessions and especially connected with Rebecca Addelman’s conversation about her experiences in TV writing rooms compared to writing her first feature, Paper Year.

The standout speakers for me were Ben Watkins and Stacy Rukeyser.

Ben led a presentation on pitching that was compelling and tangible. The TV series pitch he led us through was a performance, complete with PowerPoint and scripted voice-level changes.

I’m not someone who loves pitching. I tend to shy away from it unless I’m prepared. Ben showed me that it’s not about being naturally, amazingly articulate off-the-cuff – the whole trick is to be very prepared. I found this not only helpful but also reassuring that, if I work hard enough at it, I can pull off a pitch like that. Probably.

Stacy Rukeyser is the showrunner on UnREAL and spoke about the unlikable female protagonist. She gave insightful, interesting, powerful examples of how to convince the powers-that-be to get on board with these characters. In her experience, it’s all about seeing shades of vulnerability and self-doubt to combat this idea of ‘likability.’ I will have her talk in my mind for many of my TV projects, including Must Kill Karl (it’s a movie about an asshole), so I think it’s also applicable to our extremely unlikable male protagonist.

Then there’s Corey Mandell.

I’ve seen Corey speak at the conference multiple times and have always taken away helpful notes and perspectives. This year was no different – except then we got to spend two days one-on-one (okay technically four-on-one) and I’m not sure I’ll be able to accurately express what an experience that was, but I’ll try.

Incredible.

Challenging.

Fun.

Safe.

What it’s all about.

Corey wants to help you. Not just for this script – for your career, and in all sincerity, for your life.

This isn’t just a job for a lot of us. Writing/producing/creating is a MASSIVE part of my life and to have someone understand the importance and weight of that was … unusual. Corey teaches how to ask yourself the right questions without rushing to come up with answers to the wrong ones. How to work on your process and not only play to your strengths, but also break down your weaknesses through your work.

He was able to see the movie I wanted to write, and explain that I wrote the movie that’s essentially next door to the movie I wanted to write. And he was right. Fuck! I mean, oops. That’s a terrifying realization, but he holds your fragile, clammy little writer hand through the process of getting at the thing you want to write.

It will take me a while to digest everything he talked about in those two short days. I’m overwhelmed and excited for the next draft of Must Kill Karl and will, without question, have Corey in my head with the next script and the next – maybe forever-ever. It’s always terrifying to contemplate tearing the thing apart, but Corey cultivates an environment of incredible security, empathy and honesty that I was not expecting going in, and I was completely disarmed.

In summary, I guess he’s alright.

Matt Sadowski | Writer, She Smiles Back

I had been looking forward to the NSI Features First writers’ session with Corey for a while. When I first got the schedule showing when we’d get our script evaluations with him, I was sad and frustrated to be going last, but it was actually quite helpful.

To remove myself and my script from the process and bear witness to others, I was really able to see, hear and understand the points and tools Corey was making. In fact, the night before my script review, I did my own homework and went through the exercises Corey had done with my peers, to get on top of things.

I went to bed pretty satisfied and came in the next morning ready to ‘impress.’ Well, it didn’t matter. It was all moot as Corey dug into me. We all quickly realized that this time with him was less about what works with our scripts and doesn’t, and more about what works with ourselves and our writing process and doesn’t.

He said he couldn’t care less about making our scripts better (which is why I thought he was coming in), but about making us better writers which, though not immediate and more work and full of mixed emotions of excitement and fear, is far more valuable. I wish we had worked with him from the very beginning.

He left me in a very vulnerable state, but as I say in my script and in real life, anything difficult is worthwhile. Nothing is ever gained from taking the easy way out. So, we will go into this next pass of our script with an open mind, options and some great tools and perspectives to apply (courtesy of Corey).

We may either end up with a completely unrecognizable story that our characters live in anew, or a script that resembles what we applied with but is much stronger/faster and ready to be made.

Sandi Somers | Writer, Wilting Iris

I had no idea what to expect at the Toronto’s Screenwriting Conference. I guessed it would be like other conferences: maybe I’d grab a nugget of great information here and there, meet a few people and leave inspired.

My experiences there exceeded those expectations. Being with hundreds of other writers, listening to presentations by successful writers and showrunners, going to master classes, socializing with strangers and having great writing conversations was such a relevant and poignant experience for me.

Seeing how different showrunners run their rooms and hearing what they feel is important when pitching ideas to networks was as unique as the person.

I was entertained and engaged by the presenters, and having an opportunity to sit with writers during the round tables was great. Having casual conversations with those who are advanced in their careers and open to talking about their process and work was also great.

The conference itself was enlightening, stimulating and relevant. I was inspired to finish some scripts I loved but had abandoned, and to continue work on my TV ideas.

I felt wonderfully rejuvenated. The master class with Corey Mandell during the conference provided actual tips and useful tools to improve my writing and storytelling.

After the conference, the NSI Features First writers had a couple of days with Corey talking about our scripts. I received guidance on what worked and where improvement was needed but, even deeper than that, I got a writer’s life-lesson and discovered my strengths and weaknesses, the things I always do that don’t serve my writing.

I felt that Corey, who didn’t know me, cared about my future and imparted his knowledge to me so I could get better. He wasn’t the kind of guy to tell you what to do to make something better. He asked questions, shared lots of metaphors, was direct with constructive criticism and complimented strengths.

Those four days I spent in Toronto weren’t just about becoming a better writer. It was inspiring seeing so many writers come together to talk about films and screenplays, listen to story ideas, hear about their successes and struggles and, ultimately, feel connected to such a vibrant community.

I’m extremely grateful to NSI, Shelly Quade (program manager) and Al Magee (program advisor), for making this happen and for granting us the time with Corey. My writing is forever changed and I’m excited to get working on new scripts and concepts.

Jared Young | Writer, The Stars Shine in Temperance

There’s a difference between a good screenplay and a great screenplay, which seems pretty obvious. We experience the gap between good and great almost every day. We listen to good songs and great songs. We have good tacos for lunch and, sometimes if we’re lucky, we have great tacos.

But the distinction between good and great in a screenplay can be hard to quantify. Of the many things I learned over the course of four days in Toronto – two days at the Toronto Screenwriters Conference, two more with Corey Mandell – the most important was this: doing something good might get you a job, but doing something great can make your career.

For someone relatively new to the film and TV industries, this was exactly what I needed to hear. Again, it seems pretty obvious. But as writers and producers scramble for every available dollar, and battle over every opportunity to sneak their foot through the door, it’s important (I think) to stay focused on what really matters: the words on the page.

The roster of speakers at the Toronto Screenwriting Conference all boasted numerous successes. And all those successes came from maintaining that focus: on the story, on the characters, on the big ideas that drive them forward. The breadth of topics covered at the conference was impressive (from how to pitch a series to a room full of execs, to how to pitch yourself in a two-sentence bio). The atmosphere was very cool, too: auditoriums full of people eager to chat and eager to learn.

Anyone can write a good screenplay. By working hard. By getting lucky. But to write a great screenplay requires something more: a combination of craft, experience, relentlessness and self-awareness that’s unique to every writer. Corey Mandell understands this.

He’s a different kind of writing teacher. He’s not a guru. He hasn’t developed an easy recipe. Instead, like any good therapist, he asks the right questions, the obvious questions, the questions you can’t believe you didn’t think to ask yourself. And he lets you find the answers yourself. I have been writing professionally for more than a decade and, after a single afternoon of working with Corey, I began thinking about writing in a totally different way.

Our NSI Features First project was always pretty good. And it had the potential to be very good. But it wasn’t until the Toronto Screenwriting Conference, and the two days we spent locked in a hotel meeting room with Corey Mandell, that the narrow aperture of greatness opened up for us. And if we make it through, it won’t be because he gave me some brilliant note or because he made sure I had the right beat on the right page. It’ll be because he made me a better writer. And, in his own words, “the only way to become a better writer is to become a better person.”

No problem, right?

• • •

NSI Features First 2018-2019 is funded by Presenting Sponsor Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Super Channel, Corus Entertainment and Breakthrough Entertainment; and Industry Supporters William F. White and Deluxe. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

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Three new films in this week’s NSI Online Short Film Festival from directors Harrison Houde, Jon Mann, and Jane Tattersall and Thomas Pepper.

Vinny’s Girl

Vinny’s Girl | Comedy, 9:39, English, BC, 2018 | Director: Harrison Houde

In an alternate era, Vinny, an awkward dreamer, falls deeply in love with the voice behind a particular album. Now he must go to extreme lengths to rid himself from reality and continue collecting his dream girl.

Missy

Missy | Drama, 16:59, English, NS, 2018 | Director: Jon Mann

A recluse is forced to revisit his past after welcoming an unexpected, inanimate visitor.

Tuesday 10:08 AM

Tuesday 10:08 AM | Drama, 12:45, English, ON, 2016 | Directors: Jane Tattersall, Thomas Pepper

Tuesday 10:08 a.m.

A homeless man is shot dead by police and a junior inspector with the Special Investigation Unit is caught up in the incident. Unsure of the validity of the official police report, the junior inspector decides to do her own analysis of the many different video recordings of the shooting.

She pieces the story together but it’s not until she deciphers the audio that the full depth of the tragedy comes clear.

• • •

Call for films / submit by September 4

We’re accepting films through FilmFreeway until Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

If your film is programmed, you have a chance of winning the A&E Short Filmmakers Award for best film. We accept films released after January 1, 2013.

All NSI Online Short Film Festival winners receive a complimentary Friend membership for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and are qualified to be nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (if award criteria are met).

See the most recent winners.

Your film must be less than 30 mins long. Drama, comedy, animation, documentary, sci-fi, horror, music video and experimental are all eligible and must be made by a Canadian writer, director or producer.

Submit your film

The NSI Online Short Film Festival is made possible through the support of Festival Partner Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media and Breakthrough Entertainment; Award Sponsor A&E Television Networks; and Industry Partner the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

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Submissions are now open for the National Screen Institute’s Online Short Film Festival. Films are accepted exclusively through FilmFreeway until Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

Films that meet award criteria are eligible for the $1,250 A&E Short Filmmakers Award for best film. Read about the most recent winners.

NSI Online Short Film Festival winners receive a complimentary Friend membership for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and are qualified to be nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (if award criteria are met).

Submit your film.

Entries must be under 30 minutes – the shorter the better. Drama, comedy, animation, documentary, sci-fi, horror, music video and experimental are all eligible but must be made by a Canadian writer, director or producer. The festival accepts films released after January 1, 2013.

The NSI Online Short Film Festival is a year-round Canadian short film showcase with new films added every week. Since launching in 2008, the festival has programmed hundreds of films and awarded over $110K to Canadian media artists. Many of the films are available to watch in the archives.

The NSI Online Short Film Festival is made possible through the support of Festival Partner Telefilm Canada; Supporting Sponsors Corus Entertainment, Blue Ant Media and Breakthrough Entertainment; Award Sponsor A&E Television Networks; and Industry Partner the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

All media enquiries

Laura Friesen, Manager, Communications & Alumni Relations
Phone: 204.957.2999 or email: laura.friesen@nsi-canada.ca

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