Winner of 2024 TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award announced

TORONTO
- TIFF is delighted to announce Ariel Nasr as the recipient of this year's TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award for his screenplay Daudistan. As part of the award, he will receive a prize of $15,000 along with support from a script consultant and access to the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and TIFF Industry Conference. Nasr will be celebrated in person this evening at the TIFF-CBC Films: Celebrating Screenwriters Cocktail event at TIFF Lightbox, along with the previously announced 2024 Writers' Studio cohort.

Now in its seventh consecutive year, the TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award was created to support Canada's diverse screenwriting talent and to fund the development of high-quality productions that reflect, represent, and reframe a range of perspectives through character-driven stories at the core of the Canadian experience. The award is open to screenwriters who are women and/or who belong to an equity-deserving community, and/or who identify as having a disability.

"Today, we're thrilled to announce the recipient of the TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award, a significant milestone in our commitment to supporting Canadian talent," said Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. "Our partnership with CBC Films exemplifies our dedication to championing original storytellers and providing them with the resources and recognition they deserve. Together, we're paving the way for new narratives to shine on the global stage, and I can't wait to see the stellar projects that will emerge from this collaboration."

For Daudistan's rich narrative, which thoughtfully examines how hope can be both essential and dangerous, the jury awards this year's TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter award to Ariel Nasr.

"Receiving the TIFF-CBC Films Screenwriter Award for Daudistan is a tremendous privilege," said Nasr. "I'm deeply honoured to be recognized among Canada's screenwriting talent and to receive support for the final stage of development of this profoundly personal story. The award's invaluable funding and mentorship will help me bring the story of Daud and Omar to the screen at a time when it could not be more relevant. I'm grateful for the commitment of TIFF and CBC Films to fostering diverse perspectives and narratives that reflect the richness of the Canadian experience."

Ariel Nasr is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and producer whose films include The Forbidden Reel (2019), The Boxing Girls of Kabul (2011), Buzkashi Boys (2012), Good Morning Kandahar (2009), and La Mosquée (2018), among others. He has won a Canadian Screen Award, been nominated for an Oscar, and currently serves as documentary producer at the National Film Board of Canada. A citizen of Canada, Afghanistan, and the USA, Nasr lives in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. Daudistan is his first narrative screenplay.

"Our ongoing collaboration with TIFF on the Screenwriter Award offers writers in Canada a meaningful opportunity to further develop their projects and connections within the Canadian screen industry," said Gosia Kamela, Head of CBC Films. "This year we're thrilled to present the prize to Ariel for his outstanding fiction debut, Daudistan, which skillfully demonstrates how the specific can be universal."

This year's winner was chosen by a jury of screen-industry professionals: Gosia Kamela, Head of CBC Films; Amanda Rowe, Manager, Content Planning & Editorial Merchandising, CBC Gem; Barbara Mamabolo, Executive in Charge of Current Production, Drama, CBC; Jennifer Holness, award-winning writer and producer; Joanna Miles, Marketing Consultant; Mekhala Chaubal, Legal Counsel at CBC/Radio-Canada; Jane Kim, TIFF Industry Programming Producer; and Bronwen Eadie, Project Manager, Industry Programming.

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