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WHAT IS IT?

Seeking filmmakers that have a unique vision and story for a short film in development, ready for production.

The Director Development Incubator is a 6-week mentorship program designed for emerging filmmakers, covering essential skills like cinematography, production design, directing actors, budget creation, financing, and integrating an anti-oppression lens into the creative process.

January 27th, 2026

S U M B I S S I O N S D E A D L I N E

M E N T O R S H I P S E S S I O N S

JUNE 5, 2026 - JULY 10, 2026

P I T C H C O M P E T I T I O N

JULY 25, 2026

This director development incubator is an opportunity for emerging filmmakers to gain support for a short film (15 mins or under) currently in development.
Leading up to their pitch in June 2026, six (6) selected pitch competition participants will receive mentorship sessions with established industry professionals working within a variety of departments.
A grant of $5k as well as 55K worth of in-kind support from various partners will be provided.
December 12th - January 27th 2026: Submissions Open
JUNE 5TH - Mentorship Session #1
JUNE 12TH - Mentorship Session #2
JUNE 19TH - Mentorship Session #3
JUNE 26TH - Mentorship Session #4
JULY 3RD - Mentorship Session #5
JULY 10TH- Mentorship Session #6
JULY 25TH - Live Pitch Competition
JULY 26TH - Winner announced after Closing Keynote Conversation
March 2027 - Film to be completed
Submissions will not be accepted later than 11:59pm EST on January 27th 2026.
Selected participants will be notified in Spring 2026.
Due to the volume of submissions, only participants selected will be notified. Feedback on declined submissions will not be provided.
REQUIRED MATERIALS:
1. Concept
2. Letter of Intent (500 words)
3. Video Introduction (1-2 minutes)
4. Production Timeline
5. Budget
6. Contingency Statement
7. Key Creatives
8. Reference Letters
For full details, please visit https://filmfreeway.com/FOFSPitchCompetition

2026 PARTICIPANTS

Tanzeil Moustapha is an emerging filmmaker and arts professional exploring identity, heritage, and representation within the Black and diasporic experience. Her debut short film, Perils of Otranto, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, blends cinematic experimentation with cultural storytelling. She is the first recipient of the BIPOC Women in Media Cityline Scholarship and participated in the Black Women Film! Canada 2023 cohort. Tanzeil has supported arts organizations through programming and event production, including a “Niaflix” screening at Nia Centre for the Arts. Currently in OBAC’s Career Leap Program, she is committed to fostering inclusion and amplifying diverse voices.
IG: tanzeil

Elizabeth is an emerging writer, director, and producer whose work centres on character-driven stories, often incorporating varying degrees of surrealism. She is drawn to themes of religion, memory, and mental health, and to the points where these ideas intersect. She will soon graduate with an MFA in Scriptwriting and Story Design from Toronto Metropolitan University.

IG: elizabeth_winstanley

Jackie Batsinduka (she/her) is a Tkaronto-based writer/director, whose work serves as a portal to connection and social change. She's graced many a writers’ rooms, including BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE, WORKIN’ MOMS and GINNY & GEORGIA. After her debut short film GENI premiered at the Regent Park Film Festival in 2019, Jackie went on to direct 2 episodes of CBC Gem's hit 2021 series VIRGINS! In her spare time, Jackie likes to take out too many library books, bike through intersections without stopping, and world-build with her co-conspirators.

IG: @jaqwelan

Erin Lum (she/her) is an emerging filmmaker, dancer, and writer based in what is colonially known as Vancouver, BC. She is interested in art-making as a powerful method of (re)defining diasporic identity. Her first film Zì Jǐ (2020) has screened internationally, including a weeklong projection onto the National Arts Centre building (Ottawa). As the Co-Artistic Director of FORM (Festival of Recorded Movement), she is also committed to fostering youth-engaged spaces in the arts. Erin recently completed her degree in Sociology and Communication at SFU. She is currently in production for her upcoming documentary film Just By Existing.

IG: @erinlum3

Ashley Frück Siomos is a Toronto-based writer–director drawn to the worlds that bloom just beyond the visible frame. Through surrealism, absurdity, and deadpan precision, she explores how ordinary life slips into ritual and performance. Her short films The Attraction and School’s Out! are in post-production, and her writing (The Myth of Mexico) has been featured in Queer Toronto Magazine. Her work examines intimacy, systems, and the strange theatre of modern existence, using allegory to reveal what goes unspoken—inviting viewers into realities that feel recognizable, yet quietly, unsettlingly off.
IG: @ashley_fruck

Hirra Farooqi is a filmmaker and producer dedicated to telling emotionally grounded stories that explore identity, displacement, and community. As the founder of the Muslim International Film Festival (MIFF), she has created platforms that champion underrepresented voices and celebrate emerging talent in film. Her producing work includes projects recognized internationally, with screenings at festivals such as the Red Sea International Film Festival. Alongside her work as a producer, Hirra is pursuing directing, developing character-driven films that centre human connection, cultural memory, and resilience. Through both filmmaking and community-building, she is passionate about advancing authentic representation and meaningful storytelling in cinema.
IG: @hirrafarooqi

2026 JURY MEMBERS (TBD)

2025 PARTICIPANTS

Noor Gatih is a cis queer writer, filmmaker and arts programmer from Ontario. Her work explores identity, femininity and dreams.
IG: noor.gatih

Gulzar (they/them) is a Writer, Director and Educator with a BFA in Film Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University. While working in both the documentary and narrative medium, their films speak from the desire to be witnessed. They continuously explore their transness, themes of lineage, the Desi diaspora, and above all, love.
Gulzar works as a youth screenwriting instructor at Film Space Corp. and is a commissioned arts facilitator and film programmer. Their works have screened at Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, TIFF Next Wave's 'Open Screen', Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival, Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival, Breakthroughs Film Festival and Trinity Square Video's 'Video Fever' exhibition. Gulzar is a 2024 alumnus of Workman Arts' 'If You Ask Me', a youth filmmaking program supported by LIFT, ArtReach TO and Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival.
IG: @p0olsideconvooo

Michael Petruzzelli is a queer director and storyteller creating emotionally resonant narratives that explore identity, community, and transformation. With a background in film production, writing, and creative direction, he develops character-driven films and visually compelling branded content. His work shifts between conceptual commercial campaigns and transportive narrative projects, with screenings at festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Texas, and Michigan. Passionate about authentic representation, he amplifies underrepresented voices and challenges convention through bold, visually striking storytelling. For him, each project is an opportunity to foster empathy, spark dialogue, and leave a lasting impact.

Instagram: @itsmichaelpetruzzelli Linkedin: michaelpetruzzelli TikTok: @michaelpetruzzelli

JoAnne is a Canadian/UK producer based in Hamilton, Ontario, the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas.

With nearly 20 years of experience in film and media, JoAnne is returning to her passion for writing and directing, with three feature drafts in development. Her short, FISH BOY, marks her scripted directorial debut. JoAnne’s career began in theatre, transitioning into film as a producer’s assistant with companies like HBO, and Columbia TriStar and later worked as a co-production executive at Aquarius Films, in the UK. Founder of Good Influence Films, she is actively involved in developing several features and a limited series.

A.C. Birch (he/they) is a Toronto based queer and trans comedian, filmmaker, and writer. His feature documentary, A Queer's Guide to Spiritual Living, premiered at Inside Out in 2023, and his creative writing has been published by Entre Magazine and CBC Arts. A.C. is a recent grad of The Second City Conservatory and was one of nine mentees in Spindle Film Foundation's inaugural mentorship program for trans and gender diverse writers and directors. He's been awarded "Best Writing - Category: Romance" by IndieX Film Fest, and "Most Improved - Category: Hotness" by friends who knew him in high school.
@a.c.birch (instagram)

Marlee Sansom is a Toronto-based actor, writer, and director passionate about storytelling that challenges, inspires, and embraces its audience. She has appeared in various Canadian productions, including Pretty Hard Cases and Bria Mack Gets a Life, and starred in the feature film Bystanders, earning the ACTRA Maritimes Award for Outstanding Performance. Beyond acting, Marlee has a strong background in arts development, collaborating with local organizations like Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and Telling Tales to foster inclusive artistic spaces. Committed to uplifting diverse stories of becoming, Marlee is grateful to the FOFS team for supporting her film directorial debut, Tell Me About My Mother.
Instagram: @merls.werld

2025 JURY MEMBERS

Vanessa Magic is a Canadian Screen-nominated director and award-winning filmmaker whose work centers on loneliness and grief, often from the perspective of the outsider. She was selected to be on The Kit’s Power List of Women in Film in Canada as 'The Dreamer.' Vanessa is an alumni of Slamdance, WBD Access x Canadian Academy Writers Program, and Women In the Director’s Chair. Her short films have been funded by The Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council and have competed at film festivals worldwide. They include How to Stay Awake (2024), The Future Above Us (2023), The Absurdity of the Black Female Experience (2023) and Oneironautic (2022). Vanessa's passion is creating stories that highlight Black female protagonists and leave the viewer learning something new and perhaps unexpected. Inspired by her dreams, she is eager to create worlds and narratives untold, unseen and filled with magic.

Daniel Bekerman is the founder of Scythia Films, one of Canada's leading independent production companies with operations in Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Los Angeles.
Dan’s recent projects include Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, Endless Cookie, which premiered at Sundance 2025, I Object, directed by Oscar-nominee Andrew Niccol, starring Anna Faris and Karl Urban and Sundance-winner The Witch, directed by Robert Eggers and starring Anya-Taylor Joy. Dan also served as the executive producer on The Wedding Banquet which premiered at Sundance 2025, directed by Andrew Ahn and starring Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang.

Yazmeen Kanji is an award-winning Muslim Indo-Caribbean filmmaker and cultural consultant. She is a former Advocacy and Outreach Lead at BIPOC TV & Film and the founder of Films With A Cause—a consultancy for cultural specificity and authentic representation. Yazmeen is a Dean’s Scholar graduate from the University of Toronto, where she double majored in Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies and Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity, with a minor in Cinema Studies. Her first documentary, From Syria To Hope (2019), won Best Short Doc at the Toronto Short Film Festival. She directed With Love From Munera (2020), which premiered at Inside Out and was selected for TIFF Next Wave and Reel Asian, winning Audience Choice at Breakthroughs Film Festival. A Hot Docs Accelerator Fellow and Inspirit Narrative Change Lab alum, Yazmeen recently co-produced a documentary for CBC’s The Passionate Eye. Her first scripted short, One Day, starring Rebecca Ablack, is currently in its festival run.

Jana Stackhouse is an award-winning director and the Head of Production at Archipelago Productions. Her narrative work has screened internationally at festivals including TIFF, AIFF, and LA Femme International. A recipient of the prestigious Norman Jewison Award, Jana wrote and directed Away Home, which was selected for TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten. Jana’s experience in the commercial industry has led her to work with notable Brands including Netflix, Shopify, Google, Four Seasons and Adidas. Her short film Camp Tipsy earned Best Canadian Short and Best Director awards, with screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and nationwide. She also directed the Canadian Screen Award–nominated CBC web series Note To Self, which has garnered over 3 million views. Jana’s latest series, My Special Guest, stars Juno Rinaldi (Workin’ Moms) and features Canadian legend Jann Arden.

2024 PARTICIPANTS

Yvette Sin is an emerging writer/director based in Tkaronto with a soft spot for diasporic Asian stories, community practice, and genre-bending. Her films have been selected for festivals in Canada and the US, including the National Film Festival for Talented Youth and the Vancouver Asian Film Festival.

Yvette is also a member of The Asian Canadian Living Archive (TACLA) Youth Critics Initiative in partnership with the Reel Asian Film Festival. She currently spends her days at a bookstore in the West End, reading queer horror and scheming up her next project.

Born to Canadian parents of Caribbean descent, Aisha Evelyna (She/Her) is a Toronto-based actor, writer, and director who is passionate about bringing underrepresented stories to the forefront of our social purview.
Aisha was named a 2023 MovieMaker Magazine X Austin Film Festival Screenwriter to Watch. Recent credits include the short film ALEX (2022), named a Vimeo Staff Pick after premiering at HollyShorts and screening at Austin Film Festival. Aisha wrote, directed, and starred in the film. Aisha is currently nominated for Three Canadian Screen Awards for her work on the Digital Series THE DROP. Aisha is set to shoot her directorial debut SEAHORSE, a Telefilm Talent to Watch fund recipient, in July 2024.

Mick is a Toronto-based filmmaker. In 2019, she was introduced to short filmmaking when she acted in "I am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plane," (premiere: TIFF, notable award: TIFF Top Ten).

In 2021, Mick made her first narrative short, "How is the Dog," (premiere: AIFF, 2022). For this film, she was named a TIFF Irving Avrich Fund recipient, which awards ten promising Canadian filmmakers each year. In 2023, she co-wrote and produced “Goblin High” (Official selection: “NoBudge: Live 36,” “TIFF Next Wave, 2024”). Mick is currently in post production on her second narrative short, “Every Other Weekend,” co-directed with Margaret Rose.

Kathleen Burgess is an award-winning Tkaronto-based director passionate about exploring the dimensions of friendship, play, and queerness through a surreal lens. Her debut coming-of-age film Dandelion Green has screened internationally and across Canada, winning awards such as Best Student Film and Audience Choice at the 2023 Vancouver Short Film Festival.

Kathleen is also currently one of twenty creators selected from across Canada to be mentored in this year’s Canon FUTURES program. With a distinct soft and saturated style, they are excited to continue their mission of bringing unconventional and authentic queer stories to audiences.

I’m a French Canadian writer/director, originally from Kingston, now living in Toronto.

In 2020, I completed my MFA in Film Production at YorkU and have since been working on my feature film debut. My work spans multiple mediums, from film to stage to graphic novels. Despite the variety, I’m driven by one mission: Telling thoughtful and entertaining stories. My projects have been shown worldwide, and some were even kind enough to bring back a few awards. When not making films, I like to run, play guitar, and walk my dog, Augie.

Victor Oly is an award nominated director and editor from Toronto, Canada. A graduate of Ryerson's Radio & Television Arts program, Victor has also studied production at UCLA and attended the ASC Masterclass in Los Angeles.

Victor’s directorial debut short, Pink Rabbit (2020), premiered at the academy award qualifying, BIFAN 2020 in South Korea. His second short, The Whipping Boy (2023), an ambitious and fantastical period piece, with twisted comedic elements, premiered at Canadian Film Fest 2024. Victor continues to refine his craft through directing music videos, commercials and asking himself at all times of the day - “would this make a good scene for a movie?”.