Canada will be at the Berlinale virtually, taking place online March 1 through 5, 2021, and we’re excited to take part in some amazing initiatives within major international industry platforms. We’ve got 20 producers at Producers without Borders, 12 films in our Perspective Canada market screenings, 10 Canadian talents at Berlinale Talents, and much more!
Producers without Borders
International coproduction is the name of the matchmaking game at Telefilm Canada’s annual Producers without Borders initiative. Meet this year’s selection of 20 Canadian producers, with projects in development that are on the lookout for international partners. Producers without Borders takes on an online format this year, yet those networking matches will be just as powerful.
Our 2021 cohort:
- Catherine Chagnon, Microclimat Films
- Dominique Dussault, Nemesis Films
- Lauren Grant, Clique Pictures
- Shant Joshi, Fae Pictures
- Warren Sulatycky, Raging River Films
- Ava Karvonen, Reel Girls Media
- Francine Zuckerman, Z Films
- Maryanne Zéhil, Mia Productions
- Justin Oakey, Black River Pictures
- Dylan Jenkinson, Hope of Glory Pictures
- Rachelle Chartrand, My Precious Picture
- Frances-Anne Solomon, CaribbeanTales Media Group
- Anand Ramayya, Karma Film
- Jason Lapeyre, Osaka Sunset Pictures
- Nicolas Dufour-Laperrière, Embuscade Films
- Vanessa Caceres, The Walk of Fame Entertainment
- Leah Mallen, All in Pictures
- Gianna Isabella, Gate 67 Films Inc.
- Mackenzie Leigh, Heart Shaped Movies
- Natasha Semone Vassell, Diva Films
Berlinale Talents
Every year through the Berlinale Talents development programme, emerging cinematic talent have an opportunity to incubate, learn, and network with artists, creatives, guests and press to kick off exciting, inspired careers! At the EFM, this year’s 205 invited Talents will include 10 Canadians (directors, actors, producers, designers, distributors, and more). Discover this year’s theme of “Dreams,” and how to join streamed events, panels, and talks, right here: Berlinale Talents.
Say hello to 2021’s Canadian Berlinale Talents:
- Rodrigo Barriuso Gonzalez-Mora, Director (Canada, Cuba)
- Julien Chheng, Director (France, Canada)
- Melanie Garros, Production Designer / Art Director (Canada, France)
- Hilary Hart, Distributor (Canada)
- Meher Jaffri, Producer (Pakistan, Canada)
- Leila Khalilzadeh, Director (Canada, Iran)
- Nina Kiridzija, Actor (Canada)
- Joannie Lafrenière, Director (Canada)
- Jenna Neepin, Director (Canada)
- Joële Walinga, Director (Portugal, Canada)
Market Screenings
With more than 470 companies from almost 60 countries signed up for the EFM’s virtual market screenings this year, industry professionals won’t want to miss the chance to exchange with potential business partners and collaborators hailing from around the globe. Discover the Perspective Canada selection; a series of market screenings organized by Telefilm Canada.
Perspective Canada:
- Jesse Noah Klein’s Like a House on Fire
- Wendy Morgan’s Sugar Daddy
- Aisling Chin-Yee & Chase Joynt’s No Ordinary Man
- Sophie Dupuis’s Underground (Souterrain)
- Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s Archipelago (Archipel)
- Maryanne Zéhil’s The Sticky Side of Baklava (La face cachée du baklava)
- Nicola Lemay’s Felix and the Treasure of Morgaä (Félix et le trésor de Morgaä)
- Simon Lavoie’s No Trace (Nulle Trace)
- Tracey Deer’s Beans
- Warren Sulatycky’s Jasmine Road
- Jeremy Torrie’s The Corruption of Divine Providence
- Denis Côté’s Social Hygiene (Hygène Sociale)
- Igor Drljaca’s The White Fortress (Tabija)
Berlinale Series Market Selects 2021:
- Mariloup Wolfe’s Son of Mine (Mon fils) (episodic series)


Books at Berlinale
Some beautiful, impactful, and successful films come from screen adaptations of books, and with this in mind, you won’t want to miss the Books at Berlinale event, organized by the EFM Co-Production Market and Frankfurt Book Fair.
Hosted by Telefilm Canada (in connection with Canada as the planned Country of Honour in late 2021) this year’s virtual pitch event is slated for March 4.
Canada’s got two projects among the ten novels chosen from 160 submissions, set to be pitched by publishers and literary agents to film producers.
- The Confetti Flight Path (La trajectoire des confettis) by Marie-Ève Thuot (Éditions Les Herbes rouge)
- Fatherland by Canada-born Nina Bunjevac
Visit our Berlin programming page for more news and updates!