BFF Short Film Incubator

The Breakthroughs Short Film Incubator is designed to support emerging women, trans-masculine and non-binary Canadian filmmakers in developing their first short film projects. The pilot program will provide a combination of script development, casting, actor workshop and practical production guidance. Through a table read with actors, feedback from story editors and Breakthroughs staff, participants will refine their scripts, talent directing skills and grant applications.

Applications are currently CLOSED.

The 2026 Short Film Incubator Participants are:

Faith Leleu / project: Sisters

Faith (she/her) is an immigrant from France who picked Canada as her home country. She is a writer and a screenwriter/director who created the webseries "Serial Dater" (on YouTube). She loves to write stories, often queer, often speculative—as a way to make the world brighter, stranger, and more inclusive than it currently is. Faith is also a Big Sister in the Big Brother and Big Sister program, where an adult gets paired with a child or teen to provide mentorship. The story Sisters is inspired both by her own life and the idea that someone caring can make a big different in a kid's life.

Logline: As summer draws near, teenager Flora worries about having to be at home without escape.

Instagram: @frenchyfaith

Erica Chan / project: Mother of Mine

Bio: Having grown up on all things fantasy and science fiction, Erica Chan is a queer Chinese Canadian filmmaker and writer seeking to prioritize and expand racialized LGBTQ+ representation in genres that have not traditionally included them. She likes to draw upon themes of isolation, liminality, existentialism, and confronting our mortality. After helping many first-time filmmakers make their debut short films as a line producer and assistant director, Erica is currently working on developing and directing her own short film: a horror-drama that explores strained familial ties, cultural liminality, and regressive nostalgia.

Logline: Young recluse Erin is convinced that her missing mother, a former amateur TV idol in Hong Kong, is alive and attempting to contact her through one of her variety show tapes, but her older sister Karina does not believe her, insisting that she leave behind all hope of their mother coming home.

Instagram: @erica.c___ (triple underscore after the '.c')

  • The program starts in June and will run until August. Casting and table read will take place in August.

  • Sessions will be remote, but table read will be in person in Toronto. Applicants must be able to attend in-person table read. 

  • Please submit a maximum of two projects. These should be submitted as two different applications.

  • Yes. However, both must be a woman, non-binary or trans-masculine artist.

  • When submitting your application, we request a visual treatment. We want to understand what your creative vision for the project is. You are welcome to explore what this means to you! You do not need to create an elaborate pitch deck, but we would appreciate some visual examples. You can see some examples of a visual treatment in our Resources page.

  • We have determined a maximum page count in hopes that this results in projects that are sharper, more feasible and easier to program at festivals.

    • A new draft of the script submitting with application;

    • Character descriptions for casting call;

    • Shot list or story board;

    • Case study;

    • A completed feedback form.

Questions? Email us at info@breakthroughsfilmfestival.com.