Bell Media Teams Up with All-Black Executive Production Team to Develop Canada's First, Black-focused, Bilingual Anthology Series, FESTIVALE Français
– Development project also serves an incubator, supported by The Black Screen Office (BSO) –
– Festivale, a six-part anthology series, examines what it means to be "Black, and becoming," in this country –
Key Tags: @BellMediaPR, @TheLede_CA, @CravePR @BLKScreenOffice
TORONTO, March 29, 2022 /CNW/ - Bell Media and francophone executive producers Marie Ka and Richard Jean-Baptiste, and anglophone executive producers, Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo, have teamed up to develop FESTIVALE, Canada's first bilingual anthology series, by and about, Black Canadians. Produced for Bell Media's Crave, FESTIVALE is a collaboration between Crave's French and English development teams, and an answer to the lack of Black francophone stories on mainstream television.
This breakthrough series also serves as a pre-development incubator administered by the BSO, supporting creative teams who have not had the opportunity to produce content for a large network. This initiative aligns with BSO's talent development mandate to build bridges between broadcasters and content creators; connect participants with resources; and foster relationships to cultivate strong pipelines of talent.
"FESTIVALE is a groundbreaking experience where Black Canadian writers, both French and English, get the chance to finally work together on the same project," said executive producers, Marie Ka, Richard Jean-Baptiste, Damon D'Oliveira and Clement Virgo. "We can't thank Bell Media enough for bridging the language gap, and lending their support to this timely creative journey. Our hope is that this project will be the starting point for future collaborations with Bell Media, for all our participants."
To view the full press release, click here.
About Bell Media
Bell Media is Canada's leading content creation company with premier assets in television, radio, digital and out-of-home media, including 35 television stations that are part of the CTV and Noovo networks; 27 specialty channels, including sports leaders TSN and RDS; streaming services Crave, TSN Direct and RDS Direct; the iHeartRadio Canada brand encompassing 215 music channels, including 109 radio stations in 58 Canadian markets; and the Astral out-of-home advertising network. Bell Media is also a partner in Pinewood Toronto Studios, Montréal's Grande Studios, Just for Laughs and Dome Productions, one of North America's leading production facilities providers. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. Learn more at BellMedia.ca.
About Black Screen Office
BSO's goals are to make Canada's screen industries practices and policies equitable and free of anti-Black racism; to work collaboratively with decision-makers to develop tools and strategies that enable system-level engagement and accountability; and to empower Black Canadians working within the screen industries to thrive and share their stories.
For more information, visit https://www.bso-ben.ca/.
SOURCE Bell Media
Joan Jenkinson | Black Screen Office | [email protected]; Mary Costa - Crave - [email protected]
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