Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

STORYHIVE digital shorts winners announced

Posted: 11 Mar 2016 12:38 PM PST

The TELUS STORYHIVE digital shorts winners have just been announced.

The Dishwasher from director Matthew Johnson won the top award for BC, and Noonright from director Chelsey Fawcett won the top award for Alberta.

The Dishwasher is an extraordinary love story about a dishwasher who dreams of something more – and the prostitute who helps him.

Noonright is about blind orphan Midgi, who follows a shadow into an otherworldly place when it promises to restore her vision.

Winners were decided by a combination of community votes alongside an industry jury. Each winner receives customized career training from NSI and a scholarship to the Banff World Media Festival.

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STORYHIVE is a community-powered funding program that allows members of the community to influence what projects will receive funding from TELUS.

The program allows content creators in British Columbia and Alberta to submit their story ideas to an online public platform. The community then votes for the project that should receive funding and go into production.

NSI delivers training for the selected projects and their creators once they’re chosen through the STORYHIVE process. The public chooses 15 projects from content creators in British Columbia and 15 from Alberta.

DGC Ontario returns as sponsor of Shaw Media Diverse TV Director course

Posted: 11 Mar 2016 11:24 AM PST

The National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI) is pleased to announce DGC Ontario’s return as Industry Partner for the Shaw Media Diverse TV Director course in association with NSI.

Award-winning DGC member Gail Harvey is returning as director advisor, working with program manager Elise Swerhone.

“DGC Ontario is pleased to return as an industry partner on this program to another group of emerging TV directors,” said Bill Skolnik, CEO & Executive Director, DGC Ontario. “The return of Shaw Media Diverse TV Director speaks to the continued need for this type of diverse training in the industry.”

“We’re pleased to have DGC Ontario’s support for the second year of this program,” said John Gill, CEO of NSI. “Providing high-quality training and responding to industry demand is NSI’s mission, and we’re happy to continue offering this course that brings diverse points of view to the director’s chair.”

About the course

Shaw Media Diverse TV Director is an advanced two-phase diversity training course for up to four diverse directors who are female and/or Aboriginal (male or female) and/or a visible minority (male or female) and/or a person with a disability (male or female).

The course is intended for directors ready to make the leap to TV series direction with development training and job shadowing.

The course is designed specifically for directing scripted television (drama or comedy) series. Applicants must have short film and/or feature film and/or non-series television directing experience and a desire to direct for the fast-paced, market driven world of series television.

Graduate successes so far include Melanie Orr directing episodes of The Wonderful Wayneys and Randall Okita shadowing on Orphan Black.

Apply for the course by Monday, March 14, 2016.

About the National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI)

Renowned for having given many emerging filmmakers, television writers and producers their first breaks, the National Screen Institute provides training and production support through courses like NSI Totally Television, NSI Drama Prize, NSI New Voices, NSI Features First, Movie Central Script to Screen, Shaw Media Diverse TV Director, NSI Aboriginal Documentary, TELUS STORYHIVE and TELUS Optik™ Local.

NSI also offers exposure through the NSI Online Short Film Festival and provides vast resources and support to those in the film, television, and digital media industry at nsi-canada.ca.

About the Directors Guild of Canada Ontario

The Directors Guild of Canada Ontario (DGC Ontario) is a provincial labour organization representing more than 1,800 key creative and logistical personnel working in the screen-based industries in the areas of direction, design, production, locations, accounting and editing. The DGC Ontario secures work opportunities for its Members, represents their interests through the negotiation and administration of collective agreements and engages in extensive industry advocacy and lobbying activities at the provincial and municipal levels.

Shaw Media Diverse TV Director 2016 is supported by Presenting Sponsor Shaw Media; Industry Partner Directors Guild of Canada Ontario; and Supporting Sponsors Entertainment One, Super Channel, Corus Entertainment, Breakthrough Entertainment and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Tourism, Culture, Heritage, Sport and Consumer Protection and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

All media enquiries

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