CBC announced last week the participants selected for the second year of AccessCBC: A CBC Initiative for Creators with a Disability, a national program providing pre-development training, mentorship and financing support to Deaf and disabled creators.
Fifteen participants across seven projects have been selected for the scripted comedy/drama and kids streams. In addition, as part of the unscripted stream, production is underway on four short projects from the CBC Creator Network, and a short documentary from the first round of AccessCBC has advanced to the second phase of development, according to a CBC press release.
For the second iteration of AccessCBC, which launched in February 2024, CBC is collaborating with the Disability Screen Office (DSO), a national, disability-led, not-for-profit organization that works with the Canadian screen industry to eliminate accessibility barriers and foster authentic and meaningful disability representation on and off screen. Award-winning disabled writer and performer Ophira Calof, a recognized leader and champion for accessible storytelling and project curation, is also a consultant on the second year of AccessCBC.
The four scripted comedy/drama projects and the AccessCBC participants involved are:
- Second Wind (comedy): Maxine Grossman (Toronto) and Kimberly Manky (Toronto)
- Rebuild (comedy): Emily Nixon (Toronto), Sadiya Durrani (Toronto) and David Chinchilla (Toronto)
- The Quietest Game (drama): Matthew Kowalchuk (Vancouver), Daniel Smith Arnold (Vancouver) and Katarina Ziervogel (Winnipeg)
- Equal Justice (drama): Tieren Hawkins (Halifax), Scott Jones (Scotsburn, N.S.) and Taylor Olson (Hatchet Lake, N.S.)
The three kids projects and the participants are:
- Nanny and the Ninnywoos: Samantha Hayes (Toronto)
- Chick-a-Duck: Rebeka Herron (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) and Rebecca Hales (Toronto)
- The Space Hoppers: David Campbell (Belleville, Ont.)
The participants of the kids and comedy/drama scripted streams are currently attending development workshops led by CBC executives, “where they receive practical experience writing pitch documents, individualised feedback, and coaching on how to package and market their project,” CBC’s press release says.
The four short unscripted projects from creators and filmmakers working with the CBC Creator Network that are currently in production are:
- Composer Brain: James Lowrie (Toronto)
- Sam Woj: Samantha Woj (Embrun, Ont.)
- The Voice in Their Hands: Mujde Hasimoglu McGuire (Ottawa) and Ryan McGuire (Ottawa)
- Your Attention, Please: Sophia Biedka (Vancouver), Mackenzie Stannard (Vancouver) and Brandon Y. Lee (Vancouver)
The short documentary from the first iteration of AccessCBC that has advanced to a second phase of development is:
- Today Sucks… But Tomorrow Will Be Better: Desiree Bilon (Calgary)
More information about the participants of the second year of AccessCBC is available here.
