Tieren Hawkins, Sadiya Durrani and David Campbell
CBC has revealed the participants of the second year of AccessCBC: A CBC Initiative for Creators with a Disability, a national program that provides pre-development training, mentorship and financing support for Deaf and disabled creators. Fifteen participants across seven projects have been selected for the scripted comedy/drama and kids streams, and 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 a second phase of development.
For the second iteration of AccessCBC, CBC is collaborating with the Disability Screen Office (DSO), a national not-for-profit organization that works with the Canadian screen industry to eliminate accessibility barriers and foster authentic and meaningful disability representation throughout the sector. Award-winning Disabled writer and performer Ophira Calof (they/she) is also a consultant on the second year of AccessCBC.
PROJECTS
The four scripted projects are the comedies "Second Wind" from Maxine Grossman and Kimberly Manky; and "Rebuild" from Emily Nixon, Sadiya Durrani and David Chinchilla and the dramas "Quietest Games" by Matthew Kowalchuck, Daniel Smith Arnold, and Katarina Ziervogel and "Equal Justice" by Tieren Hawkins, Scott Jones and Taylor Olson.
The three kids projects are "Nanny And The Ninnywoos" from Samantha Hayes; "Chick-A-Duck" by Rebeka Herron and Rebecca Hales and "The Space Hoppers" by David Campbell.
The participants of the kids and 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.
The scripted program is facilitated by Paige Murray, Executive in Charge of Development, Drama, and Sarah Quan, Executive in Charge of Development, Comedy. The kids program is facilitated by Swin Chang, Lisa Cinelli and Drew Mullin, Executives in Charge of Production, Children’s Content; Shamhan Bhuiyan, Manager of Content & Development, CBC Kids; Mia Rodak, Director, Digital Content, CBC Kids; and Marie McCann, Senior Director, Children’s Content, CBC Kids.
As part of the unscripted stream, four short projects ("Composer Brain" by James Lowrie; "Sam Woj" by Samantha Woj; "The Voice In Their Hands" by Mujde Hasimoglu McGuire and "Your Attention, Please" by Sophia Biedka, Mackenzie Stannard and Brandon Y Lee) are in the midst of production, with releases on CBC social and local platforms throughout the summer and fall.
Also as part of the second year’s unscripted stream, a short documentary from the first iteration of AccessCBC by Desiree Bilon of Calgary, entitled" Today Sucks… But Tomorrow Will Be Better", has advanced to a second phase of development with support from CBC executives.