RBC and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
award 11 grants to emerging Canadian artists
TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, RBC and the Academy
of Canadian Cinema & Television announced 11 grant recipients
for the third round of the MVP Project – the highest number of
grants awarded in a single round to date. The program, which is a
joint initiative between RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize, provides
support to emerging Canadian musicians and filmmakers for music
video creation and production.
In addition to receiving funding through the MVP Project grants,
artists have access to mentorship and networking opportunities with
working professionals in the industry. In its inaugural year, the
MVP Project hosted numerous events, including a kick-off party, a
networking breakfast at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, several workshops and meet-and-greets
at the BreakOut West conference in Whitehorse, as well as an MVP Project
networking and learning event for unsuccessful candidates to
provide guidance around developing music video treatments.
"With the MVP Project now in its second year, we've had the
opportunity to see awarded music video treatments from the program
come to life, and it's incredibly inspiring and exciting to
witness," said Matt McGlynn,
Vice-President, Brand Marketing, RBC. "We look forward to
continuing to work with our partners at The Canadian Academy and
can't wait to see how these new creative ideas take form."
Since the program's inception in 2018, the MVP Project has
received nearly 1,000 music video treatment submissions, from
artists across Canada. To date,
the MVP Project has awarded 28 grants to emerging artists aiding in
the creation of 12 music videos, with more to launch later this
year.
"Receiving an MVP Project grant opened up an opportunity for us
to create something that we had only dreamed of previously," said
MVP Project Round 1 recipient and Vancouver recording artist Jordan Klassen. "One of the difficult things
about engaging with a huge creative vision is budget constraints,
and MVP Project allowed us the rare opportunity to make the exact
video we had envisioned. This program is elevating Canadian artists
like me to be able to collaborate with talented filmmakers who
otherwise might not have the money to realize the potential of
their project."
Klassen's music video Virtuous Circle, directed by
Farhad Ghaderi and produced by
Shelby Manton, recently received
international recognition when it was nominated for the 2019 Best
Alternative Video – International category at the UK Music Video
Awards.
"There have been many creative and compelling applications from
across the nation submitted in each round," said Louis Calabro, Vice President, Programming at
the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. "It's clear that
there is boundless creativity and talent in the Canadian music
video community and we are thrilled to help the 11 exceptional
teams from the latest round realize their visions."
The recipients for Round 3 represent a diverse collection of
musical genres and filmmaking styles, and were selected by a jury
of industry professionals. Recipients include:
- Recording artist Bad Child (Kitchener), Director Clara Milo (Montreal), and Producers Lou Bélanger
(Montreal) and Rafael Perez (Quebec)
- Recording artist Begonia (Winnipeg), Director Emma Higgins (Vancouver), and Producer Sebastien Galina (Vancouver)
- Recording artist Moël, Director Steven
Cristobal, and Producer Kid. Studio (Toronto)
- Recording artist Nate Husser,
Directors Gabrielle Laïla Tittley / Alexandre Pelletier, and Producer, Guillaume Arsenault (Montreal)
- Recording artist Naya Ali
(Montreal), Director Vincent
Ruel-Côté (Montreal) and Producers
Lou Bélanger (Montreal) and
Rafael Perez (Quebec)
- Recording artist nêhiyawak (Edmonton), Director Casey Koyczan (Winnipeg) and Producer Rob Bakker (Winnipeg)
- Recording artist Prado, Director and Producer Lester Lyons-Hookham (Vancouver)
- Recording artist Prince Josh, Director Adam Beck, and Producer Julian Nieva (Toronto)
- Recording artist Raahiem, Director Vishan Butt, and Producer Meika Wagner (Toronto)
- Recording artist Rich Aucoin,
Director Jason Levangie, and
Producer Marc Tetreault
(Halifax)
- Recording artist TOBi, Director Kit
Weyman, and Producer Carina
Mak (Toronto)
"I'm unbelievably thrilled to receive funding from the MVP
Project. For a year now, I've been trying to find a way to turn my
vision into a reality," said Toronto DJ and MVP Project Round 3
recipient Prince Josh. "To be able to showcase a part of my culture
that generally gets underrepresented in the media is truly a
blessing."
The MVP Project is part of the RBC Emerging Artists Project,
which helps Canadian artists bridge the gap from emerging to
established, and supports organizations that provide the best
opportunities to advance artists' careers. Since 2015, over 11,000
artists have been supported through these programs.
The next round of submissions will open on May 15, 2020. For more information, visit
www.mvpproject.ca.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global
financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led
approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from
the 85,000+ employees who bring our vision, values and strategy to
life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As
Canada's biggest bank, and one of
the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a
diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing
exceptional experiences to 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 34 other countries. Learn
more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives
through donations, community investments and employee volunteer
activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.
About the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is the largest
non-profit professional arts organization in Canada. We are dedicated to recognizing,
advocating for and celebrating Canadian talent in the film,
television and digital media sectors. Our more than 4,500 members
encompass industry icons and professionals, emerging artists and
students. Collectively, we deliver professional development
programs and networking opportunities that foster industry growth,
inclusion and mentorship.
For information on membership and programming, visit
www.academy.ca.
SOURCE RBC