BEANS Honoured as One of TIFF Canada’s Top 10
This award-winning debut feature from director Tracey Deer has received enthusiastic festival support and critical acclaim
Toronto, December 15, 2020 – EMAfilms and the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) are proud to share that the critically acclaimed and award-winning coming-of-age drama, BEANS, has been named one of TIFF Canada’s Top Ten features of 2020. This annual list, compiled by the TIFF programming team, features films from “some of Canada’s most important emerging and established voices and represents the stories of our nation right now.”
Inspired by true events, director Tracey Deer’s debut feature, co-written by executive producer and CFC alumna Meredith Vuchnich and produced by EMAfilms’s Anne-Marie Gélinas, is about a Mohawk girl on the cusp of adolescence who must grow up fast and become her own kind of warrior during the armed standoff known as the 1990 Oka Crisis. BEANS isthe 25th feature to be developed and financed for production with the support of CFC Features, and was one of two projects that CFC Features, in partnership with Bell Media’s Crave, selected for development in 2018 in consultation with Women in View to recruit promising projects by female directors.
“Tracey is a remarkable talent – it’s a true pleasure to see her and her debut feature celebrated with so many awards and accolades,” shared Slawko Klymkiw, CEO, CFC. “We are thrilled to have supported Tracey and the development of BEANS through CFC Features, and look forward to continuing to foster a new generation of Canadian creative talent through the program.”
The announcement comes on the heels of a strong showing on the festival circuit; BEANS had its world premiere at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named Second Runner-up for TIFF People’s Choice Award, and went on to play the Vancouver International Film Festival, where it took home the prize for Best Canadian Film. Deer also received the 2020 DGC Discovery Award for BEANS. Praised by viewers and critics alike, The Hollywood Reporter called BEANS “an affecting personal spin on recent history,”IndieWire heralded it “a raw and affecting drama,” Screen Daily called it “an impressive debut” and NOW Magazine gave it a NNNN rating, naming it a “powerful first feature.”
Mongrel Media is distributing BEANS in English Canada with and Métropole Films distributing in Quebec, and worldwide sales (excluding Canada) are handled by WaZabi Films. BEANS will be released theatrically in Canada in Spring 2021.
Development at CFC Features is supported by the Government of Ontario, with production support and financing provided by valued program partner, Crave, a division of Bell Media.
For more information on TIFF Canada’s Top, please visit: tiff.net/canadas-top-ten
About CFC
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a registered charity and a leading cultural organization for the development and advancement of Canadian creative and entrepreneurial talent in the screen-based industries. CFC’s programs and initiatives span film and television, screen acting, composing and songwriting for the screen, and digital and immersive media. These uniquely designed programs support and empower Canadian artists, creators and entrepreneurs, and generate world-class talent, content, products and companies for the global marketplace. For more information, visit cfccreates.com.
About EMAfilms
EMAfilms produces stories for the screen that both inspire and entertain, with potential for international appeal. With vision and creative drive, Anne-Marie Gélinas, founder of EMAfilms, works with innovative and ambitious writers and directors from around the world. Recent credits include BEANS (2020), SLAXX, a slasher film from Elza Kephart that premiered at Fantasia in 2020. LEPAGE AU SOLEIL, a feature documentary by Hélène Choquette and THIRD WEDDING, a Belgian coproduction, both released in 2019. EMAfilms is also well known for Turbo Kid, winner of the 2015 Saturn Award for Best Foreign Film, Radius, Mars & Avril. emafilms.com
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Media Relations
Cory Angeletti-Szasz
Interim Director, Marketing & Communications, CFC
647.273.2795
cangeletti@cfccreates.com
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