Emerging Directors' Pitch Competition + Showcase

Nov 29 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
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Location: Ada Slaight Hall in Daniels Spectrum | 585 Dundas Street East

This year, our annual Emerging Directors’ Pitch Competition will feature 4 new pitches for short documentary and narrative projects of 40 minutes or less alongside a showcase of work created by past competition winners. Come and support the finalists as they pitch to win a stellar prize package, including a cash prize and consultation and post-production services from our wonderful sponsors!

Pitch Competition Alumni Showcase: My name is 張麟發 Tommy Lan Phat Truong

Year: 2023
Genre: Animated Documentary
Country: Canada
Language: In English with subtitles
Length: 11 m

MY NAME IS 張麟發 TOMMY LAN PHAT TRUONG examines the etymologies, evolutions, and scripts of the filmmaker’s name(s) that have been used to define his mixed sense of cultural identity in the process of assimilating into Western culture.

Directed by

Tommy Truong is a digital artist, technician, and animator, whose work explores the ideas of human behaviour, cultural identity, and storytelling – specifically, how they coincide and complement one another. Truong has exhibited in venues across Toronto such as Xpace Cultural Centre, OCAD University, Artscape, Art Gallery of Ontario, and more.

Pitch Competition Alumni Showcase: Wash Day

Year: 2020
Genre: Experimental Drama
Country: Canada
Language: English
Length: 10m
Watch Trailer

As they get ready for the day, three young Black women discuss the public perception of their Blackness in its relation to their personal journeys in cultivating a strong sense of self.

Directed by

Kourtney Jackson is a Toronto-based filmmaker and lens-based artist. Her artistic practice employs hybridised and experimental forms of storytelling that centre the interiorities of Black queer womanhood.

Speakers and panelists

Pitcher

Anushay Sheikh and Derek Sands are co-directors of the pitched film, THE KUHKENAH NETWORK. Anushay Sheikh (they/them) is an artist working in photography, film, video, and installation. Drawing heavily on their experiences and identities, their work is heavily process-based and rooted in anti-oppressive practices. Sheikh holds a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media from TMU.

Derek Sands (Ojibway, Potawatomi, and Miami) is a Walpole Island First Nation member and an Indigenous filmmaker. His film journey started when he realised the teachings, language, and elders were disappearing, allowing him to find purpose in documenting what remained. Derek was recently accepted into the Media and Design Innovation Ph.D. program at TMU.

Pitcher

KhaRå Martin, host of the award-winning docu-series, Black Community Mixtapes, is an advocate and filmmaker from Pickering/Scarborough. Her debut short film NO JUSTICE NO PEACE premiered at TIFF Next Wave and won Best Short Film at the Emerging Lens Film Festival and the Impact award at CineFAM Film Festival in 2021. Martin’s second documentary, THE IDEA OF A BLACK DOLLAR is now on CBCGem.

Pitcher

Sarah Carrier is a Cree filmmaker originally from Treaty 4 territory in Saskatchewan. A member of Piapot First Nation currently residing in Toronto, Sarah is a producer, director, writer, film editor and colourist who is passionate about creating humanist, character-driven stories which centre Indigenous experience. Sarah’s most recent short film, NEXT YEAR AT THIS TIME, screened at film festivals across Turtle Island in 2023.

Pitcher

Issa Shah is a Canadian-Muslim documentary cinematographer of Pakistani and Guyanese descent who utilises his lens to illuminate global issues surrounding socio-economics, class, and race. Issa has been credited on projects with HBO, CBC, Lululemon, IDRF, Warner Music, and TikTok; working as a DP, he has travelled to Vietnam, Turkey, Kenya, and Jamaica. Issa’s previous work includes UNITY MOSQUE (2018) and EITR (2023).

Juror

Luisa Alvarez Restrepo a Colombian-born film executive, diversity advocate, and artist. As the Director of Inclusion and Community Development at ACTRA Toronto, she leads work to tackle anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination in the industry. Her previous experience includes TIFF and WarnerMedia and her work as an actor and writer has been shown across the world.

Juror

Tiffany Hsiung is a Toronto-based filmmaker whose work, including SING ME A LULLABY (2020), have won accolades like the Oscar-qualifying Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC and TIFF’s ‘Share Her Journey Short Cuts Award’; her debut feature, THE APOLOGY (2016), earned a Peabody Award. Tiffany serves on the executive board at The Director’s Guild of Canada Ontario and DOC Institute of Ontario.

Juror

Lucius Dechausay is an award winning director, illustrator and editor from Scarborough, currently acting as the Senior Producer of Unscripted Video Content at the CBC. His short films, documentaries and animations have screened around the world.

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