The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced Monday the five filmmakers whose short documentary projects have been selected for the NFB and TIFF’s {RE}DEFINED initiative.
Launched in September during TIFF’s 50th edition, the {RE}DEFINED program invited young filmmakers (aged 30 and under) to submit project proposals for short documentary films offering fresh perspectives on Canadian and indigenous identity.
The NFB said in a Monday press release the five successful applicants were chosen from more than 240 submissions. They will now be teamed with NFB producers to create short documentaries of 10 minutes or less, and they will benefit from a production team, a fully financed budget, marketing and publicity teams, distribution and mentorship from the NFB, it said. The finished {RE}DEFINED documentaries will premiere at TIFF 2026 before a worldwide digital release across NFB platforms.
“These works will showcase the diverse perspectives of a new generation — revealing what inspires and motivates younger Canadians — and push the boundaries of non-fiction storytelling,” the NFB said in its press release. “{RE}DEFINED projects will reimagine Canadian and Indigenous identity at a pivotal time in the life of this country, offering new ways of seeing who we are and who we’re becoming.”
The five {RE}DEFINED projects are:
- Butter Chicken to Go by Prajj, a Toronto-based writer, director and artist. Produced by Kate Vollum with the NFB’s Central Documentary Unit in Toronto, this short doc follows South Asian delivery drivers during Toronto’s dinner rush in the dead of winter. Filmed at the height of anti-Indian sentiment in Canada, the doc examines what it means to have your presence be both essential and contested.
- Là où nos fleurs poussent by Maxime Kornachuk, a Red River Métis animator. Produced by Jelena Popović with the French Animation Unit in Montreal, this film gives voice to Métis seeking to reconnect with a culture that’s been marked by efforts to silence and erase it. The film uses stop-motion-animated beads as well as rotoscoping to depict personal stories as seeds of a larger, shared identity that’s coming back to life.
- Pâkwêsikan sâkihtin: Bannock is Love by Tyra Delver, a Two-Spirited artist, photographer and filmmaker from Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6 territory, Alberta. Produced by Chehala Leonard with the Western Documentary Unit in Edmonton, this film explores the topic of food sovereignty through the tradition of making Bannock. It centres on the ways that cultural traditions nourish not only the body, but the soul and spirit of a people.
- Restaurant Kids by Sylvia Mok, a writer/director hailing from Halifax and now based in Toronto. Produced by Liz Cowie with the Eastern Documentary Unit in Halifax, this film offers a glimpse into a small but tight-knit community of Chinese restaurateurs in Halifax and the second generation of children who were raised with a restaurant as their second home.
- Vite! Vite! Vite! by Gabrielle Côté, a Montreal-based emerging filmmaker who uses collages of images as a tool for social observation. Produced by Christine Aubé with the French Documentary Unit in Moncton, this experimental documentary features real-life imagery morphing into surreal tableaux that illustrate two visions of urban existence in Northern countries — one in which cars, money, time and individualism rule, and another where sharing, leisure and inclusivity are encouraged. The contrast between these two societies leads the viewer to contemplate how city planning shapes our lives in communities.
“Canada is overflowing with talent,” said John Christou, executive producer of {RE}DEFINED and director of operations at the NFB, in a statement. “With over 240 {RE}DEFINED submissions, we feel extremely privileged to have glimpsed how the next generation of filmmakers approach their work as creators. Their creativity, the care for their communities and how they situate themselves within the broader Canadian context gives me great hope for the future of storytelling in this country, and for the future of Canadian culture.”
“With today’s announcement of the selected {RE}DEFINED filmmakers, we’re celebrating the fresh and dynamic perspectives of five young creators emerging across the country,” said Anita Lee, chief programming officer at TIFF. “What distinguishes these projects is the diversity of approach spanning style, identity and geography. Each filmmaker is pushing documentary storytelling in bold new directions, and we’re proud to champion their voices as part of TIFF and the NFB’s shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of Canadian talent.”
Photos courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada
