BANFF – CBC, BIPOC TV & Film and the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) announced yesterday they have partnered on a new accelerator program, the CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst, with the inaugural year running through summer and fall 2022.
Announced at the Banff World Media Festival, the program “will support the career advancement of senior writers who identify as Indigenous, Black or People of Colour (BIPOC) through hands-on and personally tailored on-set experience,” a press release says.
The program has two parts. The first will see participants complete a series of hands-on masterclasses, which will cover topics related to the role and responsibilities of a showrunner, while the second part of the program will see participants build on their foundational skills by working with an experienced showrunner in a senior writing and producing role on a CBC series. (Participating mentors and series have yet to be announced.)
Lea Marin, director of development, drama at CBC explained in an interview with Cartt.ca that the program came to be after Jennifer Shin, director of development, comedy at CBC had “this wonderful brainwave” about supporting BIPOC senior writers in the industry.
Noting this was on the heels of the buzz that followed the wrap up of the CBC series Kim’s Convenience (actor Simu Liu lamented the lack of Korean writers and producers working on the show in a Facebook post at the time), Marin said “there were questions about opportunities for BIPOC showrunners and the lack of, and so we just thought this was an opportunity to put this new program forward and immediately thought to reach out to our friends at both BIPOC TV & Film and the Canadian Film Centre.”
The three partnering organization have each made a three-year commitment to the CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst with the option to renew.
The inaugural participants of the program are Andrew Burrows-Trotman (above, left), MOTION (centre) and Ian Iqbal Rashid (right).
Burrows-Trotman wrote the feature screenplay If We Left, which was shortlisted for the San Francisco Film Society’s Hearst Grant. He has worked on the writing staff of Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC) and has credits on other TV series including include Diggstown (CBC/BET+), Utopia Falls (Hulu/CBC Gem) and The Porter (CBC/BET+).
MOTION is a CFC alumna. She is co-writer of the award-winning feature Akilla’s Escape with director Charles Officer. “In television, MOTION is a CSA-nominated writer and supervising producer on hit drama series Coroner (CBC/CW), The Porter (CBC/BET+) and Diggstown (CBC/FOX). She is also a writer and co-executive producer on the new digital series Revenge of the Black Best Friend (CBC Gem).”
Iqbal Rashid is “known for the series Sort Of (CBC/HBO Max) and This Life (BBC) as well as the feature films Touch of Pink (Mongrel/Sony Picture Classics) and How She Move (Mongrel/Paramount),” the release says. “His awards include the Writers Guild Award of Great Britain for Series Writing and the Aga Khan Award for Excellence in the Arts.”
“These [three] will catalyze change in the Canadian film industry,” said maxine bailey, executive director, CFC. “I’m really excited to help be part of growing more Black and Indigenous racialized creators in leadership positions – not following, but in leadership positions… this is the change that’s needed for this country.”
The participants were “nominated by showrunners, producers, production companies or broadcasters, in consultation with BIPOC TV & Film and the CFC, based on their experience and readiness to further progress in their career,” the press release announcing the program’s launch says.
They have been doing the work for years but have not had the opportunity to lead at this level, explained Kadon Douglas, executive director, BIPOC TV & Film.
Part of the beauty of the CBC-BIPOC TV & Film Showrunner Catalyst is that it is designed with the individual program participants and their needs in mind.
“I think more often than not the role of the showrunner is kind of elusive because it’s, so multi-layered in terms of what type of skills are required to be a showrunner,” Shin said. “And so, I think that what is so unique about this program is that truly, it does cater to the specific needs of each of the participants.”
Marin emphasized that a lot of care and time went into planning the program. “We, the organizations, worked very closely and we took our time to have some deep discussions about what this should be, what this should look like… and to Jen’s point, it has always been centered on the participants,” she said.
At the same time, the hope and the intention is for the program to have a positive impact on the industry more broadly as the organizers all feel it is important to be “building leaders who recognize… their own biases and who are actively working to change to change the sector,” Douglas said.
“This is not just about the showrunner role, it’s the ripple effects of that. What we’re looking at, what our entire goal is, is transformation of the entire sector, a sector that amplifies that celebrates all of our voices that redefines what Canadian content is, what Canadian culture is and who gets to represent that both on and off the screen as well.”
“The actual use of the term catalyst refers to our participants, of course, as this is a catalyst for them in the industry,” Marin added. “But I actually think that this program is a catalyst for change across the board and I think that’s what’s going to be key.”
For more on the program and this years’ participants, please click here.
Photos supplied by CBC.
