DGC Discovery Award long list highlights emerging directors

Films will be screened at Canadian festivals: TIFF, VIFF, Atlantic, Calgary and FNC

TORONTO, Sept. 7, 2019 /CNW/ - The Directors Guild of Canada announced the 12 nominees for the 2019 DGC Discovery Award this morning at the TIFF Visionaries event. The list highlights the top new directors to watch for during this festival season.

The Discovery Award Jury is chaired by Robin Hays with members Jeff Chan, Helen Haig Brown, Danishka Esterhazy, Erik Mockus and Andrea Bussmann.

"These directors are on their first or second film and they are already some of Canada's most exciting to watch," said Warren P. Sonoda, DGC National Directors Division Chair. "These filmmakers represent a truly fresh and diverse range of voices."

2019 Discovery Award Long List Nominees:
Presented by Vanguarde Artists

• Aisha Jamal - A Kandahar Away
• Aisling Chin-Yee - The Rest of Us
• Ellen Page with Ian Daniel - There's Something in the Water
• Harry Cepka - Raf
• Heather Young - Murmur
• Jeff Barnaby - Blood Quantum
• Joey Klein - Castle in the Ground
• Matthew Rankin - The Twentieth Century
• Megan Wennberg - Drag Kids
• Nicole Dorsey - Black Conflux
• Sophie Bédard Marcotte – L.A. Tea Time
• Tasha Hubbard - nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up

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2019 Discovery Award Jury:

• Robin Hays – Jury Chair
• Jeff Chan
• Helen Haig Brown
• Danishka Esterhazy
• Erik Mockus
• Andrea Bussmann

Festival Screenings for Discovery Award Long List	Toronto International Film Festival	Atlantic International Film Festival	Vancouver International Film Festival	Calgary International Film Festival
A Kandahar Away
The Rest of Us	x	x		x
There's Something in the Water	x	x
Raf	x		x
Murmur	x	x	x	x
Blood Quantum	x	x	x	x
Castle in the Ground	x		x	x
The Twentieth Century	x	x	x	x
Drag Kids		x
Black Conflux	x
L.A. Tea Time			x
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up		x		x

Please note: L.A. Tea Time has been selected to screen at Montreal's Festival Nouveau Cinema. The full lineup for le Festival Nouveau Cinema (FNC) will be announced online on Tuesday, October 1st. Please check https://nouveaucinema.ca/en/

The 18th edition of the DGC Awards will be presented at the annual Gala on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at The Royal York in Toronto.

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a national labour organization that represents over 5,000 key creative and logistical personnel in the screen-based industry covering all areas of direction, design, production and editing. The DGC negotiates and administers collective agreements and lobbies extensively on issues of concern for members including Canadian content conditions, CRTC regulations and ensuring that funding is maintained for Canadian screen-based programming. 

SOURCE Directors Guild of Canada, National Office

Media: Ian Gillespie - Director of Communications, 416-459-5932, [email protected]

Related Links

www.dgc.ca