The Telefilm Talent to Watch Program (formerly Micro-Budget Production Program) finances emerging content creators to make their first feature film or web series through a maximum grant of $125,000. UBC Theatre and Film will again be a partner institution, so we’re putting the call out to our recent alumni, our about-to-graduate graduate students, and the alumni of the Creative Writing program to encourage you to apply!
The program works like this:
Step 1: You come up with a great idea for a feature film or web series!
Step 2: Put together a package which contains all the information required in the guidelines (https://telefilm.ca/en/financing/talent-to-watch and also attached below) and upload it to a file storage service (like OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive) or make your own website and send us the link at sarah.crauder@ubc.ca before our internal deadline of January 24th!
2a: The guidelines include a video pitch, a short synopsis, director’s statement, a promotion and distribution plan, the filmography of the creative team, a production schedule, the budget top sheet, a completed screenplay, a link to previous work (if available), as well as any other supporting information you feel would help support the project.
Step 3: Wait while we review the applications. The UBC panel will choose a shortlist and provide feedback to those films.
Step 4: Use the feedback! Revise your application and pitch to make it the best it can be!
Step 5: The UBC panel will again look at the shortlisted films and their improved pitches to pick our final selections. We will then forward those selections on to Telefilm by Telefilm’s submission deadline in late February or early March.
Step 6: Telefilm will then review the submissions from all the partner institutions across the country and pick their final Talent To Watch winners who will then get to work making their now-funded films and web series!
If you have any further questions about the specifics of the program, feel free to check the Talent To Watch website (https://telefilm.ca/en/financing/talent-to-watch ) or send sara.crauder@ubc.ca an e-mail!
MFA Filmmaker alum Matthew Kennedy’s Film The Editor featuring l-r: Jerry Wasserman and Matthew Kennedy. The Editor, Matthew Kennedy’s MFA Film Production thesis film, won the Telefilm Talent to Watch Program in 2013.
Plot Outline
Rey Ciso finds himself the prime suspect in a series of brutal murders when the bodies are found to be missing the same fingers he years ago in an editing accident.
Awards
Best Film – Samain du Cinema Fantastique
Best Film – A Night of Horror
Best Actor – Monster Fest
Best Actor – A Night of Horror
Best Sound – Monster Fest
Starring Paz de la Huerta, Samantha Hill, Laurence R. Harvey, Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney, Udo Kier, Tristan Risk, and Dan Bern.
Directed by Adam Brooks & Matthew Kennedy
Written by Matthew Kennedy, Adam Brooks & Conor Sweeney
Produced by Kennedy/Brooks Inc.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/editormovie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheEditorMovie
