Five new recipients of Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds announced

$120,000 IN COMPLETION AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS AWARDED TO TOP CANADIAN DOC PROJECTS

TORONTO, Sept. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and Shaw Media are pleased to announce that five projects have been chosen to receive a total of $120,000 in grants from the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds in its fifteenth round of disbursements. Established in April of 2008, the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds consist of a $3-million completion fund and a $1-million development fund that aim to provide Canadian documentary filmmakers with much needed financial support at critical stages in their projects.

"The Shaw Media-Hot Docs Fund's legacy is in the powerful stories it has supported over the years. The talented recipients in this round are a brilliant addition to that family of films," said Hot Docs industry programs director Elizabeth Radshaw.

With these five projects, a total of 143 projects have received funding via Shaw Media-Hot Docs Funds to date, with funding totalling $3,270,000 in completion grants and no-interest loans. The application process for the next round of funding will open in May 2015. For further information on the application process, eligibility requirements and deadlines, please visit www.hotdocs.ca/shawmedia.

Hot Docs is pleased to showcase Shaw Media-Hot Docs Fund projects Watermark (D: Jennifer Baichwal, Edward Burtynsky) and The World Before Her (D: Nisha Pahuja) at two free matinee screenings at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, on Sunday, September 27, as part of Culture Days 2015. Special guests will be in attendance for engaging post-screening Q&As. Free tickets (limit two per person) are now available at the Bloor box office (506 Bloor Street West). Culture Days at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is presented as part of the Bloor St. Culture Corridor Hub for Culture Days. For more information please visit www.bloorcinema.com.

Shaw Media-Hot Docs Completion Fund
Eligible projects were considered by the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Completion Fund Selection Committee, which included: Sarah Jane Flynn, Senior Director, Original Factual Content – Shaw Media; Elizabeth Radshaw, Director of Industry Programs, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival; and John Ritchie, Chief Creative Officer, Force Four Entertainment.

Three completion grants totalling $100,000 were awarded to the following projects:

HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE
Production Company: Primitive Entertainment
Director: Jay Cheel
Producer: Kristina McLaughlin, Michael McMahon, Kevin McMahon
Executive Producer: Michael McMahon

Inspired by H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, two men set out on a quest to build their own time machines.

SPIRIT UNFORGETTABLE
Production Company: Spirit Unforgettable Films Ltd.
Director: Pete McCormack
Producer: Ben Murray
Executive Producers: Pete McCormack, Andrew Barnsley

Following Spirit of the West lead singer John Mann since his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's, the film will culminate with the band's final show at Toronto's Massey Hall.

LIVING WITH GIANTS
Production Company: MC2 Communication Média
Directors: Sébastien Rist, Aude Leroux-Lévesque
Producer: Jean-Simon Chartier

LIVING WITH GIANTS delves into the imagination of Paulusie, a young Inuk facing the difficulties of adulthood. Between the infinite ocean and prison walls, he must learn to find hope in a world of ever-growing complexity.

Shaw Media-Hot Docs Development Fund
Eligible projects were considered by the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Development Fund Selection Committee, which included: Craig Baines, Production Executive, Original Factual Content – Shaw Media; Elizabeth Radshaw, Director of Industry Programs, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival; and Aynsley Vogel, Director of Development, Paperny Entertainment.

Two development grants totaling $20,000 were awarded to the following projects:

SEND US YOUR BROTHER
Production Company: P & P Films
Director: Nisha Pahuja
Producer: Cornelia Principe, Nisha Pahuja

SEND US YOUR BROTHER is an exploration of masculinity in India and how manhood is currently being re-defined. We know what it means to be a woman in India, but what does it mean to be an Indian man?

THE FORBIDDEN REEL
Production Company: Loaded Pictures
Director: Ariel Nasr
Producers: Sergeo Kirby, Noelle Sorbara

THE FORBIDDEN REEL uses a vast reserve of unseen footage to explore the richness of Afghanistan's once thriving film industry—almost destroyed by war and extremism—revealing the resilience of a country and its culture.

About Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw Communications Inc. is a diversified communications and media company. Shaw serves 3.2 million consumers and businesses through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw provides consumers with broadband Internet, WiFi, Digital Phone and Video services. Shaw Business provides businesses with Internet, data, WiFi, telephony, Video and fleet tracking services, and ViaWest provides collocation, cloud and managed services. Shaw Media provides Canadians with engaging programming content through one of Canada's largest conventional television networks, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks, including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY® and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX – SJR.B, NYSE – SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca.

Hot Docs (www.hotdocs.ca), North America's largest documentary festival, conference and market, will present its 23rd annual edition from April 28 – May 8, 2016. An outstanding selection of approximately 200 documentaries from Canada and around the world will be presented to Toronto audiences and international delegates. Hot Docs will also mount a full roster of conference sessions and market events and services for documentary practitioners, including the renowned Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs Deal Maker and The Doc Shop. In partnership with Blue Ice Group, Hot Docs operates the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, a century-old landmark located in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood.

SOURCE Shaw Media

Media Contact, Jonathan Da Silva, Communications Director, Hot Docs, Telephone: [phone] x258, Email: [email protected]