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Whistler Film Festival Announces 2023 MPPIA Pitch Competition Award Winner
Vancouver, BC – The Motion Picture Production Industry Association of British Columbia (MPPIA), Creative BC and the Whistler Film Festival are pleased to congratulate director Sasha Duncan on her winning pitch for short film project easybake.
This year’s jury, writer/director Kim Albright (Love and a Major Organ), writer/director Fawzia Mirza (The Queen of My Dreams), and actor/producer/director Josh Epstein (Adventures in Public School), together concluded:
“Sasha Duncan was crystal clear in her vision, with a story that combines humour and truth with horror. As the filmmaker said of her film, it’s about the tragic futility of being in the perfect body. easybake is a fresh take on a common struggle. This deeply personal pitch resonated with us and is a movie that we all need to see.”
An annual highlight on the Whistler Film Festival calendar, this 15th cycle of the MPPIA Short Film pitch featured five promising BC directors competing for the valuable Award:
- Sasha Duncan, easybake
- Gloria Mercer, OUT ON THE WATER
- Kay Metchie, SPLIT ENDS
- Tony Mirza, THE SOUND OF SILENCE
- David Vassiliev, WORKS GREAT ON GIRLS
The successful candidate receives a $10,000 cash award from MPPIA, and a $5,000 cash award from Creative BC and the Province of British Columbia, plus in-kind production services up to $100,000 for a short film project to be completed within one year after receiving the Award. The completed project will premiere at the 2024 Whistler Film Festival.
The MPPIA Short Film Award provides one filmmaker with an opportunity to further develop his/her/their directing career by realizing a unique creative vision. The Award was founded to recognize and celebrate the contribution of film and television to the Province of British Columbia.
The MPPIA Short Film Award was also founded in the spirit of collaboration, inclusion and equitable access to emerging filmmaker opportunities. In this spirit, the Award proponents and the industry community that supports it are committed to fostering safe environments free of discrimination and harassment, where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and can contribute fully to the creative process without hindrance.
The Motion Picture Production Industry Association of BC (MPPIA) is a member-based, non-profit society established in April 2002 to grow, diversify and promote a competitive and sustainable motion picture production industry in British Columbia.
Creative BC is an independent agency created and supported by the Province to sustain and help grow British Columbia’s creative industries: motion picture, interactive and digital media, music and sound recording, and magazine and book publishing through a wide range of programs and services with a mandate to expand B.C.’s creative economy. The agency acts as an industry catalyst and ambassador to help B.C.’s creative sector reach its economic, social, environmental, and creative potential both at home and globally.
The Whistler Film Festival Society (WFFS) is a cultural charitable organization dedicated to furthering the art of film by providing programs that focus on the discovery, development and promotion of new talent culminating with a must attend festival for artists, the industry and audiences in Whistler. WFFS produces one of Canada’s leading film festivals and industry summits, and plays a leadership role in offering talent and project development programs for Canadian creators.
The MPPIA Short Film Award is made possible by the above organizations as well as the generous support and contributions of the British Columbia motion picture production community.
The Whistler Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through Telefilm Canada, the Province of British Columbia and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. We gratefully acknowledge our major festival sponsors, Paramount +, Creative BC, Directors Guild of Canada – British Columbia, Tourism Whistler, RBC, William F. White International and Whistler Blackcomb.
Discover more at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
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Media Contact: Simon Moffatt | Marketing & Communications Manager | WFF marketing@whistlerfilmfestival.com
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