Bell Media Announces 2014 National Fellows for Banff World Media Festival

- Annual Bell Media National Fellowship program enables 13 emerging producers, writers, and directors to attend the Banff World Media Festival -
- Previous Fellow to be recognized with Bell Media National Fellowship Award of Distinction -

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/1f7qave #BellMediaFellows

TORONTO, April 24, 2014 /CNW/ - Bell Media announced today the 13 recipients of this year's Bell Media National Fellowship program who will receive full registration for the 2014 Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) and round-trip air transportation to attend the event, running June 8 - 11, 2014 in Banff, Alta. Part of the $1.8 million Bell Media TV Skills Development Initiative, the Bell Media National Fellowship program allows emerging producers, writers, and directors to benefit from the programming, mentorship, and pitching opportunities available at BANFF.

"We are pleased to provide these talented up-and-comers with the opportunity to attend the Banff World Media Festival and share their projects with key industry leaders," said Corrie Coe, Senior Vice-President, Independent Production. "Previous Fellows have gone on to achieve great success and we are confident that this year's recipients will do the same."

The 2014 #BellMediaFellows are:

• Craig Brown (@crugland)
• Member of and Writer for The Second City whose credits include the critically-acclaimed productions We Can Be Heroes, The Meme-ing of Life, and Sixteen Scandals.
• Emma Campbell
• Writer and CEO of Hooligan Productions with two projects - WHACKED and DROP THE NEEDLE - currently in development.
• Anne Francis (@anneefrancis)
• Series Producer at RTR Media whose credits include LOST AND SOLD (HGTV), SUMMER HOME (HGTV), and MAXED OUT (W Network).
• S. Siobhan McCarthy (@siobhanisblyss)
• CEO and Executive Producer of blyssful PRODUCTIONS and red trike media inc. whose production credits include comedy web series PARKED and feature film Down Here.
• Nimisha Mukerji (@nimisha_mukerji)
• Producer, Director, and Founder of Shot Glass Productions, Mukerji's debut feature 65_RedRoses was one of the first official selections for Oprah Winfrey's Documentary Club on OWN U.S. and won top prizes at the Hot Docs, Arizona, Omaha, and Mendocino International Film Festivals as well as the Banff Rockie Award for Best Canadian Program at the 2010 Banff World Television Awards.
• Art Napoleon
• President of Mooswa Films Inc. and Producer/Host of MOOSEMEAT & MARMALADE, a documentary series for APTN (currently in post-production).
• Sean Pratt (@seandelville)
• Founder of sillywalker productions and Digital Media Coordinator at Ilana C. Frank Films.
• Jensenne Roculan (@jensenne)
• Producer at Copperheart Entertainment Inc. whose credits include the horror anthology series DARKNET (Super Channel).
• Wayne Shipley (@stitchmedia)
• Project Manager at Stitch Media and Producer of acclaimed web concert series THIRD FLOOR SESSIONS.
• Ryan Spencer (@ryespencer)
• Founder of A Ry Productions and Writer with more than eight years of experience in the entertainment industry.
• Laura Toplass (@Black_Betty11)
• Story and Development Producer at Force Four Entertainment whose credits include BATTLE CATS (Bite TV) and SHANNON & SOPHIE (W Network).
• Brodie Wilkinson (@thebrodieshow)
• Creator and Executive Producer at Noah Productions.
• Shebli Zarghami
• Co-creator, Writer, and Executive Producer of web series AGNES & HAROLD, an official selection of the L.A. Comedy Festival.

Selected candidates must bring a suitable-for-broadcast project to BANFF with specific goals in mind. All projects must be Canadian and can cover a number of genres including drama, documentary, children's, comedy/entertainment, lifestyle, or reality. In addition to registration and travel, the Fellowship covers admission to all seminars, workshops, feature interviews, and screenings as well as all official social events.

Additionally, one notable program graduate will be honoured with the Bell Media National Fellowship Award of Distinction, a prestigious award recognizing a former Fellow who has demonstrated significant strides in their career as a result of the mentorship program. The award will be handed out during the Rockie Awards Gala Luncheon on Monday, June 9. The 2013 winner was Craig David Wallace, co-creator and showrunner of the critically-acclaimed series TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL. This year's winner will be announced in the coming weeks.

About the Bell Media TV Skills Development Initiative
The $1.8 million Bell Media TV Skills Development Initiative is a suite of national training programs, exclusively funded by Bell Media, which ensure a comprehensive range of training for writers, producers, directors, and showrunners in the Canadian television industry at different stages of their careers. The Initiative supports the Bell Media Diverse Screenwriters Program (Writers Guild of Canada) for emerging and mid-career writers from diverse backgrounds who intern in a writing room of a Bell Media TV series; the Bell Media National Fellowship Program (Banff World Media Festival), which encourages professional development in the television industry by enabling emerging producers, writers, and directors to attend the festival and take part in mentorship activities; the Bell Media Primetime TV Program (Canadian Film Centre), which provides series development for TV writers; the Bell Media Producer Accelerator Lab, which provides immersive and experiential broadcast and production experience for mid-level producers; the Bell Media Showrunner Bootcamp (Canadian Film Centre), which develops showrunner knowledge and management for TV writers; the Media Leadership Program (Women in Film and Television - Toronto), a biennial program designed for mid to senior-level women and men who want leading-edge academic knowledge and contemporary business and leadership skills required in the Canadian screen-based industry; and the Business Management for Media Professionals Program (Women in Film and Television - Toronto),  a certificate program essential for emerging media professionals who want to understand the business of film, television and interactive production.

About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media owns 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 35 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran; and is managing shareholder of premium pay-per-view service Viewers Choice Canada. Bell Media is also Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 107 licensed radio stations in 55 markets across Canada. Bell Media owns Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies with a network of more than 9,500 advertising faces in Québec, Ontario and British Columbia. Bell Media also operates more than 200 websites, delivers TV Everywhere with its innovative GO video streaming services, including CTV GO, TMN GO, and Bravo GO, and owns Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.

SOURCE: Bell Media

Shannon Smithson, Bell Media, 416.384.2725 or [email protected]