BFF 2021 Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition

In partnership with CBC and Front Row Insurance


To mark our 10th Annual Film Festival, BFF is partnering with CBC and Front Row Insurance to bring you a very special Pitch Competition!

This year, there will be two categories, SCRIPTED and UNSCRIPTED. Three finalists in each category will have 3 minutes to virtually pitch their next project to two senior executives from CBC, who will provide feedback on the quality and feasibility of the projects presented and select the winning project.

Finalists will attend a pitch training session prior to the event, to help filmmakers to master the art of the pitch and provide them with an opportunity to hone their skills to ultimately sell their projects.

One winner in each category will get the opportunity to further develop their project with CBC and a $500 cash prize from Front Row Insurance to be put towards their production.

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2021 Unscripted Finalists

Featured
Vicki Van Chau is an emerging Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker based in Calgary, Alberta. She produced her first short film in 2016 when she was accepted into the Herland Video Production & Mentorship Program for emerging female filmmaker

Vicki Van Chau is an emerging Chinese-Vietnamese Canadian filmmaker based in Calgary, Alberta. She produced her first short film in 2016 when she was accepted into the Herland Video Production & Mentorship Program for emerging female filmmakers, and has since produced several short films that screened across Canada and internationally.

Project: YOLKLESS PRESS

Carlie Macfie is a director, researcher and editor based in Toronto, ON. She received her BFA in Film Production from York University in 2016. Since then she has worked on a number of feature documentaries with Canadian filmmakers such as Jennifer

Carlie Macfie is a director, researcher and editor based in Toronto, ON. She received her BFA in Film Production from York University in 2016. Since then she has worked on a number of feature documentaries with Canadian filmmakers such as Jennifer Baichwal and Liz Marshall.

Project: GIG WORKERS UNITED

Yazmeen Kanji is the founder of Films With A Cause and a Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow. Her documentary, From Syria To Hope , won Best Short Doc at the 2019 Toronto Short Film Festival. With Love From Munera screened at the 2020 Inside Out Film F

Yazmeen Kanji is the founder of Films With A Cause and a Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow. Her documentary, From Syria To Hope, won Best Short Doc at the 2019 Toronto Short Film Festival. With Love From Munera screened at the 2020 Inside Out Film Festival and TIFF Next Wave 2021.

Project: MISREPRESENTED ON SCREEN

2021 Scripted Finalists

Featured
Rabiya Mansoor (she/they) is a Pakistani-Calgarian comedian, writer, and producer. Her web series projects in development include: Get Up, Aisha (2020 IPF Production Fund/iThentic) and Layla is Relevant (2020 WIFT-T Scripted Digital Series Inc

Rabiya Mansoor (she/they) is a Pakistani-Calgarian comedian, writer, and producer. Her web series projects in development include: Get Up, Aisha (2020 IPF Production Fund/iThentic) and Layla is Relevant (2020 WIFT-T Scripted Digital Series Incubator/2020 TAC Media Artists Grant).

Project: LAYLA IS RELEVANT

Shreya Patel is a model turned writer, actress, and filmmaker. Her debut documentary on domestic human trafficking, 'Girl Up', partnered with TIFF to showcase at the Civic Action Summit. Her second documentary, 'Unity', brought together 66 countri

Shreya Patel is a model turned writer, actress, and filmmaker. Her debut documentary on domestic human trafficking, 'Girl Up', partnered with TIFF to showcase at the Civic Action Summit. Her second documentary, 'Unity', brought together 66 countries to showcase the triumph of the human spirit during COVID-19. Her MV directorial debut, Freedom Dance, has 1 million+ views on YouTube.

Project: LAYLA IS RELEVANT

Jenny Lee-Gilmore is a filmmaker and actor based in Vancouver, BC. She completed her BFA in Film Production at the University of British Columbia taking additional classes in Asian Canadian studies and gender studies. Jenny hopes to tell compellin

Jenny Lee-Gilmore is a filmmaker and actor based in Vancouver, BC. She completed her BFA in Film Production at the University of British Columbia taking additional classes in Asian Canadian studies and gender studies. Jenny hopes to tell compelling diverse stories focusing on female driven narratives.

Project: BREAKAWAY

Aisha Evelyna is an actor and filmmaker of Afro-Carribbean descent who holds a BA in Theatre from York University. As a multi-hyphenate, Aisha is passionate about bringing stories of the underrepresented to the forefront of our social conversation

Aisha Evelyna is an actor and filmmaker of Afro-Carribbean descent who holds a BA in Theatre from York University. As a multi-hyphenate, Aisha is passionate about bringing stories of the underrepresented to the forefront of our social conversation. When not dreaming about film, Aisha can be found eating donuts in Toronto.

Project: THE DROP

Dani Pagliarello (BFA York-U) has created, directed, and produced two digital series: FOOD N’ MONEY (reviewed as ‘Broad City on Acid’) & SHITTY ROOMMATE. Dani’s path to show-running is reflective of the work she wants to see on screen - Women

Dani Pagliarello (BFA York-U) has created, directed, and produced two digital series: FOOD N’ MONEY (reviewed as ‘Broad City on Acid’) & SHITTY ROOMMATE. Dani’s path to show-running is reflective of the work she wants to see on screen - Women directing comedy. She’s developing three new shows including THE DROP.

Project: THE DROP

Pitch Jury, Host & Mentor

Featured
PITCH JURY (SCRIPTED) Mélanie Lê Phan has worked for CBC Television in both Scripted and Unscripted programming since 2013. She is currently an Executive in Charge of Production for YA Digital Originals for CBC, overseeing production and develo

PITCH JURY (SCRIPTED)

Mélanie Lê Phan has worked for CBC Television in both Scripted and Unscripted programming since 2013. She is currently an Executive in Charge of Production for YA Digital Originals for CBC, overseeing production and development of digital series for CBC Gem. She has recently worked on R.T. Thorne’s series Utopia Falls, CBC Kids youth series Detention Adventure, Supinder Wraich’s drama The 410, CANNESERIES selected Warigami and International Emmy-nominated How to Buy A Baby. Mélanie is also really passionate about documentary content and has worked on the doc series Farm Crime as well as several CBC Docs: Shorts, including Hot Docs Audience Choice winner Nancy’s Workshop by Aïcha Diop and Lisa Rideout’s One Leg In One Leg Out. Québeco-vietnamese and raised in Ottawa, Mélanie studied Film Production at UBC and has previously chaired the board of the Images Festival in Toronto.

PITCH JURY (SCRIPTED) Zach Feldberg manages the Young Adult (YA) Digital Originals team, overseeing its strategy and programming slate and working with the next wave of Canadian talent to develop and commission Gen Z-targeted series for CBC Gem

PITCH JURY (SCRIPTED)

Zach Feldberg manages the Young Adult (YA) Digital Originals team, overseeing its strategy and programming slate and working with the next wave of Canadian talent to develop and commission Gen Z-targeted series for CBC Gem and branded social platforms. This slate includes such titles as The 410, For Heaven’ Sake, Kenny & Spenny Paldemic, Farm Crime, My 90-Year-Old Roommate, Save Me, The Neddeaus of Duqesne Island, Coming In, the Emmy-nominated series The Amazing Gayl Pile and How to Buy a Baby, and many more. Prior to originating his role in 2015, Zach spearheaded Shaw Media’s first digital programming mandate, including Global TV special The Second City Project, Food Network’s Super Snack Bros. and others. He also produced digital products and content associated with the company’s priority linear series, including Big Brother Canada, Vikings, Trailer Park Boys and dozens more, yielding an International Emmy win in 2012, and a subsequent nomination in 2014. On a personal note, Zach came up through music, starting a record label, magazine, and internet radio show in his teens before gravitating towards a career in TV. He likes smart home gizmos, gluten free Italian cooking, and probably everything Steve Coogan has ever made.

PITCH JURY (UNSCRIPTED) Jacquie Lee got her start at CBC's Fashion File and carried her love of storytelling on to shows like Dragons' Den, Best Recipes Ever, Four Rooms, Steven & Chris, Q and CBC Music's video content offering. Before jo

PITCH JURY (UNSCRIPTED)

Jacquie Lee got her start at CBC's Fashion File and carried her love of storytelling on to shows like Dragons' Den, Best Recipes Ever, Four Rooms, Steven & Chris, Q and CBC Music's video content offering. Before joining CBC Creator Network, Jacquie produced the first digital presentation of the Juno Awards.

PITCH HOST Saroja Coelho is an award-winning broadcaster from Toronto, who hosts music and current events programs on CBC Radio. She began as a music intern with Global Village and then moved to Seoul, South Korea, where she was a reporter for

PITCH HOST

Saroja Coelho is an award-winning broadcaster from Toronto, who hosts music and current events programs on CBC Radio. She began as a music intern with Global Village and then moved to Seoul, South Korea, where she was a reporter for The World at Six and Dispatches (CBC Radio One). In 2006, she relocated to Berlin, Germany where she was an eastern and central European correspondent covering Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. Her documentaries were aired on CBC, BBC, NPR and Deutsche Welle, covering everything from music and culture to migration and climate change. In 2012, Saroja became the host of Living Planet, an international radio show on climate and environmental issues produced by Deutsche Welle. She took a hiatus in 2015 in order to participate in the Paris Climate Summit, returning to broadcasting the following year as the new host of Breakaway, CBC’s drive-home show for the province of Quebec. After more than a decade away, she finally returned to Toronto in 2018 where she has guest hosted Mornings, q, As It Happens, Here and Now, Ontario Morning and Day 6.

PITCH MENTOR Kat Jayme is a Filipina-Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. Her breakthrough documentary FINDING BIG COUNTRY has been programmed internationally by ESPN, ABC, and Amazon. She is the winner of the 2019 TIFF Pitch This! compet

PITCH MENTOR

Kat Jayme is a Filipina-Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. Her breakthrough documentary FINDING BIG COUNTRY has been programmed internationally by ESPN, ABC, and Amazon. She is the winner of the 2019 TIFF Pitch This! competition and is currently working on her next film with Crave and Uninterrupted.

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