On March 21st, tenants from Studio 109 gathered at the ArchiTEXT office to discuss the space.

The day allowed individuals from the space to explore their thoughts, feelings and emotions of Studio 109. This process also allowed us to make models of how we would like to see space changes. (View pictures below)

We also had the opportunity to draw dream spaces of where we would like to work and what types of amenities we would like to see in the future!

Thanks to everyone who came out and participated and thank you to ArchiTEXT for hosting such a wonderful day!

We're Looking for Toronto's Most Amazing Young Agents of Change!

CSI supports people who are changing the world.

In partnership with ING Direct, we are delighted to announce our search for Youth Agents of Change!

We're looking for youth (aged 19-29) who are making an impact in their community and around the world. 

Twenty winners will each receive a one-year Hot Desk package (worth $2,400), exclusive "Youth Agents of Change" professional development programming, and the opportunity to be part of one of Toronto's most dynamic community of change-makers!!
 
Are you a youth Agent of Change? Do you know someone who deserves to win?

Visit www.socialinnovation.ca/agentsofchangeyouth for more!

 
The entry deadline is April 22, 2011.  Special thanks to ING Direct for powering this amazing opportunity!
 

Congratulations to partner filmmaker Tiffany Hsuing. Her project Within Every Woman was recently selected for this years Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival. To learn more please read the following:

HOT DOCS FORUM ANNOUNCES 27 INTERNATIONAL PROJECT SELECTIONS

SHAW MEDIA-HOT DOCS FUNDS TO ONCE AGAIN AWARD $40,000 CASH PRIZE, CUBAN HAT AWARD FOR FAVOURITE PITCH RETURNS FOR 2011 EVENT

For immediate release

Toronto, March 8, 2011 – Hot Docs is pleased to announce the 27 projects that will be presented during this year's Hot Docs Forum. Recognized as North America's essential market for the international documentary community, the Hot Docs Forum (formerly the Toronto Documentary Forum) will take place May 4 and 5 during the 2011 edition of Hot Docs, April 28 to May 8. This year's projects were selected from 193 submissions and represent 14 different countries.

"The 2011 Hot Docs Forum responds to continuing shifts and changes in the documentary industry," says Elizabeth Radshaw, Hot Docs Forum and Market Director, "but what remains the same is the opportunity for some intense and intimate networking with key industry executives. In addition to matching exceptional international content with funding and support, the Hot Docs Forum offers a space for selected projects and production companies to showcase the many unique faces of the documentary form for both broadcast and non-broadcast funding sources."

Attended by over 500 leading industry professionals, the Hot Docs Forum is focused around a schedule of pre-selected international project presentations made to a roundtable of key international commissioning editors and an Observers gallery composed of fellow producers, distributors, sales agents, funders and other buyers. Participating buyers confirmed to date include ARTE, BBC, CBC/SRC, Channel 4, E1 Entertainment, Films Transit International Inc., Ford Foundation, HBO, High Fidelity HDTV, Impact Partners, NHK, Participant Productions, PBS, RAI, Ro*co Film, SBS, Sundance Channel, SVT, TVOntario, YLE, ZDF, and others.

For the third consecutive year, the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Forum Pitch Prize (formerly the Canwest-Hot Docs Funds TDF Pitch Prize) will be awarded to the best Canadian pitch at the 2011 event, as determined by a committee of international (non-Canadian) commissioning editors in attendance. The winner will receive a $40,000 cash prize to be used towards the production and completion budget for their project.

The Cuban Hat Award will return to the 2011 Hot Docs Forum, continuing with their "real cash, no strings attached" prize.  All the money raised over the two days of the event will be given to the Observers' favourite pitch, as determined by ballot.

The following projects (ordered by country) will be presented at this year's Hot Docs Forum:

I AM A GIRL, Testify Media Pty Ltd. (Australia); MISS NIKKI AND THE TIGER GIRLS, Iris Pictures Pty. Ltd. (Australia); DOC POMUS, A MAN AND HIS MUSIC, Clear lake Historical Productions (Canada); GAZA DOCTOR, Paperny Films Development 2 Inc. (Canada); PYONGYANG EXPRESS: ESCAPE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, Fathom Film Group (Canada); UNDER THE CITY, Catbird Productions (Canada) WAITING ROOM, Peripheria (Canada); WITHIN EVERY WOMAN, Golden Nugget Productions (Canada); SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS, Filmico Productions (Colombia, Spain, Venezuela); FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, Mortensen Film (Denmark/USA); BUFFALO BILL AND THE CONQUEST OF THE EAST, Ere Production (France/Germany); WORLD ACCORDING TO IRVING, Florianfilm GmbH (Germany); THE GARDEN OF EDEN, Lama Films (Israel); WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE, Yachaywasi Films (Peru); TPB AFK: THE PIRATE BAY AWAY FROM KEYBOARD, Nonami AB (Sweden); LIGHT IN HER EYES, Proaction Film (Syria); A WHOLE LOTT MORE, Flying V Productions (UK); THE DARK MATTER OF LOVE, Pulse Films (UK); DRIVEN, Start in Morocco Films Ltd (UK); ON THE EDGE, Met Film Production (UK); A FIERCE GREEN FIRE, A Fierce Green Fire (USA); GIDEON'S ARMY, trilogy films (USA); HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE (AKA BRIGHTNESS FALLS), How To Survive A Plague, LLC (USA); INFORMANT, Stanford University - Department of Art and Art History (USA); PRIDE, 64th St. Media, LLC (USA); UNSTABLE ELEMENTS, Great Curve Films (USA), and URANIUM DRIVE-IN, Reel Thing Productions (USA).

The Hot Docs Forum wishes to thank founding sponsor Telefilm Canada for their generous support. The Hot Docs Forum receives additional support from the Ontario Media Development Corporation, National Film Board of Canada, A & E, NHK, HBO Documentary Films, RealScreen, C21, indieWIRE, Gardiner Roberts LLP, Entertainment One, and Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund.

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Hot Docs Forum is regarded as the most effective international co-production market in North America for the documentary industry with invaluable market intelligence and excellent opportunities for exclusive industry networking. The Hot Docs Forum aims to stimulate international co-production financing for feature, series and interactive documentary projects at various levels of completion. Selected documentary producers publicly pitch their projects to a round-table of international commissioning editors, distributors, foundations, charities and cross media platforms, while accredited observers look on. For buyers, the Hot Docs Forum offers a slate of pre-selected projects in development or production by elite international filmmakers. Observers gain both direct industry intelligence and networking opportunities with financiers and other filmmakers. For pitchers, this experience and exposure can catapult their project into the market and complete their financing.

Hot Docs is North America's largest documentary festival, conference and market.  From April 28 to May 8, 2011, Hot Docs will present an outstanding selection of 170+ documentaries from Canada and around the world to Toronto audiences and international delegates.  Hot Docs will also mount a full roster of conference sessions, market events and services for documentary practitioners, including the renowned Hot Docs Forum, May 4 and 5, and The Doc Shop.

Hot Docs is proud to include Rogers, Telefilm Canada and documentary as its Presenting Partners.

Media Contact:
Virginia Kelly
V Kelly & Associates
Email: info@vkpr.ca
Phone: 416-466-9799

 After attending the conference to learn about the various ways of doing urban agriculture, we carried out the implementation by working on our small piece of land to prepare it for planting. We realized that as an organization we are able to do a lot in terms of creating opportunities to ourselves by selling the produce and have something to take home and its also a way to boost our small cafe by selling our produce to them at a subsidized rate and profit made give back to the organization as a sustainability.

We have managed to plant lots of vegetables in our garden and the reasons as to way we chose vegetables is because it’s the commonly eaten food in our communities.

Since planting, we have been able to carry out our first harvest, which was very impressive because we were able to sell our produce to the cafe and also some of the girls managed to carry home the vegetables. The girls in the program have also been so involved with the gardening work and have assisted us a lot in making sure it is under very good conditions at all times and with the team work spirit we are going to do so well with the gardening project.

We are hoping to start the rearing of chicken and goats to be able to create a stable opportunity for we girls to earn some money for our own sustainability.

On February 2nd, Young Diplomats had the opportunity to go see the Raptors play on behalf of Jay Triano.

"The experience was so amazing and the game was so intense. It was a 116-110 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Fan Appreciation Night. Despite the loss, the four of us had really great time.

It was fun to hear Raptors' announcers Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong singing for the audience.  We also won free pizza coupons since the Raptors scored more than 100 points."

- Dawit Berossa, Interim Director Young Diplomats

THANK YOU JAY TRIANO!

Welcome to our new site!

We are really proud of what we have been able to accomplish over the past year and we hope you take the time to browse around and see what we've been up to.

- The SWB Team