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CFC and CBC Announce YouTubers Selected as Inaugural Participants of Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop

Aircraft Pictures confirmed as official production company partner for 2015 Workshop

To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/1KcEkbF

Toronto, June 5, 2015 – The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and CBC are pleased to announce that two highly successful and innovative Canadian YouTubers have been selected to participate in the inaugural Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop, Canada’s first-ever enhanced pre-development lab for online creators who want to migrate their talents to television and other “screens”.

Originally announced at the 2014 Buffer Festival Industry Day, the 2015 Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop is being presented in collaboration with official production partner Aircraft Pictures, a -based independent content production company creating scripted entertainment for worldwide audiences across traditional and emerging online platforms.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with the CFC Media Lab, the CBC and such a talented group of YouTubers in the first-ever Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop,” said Anthony Leo, Aircraft Pictures. “We look forward to ushering in the next generation of scripted content through this unique workshop opportunity.”

The inaugural Workshop runs from June to November 2015 in Toronto. Over the course of the five months, the digital creators, under the mentorship of CBC creative executives, the CFC Media Lab and its mentors and the experts at Aircraft Pictures, will be afforded the opportunity to refine their writing, story structure and characterization skills, along with gaining valuable experience in navigating the Canadian entertainment ecosystem, with the goal of ultimately developing a long-format television comedy series, or “digital first” series for the CBC.

“We’re very happy to partner with the CFC Media Lab and Aircraft Pictures on such an exciting initiative. Not only does this allow us to work with top-shelf creators from platforms like YouTube, it allows us to build relationships with them,” said Michelle Daly, Senior Director, Comedy, CBC. “This is a great group of creators and we’re thrilled to be working with them. We can’t wait to see what they come up with!”

“We are very excited for the opportunity to be a part of the inaugural Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop,” said Darren Morenstein, Co-Founder and Managing Director, NextTime Productions. “We are looking forward to building a strong relationship with the CBC, the CFC Media Lab and Aircraft Pictures, and are thrilled to collaborate with some great Canadian talent."

The teams selected for the inaugural Workshop represent Canada’s diverse YouTube stars and possess strong niche audiences in different genres.

• NextTime Productions Ltd.: Brothers Harley and Darren Morenstein co-founded NextTime Productions in 2011. Since then, the Montreal-based production company has created and produced several web series, three YouTube channels and two cookbooks, and has amassed over 7 million subscribers. Their flagship show, Epic Meal Time, has grown to be the number one online cooking show in the world. Through their properties and digital success, NextTime Productions has co-produced two television shows, the most recent being a 22-episode series entitled Epic Meal Empire, a reality-based show on the success of its creator and talent, Harley Morenstein. NextTime Productions is currently in pre-production for another television series on FYI Network, the newest channel under the A&E Network.

• Mikey Bustos: Mikey Bustos is a Canadian-born Filipino singer/songwriter/performer, comedian, actor, video maker, and online personality. Also known as the "Ambassador of Filipinos on the Internet", he is best known for his witty comedic and serious Filipino-themed musical videos on Facebook and YouTube, where he has amassed over 35,000,000 views for his channel. Mikey was also the 7th runner up finalist on Season One in 2003, being the first Filipino to make the top finals in any Idol show in any country. To date, he has released three original music albums as well as several EPs and singles. He is currently based in Manila, Philippines where he works as a singer, performer, TV actor, event host, and morning radio host DJ on Magic 89.9 FM.

For more information on the Jumping Screens Comedy Workshop, please visit: http://cfccreates.com/programs/84-jumping-screens-comedy-workshop

To download full participant bios and headshots, please visit: http://bit.ly/1KcEkbF

Social Media Links

CFC Website: cfccreates.com Twitter: @cfccreates Facebook: facebook.com/cfccreates Instagram: cfccreates

CFC Media Lab Twitter: @cfcmedialab Facebook: facebook.com/cfcmedialab

CBC Website: cbc.ca Twitter: @CBC Instagram: CBC

Epic Meal Time Page 2 of 4

Twitter: @EpicMealTime YouTube: youtube.com/user/EpicMealTime

Mikey Bustos Twitter: @MikeyBustos YouTube: youtube.com/user/MikeyBustosVideos

About CFC CFC accelerates the careers of the brightest talent in film, television, screen acting, music, and digital media. A charitable organization, CFC is committed to promoting and investing in Canada's diverse talent; providing exhibition, financial, and distribution opportunities, and fostering industry collaborations and creative partnerships. CFC makes a significant cultural and economic contribution to Canada by launching the country's most creative ideas and voices to the world. For more details, visit cfccreates.com.

About CFC Media Lab The Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab (CFC Media Lab) is an internationally acclaimed digital media think tank and award-winning production facility. It provides a unique research, training and production environment for digital media content developers and practitioners, as well as acceleration programs and services for digital entertainment start-ups and related SMEs. Program participants have emerged as leaders in the world of digital media, producing groundbreaking projects and innovative, sustainable companies for the digital and virtual age. www.cfccreates.com.

About CBC/Radio-Canada CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, internet, and satellite-based services. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages.

A space for us all is CBC/Radio-Canada’s new strategy to modernize the public broadcaster and ensure that it continues to fulfill its mandate for Canadians and for future generations. Through to 2020, it will increase its investment in prime time television programming, and continue to create radio programs of the highest quality, while promoting the development of digital and mobile platforms and content.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Cory Angeletti-Szasz Communications Specialist, CFC 416.445.1446 x463 [email protected] Page 3 of 4

Jane Collins Senior Manager, Publicity, CBC 416.205.2998 [email protected]

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