There is a lot of this country that I think many Canadians have not seen. For example I have never visited the North West region of Ontario. In particular, Manitoulin Island which is over an hour away from Sudbury on the Georgian Bay. It is a beautiful natural landscape – a feast for my weary city eyes. To get here by car from Toronto it would take a person 6 hours a similar drive from Toronto to Montreal. 

It would have taken one hour by plane however I was grateful that I did not take that option. I had the chance to travel along the great Canadian high way passing many places I’ve only heard of such as Muskoka, Parry Sound and Casino Roma. We made a brief stop at the Casino sadly it wasn’t anything like I’ve seen in the movie. I guess I will have to go to Las Vegas for that. Along the way we were thankful that we dodged a tornado by 30 minutes in a town that we drove through.   

So what am I doing 6 hours away from Toronto? I was invited to become a member and take part in the AGM of the first Aboriginal Film Institute in Ontario. Weengushk Film Institute (WFI) was founded by Shirley Cheechoo a multi discipline artist from the Cree Nation.  WFI is a non profit charitable organization that offers media –arts programs in the fields of film, video and multimedia to Aboriginal youths and person of diversity. The institute has only been open to students for one year but within the institute has attracted attention to its education mandate. On May 2, WFI had its first group of graduation students and in July institute will launch the first emerging artist program and welcome fourteen new participants to the youth program in September 2010. 

To learn more about WFI please visit their website. www.weengushk.com

TIFF 2010 is gearing up to be the best, the brightest and the biggest film festival of the year. With some of the most impressive names of the silver screen, the most anticipated world premieres of the year, TIFF is definitely the place to experience the best in a festival.

You can showcase your work, connect with the right people and make a significant difference to your career. Directors such as Darren Aronofsky, Clint Eastwood, Sofia Coppola, Terrance Malick, the Coen brothers, Gus Van Sant, and Peter Weir are just some of the filmmakers most likely will be attending TIFF this year among the thousands of industry professionals. With a balance of films, industry professionals, and international media, the festival is the ideal launching pad for your career.

Addition to the festival this year is the new industry centre  host hotel located next to the TIFF Bell Lightbox- it’s the center stage of the festival venues.

Film Market Access/Creative Minds Toronto program prepares and guides you for this extraordinary festival event so you will get the most out of it. Here is what one of intern/junior deleagte had to say about his experience last year. 

2009 Intern Jonnathan Bunning - Host Company:Doe Eye Media Productions

Jonnathan Bunning – England.

After originally taking a huge leap of faith across the Atlantic Ocean to Toronto I was able to focus once again on my creative path. I felt my career was deviating away from my post graduation period.  The Film Market Access/Creative Minds Toronto program gave me access to the festival and the internship portion gave me such a unique experience that I was able to tailor to my own skill set and needs with the support of my host company. 

At the end of the program I felt that I had surpassed the expectations of my host company and I was invited to continue the working relationship while back in England. In the months that followed I worked remotely on my assignments.

In June of this year I flew back to Canada for the final phases of the production. It felt like retuning home to a family. I felt good to be back on set. We were at Banff TV festival to complete most of the B rolls and interviews for the Documentary “Made In Canada” our back drop the rocky mountains. This is also where I’ll never forget being in earshot of Ricky Gervais’s and William Shatner who recreated his famous scene from The Twilight Zone live on stage during an interview panel. 

The incredible ongoing support of Film Martket Access continues to shape my future as I progress with this project as I move forward in my own personal development in the industry. I felt that I wouldn’t have had the means to enter the professional side of the industry on my own. But I’m glad I had the foresight to apply to the program. 

Now taking applications – http://bit.ly/9T2k2G