Netflix, CFC accelerate four projects

Netflix and The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) have selected the projects that will benefit from their inaugural development accelerator.

Christina Rogers

Two French-language and two English-language projects have been selected from more than 115 applications from a diverse range of creators across Canada, the two companies said.

The initiative will take place from May through August 2020 and is designed to offer advanced development and workshopping support to projects that have international coproduction potential.

As the selected projects are in the early stages of development, they will be able to incorporate and benefit from the insights, feedback and information they receive throughout and subsequently strengthen their potential to attract real interest and investment, according to those behind the accelerator scheme.

“Canadian stories have captured the imagination of viewers from around the world. We are thrilled to be supporting the next generation of diverse Canadian creators and look forward to continuing this important work with the CFC,” said Christina Rogers, director of original independent film at Netflix.

The French-language projects are Kanaval, from writer/director Henri Pardo, producer Éric Idriss-Kanago (Yzanakio) and associate producer Marie Ka; and T’es belle Maryse, from writer/director Maxime Desmons, co-writer Marie-Ève Perron, producer Damon D’Oliveira (Flimshow) and coproducer Babe Nation.

Set in the early 1970s, Kanaval follows the story of a young boy and his mother, who settle in a small rural village in Quebec after hastily leaving their troubled hometown in Haiti. The young boy counts on Kana, his invisible friend from his birth country, to understand the new world around him.

T’es belle Maryse, meanwhile, follows a young woman who struggles to recover her life and her dignity after discovering that her late husband has infected her with HIV in the height of the AIDS epidemic.

The English-language projects are Runaways, from writer/director Rama Rau, and The Path Travels Me, from writer/director Jasmin Mozaffari and producer Caitlin Grabham (Prowler Film).

Runaways follows four young girls in Mumbai. Fed up with their repressive lives, they run away, kidnapping their authoritarian grandma, and go on a road trip for one unforgettable Indian summer.

The Path Travels Me is a portrait of a family of Iranian immigrants living, working and surviving in post-9/11 North America.

The CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator is one component of the larger Netflix/CFC Global Project, which targets Canada’s traditionally underserved creatives and communities.

The two additional schemes, the Calling Card and Marketplace accelerators, are yearlong initiatives that began in September 2019.

Applications closed on April 27 for the TV series version of the CFC/Netflix Project Development Accelerator, which received more than 100 applications.

Creators and projects selected for this accelerator, which will run from August to November 2020, will be announced in early July.