News

TALENT TO WATCH PROGRAM 2024 - Call for submissions: Recommendation Phase

April 3, 2024

Submissions deadline: on or before April 24th, 2024 at 11:59pm, Yukon Time

This terrific first feature film program supports projects with a budget of up to $500,000. The Yukon Film Society has previously recommended three projects that have been selected for the Talent to Watch Program. Under the Industry Partner Stream of Telefilm's program, as the industry partner for the Yukon, the Yukon Film Society can recommend up to THREE feature film projects.

About TELEFILM Talent to Watch

Please consult the Telefilm guidelines for the complete description of the eligibility criteria under this Program. 

The maximum contribution amount through this program is $250,000 for fiction feature films and $150,000 for feature length documentaries.

Industry Partner Stream through Yukon Film Society: 

Financing will be given to projects chosen among those recommended by designated industry partner (Yukon Film Society) for each component of the Program (see full list of partners in documents below). The different components are: 

- Main component

- Indigenous component 

- Official-Language Minority Communities (OLMC) component 

The Yukon Film Society is a designated partner under the Industry Partner Stream. (To inquire about the Festival Selection Stream or the Filmmaker Apply-Direct Streams, please contact Telefilm directly.)

• This program has two stages:
Recommendation stage: Applicants apply to Yukon Film Society, and we select up to three projects -- one fiction feature film or theatrical documentary, one Official-Language Minority Communities project and one Indigenous project -- to recommend to Telefilm.
Application stage: If the project(s) recommended by Yukon Film Society are selected by Telefilm to move forward, the creative team will then be asked to incorporate a company which will apply directly through the Telefilm portal.

• ALL key members of submitted projects (Director, Producer, Writer) must be emerging talent. Please see the Telefilm Guidelines and Essential Information Guide for the updated definition of what qualifies as emerging talent. There is some grace given to producers and writers who have previously written or produced a micro-budget feature.

• ALL key members of submitted projects (Director, Producer, Writer) must be current members of Yukon Film Society. The Director must be a Production Member, while the Producer and Writer may be Exhibition or Film-Lover Members. Click here to renew your membership.

• In all aspects of your application, keep in mind Telefilm's commitment to "support greater equity and representation in storytelling, that reflects gender parity and diversity from various communities including Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, Gender-diverse identities and expressions, as well as People with Disabilities from all regions of the country."

• Yukon Film Society will provide up to $5000 of in-kind equipment rental for member projects that are ultimately funded by Telefilm and go into production. Therefore you should include a realistic dollar amount of in-kind equipment rental from Yukon Film Society as both revenue and expense items in your budget. We will include this revenue as confirmed in our recommendation letter.

• Yukon Film Society will make our selection and may choose to offer feedback to the selected applicant(s) before we submit recommendations to Telefilm. Priority will be given to projects that will shoot the majority of principal cinematography in the Yukon.

Questions? Call Andrew Connors at yfs: 867-393-3456 or email: prg@yukonfilmsociety.com To be eligible to apply, you must be a Canadian resident and the applicant must be a student or a recent graduate of a production program, or a recent member (within the last 2 years) of a media art cooperative, including YFS. The Director applicant must be a YFS Production Member in good standing at the time of submission. Membership renewal or purchase is $50.

To apply, send ONE LINK to a folder on cloud storage containing all of the required items to prg@yukonfilmsociety.com BEFORE 11:59pm YT on Monday April 24th, 2024. While it's recommended that all elements of the required documents are submitted, some of these documents such as promotional plan, pitch video and community engagement plan can be draft versions. Selected projects will have a short window to finalize and update their required items before submitting their project to Telefilm before April 30th, 2024 11:59 PM EDT.