By Kelly Townsend
The Canadian Screen Awards gave a glimpse of the future of Canada’s film and television industry at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts Sunday night.
While the ceremony paid tribute to many Canadian icons, including comedian Mary Walsh and the Kids in the Hall troupe, as well as filmmaker Deepa Mehta, the Academy set a clear tone that there’s a new generation of Canadian voices already making their mark.
Among the most notable winners was Jasmin Mozaffari (pictured), who earned Achievement in Directing for her feature film debut Firecrackers. The film was partially funded through Telefilm’s micro-budget program, which was rebranded as Talent to Watch in 2018 in a move to highlight new and underrepresented voices in Canadian film. In the press room, following her win, Mozaffari said her inspiration comes from her fellow female directors. “Women of different diverse backgrounds, all across the board, no matter what, and pushing the boundaries in their own work,” she said.
Mozaffari told the press room that in addition to looking ahead to a follow-up feature to Firecrackers, which opened in theatres March 29, her next goal is to break into TV directing. “That’s a way to make a living, to be a working director. I feel like you always have to be proving yourself – you always have to be showing people that you can do a new format, like TV,” she said.