The 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival (September 29 – October 9, 2022) welcomed 15 emerging filmmakers to participate in Catalyst, an immersive film festival experience intended to accelerate their creative development.
A cohort-based facilitated mentorship program, Catalyst provides its participants with the tools and experiences they need to embolden their cinematic voices and bring their projects to the next level. This program elevates Vancouver’s independent film community to the world stage.
Catalyst selects participants based on their demonstrated pursuit in creating boundary-pushing and ambitious moving image work. We especially encourage applications from those who may be underrepresented in the film industry, including filmmakers who are Indigenous, Black, people of colour, 2SLGBTQ+, women, low-income, neurodiverse, newcomers, and/or differently abled.
Breaking down barriers and hierarchies, Catalyst is centered on participants meeting mentor artists and film professionals with a level of equality in a facilitated and intimate setting. Over the course of the festival, participants will have access to both group sessions and one-on-one meetings coordinated by our Catalyst Programmer to specifically cater to the mentees’ practices, interests, and needs. Selected participants will also receive a full festival pass and a professional stipend to help offset any economic impact from attending the program. The selected cohort will be comprised of a diversity of filmmaking experience and perspectives in order to foster a rich peer mentorship environment. As we anticipate most sessions taking place in-person, applicants should be located in the Lower Mainland.
Presented by
Supported by
The flagship sessions focused on:
- Festival 101
Cohort team building and festival orientation from current VIFF staff and Catalyst alumni. - Directors
Roundtable with directors of recently released first features. - Producers
Roundtable with early career producers. - Funders
World café-style meetings with key representatives from funding organizations. - Equipment / Facilities
Roundtable with representatives from key gear houses and artist-run centres. - Programmers / Festival Strategy
Roundtable with programmers from international film festivals. - Distribution
Roundtable with key representatives for film distributors. - Case Studies
Screening and discussion with Catalyst alumni filmmaker showcasing new work. - Ethical Filmmaking
A facilitated Q&A geared towards cultivating an ethical mindset and protocols when working with underrepresented stories and communities.
VIFF is committed to offering opportunities to those who are often under- or misrepresented in the film industry and beyond. We value a diverse and inclusive industry that’s reflective of manifold interests and encourage applications from communities that have been marginalized based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, neurotype, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, low income or socio-economic status, marital or family status, or status as an Indigenous person.