Women in Film & Television Vancouver (WIFTV) has announced the finalists for the 2022 Genre Film Lab program. The Genre Film Lab (formerly known as From Our Dark Side) is an accelerator program designed to support the development of genre film creators whose projects are at an advanced stage of development. The teams include writers, directors and producers selected based on the submission of their original narrative feature film concepts. The five films include Riding Shotgun, $aint Mark’s Eve, White Noise, Human Nature and MonkeyDog. This year’s projects were evaluated and selected by a jury of genre industry experts including Austin-based acquisitions manager, programmer, professor, and producer Logan Taylor, and writer/producer Ashlee Blackwell (Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror).
Leading this year’s Genre Film Lab is filmmaker, programmer, academic and former Programming Director for Frontières International co-pro market Vanessa Meyer. “I am thrilled to be a part of the newest iteration of WIFTV’s Genre Film Lab – a development lab for female and gender diverse filmmakers from across Canada. We have an exciting group of finalists this year who we think are a strong example of emerging talent – producers and writer/directors – who are all ready to put forth their stories into the continuously expanding genre universe. At the Genre Film Lab, it is our intention to both support the development of underrepresented voices, and to foster a community through which these voices may continue to grow,” says Program Director Vanessa Meyer.
The Genre Film Lab program will begin in early June with a masterclass on pitching with Jan Miller and will culminate with a dedicated pitch session at the Frontières International Co-Production Market (July, 21-24). The sessions will include an introductory group pitch masterclass, three strategy sessions with genre industry experts focusing on financing and packaging, one-on-one pitch development sessions, and individualized consultancies.
Full list of the project finalists, projects and teams:
Riding Shotgun
- DIRECTOR(S): Dionne Copland
- WRITER(S): Dionne Copland
- PRODUCER(S): Louise Weard (CyberCraft Video)
- PRODUCTION PROVINCE/TERRITORY: British Columbia/Alberta
$aint Mark’s Eve
- DIRECTOR(S): Penny Eizenga
- WRITER(S): Selaine Henriksen
- PRODUCER(S): Sharon Buckingham, TSB Productions
- PRODUCTION PROVINCE/TERRITORY: Ontario
White Noise
- WRITER(S): Tamara Scherbak
- PRODUCER(S): Christina Saliba (Misfit Films)
- PRODUCTION PROVINCE/TERRITORY: Quebec
Human Nature
- DIRECTOR(S): Luvia Petersen
- WRITER(S): Huelah Lander
- PRODUCER(S): Amanda Konkin, Download Joy Productions Inc.
- PRODUCTION PROVINCE/TERRITORY: British Columbia
MonkeyDog
- DIRECTOR(S): Vickie Ramirez
- WRITER(S): Vickie Ramirez
- PRODUCER(S): Tanis Parenteau, TDEP Productions
- PRODUCTION PROVINCE/TERRITORY: Alberta/Ontario
“The Genre Film Lab is a portal for diverse, underrepresented voices to develop stories with unique approaches, nuances, and twists and turns that could only emerge when the creative forces behind these rich stories include the represented communities themselves,” says WIFTV Board Member, Gwen Haworth.
The Genre Film Lab is proudly supported by Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, and WarnerMedia Access CANADA.