From Canadian filmmaking icons to emerging directors; comedies, dramas, literary adaptations and more, the 23 feature-length films recently announced for Telefilm Canada funding are a diverse selection of impactful stories. With more than $24 million invested in 11 feature-length films in the English market and $18 million for 12 feature-length films in the French-language market, these exciting projects promise to resonate with audiences and festivals worldwide.
Showcasing Telefilm’s interest in coproduction, seven of the 11 English market projects are majority coproductions, and two of the 12 French market titles are coproductions. Intrigued? Discover how to partner with us, here!
Here’s your sneak peek at some of these anticipated projects:
ENGLISH MARKET SPOTLIGHT
Yung Chang’s EGGPLANT
The first long-form narrative feature by renowned documentary filmmaker Yung Chang is this Canada-Ireland coproduction, a neo-noir love romance about a young con artist navigating love and survival within China’s bride market economy. The project was selected to participate in the Sundance Institute Screenwriting and Directing labs in 2015, and the TIFF Writers Studio in 2018.
Chang is known for award-winning documentaries such as 2007’s Up the Yangtze, 2012’s China Heavyweight, 2013’s The Fruit Hunters, 2020’s This is Not a Movie (a Canada-Germany coproduction about journalist Robert Fisk that screened at TIFF, among other festivals); and 2021’s Wuhan Wuhan, which was nominated for an Emmy Award!
Deepa Mehta’s FORGIVENESS
Based on true stories and historical events, this war drama is set in Canada after the second World War, as Oscar-nominated icon Deepa Mehta tells the interwoven stories of two families: one white family that were prisoners of war in Japan, and one Japanese-Canadian family that were in internment camps in Canada. The script is written by Mark Sakamoto as an adaptation of his book.
From premiering her first feature, 1991’s Sam & Me, at the Cannes International Film Festival to adapting a Salman Rushdie novel for the silver screen, and, of course, being nominated for an Academy Award for 2005’s Water (part of her Elemental Trilogy, along with Fire and Earth), and hits such as Bollywood/Hollywood, Anatomy of Violence, and Funny Boy, Mehta’s prolific filmmaking career has spanned decades. Last year, her acclaimed body of work was honoured with a TIFF Cinematheque retrospective.
Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson’s NIGHTINGALE
This Winnipeg trio are back with a new historical drama, a Canada-U.K. coproduction. Their most recent feature, 2024’s Rumours (a Canada-Germany coproduction starring Cate Blanchett and Roy Dupuis) turned heads at Cannes, where it screened out of competition. Other collaborations include 2015’s The Forbidden Room, 2017’s The Green Fog, and shorts such as Accidence. P.S: Did you know that filmmaker, writer, and artist Guy Maddin, known for award-winning classics such as The Saddest Music in the World (with Isabella Rossellini) was named to the Order of Canada in 2012?
Zarrar Kahn’s SUFFERING IS OPTIONAL
This upcoming feature follows Kahn’s feature debut, 2023’s In Flames, which premiered at Cannes in the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight competition. The film was selected as an Official Project at the Berlinale Co-Production Market in 2025.
Explore all 11 big-budget feature films in the English market recently selected for Telefilm Canada funding, here: Telefilm Canada invests $24M+ in 11 big-budget features in the English market.
FRENCH MARKET SPOTLIGHT
Pier-Philippe Chevigny’s ARSENAL
A Canada-France coproduction set in Montreal’s 1990s 2SLGBTQIA+ scene, this historical drama follows a young photographer who joins the anti-police brutality movement after a loft party she’s documenting is raided by police. Having taken photos of the raid, she and her friends try to get them published in the media. Also attached to the project as co-writer is Quebec filmmaker Chloé Robichaud, renowned for her award-winning Sarah Prefers to Run (Sarah préfère la course), Days of Happiness (Les jours heureux), and Two Women (Deux femmes en or).
In 2023, Chevigny’s debut-feature Richelieu earned an honourable mention for Emerging Canadian Director at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The following year, his short Mercenaire took home the Special Jury Prize at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Sophie Deraspe’s L’AMOUR AU TEMPS DES SATELLITES
From hit features to docs and series, Deraspe’s work tends to be internationally successful – both commercially and critically. This upcoming feature is a drama about a policewoman who finds herself embroiled in danger when a young girl gets involved with a prostitution ring through a dating site.
Fun fact: Deraspe’s acclaimed 2019 Antigone, a modern Montreal take on the Sophocles tragedy, was Canada’s submission for the Best International Film category of the 92nd Academy Awards. (It also won Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival, among other prizes.) Five years later, Deraspe’s 2024 feature, Shepherds (Bergers), scored the same award, among many other prestigious prizes!
Miryam Charles’s VERS LE SOLEIL OU PLUS PRÈS ENCORE
Charles’ new feature follows 2022’s The House (La maison), which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, was named part of TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten, and one of the year’s 50 best films by Sight and Sound (which is published by the prestigious British Film Institute). The drama combined documentary and narrative forms to dive into the impact her cousin’s suspicious death had on her family, exploring her own grief.
Read about all 12 feature films in the French-language market recently selected for Telefilm Canada funding, right this way: Telefilm Canada announces $18 million in funding for the production of 12 feature films in the French-language market.
