Montreal, Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - Forum RIDM, in partnership with Telefilm Canada, is proud to announce the participation of a delegation of three Canadian producers in the Cannes Docs section at the Marché du Film, a key event for industry professionals. Cannes Docs will take place from May 16 to 21, 2024.
This participation will allow the selected individuals to showcase their production companies and profiles as producers during the Co-Pro Social Club sessions, with the presence of professionals from around the globe.
As part of this initiative, Forum RIDM is providing pre-event training for the delegation and ensuring support for their presentations at various activities to which they will have privileged access. They will have numerous networking opportunities to connect with leading festivals, sales agents, documentary film producers, selected experts, as well as hundreds of professionals from the film industry at large.
The selected individuals for Cannes Docs are as follows:
Alejandro Valbuena
Production Company: Curare Films
Arawak Artist Alejandro Valbuena made his mark in the film industry as a 1st AD, contributing to films showcased at prestigious festivals like Berlinale, TIFF, Sundance, Venice, and Cannes. His work garnered support from the BC, Ontario, Canada Arts Councils, BravoFACT, the NFB, and the Henson Institute. His short films have played at renowned festivals, including Oberhausen, London, Clermont-Ferrand, and the Smithsonian Museum. Alejandro's recent producing credits include Blue Miracle, a feature for Endeavour Content, and A Translator, premiering at Sundance in 2018. He also forged a significant partnership with RT Features & Anonymous Content for his series My Fellow Americans, workshopped at Canneseries 2019. His feature screenplay Seeds achieved distinction in the top 10% at the prestigious Nicoll Fellowship in 2021. His documentary The Wind’s Thirst was developed at Reelworld Film Emerging 20, receiving support from the Indigenous Screen Office, Telefilm Canada, Hot Docs, and Ford Foundation. He also won the Breakthru pitch at Hot Docs 2023 and secured a deal with CBC. Alejandro is a Eurodoc, Doc Institute, & EFM ToolBox alumni.
Patricia Bergeron
Production Company: Productions Leitmotiv
Holding a Bachelor's degree in Communication with a cinema specialization from the Université du Québec à Montréal, Patricia has cultivated a strong expertise in production over the past 20 years. From documentary to fiction, her creativity, dynamism, and leadership make her a significant figure in the media arts community in Canada and internationally. Patricia is the founder and president of Leitmotiv, a production company established in 2013. Her cinematic projects include seven award-winning short films, a virtual reality project, and her debut feature film: Noémie dit oui. She also teaches at INIS in the documentary and interactive media programs, specializing in web documentary content and scriptwriting for new writing. She frequently presents conferences on digital content creation, new narratives, distribution in the 2.0 era, and tools in the digital creation ecosystem at film festivals, colleges, and universities. Patricia produces powerful and provocative fiction films and documentaries driven by filmmakers with unique signatures.
Farnaz Jurabchian
Production Company: F&M Productions
Farnaz Jurabchian is an award-winning Iranian/Canadian filmmaker, writer and producer. She received her BFA in cinema from Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. Most of her films revolve around the notion of homeland and characters that each represent a part of society. Her debut mid length documentary Overrule about unauthorized Afghan tennis players was premiered at Hot Docs 2016 and won several international prizes. Her recent documentary, Silent House, is an autobiographical film which is a joint production of Iran, Canada, France, Philippines and Qatar, and had its world premiere at IDFA 2022. It has gained several nominations and awards, made the top 5 Audience favorite at Hot docs 2023 in Toronto. It won the Mitrani award at FIPADOC in France, the grand prize of the 20th edition of EBS in South Korea and the Don Quixote Award from the IFFS International Federation of Film Societies in Portugal. With her brother Mohammadreza Jurabchian, she started an independent film company, ‘F&M Productions’ where they work as co-directors and producers.
About Telefilm Canada
As a Partner of Choice, Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation dedicated to the success of Canada’s audiovisual industry, fostering access and excellence by delivering programs that support cultural resonance and audience engagement. With a lens of equity, inclusivity and sustainability, Telefilm bolsters dynamic companies and a range of creative talent at home and around the world. Telefilm also makes recommendations regarding the certification of audiovisual coproduction treaties to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Launched in 2012, the Talent Fund raises private donations which principally support emerging talent.
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About Forum RIDM
Forum RIDM aims to stimulate the production and distribution of independent documentaries, both nationally and internationally, by promoting the exchange of information and meetings between the various professionals in the documentary industry. Roundtables, conferences and workshops on major current issues will bring together over 400 filmmakers and representatives of various production, broadcasting and distribution companies over five days.
Forum RIDM’s 20th edition will take place from November 22 to 27, 2024.
Informations: ridm.ca/en/forum-ridm / forum@ridm.ca
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Media contact: Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca