Netflix, National Bank and Canada Media
Fund support multi-year partnership
MONTREAL, July 22, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, the Fabienne Colas
Foundation announced new support for the Being Black in
Canada program from presenting
sponsor Netflix, in collaboration with National Bank, and the
support of Canada Media Fund.
As a result of this cross-industry partnership, the 2020 program
will expand to include 20 new participants from Montreal, Toronto and Halifax. Over the following two years, the
program will further expand to include Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and support a total of 70 new
filmmakers and 55 alumni in 2021 and 2022.
Program participants benefit from mentorship and training by
established experts across multiple areas of film production
including screenwriting, directing, editing and post-production.
They will also be provided with the opportunity to create
individual documentary shorts that address the issue of social
integration of people from Black communities in Canada.
In 2019, the program included 15 filmmakers, ages 18 to 30, from
the Black communities of Montreal,
Toronto and Halifax. All of the filmmakers presented their
documentary shorts as world premieres at last year's Montreal
International Black Film Festival as well as an Ontario premiere at Toronto Black Film
Festival and the Atlantic Canadian premiere at Halifax Black Film
Festival.
Fabienne Colas is available
for interviews regarding this new partnership.
Quotes
"Black artists represent the most marginalized and underserved
group in the Canadian arts community. We are therefore thrilled to
be partnering with Netflix alongside the National Bank of
Canada and the Canada Media Fund
to expand the Being Black in Canada Program from coast to coast. This
will amplify the voices of emerging Black filmmakers all over
Canada at an important time of our
history. It marks a concrete step towards greater inclusion of
diversity in the Canadian Film Industry."
- Fabienne Colas, President
and CEO of the Fabienne Colas Foundation
"Creating more stories that generate empathy and understanding
of the Black experience starts with providing more opportunities
for Black creators to hone their storytelling craft. Being Black
in Canada provides a
meaningful platform for the development of young Black artists in
Canada and Netflix is proud to
support the expansion of this program."
- Stéphane Cardin, Director of Public Policy, Netflix
Canada
"By promoting the inclusion of black filmmakers and supporting
the next generation, we can help demonstrate that the future is
promising, economically and socially, for the black community and
beyond. As a major partner of audiovisual production in
Canada, National Bank is proud to
work with a number of other organizations to support the Fabienne
Colas Foundation's Being Black in Canada incubator program."
- Louis Vachon, President and
Chief Executive Officer of National Bank
"The CMF recently made a commitment towards combating systemic
racism in Canada's screen-based
sector. Training and mentorship are fundamental for meaningful and
lasting change to happen. Supporting the Fabienne Colas
Foundation's Being Black in Canada initiative is a key step on the
road towards representation and racial equity. We're deeply
committed to supporting change that lasts. We look forward to
seeing the next generation of Black Canadian storytellers change
the narrative and eliminate stereotypes for audiences here in
Canada and around the
world."
- Valerie Creighton, President
and CEO, CMF
About the Fabienne Colas Foundation
The Fabienne Colas
Foundation (FCF) is a not-for-profit cultural organization
dedicated to building bridges and advancing education through the
arts as well as to support the creation, production, promotion and
dissemination of cinema, the arts and culture in Canada and elsewhere. To fulfill its mission,
the Foundation put together 9 festivals and programs to break
barriers, celebrate diversity, foster togetherness, understanding
and inclusion. Since its inception in 2005, its
initiatives/festivals have showcased and supported over 2,000
artists and attracted close to 1 million festival goers in
Canada, the USA, Haiti
and Brazil. The Foundation mostly
promotes Black culture in Montréal, Toronto, Halifax, New York
City et Salvador de Bahia
(Brazil); and Quebec culture in Port-au-Prince.
About Netflix
Netflix is the world's leading streaming
entertainment service with 193 million paid memberships in over 190
countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films
across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as
much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected
screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without
commercials or commitments.
About National Bank of Canada
With $317
billion in assets as at April 30,
2020, National Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, forms
one of Canada's leading integrated
financial groups. It has more than 26,000 employees in
knowledge-intensive positions and has been recognized numerous
times as a top employer and for its commitment to diversity. Its
securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA).
About Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF)
fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian
content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The
CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global
environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success,
enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content
through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives
financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada's cable, satellite and IPTV
distributors.
Media contact:
Talar Adam
Publicist
Fabienne Colas Foundation
514-833-0274
press@MontrealBlackFilm.com
www.BeingBlackInCanada.com
Being Black in Canada - Backgrounder
About Being Black in Canada
Being Black in Canada is a pan-Canadian initiative created by
the Fabienne Colas Foundation's Youth and Diversity Program -
initially created in 2014 in Montreal to address the chronic lack of
diversity on and off-screen. Since then the program has been
developed in Toronto and
Halifax with plans to soon expand
into Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver, becoming a true coast to coast
diversity initiative.
Being Black in Canada supports
Canadians, 18 to 30 years old, from black communities in the
creation of a short documentary film and broadcasts them at
prestigious Black Film festivals in select cities nationally. The
emerging filmmakers are provided with training and mentorship from
established industry professionals such as producers, directors,
production crew, editors and workshops to perfect their craft. The
program also includes ongoing strategic professional development
for alumni.
By training young black filmmakers, Being Black in Canada is changing the stories and the
narrative of what is seen on screen, making it true tangible impact
for diversity in Canada by
providing equal opportunities for Black Filmmakers and increasing
representation in front of and behind the camera.
With this new support from Netflix, National Bank and Canada
Media Fund, Being Black in Canada will expand the program as follows
over the next three years:
Being Black in Canada 2020:
- Montreal, Toronto, Halifax
- A total of 35 Black filmmakers
- 20 new filmmakers will join the program
- 15 alumni filmmakers from the 2019 program will receive
personalized mentorship and training including how to prepare
funding submissions for their next projects, best practices in
marketing, networking, and possible production collaborations.
Being Black in Canada 2021:
- Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver
- A total of 55 Black filmmakers
- 35 new filmmakers will join the program
- 20 alumni filmmakers from the 2020 program will receive
personalized mentorship and training including how to prepare
funding submissions for their next projects, best practices in
marketing, networking, and possible production collaborations.
Being Black in Canada 2022:
- Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver
- A total of 70 Black filmmakers
- 35 new filmmakers will join the program
- 35 alumni filmmakers from the 2021 program will receive
personalized mentorship and training including how to prepare
funding submissions for their next projects, best practices in
marketing, networking, and possible production collaborations.
SOURCE Netflix