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Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund Announces Support for 27 Script Development Projects

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  • Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund’s English-Language Program is pleased to announce its latest round of funding for 27 new and ongoing projects through its Script Development Program.

    “Our latest round of script development support represents a cross-section of genres and filmmaking teams, both emerging and established, ranging from the ‘prairie-gothic’ style of Jefferson Moneo to Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s modern Canadian classic Alias Grace,” said John Galway, the Fund’s English-Language Program President. “We are proud to support this new crop of incredible projects.”

    Among the other selections from exciting emerging filmmakers, Closet Monster by Stephen Dunn, recent winner of Tribeca’s Student Visionary Prize will be produced by Niv Fichman (Rhombus Media); Hubert Davis’ Burden produced by David Miller (A71 Productions), and Jeffrey St. Jules’ Bang Bang Baby produced by Daniel Bekerman (Scythia Films).

    The Fund is excited to support new works from Canada’s established filmmakers such as: Patricia Rozema’s Via Dolorosa, produced by Martin Katz’s Prospero Pictures; Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel Alias Grace, to be produced under Polley’s Tangled Inc. banner; Deepa Mehta’s adaptation of Shilpi Gowda’s renowned novel Secret Daughter, produced by Silent Joe’s Jody Colero and Hussain Amarshi; Jeremiah Chechik’s screenplay, Valleys of the Sea, to be produced by South Creek Pictures’ Dave Valleau; and Troy Nixey’s Super Pulp!, also produced by Dave Valleau.

    Notably, support for Jefferson Moneo’s original script for Big Muddy comes in advance of the world premiere of Moneo’s short film Going South, an Official Selection in the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinefoundation program this month. The story of a modern day outlaw in the prairies of rural Saskatchewan whose violent past resurfaces, Big Muddy received polish and packaging funds and aims to shoot this summer.

    Chosen from 136 applications, the projects approved this round are as follows:

    SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

    Treatment to First Draft

    Alias Grace

    Tangled Inc.

    Producer: Sarah Polley

    Screenwriter: Sarah Polley

    Bonechiller

    Apartment 11 Productions Inc.

    Producer: Jonathan Finkelstein, Allan Joli-Coeur, Michael Solomon

    Screenwriter: Imran Zaidi

    Riot

    Freddie Films Inc.

    Producer: Floyd Kane, Amos Adetuyi

    Screenwriter: Floyd Kane

    The King’s Daughters

    First Generation Films Inc.

    Producer: Christina Piovesan

    Screenwriters: Nicolas Wright, James Woods

    First to Second Draft

    200 Days

    Illana C. Frank Productions Inc.

    Producers: Ilana Frank

    Screenwriter: Marcus Robinson

    Ava Lee

    Strada Films Inc.

    Producer: Sandra Cunningham, Robin Cass

    Screenwriters: Karen Walton

    Body

    EyeSteelFilm Inc.

    Producer: Mila Aung-Thwin

    Screenwriter: Halima Ouardiri

    Super Pulp!

    South Creek Pictures Inc.

    Producer: Dave Valleau

    Screenwriter: Troy Nixey

    Akhavan

    Metafilms Inc.

    Producer: Sylvain Corbeil

    Screenwriters: Matthew Rankin

    Closet Monster

    Rhombus Media Inc.

    Producer: Niv Fichman

    Screenwriter: Stephen Dunn

    Via Dolorosa

    Prospero Pictures Inc.

    Producer: Martin Katz

    Screenwriter: Patricia Rozema, David Ackerman

    Second to Final Draft

    A Royal Day

    Conquering Lion Pictures and 1976 Productions Inc.

    Producer: Damon D’Oliveira, Clement Virgo, Nicholas Comeau

    Screenwriter: Gerald Wexler

    Envoy

    Zephyrus Entertainment Inc. and Flimshow Inc.

    Producers: Michael Maclennan, Damon D’Oliveira

    Screenwriter: Michael Maclennan

    Mimi and Me

    Blake Corbet Productions

    Producers: Blake Corbet

    Screenwriter: Marly Reed

    Polish and Packaging

    Big Muddy

    Angel Entertainment Corp

    Producer: Bob Crowe, Wally Start, Coral Aiken, Jefferson Moneo

    Screenwriters: Jefferson Moneo

    Director: Jefferson Moneo

    Burden

    A71 Productions Inc.

    Producer: David Miller

    Screenwriter: Hubert Davis

    Director: Hubert Davis

    Bang Bang Baby

    Scythia Films Inc.

    Producers: Daniel Bekerman

    Screenwriter: Jeffrey St. Jules

    Director: Jeffrey St. Jules

    Made in Italy

    Berkshire Axis Media and Buffalo Gal Pictures Inc.

    Producers: Tyler Levine, Isaac Clements, John G. Carbone, Phyllis Laing

    Screenwriter: Anthony Grieco

    Director: Jonathan Sobol

    Valleys of the Sea

    South Creek Pictures Inc.

    Producer: Dave Valleau

    Screenwriter: Jeremiah Chechik

    Director: Jeremiah Chechik

    What We Have

    What We Have Productions Inc.

    Producer: Sally Karam, Maxime Desmons

    Screenwriter: Maxime Desmons

    Director: Maxime Desmons

    Death of a Ladies Man

    Corey Marr Productions Inc.

    Producer: Corey Marr

    Screenwriter: Matthew Bissonnette

    Story Option Program

    A Complicated Kindness

    Sienna Films Inc. and Silent Joe Inc.

    Producer: Jennifer Kawaja, Julia Sereny, Jody Colero

    Author: Miriam Toews

    Screenwriter: Miriam Toews

    Secret Daughter

    Silent Joe Inc. and Mongrel Media

    Producer: Jody Colero and Hussain Amarshi

    Author: Shilpi Gowda

    Screenwriter: Deepa Mehta

    Ava Lee

    Strada Films Inc.

    Producer: Sandra Cunningham, Robin Cass

    Author: Ian Hamilton

    Screenwriter: Karen Walton

    Bottle Rocket Hearts

    Me Three Productions Inc.

    Producers: Sonia Hosko, Michelle Mama, Stephanie Markowitz

    Author: Zoe Whittall

    Screenwriters: Zoe Whittall and Linsey Stewart

    Glitch (aka The Terminal Experiment)

    Karma Film Inc. and Divani Films Inc.

    Producers: Anand Ramayya, Srinivas Krishna

    Author: Robert J. Sawyer

    Screenwriters: Srinivas Krishna, Peter Lauterman

    Needles

    Cedar Ave Productions Inc., Reunion Pictures Inc.

    Producers: Jordana Aarons, Tom Rowe, Lisa Richardson

    Author: William Deverell

    Screenwriter: Riel Stone

    The Script Development Program was created to assist in the development of quality Canadian feature film scripts. The program receives a yearly contribution of $1.3 million from Astral’s The Movie Network. The script development applications are reviewed by the English-Language Committee of Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund, which includes Suzette Couture, Damon D’Oliveira, Melanie Friesen, John Galway, Bryn Matthews, Jane Tattersall and Kevin Wright.