Toronto International Film Festival Announces Participants For Seventh Annual Talent Lab, Eleventh Annual Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! And Inaugural Producers Lab Toronto

Toronto − The 35th Toronto International Film Festival reinforces its commitment to emerging filmmakers and the film community with today’s announcement of participants in returning industry programmes – Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! and Talent Lab – and in a new initiative, Producers Lab Toronto. Now in its seventh year, Talent Lab is an intensive four-day artistic development programme that provides emerging talent with unparalleled opportunity to learn from internationally acclaimed filmmakers and artists – including this year’s Governors Deepa Mehta, Lee Daniels and Stephen Woolley. Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! returns for its eleventh year with a tough competition that offers six teams six minutes each to pitch their dramatic or documentary feature film idea to a live audience of over 200 industry professionals. New this year, 12 European and 12 Canadian producers will come together for Producers Lab Toronto – created in partnership with European Film Promotion (EFP), in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) – an initiative aimed to facilitate and increase international co-productions between European and Canadian producers.

"Producers Lab Toronto will provide an invaluable and exciting opportunity to open doors and facilitate collaboration for talented producers,” said Karen Bruce, Director, Canadian, Initiatives, TIFF. “This year’s Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! programmes present the industry with a diverse group of impressive and exciting filmmakers.  As an extension and a result of the Festival’s outstanding relationship with the film community, we’re thrilled to be able to offer this invaluable learning opportunity, creative environment and exposure to emerging artists.”

Talent Lab

A lineup of esteemed governors and 26 filmmaker participants will be taking part in this year's Talent Lab running September 8-11. Three of this year's esteemed governors, who will mentor the participants, include director Deepa Mehta (Water, Heaven on Earth), director-producer Lee Daniels (Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire) and producer Stephen Woolley (Perrier’s Bounty, Made in Dagenham).

Talent Lab leads participants in group discussions on a range of topics focused on the artistic side of filmmaking – sharpening the skills and confidence of a new generation of filmmakers – while providing emerging talent with the opportunity to build networks and to learn from some of the most esteemed filmmakers and artists in the world.

The 2010 Talent Lab participants are: Jeff Barnaby, Sach Baylin-Stern, Richard Bell, Kara Blake, Kris Booth, Rhonda Buckley, Jeff Chiba Stearns, Daniel Cockburn, Rosie Crerar, Giorgia Farina, Matthew Hannam, Amanda Jane, Julia Kwan, Leah Mallen, Tony Massil, Jennifer Mesich, Peter Mishara, Kaveh Nabatian, Aubrey Nealon, Ruth Paxton, Karen Porter, Jared Raab, Jeffrey Royiwsky, Gabriel Taraboulsy, Pascal Trottier and Sean Wainsteim.

An impressive thirteen Talent Lab Alumni and three Talent Lab 2010 participants have directed or produced films in the Festival’s Official 2010 Selection:

Talent Lab Alumni
Amazon Falls - directed by Katrin Bowen (Canada First!)
Daydream Nation - directed by Mike Goldbach (Canada First!)
Green Crayons - directed by Kazik Radwanski, produced by Dan Montgomery (Short Cuts Canada)
High Cost of Living - directed by Deborah Chow (Canada First!)
The High Level Bridge - directed and produced by Trevor Anderson (Short Cuts Canada)
MODRA - directed and produced by Ingrid Veninger (Contemporary World Cinema)
Negativipeg - directed and produced by Matthew Rankin (Short Cuts Canada)
The Old Ways - directed by Michael Vass (Short Cuts Canada)
On the Way to the Sea - produced by Aonan Yang (Short Cuts Canada)
Le Projet Sapporo - directed and produced by Marie-Josee Saint-Pierre (Short Cuts Canada)
The Repeaters - produced by Jason James (Special Presentation)
Small Town Murder Scene - directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly (Contemporary World Cinema)

2010 Participants
File under Miscellaneous - directed by Jeff Barnaby (Short Cuts Canada)
Vapor - directed by Kaveh Nabatian (Short Cuts Canada)
You Are Here - directed by Daniel Cockburn (Canada First!)

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! is hosted by Canadian actor Ennis Esmer (The Listener, Young People F***ing) and will take place on Tuesday, September 14 at 12 pm in TIFF Bell Lightbox. The winning team, selected by a jury of international industry experts, is awarded $10,000 from Telefilm Canada to further develop their project.

The 2010 Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! finalists are:

50 Proof – David Manning
Two washed-up, alcoholic actors, stuck performing dinner theater in a small town, attempt to tow away a liquor store housed in a trailer,
only to discover armed robbers inside.

Bitter Pills – Cher Hawrysh and Garfield Lindsay Miller
A recently widowed doctor re-awakens his small town by convincing his unhappy patients they only have one month to live all the
while avoiding his own grief and the scrutiny of his psychiatrist daughter.

The Fringe – Dane Clark, Jordan Gross and Mike MacMillan
An artsy high-school senior attempts a coup d'etat over the jock-run student council in order to win back his creative space, his pride
and the girl he loves.

The Millennials Networking Change – Maryam Mehrtash
The Millennials, a generation of youth, utilize the power of online networking to collectively lead the biggest social movement in history.
They care about changing their world for the better….and they will.

Kill Shakespeare – Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col
In a world where Shakespeare’s characters fight for freedom, Hamlet struggles to rally a group of the Bard’s greatest heroes to battle
Shakespeare’s most frightening villains.

Brobots – Mark Purdy and Stuart Reid
In the near future, reclusive twin brothers Alistair and Reuben Thornhill impersonate robots to save their friend's career; they
never expected to become better human beings along the way.

Producers Lab Toronto

New this year, Producers Lab Toronto (running September 9-12) will include pitching sessions, round table meetings and case studies. European producers and their Canadian counterparts will have the opportunity to exchange ideas and knowledge and to discuss concrete co-production opportunities between their two regions.

Producers Lab Toronto is a creation of European Film Promotion (EFP), in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Financial support for the initiative is provided by the new MEDIA International Programme of the European Union.

Canadian Participants
Paul Barkin, Alcina Pictures
Andrew Boutilier, Submission Films
Robert Budreau, Lumanity Productions
Damon D'Oliveira, Conquering Lion Pictures
Trish Dolman, Screen Sirens Pictures
Liz Jarvis, Buffalo Gal Pictures
Jennifer Jonas, New Real Films
Jennifer Kawaja, Sienna Films
Corey Marr, Corey Marr Productions
Brandi-Ann Milbradt, Philms Pictures
Martin Paul-Hus, Amérique Film
Paul Scherzer, Six Island Productions

European Participants
Iván Angelusz, Katapult Film (Hungary) - associated with Magyar Filmunió
Silje Hopland Eik, Cinenord Spillefilm AS (Norway) - associated with Norwegian Film Institute
Matti Halonen, Fisher King Production Oy (Finland) - associated with Finnish Film Foundation
Janine Jackowski, Komplizen Film GmbH (Germany) - associated with German Films
Andrzej Jakimowski, Zjednoczenie Artystów i Rzemieślników (ZAiR) (Poland) - associated with Polish Film Institute
Ankica Jurić Tilić, Kinorama (Croatia) - associated with Croatian Audiovisual Centre
Monika Kristl, Dawson Production (Czech Republic) - associated with Czech Film Center
Bernard Michaux, lucil s.a r.l. (Luxembourg) - associated with Film Fund Luxembourg
Martina Niland, Samson Films Ltd. & Accomplice TV (Ireland) - associated with Irish Film Board
Luis Ángel Ramírez-Pérez, IMVAL Producciones (Spain) - associated with ICAA, Spain
Marc-Antoine Robert, 2.4.7. Films (France) - associated with Unifrance
Reinier Selen, Rinkel Film BV (The Netherlands) - associated with EYE Film Institute Netherlands

Talent Lab is made possible through generous support of RBC and Telefilm Canada

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! is generously supported by Telefilm Canada

Ticket packages for the Festival are now available for purchase by cash, debit or Visa†. Purchase online at tiff.net/thefestival, by phone at 416-968-FILM or 1-877-968-FILM (Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,) or in person at the TIFF Box Office at 2 Carlton Street, West Mezzanine (Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. The 35th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 9 to 19, 2010.

About TIFF Bell Lightbox:
Currently under construction, TIFF Bell Lightbox, a breathtaking five-storey complex located in downtown Toronto, will provide a permanent home for film lovers to celebrate cinema from around the world and will propel TIFF forward as an international leader in film culture. Designed by innovative architecture firm KPMB, TIFF Bell Lightbox’s fluid structure encourages exploration, movement and play. The campaign to build TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the King and John Festival Corporation - consisting of the Reitman family and the Daniels Corporation – RBC as major sponsor and official bank, Visa†, the Copyright Collective of Canada, the Slaight Family Foundation, NBC Universal Canada, the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, the Harbinger Foundation, CIBC and BMO. The Board of Directors, staff and many generous individuals and corporations have also contributed to the campaign. For more information on the TIFF Bell Lightbox campaign, visit belllightbox.ca.

About TIFF:
TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. Its vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image. TIFF generates an annual economic impact of $170 million CAD and currently employs more than 100 full-time staff and 500 part-time and seasonal staff, and counts upon the largesse of over 2,000 volunteers year-round.

The Toronto International Film Festival is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC and BlackBerry, the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Toronto.

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For information, contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or email proffice@tiff.net.