Photo: Still from Strong Son, directed and produced by alum Ian Bawa and Kyle Bornais. Image courtesy of Ian Bawa.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) begins today, bringing storytellers and audiences from around the world together in Toronto.

This year, National Screen Institute alum are represented throughout the festival, with their work screening at TIFF, recognition among the nominees for the 2026 Indiescreen Awards and participation in industry events and conversations.

As part of TIFF, The Creative Exchange brings together disabled producers and storytellers with partners from CBC, the Disability Screen Office, Accessible Media Inc. and the National Screen Institute for an afternoon of connection. The event includes “Shaping the Future of Producing: Takeaways from the NSI Disabled Producers Lab”, moderated by Disabled Producers Lab co-lead Ophira Calof in conversation with producers and lab alum Deydra Baptiste and Shay Erlich. National Screen Institute executive director Christine Kleckner and senior manager of programs and development Ursula Lawson will be in attendance.

Please join us in celebrating the following alum and their work.

Festival screenings

• Allegiance – produced by Erin Haskett (NSI Drama Prize)
• Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story – executive produced by Mark Montefiore (NSI Totally Television)
• How We Stand – directed and produced by Marie Clements (NSI Storytellers, Featuring Aboriginal Stories Program, Elevate) and produced by Trish Dolman (NSI Features First)
• In the Heart of the South – produced by Laura Perlmutter (NSI Drama Prize)
• Permanent Damage – produced by Daniel Bekerman (NSI Features First)
• Strong Son – directed by Ian Bawa (NSI Totally Television, NSI Business for Producers, Telefilm Talent to Watch) and executive produced by Kyle Bornais (NSI Features First)
• The Stunt Driver – directed by Michael Dowse (NSI Drama Prize)
• Turtle Island Rap – directed by Alexandra Lazarowich (Indigenous Languages and Culture Documentary Project, NSI IndigiDocs)
• Where the River Begins – directed by Juan Andrés Arango (Access BIPOC Producers)

Industry events

• Building a Home for Independent Voices & Storytelling – Michael Dowse
• DGC Visionaries Session 1 – Heather Hawthorn-Doyle (NSI Global Marketing MIPTV)
• DGC Visionaries Session 3 (How We Stand) – Marie Clements
• DGC Visionaries Session 3 (moderator) – Danis Goulet (NSI Drama Prize)
• DGC Visionaries Session 3 (Turtle Island Rap) – Alexandra Lazarowich
• DGC Visionaries Session 5 (The Stunt Driver) – Michael Dowse
• Everything Old is IP Again – Michael Dowse
• From the Front Lines: Producer Advocates – Damon D’Oliveira (Telefilm Canada Spark Plug Program)
• From the Front Lines: Producer Advocates – Kyle Irving (NSI Global Marketing MIPCOM)
• Having a Moment: Canadian Documentaries – Alexandra Lazarowich
• Independent Film is Dead. Long Live Independent Film! – Daniel Bekerman
• North is Now: Indigenous Storytelling in the Arctic – Kerry Swanson (NSI Drama Prize)
• SeriesFest Pitch-A-Thon Roadshow – Christina Fon (NSI Global Marketing MIPTV)
• Sloan Science & Technology Project Pitch 2026 – Mily Mumford (Disabled Producers Lab)
• When Ambition Outgrows the Workflow: Making the Leap to Bigger Stories – Ian Singh Bawa

2026 International Financing & Project Market projects

Feature Film

• The Gain – produced by Jason James (NSI Totally Television)
• My Only Sunshine – directed by Jessica Landry (Cinematoba, NSI Series Incubator)
• Savage – producer / directed by Darlene Naponse (NSI Features First)
• Sher – produced by Rajiv Maikhuri (Telefilm Spark Plug Program)
• The Vinyl Diaries – produced and directed by Glen Wood (NSI Features First)

Series

• The Brontës – produced by Natalie Urquhart (NSI Totally Television)
• The Knife – created and written by KC Carthew (NSI Drama Prize, NSI Features First)

Creative Development Programmes

• 2026 Series Creators’ Lab Projects – Eva Thomas, Darren Anthony (NSI Totally Television)
• 2026 TIFF Writers’ Lab Participant – Reem Morsi (NSI Series Incubator)

2026 Indiescreen Award nominees

Five National Screen Institute alum are among the producers recognized through this year’s Indiescreen Award nominations.

Feature Film Producer Indiescreen Award

• Permanent Damage, Daniel Bekerman
• How We Stand, Marie Clements and Trish Dolman

TV Producer Indiescreen Award

• Allegiance, Erin Haskett, Lark Productions
• Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story, Mark Montefiore, New Metric Media

The Indiescreen Awards, presented by the Canadian Media Producers Association, recognize independent producers whose work contributes to Canada’s screen-based media industry.

Congratulations to all National Screen Institute alum participating in TIFF this year.

If you have a project or event at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival that is not listed here, we’d love to hear from you. Please email ashna.sharma@nsi-canada.