Emerging Directors' Pitch Competition
Location: bevy | 738 Dundas Street East
This year, our annual Emerging Directors’ Pitch Competition will feature pitches of 4 new, short unscripted projects to be considered for CBC’s Short Docs 2026 programming slate! Come and support our EDP finalists at bevy.space in Regent Park as they pitch their projects to a panel of CBC experts in hopes of winning a development deal courtesy of CBC Short Docs as well as a fantastic prize package from our generous industry partners!
Speakers and panelists
Pitcher
Nikita Zhang is a 2022-2023 participant of the BIPOC Episodic TV Writers Lab who aspires to bring honest, queer and immigrant stories to screen. Her scripts have been selected to read at ACTRA’s Working The Scene in Rainbow and TIFF Next Wave. Her short film Good Boy was an Audience Award Winner at NFFTY (Seattle) and Breakthroughs Film Festival (Toronto).
Pitcher
Kabir Birk is a writer-director dedicated to crafting authentic, emotionally resonant stories across both narrative and documentary forms. His work explores themes of identity and cultural memory, while pushing the boundaries of cinematic expression. He holds a Master’s in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto.
Pitcher
Glo Romy is a director whose work uplifts culture and community. She is best known for BOSSY: An Ode to Women in Street Dance, which united an all-women cast and crew to honour Toronto’s street dance scene. Glo remains committed to fostering connection and giving back to communities that inspire her.
Pitcher
Samarika Dhiman is a queer South Asian filmmaker carving out her place in the industry, while working to create more space for others like her. She combines technical skill with emotional storytelling and is passionate about exploring identity and human connection. She aims to challenge convention and bring fresh, underrepresented perspectives to the forefront of her filmmaking.
Juror
Lucius Dechausay is an award winning Director, Producer and Editor and a former volunteer programmer for the Regent Park Film Festival. His short films, docs and animations have screened at numerous festivals around the world. Through his work he aims to share diverse and untold stories in an empowering and urgent way. Currently, he is an Executive in Charge of Production at CBC Docs overseeing Short Docs.
Juror
Marivel Taruc has been telling stories with Canada’s public broadcaster for three decades. She is most proud of finding voices that haven’t always had a platform to share their experiences and striving to do those stories justice. Now, as an executive producer with CBC Toronto, Marivel is focused on finding and developing leaders in journalism who represent the multitude of communities served by CBC.
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.
