Deed News

In its 13th year, funded by Telefilm and Canada Media Fund, and in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival, the Big Pitch competition drew from CaribbeanTales’s incubator programs, LIMITLESS for women and non-binary creators and the CaribbeanTales Black Incubator and Studio Access Project. Thirteen of these talented up-and-coming filmmakers pitched to a jury composed of Canada’s top broadcasters and top industry professionals on September 11, 2022, at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The event was attended by top industry entertainment professionals actively looking for original Canadian content and was followed by the popular Red Hot Mixer where filmmakers had the opportunity to network and make exciting connections.

The Projects

Here is the Big Pitch’s stellar line-up of participants and projects:

• Kai-Little White – Solstice Stories
• Nauzanin Knight – Notes on Being Unpopular
• Asis Sethi – Slam Dunk, Sehaj!
• Fennella Bruce – Backbone
• Suki Motoyi – Beyond Blood
• Ana de Lara – On the Wings of Sorrow
• Yasmin Evering-Kerr – In the Pocket
• Aeyliya Husain – Reframed
• Roble Issa – Last Shot
• Kristen Lambie – Fever Street
• Muniyra Douglas – Sanduku
• Kirsty Plange & Daisy Komujuni – Oakwood

Mentors & Team

A key component of the incubator is that it is led by leading BIPOC producers and mentors from across the screen-based industry. This year’s core team included: Frances-Anne Solomon, (Founder and CEO of the CaribbeanTales Media Group), CBC’s Director of Engagement and Inclusion Nick Davis, and event producers and coordinators Maya Bastian and Laura Friedmann.

The core team were joined over the course of the program by 17 leading industry “Producer and Funder mentors” where participants were able to pitch their projects in 10-minute speed meeting sessions. Funding Mentors included representatives from the Corus Entertainment, CBC, the Indigenous Screen Office, HotDocs, and the Independent Production Fund.

The Jury

This year’s Jurors were Tamara Dawit (Vice President of Growth and Inclusion at the Canada Media Fund), Mitch Geddes (Production Executive, Original Programming, Drama and Feature Film at Bell Media), Jennifer Kawaja (President of English Scripted at Sphere Media) and Ava Torres (Executive in Charge of Development, Drama at CBC).

Funders & Sponsors

CTMG sincerely acknowledges and thanks our FUNDERS: Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and SPONSORS: Panavision, Mongrel Media, WIFT, Trinity Square Video, Hall Webber, Grande Camera, Edwards Creative Law, Charles Street Video, EQ and Astrolab Studios. The Big Pitch is produced every year in partnership with TIFF Industry.

Winner of the Audience Choice Award of the Creators of Colour Online Pitch Competition

Nauzanin Knight with “Notes on Being Unpopular”

CaribbeanTales Media Group is excited to announce the winner of the Audience Choice Award of the 2022 “Creators of Colour Online Pitch Competition”! Nauzanin Knight and her project “Notes on Being Unpopular” received the highest number of votes.

After months of work by CTMG’s Training division, the highly anticipated competition launched September 19 – 30, 2022 and featured projects by 16 talented filmmakers. These projects by BIPOC filmmakers were developed in the CaribbeanTales Black Incubator Studio Access Project and the CineFam Limitless Incubator for women and non-binary creators. These 9 month-long training programs created a vehicle & funding for BIPOC creators to hone and package their projects, creating proofs of concept, making them market ready.

And now the results! For over 20 years, CaribbeanTales Media Group, founded by award winning Filmmaker & Academy Member Frances-Anne Soloman has set out to provide an ecosystem of screen-based activities that would serve BIPOC audiences. With activities ranging from creation, training, production, festivals to distribution. The program Enriches, promotes, and monetizes culturally diverse film and television content for wide audiences. CTMG has welcomed hundreds of filmmakers from Canada and around the world.

Our Final Online Pitch Competition participants:

• Muniyra Douglas – “SANDUKU”
• Theodore Mullings – ‘MR. LONELY”
• Kirsty Plange & Daisy Komujuni – “OAKWOOD”
• Fenella Bruce – “BACKBONE”
• Kristen Lambie – “FEVER STREET”
• Karl Hutchinson & Andy Marshall – DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS!
• Ana De Lara – “ON THE WINGS OF SORROW”
• Nauzanin Knight – “NOTES ON BEING UN-POPULAR”
• Asis Sethi – “SLAM DUNK, SEHAJ!”
• Damali Kai Little-White – “SOLSTICE STORIES”
• Iyore Edegbe – “DIASPORA”
• Dorothy A. Atabong – “ZENZILE’S JOURNEY”
• Aeyliya Husain – “REFRAMED”
• David Cropper – “THE KIDS FROM QUEENS”
• Gordon Culley – “A SPY STORY”
• Melanee Murray – “FINDING MOTHER”

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