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We are Breakthroughs Film Festival, Canada’s only film festival exclusively dedicated to supporting emerging women and non-binary filmmakers.
Established in 2011, our main yearly event is a festival that takes place in downtown Toronto in June. We showcase Canadian and international short films made by emerging directors of all ages.
This year, we celebrated our 10th anniversary and our biggest
festival to date! We also partnered with Sisterhood Media to bring
the festival online.
Our 2021 program, broadly themed VISIBLE INVISIBLE, included:
- 26 films
- Live-streamed Q&A sessions with participating filmmakers
- Four industry programs, including panel discussions and a pitch competition in partnership with CBC and Front Row Insurance
Why it matters
Breakthroughs is dedicated to programming independent films made by emerging artists whose voices and stories counter dominant mainstream narratives. We are committed to strengthening the arts community, and are a space filmmakers can turn to for support, guidance, mentorship, and professional development. Our vision is to bridge the gender gap in the filmmaking industry, where women and non-binary directors make up a small percentage and must work even harder than their male counterparts to finance and exhibit their projects.
Acknowledging the lack of representation in mainstream festival spaces, we prioritize the work and experiences of those who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of colour, trans, non-binary, working class, neurodiverse, or people with disabilities. This priority is now built into our programming mandate such that 50% of our selected works come from directors who identify as Black and/or Indigenous, thus emphasizing both communities' expressions and experiences and ensuring that paying artists from these communities for their work takes precedence.
Based on feedback we’ve received from our community it’s clear that there’s a huge lack of industry spaces that exclusively feature the work women and non-binary filmmakers. It is BFF’s mission is to create spaces for filmmakers in which they can flourish and find community, support, and mentorship. We mandate that all artists are paid fees in accordance with the IMAA, and also provide honorariums to jury, moderators and other contracted artists such as designers, publicists, and illustrators.
- Personnel (including juries, festival manager, illustrator, graphic designer, etc.) - 60%
- Administrative fees - 14%
- Accessibility - 8%
- Marketing - 7%
- Event production costs - 6%
- Artist Fees - 5%
Who we are
The BFF team includes 10 board of directors, four staff members, a six-person screening committee and a number of wonderful volunteers that make the festival possible. BFF is entirely run by women-identifying people, 75% of whom identify as BIPOC and a number that identify as LGBTQ++. Our staff and board’s diverse identities and lived experiences provide an extremely well-rounded and rich perspective to all of our festival decisions.
To learn more about our team and festival go to
breakthroughsfilmfestival.com
Perks
Get a two hour pitch training session with BFF board member Paige Murray! Paige is the Executive in Charge of Development, Drama on the Scripted Content team at the CBC. As a key point of contact Paige has extensive experience evaluating pitches to fulfill programming needs at CBC. She is also the programmer for various film organizations, including Canadian Reflections and has worked within content areas of CBC for over 10 years. In this 2hr pitch training session, Paige will work with filmmakers to help them develop their idea to pitch to the CBC or to other broadcasters and funders. The time can be spent in any way filmmakers choose and has no expiry date.
Get a three hour grant writing consultation from BFF ex-executive director Mariam Zaidi! Mariam Zaidi is a seasoned documentary filmmaker who has 8+ years of experience writing foundation proposals and arts council grants for film projects that range from short fiction films to feature length documentaries. She has had success in procuring funding from all CCA, OAC, TAC, LIFT, CBC and the NFB. In this 3hr consultation, Mariam will provide feedback on draft applications and work with artists to help them prepare the best version of their proposals. The time can be spent in any way an artist chooses (in one sitting or split up over weeks, focused on face-to-face OR written feedback etc.) and has no expiry date.
Get a 90 minute project consultation with board members Alexandra Tse and V.T. Nayani! Alexandra Tse is a filmmaker and cinematographer whose work has been recognized in festivals across the world. She is in development for her first narrative series, and serves as the Chair on our board of directors. V.T. Nayani is a director, producer and writer whose work has been recognized by festivals and organizations alike. Nayani is currently completing her first feature film, and is a resident in the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre. In this 90 minute consultation, Alex and Nayani will offer advice to a filmmaker on their narrative film project at any stage of development. This offer has no expiry date.
Highlights
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Activity
Get a two hour pitch training session with BFF board member Paige Murray! Paige is the Executive in Charge of Development, Drama on the Scripted Content team at the CBC. As a key point of contact Paige has extensive experience evaluating pitches to fulfill programming needs at CBC. She is also the programmer for various film organizations, including Canadian Reflections and has worked within content areas of CBC for over 10 years. In this 2hr pitch training session, Paige will work with filmmakers to help them develop their idea to pitch to the CBC or to other broadcasters and funders. The time can be spent in any way filmmakers choose and has no expiry date.
Get a three hour grant writing consultation from BFF ex-executive director Mariam Zaidi! Mariam Zaidi is a seasoned documentary filmmaker who has 8+ years of experience writing foundation proposals and arts council grants for film projects that range from short fiction films to feature length documentaries. She has had success in procuring funding from all CCA, OAC, TAC, LIFT, CBC and the NFB. In this 3hr consultation, Mariam will provide feedback on draft applications and work with artists to help them prepare the best version of their proposals. The time can be spent in any way an artist chooses (in one sitting or split up over weeks, focused on face-to-face OR written feedback etc.) and has no expiry date.
Get a 90 minute project consultation with board members Alexandra Tse and V.T. Nayani! Alexandra Tse is a filmmaker and cinematographer whose work has been recognized in festivals across the world. She is in development for her first narrative series, and serves as the Chair on our board of directors. V.T. Nayani is a director, producer and writer whose work has been recognized by festivals and organizations alike. Nayani is currently completing her first feature film, and is a resident in the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre. In this 90 minute consultation, Alex and Nayani will offer advice to a filmmaker on their narrative film project at any stage of development. This offer has no expiry date.
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