Call for applications: S.L.I.P (SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program) 2011

The SummerWorks Theatre Festival has put out a call for applications for S.L.I.P (SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program) 2011. It is a training program for emerging theatre professionals.

The program takes place during this year's edition of the festival, August 1-14. They encourage not just writers and directors to apply, but others such as producers, performers, choreographers and designers.

The SummerWorks Theatre Festival is one of two large theatre festivals held every summer in Toronto. The Toronto Fringe Festival takes place in July, whereas the SummerWorks Theatre Festival takes place in August. SummerWorks is a juried festival, and is perhaps less daring but more consistent.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 15, 2011 by 5:00 p.m. Submissions must be received or postmarked by this date.

Call for submissions: Glassco Playwrights’ Residence in Tadoussac, 2011

Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal has put out a call for submissions for their 2011 Glassco Playwrights’ Residence in Tadoussac. It is an opportunity for playwrights to spend two weeks in September working on their play adaptation or translation in an idyllic setting.

Tadoussac is a lovely and historic town where the Saguenay River meets the St. Lawrence River. It is a popular spot to go whale watching because the waters are very cold and deep.

The program was founded by the late director Bill Glassco. It takes place in his old family home. In remembrance of Bill’s commitment to the fostering of the dialogue between cultures, languages, and experiences, through the development and translation of work for Canadian stages, the residence is being renamed this year in his honour.

The deadline for applications is April 15, 2011.

2nd Toronto Nepali Film Festival, March 12

This weekend marks the second annual Toronto Nepali Film Festival. All day today, you'll have an opportunity to view films about Nepal and its people, history and heritage.

The festival is organized in partnership with the Nepali Student group, Sanjha Pankha and volunteers. The Nepali Student group is comprised of Nepali students enrolled at local universities such as the University of Toronto, York University and the University of Waterloo. Sanjha Pankha is a Toronto-based collective that promotes Nepali arts, literature and activism.

In addition to screenings, the schedule includes activities such as panel discussions that deal with contemporary issues in Nepal, South Asian identity in North America; musical and cultural events featuring local artists; educational programs targeted to the Nepali diaspora through art, literature and other mediums; invited filmmakers speaking as part of a dialogue with the International film scene.

The event takes place at Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Avenue, one block south of Bloor Street West & St. George Street.

61st Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards), Lolas - nominations

Today, the Deutsche Filmakademie (German Film Academy) announced the nominations for the 61st Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards). The award is also known as the Lola in honour of Marlene Dietrich's character in Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel).

Tom Tykwer's Drei (Three) led the field with six nominations. They included Best Film, Director and Score nominations for Tykwer himself. The additional nominations were for Best Actress (Sophie Rois), Editing and Sound Design. The film is a story about a love triangle between a television host, her long-time boyfriend and a new lover.

Close behind, three films tied with five nominations each -- Poll (The Poll Diaries) by Chris Kraus, Ralf Huettner’s Vincent will meer (Vincent Wants to Sea), and Wer wenn nicht wir (If Not Us, Who?) by Andreas Veiel. Poll, however, missed out on a Best Film nomination. The other Best Film nominees were Almanya, Der Ganz Grosse Traum (The Really Big Dream), and Goethe! (Young Goethe in Love).

Interestingly, Der Ganz Grosse Traum was omitted from the longlist that was released on January 14th. The Filmakademie's nomination procedure, however, allows write-in candidates. Der Ganz Grosse Traum thus becomes the first ever wild card nominee for Best Film.

31st Annual Genie Awards for Canadian film - winners

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television held their 31st Annual Genie Awards ceremony tonight at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The Genie Awards are given to the best of the year in Canadian cinema. The show was hosted by Montreal-born William Shatner.

The night was largely dominated by Barney's Version and Incendies with Incendies coming out ahead. It won eight awards including Best Picture and Best Director and Adapted Screenplay for Denis Villeneuve. It also won for Best Actress (Lubna Azabal), Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Sound Editing. The Oscar-nominated Incendies is a worthy winner and was my top film of 2010, Canadian or otherwise.

Barney's Version was not far behind with seven wins. It had led with eleven nominations to ten for Incendies. It won three acting awards for Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman and Minnie Driver. It also took Art Direction, Makeup, Costume Design and Music.

The other multiple winner tonight was The Trotsky which won for Best Original Screenplay (Jacob Tierney) and Original Song ("Already Gone"). Lead actor Jay Baruchel also picked up an audience-voted User's Choice Award.

Call for submissions: Praxis 2011 Feature Film Screenplay Competition

As mentioned recently, the call would be put out soon for the Praxis 2011 Feature Film Screenplay Competition. It has come sooner than expected.

The Praxis Centre for Screenwriters is a program of Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts. The competition is for writers with feature-length screenplays to participate in their screenwriting workshop in Vancouver. They will select eight applicants to work with an advisor to develop further develop the script. Aside from the application cost, there is no charge for the program.

The program is open to all Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. Some out-of-town participants may be able to have their transportation and accomodation expenses partially covered. 

The deadline for applications is June 25, 2011.

The Free Screen: Mantler’s Visual Music

TIFF Bell Lightbox hosts a series of free screenings on an ongoing basis. The Free Screen features "independent and avant-garde works and explores numerous art forms and disciplines as they relate to cinema."

Tonight's event is Mantler's Visual Music, a selection of short films chosen by Mantler a.k.a. Chris Cummings. The screening will be introduced by Mantler and will be followed by a 15-minute performance of live music by him.

This free event is co-presented with The Music Gallery.

The screening starts at 7pm tonight. It takes place at TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West.

Call for applications: CBC Prime Time Television Program

The Canadian Film Centre has begun accepting applications for their CBC Prime Time Television Program. It is a prestigious program that helps those who wish to become television writers to hone their craft. The program is open to all Canadian citizens and residents.

Many people feel that we are in a golden age of television. HBO and Pay Television stations deserve much of the credit because they have been instrumental in raising the bar as far as quality goes. Since they didn't rely on advertisers, they could be more daring and true to an artistic vision rather than blandly inoffensive.

Television is also a more lucrative field for writers. Film is still a director's medium, but in television it's the writer who is the boss. The head creatives like David Chase, Alan Ball, Shonda Rhimes, David Simon, Aaron Sorkin or Larry David are all writers and make far more than their film counterparts.

This year, the application process has changed somewhat. You must now apply with a writing sample of an original pilot. It may be comedy or drama, a half-hour or hour in length.

Canadian Music Week, March 9-13

Canadian Music Week kicks off its annual music festival in Toronto tonight. It features 800 bands in 55 venues over the course of the event's five nights. The acts are not just Canadian, but hail from over 25 countries, with a spotlight on France.

There is also a film festival component. The 4th Canadian Music Week Film Festival takes place March 11-12 at Cinema 2 in TIFF's Bell Lightbox located at Reitman Square, 350 King Street West. The program of music-themed films and documentaries includes the world premiere of Go There Once, Be There Twice about Sammy Hagar’s notorious birthday bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina, and classics such as The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Tickets may be purchased through the Lightbox box office. CMW wristband holders can attend screenings free of charge.

Many Canadian Music Week events are free. Check out the breakdown at Dork Shelf.

Free screening of Limitless, March 14

The University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Student Union and Alliance Films are joining together to present a free advance screening of Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish. The screening will take place at Innis Town Hall next week on Monday, March 14 at 7pm.

The screening is free and open to all. You do not need to be a student or attend the University of Toronto. Preference to attend the screening will go to pass-holders. To pick up a pass, go to Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave., Rm. 107 beside the Cafe. The hours are daily from 12-4pm.

For those who don't manage to get a pass, there will be a rush line-up on the night of the screening. Just make sure you join the rush line and not the ticket-holders line.

Innis Town Hall is located at 2 Sussex Ave., one block south of St. George and Bloor St. W.

Call for submissions: Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now accepting submissions for the Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. The program awards up to five $30,000 fellowships annually to new screenwriters. They must be emerging writers who have earned no more than $5,000 from their screenwriting.

Writers from around the world are eligible to apply. Submitted screenplays, however, must be in English.

Among the past winners was Canadian writer Annmarie Morais (How She Move). Others include Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), Ehren Kruger (The Ring), Eric Nazarian (Mongol), Mike Rich (Secretariat), and Doug Atchison (Akeelah and the Bee).

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. PT on May 2, 2011.

Call for applications: Story Editor Internship at the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters

The Praxis Centre for Screenwriters at Simon Fraser University is now accepting applications for their 2011 Story Editor Internship.

They do accept applicants from outside Vancouver. Bursary funds are available for a successful applicant who is not from Vancouver.

Deadline for applications is May 6, 2011.

Although they are not yet accepting applications for the Feature Film Screenplay Competition, the call will come sometime this spring, most likely in May. The deadline for applications is set for June 25, 2011. Eight winners will be selected to workshop their scripts with veteran script editors and screenwriters in November.

Call for submissions: Hot Pink Shorts

Hot Pink Shorts and OUTtv have put out a call for submissions to their pitch contest. They wants your ideas for a short film based on a true story that happened to you. The resulting film should be 3-6 minutes in length.

All you need to do is make a simple video of yourself pitching the story idea. Then you upload it to their website. Four winners will receive $2500 to make their film in the Vancouver area.

To watch the winning pitches from last year, click here. Participants must be 19 years of age or older.

Winners will be selected by online voting.

Polskich Nagród Filmowych Orły 2011 - Eagle Awards for Polish film - winners

Tonight, the Polska Akademia Filmowa (Polish Film Academy) held the ceremony for their Polskich Nagród Filmowych Orły 2011 (Eagle Awards), their 13th annual edition. The festivities took place at the Teatrze Polskim in Warsaw.

Jerzy Skolimowski's Essential Killing came out on top, winning Best Film, Director, Music and Editing. Wenecja (Venice) also took four awards but in the technical categories of Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design and Sound.

Wszystko co kocham (All that I Love) had led with eight nominations including Best Film. It won the Audience Award, Best Screenplay and Breakthrough Artist (Mateusz Kościukiewicz).

Roman Polański won for Best European Film for his French/German/British co-production The Ghost Writer. He previously set the record for most nominations (13) and wins (8) with his 2002 film The Pianist. Both records were tied last year by Rewers (The Reverse).

Canadian comedy filmmaking teams head to L.A.

The Canadian Film Centre has announced that six teams will be heading down to Los Angeles tomorrow to work with an assortment of comedy experts to further develop their projects. These six films were selected for the Telefilm Canada Features Comedy Lab, an initiative supported by Telefilm, the Canadian Film Centre and Just For Laughs. This will be the second module of their training program.

The six teams are: Mary Anne Waterhouse, Andrew Currie, Robert Chomiak (My Asshole Neighbour); Bruce Harvey, Grant Harvey, Jason Filiatrault (Nearly Wed); Nicholas Tabarrok, Stephen Kunc (Cold Blooded Snakes); Robert Scarborough, Shawn Myrick, Matthew Atkinson, writer Brendan Gall (The Wild Society); Andrew Barnsley, Vivieno Caldinelli, Bob Kerr (The House They Screamed In); Antonello Cozzolino, Josee Vallee, writer John Hazlett (Atlantic Gold).

Mentors include filmmakers from comedy hits such as The Hangover,  Elf, Legally Blonde, Little Miss Sunshine and There's Something About Mary.

The deadline to apply for the next Telefilm Canada Features Comedy Lab is set for August 15, 2011.