February 2021 Alumni News: Short Month, Long List of Achievements

Posted: Mar 1, 2021

February may be a short month, but it was not short on CFC alumni news and achievements! This month saw loads of awards and nominations for alum, new releases – music, TV and film – and alumni films on the festival circuit.

Read on for the latest updates on CFC alumni.


A headshot of a woman inside a lime green circle

Jennifer Holness won this year’s CMPA Indiescreen Established Producer prize.


AWARDS & NOMINATIONS


Golden Globe Nominations
SAG Awards
  • Annie Murphy also received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role in Schitt’s Creek
ACTRA Awards
CMPA Indiescreen Awards
Toronto Black Film Festival Awards
  • The Toronto Black Film Festival(TBFF) honoured Clement Virgo with the TBFF 2021 Career Achievement Award for his accomplishments and success within the film and TV industries
Victoria Film Festival Awards
  • Akilla’s Escape, from director/co-writer Charles Officer, co-writer Wendy Motion Brathwaite, starring Shomari Downer, with casting by Nicole Hilliard Forde, won Best Canadian Feature at VFF 2021
Hollywood Music in Media Awards

A man sits with a cell phone held up to his hear, with an image of Jesus hung up on the wall behind him

Islands marks one of the first-ever Filipino-language narrative features to premiere at SXSW.


FESTIVALS


Berlinale
March 1 – 5, 2021
  • BEANS, from alumnae Tracey Deer (co-writer/director) and Meredith Vuchnich (co-writer/ executive producer), will screen as part of the Generation program at this year’s Berlin Film Festival
  • Night Raiders, starring Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and edited by Jorge Weisz, will screen in the Panorama program
Athena Film Festival
March 1 – 31, 2021
SXSW
March 16 – 20, 2021
  • Islands, the first feature from Martin Edralin (writer/director) and Priscilla Galvez (producer), which CFC supported through the CFC/Netflix Marketplace Accelerator, will see its world premiere at SXSW in the Visions programme; it marks one of the first-ever Filipino-language narrative features to premiere at the festival

Two girls smile for a selfie on the set of a TV series

Humberly González stops for a selfie on the set of ‘Ginny and Georgia’; photo credit: Humberly 


FOR YOUR WATCHLIST


  • Ginny and Georgia, which follows the story of free-spirited Georgia and her two kids, Ginny and Austin, who move north to search of a fresh start but find that the road to new beginnings can be bumpy, is now out on Netflix; the series stars Actors Conservatory alum Humberly González, with episodes directed by Renuka Jeyapalan and Sudz Sutherland, and editing by Jonathan Eagan
  • One Night in Miami, the feature directorial debut from Regina King that stars Actors Conservatory alumnus Eli Goree as Cassius Clay, is available to watch on Prime Video
  • Binge (or re-binge) Tiny Pretty Things on Netflix, starring Actors Conservatory alum Araya Mengesha
  • Watch Falling, the feature directorial debut from Viggo Mortensen produced by alum Daniel Bekerman, on the Apple TV app
  • Tempted By Danger, directed by Annie Bradley, landed on Hulu on February 1
  • Bigfoot fan? Head to Netflix to watch Bigfoot Family (the sequel to Son of Bigfoot) co-written and co-executive produced by alum Bob Barlen, which tells the story of Bigfoot’s shy but tech-savvy teen son who takes on an evil CEO to save his family and a wildlife preserve
  • Galentine’s Day Nightmare, starring Camille Stopps, on Lifetime
  • Watch new episodes of Snowpiercer (Season 2), from showrunner Graeme Manson, on Netflix
  • Season 9 of Letterkenny, executive produced by Mark Montefiore and featuring Lisa Codrington as Gail, is streaming on Crave
  • Seasons 1 and 2 of 21 Black Futures are available on CBC Gem, and features loads of CFC alumni, including Alison Duke, Charles Officer, Ngozi Paul, Lovell Adams-Gray, Sabryn Rock, Lisa Codrington, Motion and Djanet Sears
Keep watching new episodes of hit series that feature CFC alumni as actors, directors, writers, producers and editors, like:
  • Murdoch Mysteries (Season 14)
  • Frankie Drake Mysteries (Season 4)
  • Kim’s Convenience (Season 5)
  • Burden of Truth (Season 4)
  • Coroner (Season 3) on February 3
  • Pretty Hard Cases (Season 1)
  • Workin’ Moms (Season 5)

A woman looks directly into the camera with a serious look on her face, and light leaks into the image

Canadian singer-songwriter and CFC music alum Ava Kay has released her debut cinematic pop song titled “Wild Again.”


FOR YOUR PLAYLIST


Listen to the following songs from alum of the Slaight Family Music Lab:

  • “Wild Again” by Ava; find it onSpotify, Apple Music and YouTube
  • “Don’t Be Afraid” by TiKA; the theme Song for 21 Black Futures on CBC/CBC Gem, on Spotify
  • “Human Heart” by TiKA on bandcamp
  • “Chasing the Fall (Acoustic)” by The Darcys on Spotify

Henri Pardo is the founder of newly launched Black Wealth Media, a Montreal-based company that produces and distributes Afrocentric content while fostering emerging black filmmakers.


ALUMNI INDUSTRY NEWS AND UPDATES


  • Actors Conservatory alum Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs is set to star in Taika Waititi’s new FX series Reservation Dogs
  • CBC announced a new scripted content leadership team which sees alumnae Jennifer Shin as director of development, comedy and Lea Marin as director of development, drama
  • Production on season 2 of acclaimed medical drama Transplant, created by CFC alum Joseph Kay, began in February in Montreal
  • Mark Montefiore (New Metric Media) is an executive producer on upcoming comedy Children Ruin Everything, which follows Astrid and James as they struggle to find a balance between being ‘Mom and Dad’ to two kids, and being who they were before offspring
  • Henri Pardo, whose feature project Kanaval was supported through the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator, is the founder of Black Wealth Media, a Montreal-based company that produces and distributes Afrocentric content while fostering emerging black filmmakers, and is set to launch in 2021; learn more about it here
  • AMC released the first trailer for Kevin Can F*** Himself, a story about a woman who keeps playing a perfect housewife, then, one day she realizes what she wants to kill her husband; the series stars Actors Conservatory alumna Annie Murphy and is coming to AMC this summer

Alumni! Do you have news to share? Want to update your alumni profile? Get in touch anytime at alumni@cfccreates.com

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