
Alumni are turning heads this fall with numerous festival appearances at imagineNATIVE, VIFF and much more! Plus, the Directors Guild of Canada announced the nominees for the 2022 awards, which includes a diverse list of CFC alum! Get all the latest news and updates in our September 2022 roundup.
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
2022 DGC Awards Nominations
The 21st Annual Directors Guild of Canada Awards (DGC Awards) returns to honour the exquisite talent and creators making strides in the Canadian screen industry. Among the nominees is a diverse group of alumni whose stories continue to impact the Canadian film and TV landscape. See the full list of CFC alumni who received nominations for Feature Film, Documentary and Short Film here.
Toronto International Film Festival
To Kill a Tiger, from director and alum Nisha Pahuja, received the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. The 2022 Changemaker Award was presented to director and CFC/Netflix Calling Card Accelerator participant Luis De Filippis for his film Something You Said Last Night. Plus, the first runner-up for the 2022 People’s Choice Award is Women Talking, from director and alum Sarah Polley.
Discover TIFF’s 2022 award winners here.
FESTIVALS
imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts festival returns this October to promote Indigenous-made media by developing platforms for artists to assert their voices, express their perspectives, and share their cultures. See below for the alumni films screening at this year’s festival.
- Stellar: Produced by Paula Devonshire, and starring Open Immersion participant Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.
- ROSIE: Edited by Shaun Rykiss.
- Bones of Crows: Produced by Trish Dolman, with Kyle Irving serving as co-executive producer.
- Twin Stars: a series of shorts, including Better at Texting, from director Mary Galloway and Seeds, from director Ajuawak Kapashesit
- Slash/Back: Directed by Nyla Innuksuk
See the full list of films screening at imagineNATIVE here.
Vancouver International Film Festival
September 29-October 9
- Bones of Crows: Produced by Trish Dolman, with Kyle Irving serving as co-executive producer.
- Women Talking: From writer-director Sarah Polley, featuring Actors Conservatory alumna Michelle McLeod, with editing by alum Roslyn Kalloo.
- Brother: From writer-director-producer Clement Virgo, produced by Damon D’Oliveira and Aeschylus Poulos, with editing by Kye Meechan, performances by Actors Conservatory alumnus Lovell Adams-Gray and current 2022 Actors Conservatory resident Alsseny Camara, and an original score from Slaight Family Music Lab alumnus Todor Kobakov.
- Black Ice: Original score by Slaight Family Music Lab alumnus Simon Poole.
- Concrete Valley: Co-written by Teyama Alkamli.
- North of Normal: Directed by Carly Stone and produced by Kyle Mann.
- ROSIE: Edited by Shaun Rykiss.
- Soft: From writer-director Joseph Amenta, produced by Alexandra Roberts and Danny Sedore, with Alyson Richards serving as executive producer, starring Actors Conservatory alumni Trevor Hayes and Nicki Whitely, and featuring an original score by Slaight Music Residency alum Casey MQ. Something You Said Last Night: Produced by CFC alumni Jessica Adams, Charlie Hidalgo and Comedy Exchange participant Harry Cherniak.
- Until Branches Bend: Starring Actors Conservatory alumna Grace Glowicki, with story editing by alumna Kathleen Hepburn and Open Immersion participant Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.
- Framing Agnes: Produced by Shant Joshi.
- Ever Deadly: Executive produced by Anita Lee and produced by Lea Marin.
- N’xaxaitkw: Starring current 2022 Actors Conservatory resident Riley Davis.
- Scaring Women At Night: Produced by Lindsay Blair Goeldner.
- Paco: Directed by Kent Donguines.
- From Chile to Canada: Media Herstories:Directed by Sarah Shamash.
See the full list of films screening at VIFF here.
Calgary International Film Festival
September 22-October 2
- Motorcycle Saved My Life: Directed by Lori Lozinski.
See the full list of films screening at CIFF here.
Edmonton International Film Festival
September 22-October 1
- Motorcycle Saved My Life: Directed by Lori Lozinski.
See the full list of films screening at EIFF here.

2022 FIN Atlantic International Film Festival
September 15-22
- Brother: From writer-director-producer Clement Virgo, produced by Damon D’Oliveira and Aeschylus Poulos, with editing by Kye Meechan, performances by Actors Conservatory alumnus Lovell Adams-Gray and current 2022 Actors Conservatory resident Alsseny Camara, and an original score from Slaight Family Music Lab alumnus Todor Kobakov.
- Bones of Crows: Produced by Trish Dolman, with Kyle Irving serving as co-executive producer.
- So Much Tenderness: Starring 2022 Actors Conservatory resident Augusto Bitter.
- The Swearing Jar: Produced by Tony Wosk, written by Kate Hewlett, with casting by Nicole Hilliard-Forde.
- Until Branches Bend: Starring Actors Conservatory alumna Grace Glowicki, with story editing by alumna Kathleen Hepburn and Open Immersion participant Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.
- ROSIE: Edited by Shaun Rykiss.
- Stellar: Produced by Paula Devonshire and starring Open Immersion participant Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.
- North of Normal: Directed by Carly Stone and produced by Kyle Mann.
- Something You Said Last Night: Produced by CFC alumni Jessica Adams, Charlie Hidalgo and Comedy Exchange participant Harry Cherniak. I Like Movies: Written and directed by Chandler Levack, produced by Lindsay Blair Goeldner and edited by Simone Smith. Women Talking: From writer-director Sarah Polley, featuring Actors Conservatory alumna Michelle McLeod, with editing by alum Roslyn Kalloo.
- Before I Changed My Mind: Produced by Alyson Richards.
- The Young Arsonists: Written and directed by Sheila Pye and produced by Aeschylus Poulos.
- Polaris: Produced byAlyson Richards.
- Black Ice: Original score by Slaight Family Music Lab alumnus Simon Poole.
- Alice, Darling: StarringActors Conservatory alumnus Charlie Carrick, produced by Katie Bird Nolan, Christina Piovesan and Lindsay Tapscott, with editing by Gareth C. Scales.
- Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On: Executive produced by Peter Raymont and Kyle Irving.
- Framing Agnes: Produced by Shant Joshi.
- To Kill a Tiger (Tuer un tigre): Written and directed by Nisha Pahuja, produced by David Oppenheim, executive produced by Anita Lee.
- Category Woman: Produced by Howard Fraiberg and edited by Tiffany Beaudin.
- REVIVAL69: The Concert that Rocked the World: Produced by Trish Dolman.
- Motorcycle Saved My Life: Directed by Lori Lozinski.
Learn more about FIN here.

INDUSTRY NEWS & UPDATES
- Aircraft Pictures (founders and CFC alum Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen), Dolphin Entertainment to produce Youngblood adaption. Charles Officer is set to direct the feature adaption of the 1986 American film of the same name, which he co-wrote with fellow alum Josh Epstein and Kyle Rideout.
- Writer-director and CFC alum Chandler Levack (I Like Movies) Signs With WME
- Cameras roll on True West Films’ first series The Drop. CFC alum and True West Films president Elizabeth Yake heads up the all-female production as producer and executive producer; fellow alum Jordan Canning directs the pilot episode.
- Playback’s 10 to Watch 2022 shines a light on current 2022 Bell Media Prime time TV Program resident Abdul Malik.
- Stellar, produced by Paula Devonshire and starring Open Immersion participant Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, will open 23rd imagineNATIVE festival.
- How producer and CFC alum Jessica Adam’s Something You Said Last Night drew in supports.
- Toronto’s Elevation Pictures, Conquering Lion Pictures (founders and CFC alum Damon D’Oliveira and Clement Virgo) and The Good Karma Company are collaborating on a crime drama series, The Count.
- Filipino-Canadian film PACO directed by alum Kent Donguines comes home for its Canadian premiere at VIFF.
- Canadian filmmakers and CFC alum Linsey Stewart and Dane Clark have set their second directorial collaboration with the dramedy Suze. The feature is directed and written by Stewart (Workin’ Moms) and Clark (Run the Burbs) and produced by fellow alum Matt Code, while alum Natalie Urquhart and Julie Strifler are co-producers. Principal photography is now underway in Hamilton, Ont.
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Alumni, do you have news to share? Get in touch anytime at alumni@cfccreates.com
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