SUMMER 2021 Animation Nation? WGC Awards Winners Beans co-writers Tracey Deer & Meredith Vuchnich talk teamwork Joseph Kay On breaking new ground in Canadian drama with Transplant Contents | Canadian Screenwriter 3 “It wasn’t a straightforward process for Deer to turn her story into a script.” Page 20 Features 20 26 31 Through the Eyes of a Child Suspended Animation? WGC Screenwriting Awards How Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich A drop in Canadian broadcaster It may have been virtual, but the fun, scripted feature film Beans, based on commissions is affecting resident writers surprise and emotion were very real Deer’s 12-year-old self. and indie prodcos in the the toon business. — hear from the 2021 award winners By Kelly Boutsalis By Gary Rusak in their own words. 4 Canadian Screenwriter | Contents “The breakthrough SUMMER 2021 | VOL. 23 | NO. 2 Publisher representation in Maureen Parker Editor/Director of Communications Transplant was always Lana Castleman ([email protected]) Editorial Advisory Board seen for what it was, Michael Amo Sean Jara Rachel Langer an exciting set of JP Larocque Susin Nielsen opportunities.” President Alex Levine (Central) Page 12 Councillors Michael Amo (Atlantic) Marsha Greene (Central) Dennis Heaton (Pacific) Anne-Marie Perrotta (Quebec) Lienne Sawatsky (Central) Andrew Wreggitt (Western) Design Taylee Buttigieg Cover Photo Mauricio Calero Printing Vibrant Graphics On the cover Madeline Donohue’s new series Tiny & Canadian Screenwriter is published 12 Doctors Within Borders 35 Tall officially heads into development two times a year by the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) Creator Joseph Kay and the series’ writers talk 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 401 Transplant, the hit CTV series breaking new Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R9 ground in Canadian drama. TEL: (416) 979-7907 FAX: (416) 979-9273 By Matthew Hays WEBSITE www.wgc.ca Subscriptions WGC members receive a subscription as part of their membership. Columns Non-member subscriptions: $20 for two issues. 05 From the Editor/Contributors 06 From the President — Alex Levine Advertising policy Readers should not assume that any products or services advertised in Canadian Screenwriter are endorsed by the WGC. Cold Open Editorial Policy The WGC neither implicitly nor explicitly endorses opinions or attitudes 08 News expressed in Canadian Screenwriter. 09 The Craft Featuring Penny Gummerson Submissions are subject to editing for length, style and content. 10 Meet CBC’s new development team Advertising Sales Visit www.wgc.ca or contact Lana Castleman at [email protected] Regular features Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length. Not all letters are published. 11 New Members 35 WGC Member News ISSN 1481-6253 Publication Mail 38 Money for Missing Writers Agreement Number 39 Off Script 400-11669 Canadian Screenwriter 5 From the Editor Contributors Kelly Boutsalis is a freelance writer and she’s written about film and television for NOW magazine, Elle Canada, Flare and POV Magazine. Originally from the Six Nations reserve, she now lives in Toronto. ell, it’s been a minute since you Mauricio Calero is a received the last copy of Canadian Toronto-based photographer Screenwriter in the spring of 2020. specializing in portrait, event When the pandemic hit, to say that the world and lifestyle photography. When not taking pictures, he entered a prolonged period of uncertainty is an enjoys spending time with understatement. To help to offset the financial his wife Amber, friends and Well, it’s family. You can find him on unpredictably that the Canadian TV & Film indus- Instagram (@mauriciojcalero). try and our members faced, the Guild moved pretty quickly to put a halt to any non-essential been a expenditures — including this magazine. Over the past 16 months, production has stabi- lized somewhat and the country is now re-open- minute... ing, one restaurant at a time. So, it seemed like A longtime contributor to the right moment to bring Canadian Screenwriter Canadian Screenwriter, back. And just as we’ve all changed during Covid Matthew Hays has also written for The Guardian, okay 16 (some, namely me, developing a stretch-pants- The Globe and Mail, Toronto only policy, for example), so too has the magazine. Star, The New York Times Hopefully you noticed some of the changes as and Vice. He is also the co-editor (with Tom Waugh) soon as you retrieved your copy from the mail- of the Queer Film Classics months box. It’s undergone a stem-to-stern redesign. The book series. focus was on making the magazine a fresh, con- temporary and overall visually engaging reading experience to better showcase WGC members’ stories and achievements. You’ll notice a bigger emphasis on visuals, lots of whitespace and crisp Li Robbins is a freelance type that will hopefully make you want to dive in. writer whose work has And content-wise there have also been some appeared in The Globe and changes, starting with my appointment as editor Mail, Toronto Star, The Walrus, Toronto Life and on CBC.ca, in addition to my role as WGC director of commu- among other publications. Li nications. (Thanks again Tom, for the years you has also worked as an arts dedicated to the role.) The new and expanded and cultural journalist for CBC radio and online. Follow her Cold Open section aims to catch members up on on Twitter (@LiRobbins) and the news they need to know, while also highlight- Instagram (@liwrites). ing the work of screenwriting in Canada and the people who do it. Feature stories, meanwhile, will aim to dive deeper whether they’re series profiles or state-of-the-industry pieces. My hope is that you’ll embrace and adore the new Canadian Screenwriter as much as I’ve Gary Rusak is a freelance writer who lives in Toronto. come to love sweatpants. Seriously, I would love His work has appeared in to hear your thoughts on CSW reborn and, of The Globe and Mail, The course, keep sending me your news and stories National Post, Toronto Sun, Post City magazines, Ryerson — there’s just no magazine without them. University Magazine and Kidscreen magazine, among — Lana Castleman many others. 6 Canadian Screenwriter From the president For those of you who hibernated through Canadian eyeballs away from our traditional broad- the long dark winter of our pandemic and casters without paying a (legislated) penny into our missed it, I assumed the role of President cultural ecosystem. Consider this: In 2014, the major of the WGC this past spring, after Dennis Heaton broadcast groups produced 715.42 hours of scripted stepped down. I served as a Forum Delegate from content under the WGC. By last year, that number Canadian 2012 to 2018, as Councillor since 2018, as Treasurer had declined by a whopping 70% to 214.38 hours. since 2020, and I am now proud to have earned Bill C-10 was supposed to be our saviour. The the trust and confidence of my fellow Councillors to bill would have amended the Broadcasting Act to TV is still become your President. My goal is to offer my expe- ensure that digital media giants pay their fair share. rience as a screenwriter and as a lawyer to guide But after a thrashing at committee on dubious “free our Guild with fair, equitable leadership. speech” grounds, Bill C-10 has now stalled in the under Canadian screenwriters are facing unprece- Senate. And if an election is called in the fall, as dented headwinds. That may sound like redundant is likely, the bill will be scrapped entirely and any hyperbole — after all, when’s the last time you heard efforts to modernize our system will have to start threat. So, the WGC say, “Things are just so frickin’ great!”? But from square one — including the WGC’s years-long, as those of you sitting in your home offices writ- wide-ranging efforts to lobby for these changes. ing pitch after pitch and unproduced script after There is some good news. As the WGC Equity, what else unproduced script can attest, I’m not crying wolf. Diversity and Inclusion Report highlighted, we’ve Opportunities are dwindling. So much so that writ- seen significant gains in diverse representation in ers who can, are heading South, or exiting the pro- writers’ rooms through 2019. We have also reached fession altogether. parity in terms of gender representation among is new? More than six years ago, at the 2015 WGC writers across many genres. These changes were National Forum, we discussed the upcoming tech- long overdue, and I, for one, am enjoying the wave nological transformation of the television industry of fresh stories and balanced perspectives. There is (as we have pretty much every year before and more to be done, to be sure, but even now initiatives after). We all knew that Netflix was coming for us. at the funding level are being introduced to address That was the year then-Prime Minister Stephen gaps at the ownership level. Harper declared he was 100% against a Netflix But what about Bill C-10, you say? What about tax. I was apoplectic. Didn’t he know that Netflix that existential threat to our industry? Well, back at and the like, if left unregulated, would destroy the that forum in 2015, after my mini-meltdown, we broke Canadian television industry? for lunch, and Andrew Wreggitt — the veteran show- I raised my quavering voice among the Delegates, runner and longtime WGC Councillor — talked me Councillors and WGC staff to ask what the hell down. He reminded me that Canadian television has we were doing about this existential threat. The always been under threat. As recently as 1999, we’d answer was: We were doing everything we could been reduced to only a handful of shows.