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Northern Canada Producer Accelerator program launches today

Northwest Territories Professional Media Association (NWTPMA), Screen Production Yukon Association (SPYA), Yukon Media Development (YMD), and the Northwest Territories Film Commission (NWTFC) today announced the creation of the first Northern Canada Producer Accelerator (NCPA), a joint program between the territories.

The first of its kind, this program will grant producers living exclusively in the NWT and Yukon territory specialized training, expert mentorship, and market access.

Up to 10 content creators finalists will be selected to participate in the program through an application process. After completing the curriculum and mentorship components, the participants will be offered customized pitch opportunities with national and international decision makers.

The NCPA is supported by six national Canadian broadcasters and funders: APTN, Bell Media, Blue Ant Media, CBC, Corus Entertainment, and Rogers Group of Funds, all of whom are co-sponsors of the first cohort. The program is being produced by Access Canada.

“The NWTPMA is excited to support and participate in this program, which will help develop producers in the territory,” said Jeremy MacDonald, President, NWTPMA. “This excellent opportunity is possible with the support of the GNWT and Film Commission.”

See the NCPA website below for more information, and how-to apply:

https://northernaccelerator.ca/

Winners announced for 2nd Annual NWT Film & Media Awards

The Northwest Territories Professional Media Association (NWTPMA) hosted the 2nd Annual NWT Film & Media Awards gala last Saturday in partnership with the NWT Film Commission.

Here is the full list of categories and nominees. Winners in bold.

Best Documentary Short

  • Summer of Smoke – Cabin Productions
  • Nunavunmiut Huqqullaagatigiiktut – Artless Collective
  • An Inuk Comes Home Through Art – Jimmy Thomson / The Narwhal

Best Narrative Short

  • The Unloving – Benjamin McGregor
  • Three Feathers – Dayah Films / South Slave Divisional Education Council
  • From The Start – Jay Bulckaert / Artless Collective

Best VR/360/Interactive Piece

  • Health Effects of Cannabis Interactive Augmented Reality Poster Series – Verge Communications / GNWT Health & Social Services
  • Northern Sights VR – Western Arctic Moving Pictures

Best Radio/Podcast Piece

  • The Deztro Show – Neverlow Studios / Cabin Radio
  • The Sled Runners – Janna Graham
  • YK Transit – Dans les archives de Radio Taiga – Radio Taiga

Best Commercial Piece – Government

  • Penny’s Advice – Ollie Williams Media / GNWT Health & Social Services
  • NWT Fire: How We Do Business – Artless Collective / GNWT Environment & Natural Resources
  • Making Food Caches – Tłı̨chǫ Government / Artless Collective

Best Commercial Piece – Non-Government

  • #TheNext40 – Public Policy & Energy Sovereignty in Arctic Communities – Artless Collective / Gwich’in Tribal Council
  • Slave River Paddlefest Promo – Jimmy Thomson / Slave River Paddlefest

Best Published Word Piece

  • Meet the Scientist Embracing Traditional Indigenous Knowledge – Jimmy Thomson / The Narwhal
  • ‘Beyond what our instruments can tell us’: merging Indigenous knowledge and Western Science at the edge of the world – Weronika Murray / The Narwhal
  • The journey of Gladys Radek and her fight for human rights – Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs / APTN News

Best Published Photo or Photo Series

  • Submerged – Applied Arts Opening Image – Angela Gzowski Photography
  • Northern Perspectives on the Sustainable Development Goals – Angela Gzowski Photography
  • Guardians of the North – Pat Kane Photo
Three Feathers: The Movie

Three Feathers named best short at CIFF

Three Feathers, a short film directed by Carla Ulrich and filmed in and around Fort Smith, NWT, won Best Picture (Short Program) at the Canadian Faith & Family Film Festival in Toronto.

Based on a story by indigenous author Richard Van Camp, the film was produced by the South Slave District Educational Board as a language. The story was ambitiously adapted in four languages: English, Chipewyan, South Slavey and Bush Cree, with all dialogue scenes being recorded four times – once in each language/dialect.

Three Feathers is also set to screen at the Vancouver International Film Festival this weekend (Sept 29 & 30).

Minister highlights growth of film industry in speech to NWT legislature

NWT Minister of Industry, Tourism & Investment (ITI), Wally Schumann, made note of the recent accomplishments of our territory’s film industry in a Minister’s Statement delivered to the NWT Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Schumann, who as ITI minister oversees the NWT Film Commission, noted the feature film Elijah and the Rock Creature, as well as documentaries I Hold The Dehcho In My Heart and Revolution Moosehide as recent success stories.

The minister also gave credit to the NWTPMA for its work in helping grow a sustainable film economy in the NWT, and spoke about the newly-announced Film Apprenticeship Pilot program—which is being jointly delivered by both the Government of the Northwest Territories and the NWTPMA.

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Winners announced for 1st Annual NWT Film & Media Awards

The Northwest Territories Professional Media Association (NWTPMA) is excited to announce the winners of the First Annual NWT Film & Media Awards! These awards recognize excellence in the NWT film and media industry. The five categories and their winners are:

    • Best Narrative Short – She Keeps Me Warm
      • Directed by Scott Clouthier, Produced by Scott Clouthier & Heather Heinrichs
    • Best Documentary Short – I Hold the Dehcho in My Heart / Sedze Tah Dehcho E’toh
      • Directed by Lesley Johnson, Produced by Lesley Johnson & Amos Scott
    • Best Commercial Piece (Government) – Opening of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway
        • Commissioned by Department of Infrastructure, GNWT
      • Directed by David Stewart, Produced by Peter Clarkson
    • Best Commercial Piece (Non-Government) – Canadian Brilliance – Showcasing the 20th anniversary of the Ekati Diamond mine
        • Commissioned by Dominion Diamond Corporation
      • Directed by Jay Bulckaert and Pablo Saravanja, Co-produced by Artless Collective and Kellett Communications
  • Impact in Industry Award – Terry Woolf, Owner of Lone Woolf Film and Television Production Services
    • As the first recipient of this annual award, the NWTPMA recognizes Mr. Woolf’s four decades worth of accomplishments in the film and television industry in the NWT, as well as his countless hours spent mentoring the next generation of media producers.

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Shortlist released for 1st Annual NWT Film & Media Awards

The judges’ shortlists for all four categories in the upcoming NWT Film & Media Awards have been released.

Represented among the nominees are filmmakers from Yellowknife, Behchoko, Inuvik and Hay River. The shortlists for the Commercial categories include entries from two GWNT departments, a diamond mine, a print shop and a clothing store.

Winners in all categories will be announced during the awards ceremony taking place at the Yellowknife International Film Festival Gala, hosted by the NWT Film Commission on Saturday, September 29th at the Yellowknife Ski Club.

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YK Film Fest returns for 12th edition

The 12th annual Yellowknife International Film Festival (YKIFF) is set to take place from September 26-30, 2018 in NWT’s capital city.

A flagship event for the NWT film community, YKIFF presents a program of the best NWT-produced films as well as those from the circumpolar world along with a handpicked selection of international works.

Though an official program for 2018 has yet to be released, it is anticipated the NWT-produced feature film Elijah and the Rock Creature, written and directed by Jen Walden, will make its premiere.

The festival will also include a program of free filmmaking workshops as well as a gala reception hosted by the NWT Film Commission.

For more information on the Yellowknife International Film Festival, visit: www.ykfilmfest.com.

NWTPMA announces NWT’s first Media Industry Awards

The Northwest Territories Professional Media Association (NWTPMA) is excited to announce the First Annual NWT Media Awards! The awards will recognize excellence in the NWT film and media industry. The four categories are:

  • Best Narrative Short
  • Best Documentary Short
  • Best Commercial Piece (Government)
  • Best Commercial Piece (Non-Government)

Applications are open until August 31st at 11:59 pm. All entries will be judged by a panel of NWT industry professionals. The awards will be presented during the Yellowknife International Film Festival Gala on Saturday, September 29th. Each winner will receive a prize that is intended to encourage future projects in film and media.  

Jen Walden, President of the NWTPMA states: “It is about recognizing the amazing contribution to film and media in the NWT, as well as the talent that exists in the North. Over the past few years, there has been such growth and interest in this industry, and we see further development on the horizon, including the creation of local jobs. The NWTPMA feels that it is time to start recognizing individuals and teams that are making important contributions to this industry. The board hopes that this initiative will encourage individuals to continue pushing technical and artistic boundaries, and ultimately inspire people to consider careers in film and media.”

About the Organization: The Northwest Territories Professional Media Association (NWTPMA) was founded in 2011 to create a sustainable media industry that generates economy in the NWT. We do this by cultivating the professional growth of our members and influencing policy. The NWTPMA membership is made up of industry professionals who work in the film, television and media industries within the NWT.

Submissions can be made on NWTPMA’s website: https://nwtpma.com/awards

For more information on the awards, please contact:

Remembering: Versus Ivan

A reclusive web-programmer is forced to confront the threatening concept of change when the food packages he receives in the mail each day mysteriously stop arriving.

Fourteen years ago, a film school graduate and his friends turned this unique elevator pitch into Versus Ivan, the first feature film to be produced in the NWT.

In a year when Kirsten Carthew’s landmark film The Sun at Midnight is still criss-crossing the globe and Jen Walden’s debut feature Elijah and the Rock Creature, is mere months away from release, we thought it would be good to look back upon the plucky beginnings of feature filmmaking in our territory.

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