Costume designs and costume crafts of Nightmare Alley, Sort Of and Schmigadoon! sashay with top honours at this year’s CAFTCAD Awards

May 8, 2022 Greg David

The Annual CAFTCAD Awards premiered May 7th at 9 pm ET on YouTube and www.thecaftcadawards.com. With in-person screenings in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, industry insiders came together to celebrate new groundbreaking costumes for characters and stories.

Directed by Liz Whitmere and hosted by the dazzling Steffi Didomenicantonio and Anand Rajaram, whose on-screen chemistry and enthusiasm warrant their own comedic sitcom.

“These costumes from achingly gritty circus folk to futuristic explorers have now become part of our consciousness. I am astounded by the originality I see from Canadian costume designers and their teams. We’re becoming known internationally for our abilities to find new takes on garment construction, finishing techniques and colour palettes. I am always incredibly proud that we commend their immense talents with this event,” said CAFTCAD Awards Chair Joanna Syrokomla.

Excellence in Crafts – Illustration, Sponsored by IATSE 891
WINNER: Schmigadoon! 102, Lovers’ Spat – Keith Lau
Costume Designer: Tish Monaghan, Asst Costume Designer: Summer Dietz, 2nd Asst Costume Designer: Nancy Bryant, Costume Supervisor: Jennifer Grossman, Costume Illustrator: Terry Pitts

Excellence in Crafts Award – Building
WINNER: Nightmare Alley – Nightmare Alley Cutting Team
Costume Designer: Luis Sequeira, Costume Cutter/Tailor: Philip Atfield, Costume Cutters: Loreen Lightfoot, Carla Mingiardi, Tamiyo Tomihiro & Ahmad Zargaran

Excellence in Crafts Award – Textiles
WINNER: Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins – Lanny Campbell, Samantha Stroman, Ellie Schultz, and Carolyn Bentley
Costume Designer: Louise Mingenbach, Assistant Designer: Koreen Heaver, Costume Supervisor: Janice MacIsaac

Excellence in Crafts Award – SPFX Building
WINNER: Strangers- AirBnB – Tannis Hegan and Keith Arbuthnot
MastersFX shop, Creature Designer: Sonny Gerasimowicz

Costume Design in Short Film
WINNER: Kiri and the Girl – Carmen Thompson
Set Supervisor: Jason Pillay

Costume Design in Web Series
WINNER: Kidoodle TV, Story Snacks: What’s the Word? – Rebecca Toon

Styling / Design in Music Videos & Commercials, Sponsored by Berman & Co.
WINNER: Ontario Power Generation / Dam Ridiculous – Marie-Eve Tremblay
Assistant Costume Designer: Megan Bonenfant, Custom Built Chest Waders and Hat: Izzy Camilleri

Costume Design in Indie Feature
WINNER: A Nightmare Wakes – Jennifer Stroud
Assistant Costume Designer: Jasmine Murray-Bergquist, Wardrobe Assistants: Veundja Katuuo, Madeleine Shepherd, Natalie Wrubleski & Katie Kahut

Costume Design in TV West – Contemporary, Sponsored by IATSE 873
WINNER: Maid 109, Sky Blue – Lorraine Carson
Assistant Designer: Kevin Knight, Supervisor: Kurtis Reeves, Set Supervisor: Amy Spear, Truck Costumer: Jody Deruiter, BG Coordinator: Emily Laing, Set Costumers: Debbie Humphreys, Caitlin Krantz, Key Breakdown Artist: Karen Durrant, Breakdown Assist: Katharine Humber, Prep Costumers: Michelle Grossmith, Deborah Rodrigo-Tyzio, Royce Ribeiro, Buyers: Sheena Mair, Jordan Hintz, Caitee Williams, Meghan Paterson, Cutters: Djamila Hamani, Rosalie Boland.

Costume Design in TV East – Contemporary, Sponsored by IATSE 873
WINNER: Sort Of 101, Sort of Gone – Shelley Mansell
Assistant Costume Designer: Juliann Wilding, Costume Buyer: Jo Jin, Costume Set Supervisor: Lyndsay Reader, Costume Truck Supervisor: Jade Braithwaite, Costume BG Coordinator: Genevieve Pearson, Cutter/Sewer: Angela Elter, Office Assist: Chantel Bedward

Costume Design In TV- Period- Sponsored By IATSE 873
WINNER: Schmigadoon! 101, Schmigadoon – Tish Monaghan
Assistant Designer: Summer Dietz, 2nd Assistant Designer: Nancy Bryant, Costume Supervisor: Jennifer Grossman, Buyer/Prep Costumers: Suzette Soloman & Colette Storey, Prep Costumers: Kim Bejar, Corinne Mameli & Ulrika Rosenblad, Head Cutter: Rosalie Lee, Cutters: Kieu Nguyen, Laszlo Marton, Tannis Hegan & Savino Peragine, Seamstresses: Patrice Yapp, Karen McVey, Kristina Alary, Caroline Cheng, Sisi Chan, Holly Anderson, Susan Raglin & Petra Wright, Breakdown Artists: Sage Lovett, Lanny Campbell, Chance Lovett & Samantha Stroman, Set Supervisor: Jeffrey Fayle, Truck Supervisor: Ali Kennedy, Dancer Set Supervisor: J.Paul Lavigne, BG Set Supervisor: Gina Hopkins, Set Costumers: Cat Mudryk, Heather Mitchell, Heather Mitchell, Valeria Maichen, Lise Hache & Jessica Pantella, Costume Illustrators: Keith Lau & Terry Pitts

Costume Design in TV – Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Sponsored by IATSE 873
WINNER: Star Trek: Discovery 401 Kobayashi Maru – Gersha Phillips
Costume Supervisors: Sheryl Willock & Becky Mackinnon, Assistant Costume Designers: Carly Nicodemo, Camellia Koo, Christina Cattle, & Laura Delchiaro, Assistant Costume Designer/BG Coordinator: Heather Constable, Buyers: Rashmi Varma, Kaitlyn Fifield, Money Tracker: Tova Harrison, Costume Assistant/Assistant BG Coordinator: Bianka Meroe, Costume Assistants: Grace Whyte, Emmanuelle Kraus, Sam Baljet & Marlena Kaesler, Digital Asset Manager: Liam McCabe, Illustrators: Ciara Brennan & Christian Cordella, Head Cutter: Monique MacNeill, Cutters: Kim Crossley, Ashley McKee, Reilly Kizer & Glen McClintock, First Hand: Chloe Tekavcic, Sewers: Karen Merriam, Malia Janveaux, Marie Glass, Leanne Reimer, Jane Haselgrove, Tori Lang, Catherine Brodeur, Bianca Tufford, Iliana Harendorf, & Emaan El-Houini, Key Textile Artist: Bonnie McCabe, Textile Artists: David Webb, Chantelle Hermiston, and Urs Dierker, Key FX Costumers: James Bolton and Saman Hamid, FX Costumers: Ray Wong, Hayley Stolee-Smith, Gwen Barton, Matt Sherren, Monica Lee, Kiga Tymianski, & Heetesh Patel, FX Sculptor/Molders: Ananthy Rajah, Scott Patterson, Kevin Morra, Daniel Baker & Chris Cooper, Set Supervisor: Kymn Keating, Truck Supervisor: Chelsea Oliver: Assistant Set Supervisor: Tara Thompson, Assistant Set Supervisor: Melesia Llewellyn, BG Coordinator/Assistant BG Coordinator: Melanie Lian, BG Set Supervisor: Eyob Desalgne

Costume Design in Film – Contemporary
WINNER: Night Raiders – Kendra Terpenning
Assistant Costume Designer: Joey Watson, Set Supervisor: Kurupae Rikihana, Truck Supervisor: Ashley Offredi, Costume Assistant: Gwendolyn Preboy, Key Breakdown: Jennifer Lantz, Costume Apprentice: Theresa Stevenson

Costume Design in Film – Period
WINNER: Nightmare Alley – Luis Sequeira
Assistant Costume Designer: Ann Steel, Costume Supervisor: Suzanne Aplin, Costume Coordinator: Claire Levick, Costumes Tracker: Michele Kokkinakis, Costume On-Set Supervisor: Jozie Conte, Set Costumer: Christina Cattle, Costume Truck Supervisor: Susan Nycz, Cast #1 Personal Dresser: Wayne Godfrey, Cast #2 Personal Dresser: Elayne Alexander, BG Set Supervisor: Rebecca McDermid, BG Supervisor: Amy Sztulwark, BG Coordinator: Hanne Whitfield, Buyer Coordinator: Heather Crepp, Buyers: Anita Bacic, Nathalie Gysel, Sara Schilt, Gillian Steinhardt, Cat Wadden, Key Cutter: Tamiyo Tomihiro, Cutter/Tailor: Philip Atfield, Cutter/Milliner: Loreen Lightfoot, Cutters: Carla Mingiardi, Ahmad Zargaran, BG Cutter: Lise St. Germain, Sewers: Sylvie Bonniere, Jaya Ducharme, Rebecca Fowler, Judy MacDougall, Alyssa Nasvadi, Ying Zhao, BG Sewers: Teresa Artibello, Heather Rautiainen, Key Breakdown Artists: Meghan Ancheta, Melanie Turcotte, Co-Key Breakdown Artist: Tamara Rigby-Funke, Breakdown Artists: Katy Clement, Bob Welsh, Debbie Williams & Jonathan Girard, Costume Assistants: Tess Barbieri, Julia Campisi, Lisa Prince, Charlotte Robertson, Sidney Sproule, Jean Wong, Costume PA’s: Roberto Balinado, Leyla Godfrey, Shila Rashid, Jacqueline Rossini

Costume Design in Film & TV – International
WINNER: The Harder They Fall – Antoinette Messam
Assistant Costume Designer: Whitney Galitz, Supervisor: Conan Castro Jr, Coordinator: Margaret Flaszynska, Head Tailor/Cutter: Erica Ciaglia, Tailors: Paula Trujillo & Debra Chapman, Head Ager/Dyer: Jesse Trevino, Assistant Ager/Dyer: Susan Kohl, Set Costumers: Brian Barela, Bradford Booth, Tiffany Rink, & Michelle Kelly, 2nd Unit Set Costumer: Jeffry Cookie Compton, 2nd Unit Truck Costumer: Andrew Sanchez, Buyer/Truck Costumer: Kit Noller, Key Costumer: Jill Machlis, BG Costumer/Buyer: Neishea Lemle, Buyer: Catharine Stuart, Concept Artist: James Casey Holland

Nobis Industry Icon
Jeff Churchill

ABOUT CAFTCAD and the CAFTCAD Awards
For over a decade, the Canadian Alliance of Film and Television Costume Arts and Design (CAFTCAD) has worked towards bringing together Canadian costume professionals from all corners of the industry, regardless of union affiliation. CAFTCAD has succeeded in creating a thriving environment within which members can share, learn and advance their craft, while simultaneously raising the awareness of the contributions these artisans have made in the international industry of film, television, video, and commercials.

The CAFTCAD Awards, which held its inaugural event in 2019, is the culmination of these efforts to bring the costuming community together, recognize and reward talent, and usher CAFTCAD onto the world stage.

Frankie Drake Mysteries, Industry News

W Network and Nikki Ray Media Agency greenlight a set of romantic made-for-TV movies, The Love Club

May 4, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

Finding the love of your life and lifelong friendships along the way go hand in hand as W Network and Nikki Ray Media Agency greenlight and begin production on a set of romantic made-for-TV movies, The Love Club (4x120min). Corus Studios will distribute The Love Club internationally. Starring Brittany Bristow (Holiday Date), Lily Gao (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Chantel Riley (Frankie Drake Mysteries), and Camille Stopps (Running with Violet), the made-for-TV movies are produced by Nikki Ray Media Agency for W Network and Corus Studios. The first of the four movies is currently filming in the Hamilton area with all movies shooting back-to-back until July. The four movies are slated to premiere Winter 2023 and onwards on W Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Corus’ premium streaming service, STACKTV.

At a New Year’s Eve college party, four women, each dealing with their own dating debacle, take a vow as the clock counts down to call on one another if they are ever in romantic trouble again – a vow that has them resurrecting their “Love Club” ten years later as each of them search for their unique happily-ever-after. Over the course of four distinct movies, Nicole (Brittany Bristow), Sydney (Lily Gao), Lauren (Chantel Riley) and Tara (Camille Stopps) each are the lead in their own love story, while their friends are involved in helping them find true love. Each movie, told from the point of view of one of the Love Club women, will thematically open with a flashback that takes viewers back ten years earlier to the fateful New Year’s Eve party where the women meet and form the Love Club. Ten years have passed since the Love Club women made their vow and while they have remained friends, their busy lives have led them to go their separate ways, until now.

The Love Club also stars Marcus Rosner (Arrow), Jesse Hutch (Batwoman), Andrew Bushell (Jump), and Brett Donahue (Private Eyes).

The Love Club is written by Canadian Screen Award winner Barbara Kymlicka (Glass Houses), directed by Jill Carter (The Bold Type), and produced by Nikki Ray Media Agency in association with Corus Studios, with the participation of the Canada Media Fund.

The Hardy Boys

Link: Melanie Scrofano steps into a new challenge with The Hardy Boys

April 30, 2022 Greg David

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Melanie Scrofano steps into a new challenge with The Hardy Boys
While she may have been recently nominated for a Best Actress Canadian Screen Award for her work on Wynonna Earp, Melanie Scrofano is headed behind the camera to direct once again. Scrofano directed two episodes of Season 2 of Hulu and YTV’s The Hardy Boys. Continue reading.

Industry News

AMI announces the opening of the Disability Screen Office

April 29, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

AMI, in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada, is excited to announce the launch of the Disability Screen Office (DSO).

With our commitment to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, AMI is currently facilitating the creation of this industry office with funding from the CMF and Telefilm Canada.

The DSO will provide services that:

• increase accurate and meaningful disability representation on and off-screen throughout the Canadian media landscape

• expose and eliminate accessibility barriers to create a more inclusive and accessible industry for all

• support and amplify the creative voices of Canadians with disabilities nationally and internationally

Background
For the past year, AMI has been leading roundtable discussions with diverse groups of individuals in the disability community that are working in or with the screen industry. The groups include creators, writers, directors, producers, performers and representatives from academia. The objective of these roundtables was to obtain unfiltered feedback on the accessibility of the media industry to the disability community, and to identify barriers and brainstorm solutions with a view of developing programs to increase industry accessibility.

To do this, all roads lead to the formation of a new organization, now known as the DSO.

“It became apparent that there is currently no single program, incentive or regulation that can cause the screen industry to be fully inclusive for people with disabilities,” says Andrew Morris, Manager, Independent Production, AMI-tv. “The only way to create meaningful real opportunities for people with disabilities in the media industry is to address the systemic barriers relating to education, industry regulations, insufficient and/or inaccurate representation, public beliefs and attitudes, and full accessibility throughout the media industry.”

“As part of CMF’s growth and inclusion strategy, we’ve introduced new measures to support creators with disabilities,” says Tamara Dawit, Vice-President, Inclusion and Growth, CMF. “Helping establish the Disability Screen Office to support and amplify the creative voices of Canadians with disabilities, both here in Canada and beyond our borders, is part of that strategy. We’re delighted to partner with AMI and Telefilm to achieve this important goal.”

“The creation of the Disability Screen Office will be a significant advancement for meaningful representation, advocacy, and change for creators on both sides of the camera,” said Christa Dickenson, Executive Director and CEO at Telefilm Canada. “The DSO will further contribute to breaking down barriers and shaping a more accessible and equitable screen-based industry within Canada.”

Next steps
• With funding from CMF, AMI has begun the development phase of a national, bilingual research endeavor that will culminate in the creation of the Best Practices Guide for Disability Engagement in the Canadian Film and Television Industry. This document will be the foundation of the DSO.

• Meanwhile, Telefilm Canada has provided startup funding to enable the DSO to recruit a board of directors and open the office within the year.

• Both Telefilm and CMF have also contributed funding for innovative programs to help make writers’ rooms in Canada accessible to screenwriters in the disability community, to be announced this summer.

About Accessible Media Inc.
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.

About Telefilm Canada
As a Partner of Choice, Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation dedicated to the success of Canada’s audiovisual industry, fostering access and excellence by delivering programs that support cultural resonance and audience engagement. With a lens of equity, inclusivity and sustainability, Telefilm bolsters dynamic companies and a range of creative talent at home and around the world. Telefilm also makes recommendations regarding the certification of audiovisual coproduction treaties to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Launched in 2012, the Talent Fund raises private donations which principally support emerging talent. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/Telefilm_Canada and on Facebook at  facebook.com/telefilmcanada.

Acting Good, Industry News

Award-winning actor Michael Greyeyes joins directing team for CTV Comedy Channel’s original series, Acting Good

April 27, 2022 Greg David 1 Comment

From a media release:

CTV Comedy Channel announced today that award-winning actor, director, and choreographer Michael Greyeyes is tapped to direct five episodes of the brand-new original series, ACTING GOOD. Loosely based on the life of Anishinaabe stand-up comedian and series co-creator, Paul Rabliauskas, production on the half-hour scripted comedy is currently underway in Winnipeg and surrounding areas, and is set to premiere later this year.

Joining Greyeyes as directors for the debut season of ACTING GOOD are writer, director, and video artist Darlene Naponse (Anishinaabe), as well as series co-showrunners Amber-Sekowan Daniels (Anishininew) and Eric Toth.

ACTING GOOD stars Rabliauskas as Paul, a witty but sensitive comic who returns home to the fictional Grouse Lake First Nation after a botched attempt to move to the big city. Also joining the cast is actor, comedian, and series co-showrunner Pat Thornton, who stars as Brady, the “only white guy on the rez.” The homegrown lineup of cast and crew also features Billy Merasty (Elijah) as voice of the rez and radio DJ, Roger Laughingstick, Roseanne Supernault (THE DRIVE) as reformed bad girl and band councillor, Jo. Gabriel Daniels (The Ice Road) joins the cast as big-hearted Dean, along with series producer Tina Keeper (NORTH OF 60) as the family matriarch Agnes. And in their debut acting roles, Avery Claudia Sutherland stars as Jo’s rebellious daughter Chickadee, comedian Cheyenna Sapp as Paul’s, on-again-off-again girlfriend, Rose, Jason Mason as overzealous band constable Lips, and writer, poet, and radio host Rosanna Deerchild as First Nation Grouse Lake chief, Deedee.

About Michael Greyeyes:
Michael Greyeyes is a multi-hyphenate talent – an actor, director, choreographer, and scholar whose diverse career from stage to screen spans over 25 years.

Greyeyes recently starred in the thriller Wild Indian, directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr, which premiered in competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. He garnered a Film Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award nomination for his leading performance. On television, Greyeyes returns for Season 2 of RUTHERFORD FALLS. He also received a Film Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award for his role in the series, marking a historical moment as he becomes the first Native Actor with two nominations in the same year for the awards.

His film work includes the role of Traylor in Blood Quantum and Sitting Bull in Woman Walks Ahead, co-starring Jessica Chastain. He has appeared in numerous other feature films such as The New World, directed by Terence Malick, Skipped Parts, Sunshine State, directed by John Sayles, Passchendaele, directed by Paul Gross, and Dance Me Outside, a cult-classic directed by Bruce McDonald.

As a director, he has created numerous theatre works including Bearing, a searing dance opera that premiered at the 2017 Luminato Festival in Toronto, A Soldier’s Tale, from thine eyes, and wrote Nôhkom. Greyeyes was nominated for a Dora Award for his direction on Two Odysseys: Pimooteewin / Gállábártnit, a full-length evening of Indigenous opera featuring two librettos in Cree and Sami.

He is Nêhiyaw (Plains Cree) from Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. He graduated from Kent State University with a Master’s Degree in the Fine Arts at the School of Theatre and Dance and is also a graduate of The National Ballet School where he went on to join The National Ballet of Canada company. In 2010, Greyeyes founded a Canadian non-profit theatre organization, Signal Theatre, a company that explores intercultural and transdisciplinary live performance. He serves as the Artistic Director for the theatre.

About Darlene Naponse:
Darlene Naponse is an Anishinaabe writer, director, and video artist from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, ON. Her films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, TIFF, and imagineNATIVE Film Festival. Her film Falls Around Her opened imagineNATIVE Film Festival in 2018, and took home the Audience Choice Award. Naponse’s fourth feature film, Stellar, in which she wrote, directed, and produced, just wrapped production.

ACTING GOOD is set in the fictional remote fly-in Grouse Lake First Nation, a world that lives by its own set of rules. The series location is inspired by Rabliauskas’ own isolated community of Poplar River First Nation.

ACTING GOOD is produced by CTV Comedy Channel, in association with Kistikan Pictures Inc., with the participation of Canada Media Fund and Bell Fund. Producers are Tina Keeper (Kistikan Pictures) and Jennifer Beasley (Buffalo Gal Pictures) with Phyllis Laing (Buffalo Gal Pictures) as Executive Producer and Paula J. Smith as Supervising Producer. Paul Rabliauskas is Executive Producer and writer, with Amber-Sekowan Daniels, Pat Thornton, and Eric Toth as writers and co-showrunners.