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A New Chapter in Visual Storytelling

Eligible creators can apply for a chance to receive $20,000 to get their film to the screen.

TELUS STORYHIVE 23 Jan 2023TheTyee.ca

Ten years ago, TELUS STORYHIVE launched its first program for aspiring storytellers that helped to give new and emerging content creators their first break into the film and television industry. The programs provide residents of British Columbia and Alberta production funding grants along with training, mentorship through a partnership with the National Screen Institute, and distribution support.

This year, TELUS is celebrating a decade of local storytelling with the biggest edition of STORYHIVE yet — the Anniversary Documentary Edition. Eighty short documentaries will be funded with $20,000 in production funding, training, mentorship and distribution on TELUS Optik TV and Stream+. No experience is required!

“STORYHIVE is devoted to local storytelling and representing the people that make up the communities we live in,” says Lower Mainland territory manager Georgina Chaplin. “These narratives are important as it is a way for people to share their stories, be heard, and allow for everyone to feel a sense of belonging and connection.”

New and emerging filmmakers can join the STORYHIVE community and pitch any short documentary idea they’re passionate about. If you're thinking of making a submission, consider these themes as you fine-tune your pitch:

Pitch your documentary to STORYHIVE by Feb. 28.

In STORYHIVE’s decade-long tenure, production funding has been provided to new and emerging content creators through programs such as the Female Directors Edition, the Black Creators Edition and the Indigenous Storytellers Editions — to name a few.

Filmmaker Adhel Arop, who first applied to the 2019 STORYHIVE Documentary Edition, is one of those creators.

“I grew up in front of a TV, I grew up watching anime and Korean dramas,” Arop says. “I was really into that world of storytelling.”

STORYHIVE gave her the production funds and the tools to kick off her debut short documentary Who Am I, a deeply personal exploration of her own family history, after finding out her mother was a child soldier in South Sudan.

Since the film joined the festival circuit, Arop’s documentary has won several awards — and getting in with STORYHIVE was just the beginning. The film now has a sequel in production.

“Making things visually is the easiest way for me to get my point across,” says Arop. “I can just show people what’s in my mind.”

This year, 80 filmmakers and their stories will be next.

New and emerging content creators from all backgrounds in British Columbia and Alberta are encouraged to apply to the 2023 Anniversary Documentary Edition before midnight on Feb. 28, 2023 via the STORYHIVE website.  [Tyee]

Read more: Film

This article is part of a Tyee Presents initiative. Tyee Presents is the special sponsored content section within The Tyee where we highlight contests, events and other initiatives that are either put on by us or by our select partners. The Tyee does not and cannot vouch for or endorse products advertised on The Tyee. We choose our partners carefully and consciously, to fit with The Tyee’s reputation as B.C.’s Home for News, Culture and Solutions. Learn more about Tyee Presents here.

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