They got next
Checking in on recent alumni of the CMPA mentorship program
Nic Altobelli
MENTOR: Sara Blake (Ceroma Films)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR MENTORSHIP EXPERIENCE?
Attending the Berlinale Market online and learning more about international co-productions.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am in the 2023 cohort of the CFC Producers’ Lab, collaborating to create a film that will hit the festival circuit later this year. My MPPIA Award–winning short film My Roommate Ahriman will premiere at the Whistler Film Festival. As well, I’m participating in the GEMS Genre Film Lab to pitch our feature film, Mt. Asha, at Frontières Film Market. I also have a few TV series on my slate!
WHERE WILL YOU BE IN 10 YEARS?
Running a mid-sized production company, producing media that subverts human struggle through engaging, diverse characters and dynamic stories. At the tables where important conversations are happening around where the industry is headed and what needs to change.
Malachi Ellis
MENTOR: Shant Joshi (Fae Pictures)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR MENTORSHIP EXPERIENCE?
Attending industry events such as Prime Time. I made incredible connections and bonded with other mentees and emerging producers.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am currently a resident of the CFC’s Norman Jewison Film Program Producers’ Lab. I have two feature film projects in development, and my short film, Express, will begin its festival journey this September.
WHERE WILL YOU BE IN 10 YEARS?
Creating my own MCU: the Malachi Cinematic Universe. This MCU will feature stories of identity and self-discovery from talented Canadian voices, both in the feature film and television space.
Linda St. Pierre
MENTORS: Marie Clements, Trish Dolman, Christine Haebler, Suz Thompson (Marie Clements Media, Screen Siren Pictures)
ANY HIGHLIGHTS FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE?
Seeing Bones of Crows come together and walking the red carpet at VIFF. The story hit home, as it’s based in Manitoba, where I’m from and where my family would have attended residential school.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
My company, Phoenix Skye Productions, is in pre-production for two short films: Choices, which was selected by TELUS STORYHIVE Indigenous Storyteller Edition, and an animated documentary short called Bet’sune Yinesha (His Grandmother Raised Him), which will be filmed in Lac Brochet, Manitoba. It will be told by my elders in the Dene language, and I’ll be directing as well.
WHERE WILL YOU BE IN 10 YEARS?
A powerhouse writer, actor, producer and director, sharing my Dënesųłiné language through TV and films, and making more Indigenous stories.