AFCOOP Updates - July 30, 2026

📅 We sent the newsletter out early to remind you that our Annual General Meeting takes place today at 6:30 PM! Zoom link available for those unable to make it in-person—see down below.

🍿 This Saturday, August 1st is the deadline to apply for our Grants for Filmmakers!

✍️ HOLD YOUR PENS FOLKS! AFCOOP’s Screenwriters Lab will not be taking place this Saturday, and will be pushed to Sat. August 8th!

🪢 Upcoming workshops, opportunities, and community events below!

AFCOOP is pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2026 Linda Joy Media Arts Awards and the Helen Hill Animation Award

Application deadline is 11:59pm, Monday, August 24, 2026

About Linda Joy Awards

The Linda Joy Media Arts Society was founded in 1986 to commemorate the contributions and legacy of Nova Scotia filmmaker and former AFCOOP Coordinator, Linda Joy Busby.

The Linda Joy Award and the Linda Joy Post Award consist of cash and in-kind services designed to help filmmakers in the Atlantic region produce a new piece of film or media art.

Awards are given out through a peer-jury process.

The Helen Hill Animation Award is open to artists working in animation and experimental forms in Nova Scotia. Helen Hill was a gifted filmmaker and film educator who was active in many communities across the continent. Helen lived in Halifax from 1995 to 2001, and was an integral personality in the film, arts and civic outreach communities.

Helen’s particular style of creation was unhampered by convention, and marked by a rarely found honesty and immediacy. In January of 2007, Helen Hill passed away in her home in New Orleans. The Helen Hill Award was created to celebrate this remarkable individual and to support artists working in animation and experimental film.

Learn more about the awards and how to apply by going to https://afcoop.ca/linda-joy-and-helen-hill-awards/

The Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative’s Annual General Meeting will be held tonight, Thursday, July 30th at 6:30 PM. 

Hosted at AFCOOP’s office at 1800 Argyle St, we will be going over the last year of activity at the cooperative, and goals for the upcoming year.

As always, after the meeting, there will be ✨ light refreshments ✨ and a chance to connect with everyone.

Swing by, and bring a friend interested in filmmaking too!

ASL Interpreters will be on-site.

AFCOOP’s building is fully wheelchair accessible, with a side entrance on Carmichael St and elevators.

Location:
AFCOOP Offices
1800 Argyle St, Suite 303

AFCOOP has FIVE grants available for members & non-members; Feedback Loop, Super 8 Bursary, First Thing Grant, Analog Film Grant, and the Independent Filmmakers Grant. Various offers apply for each grant, but include cash prizes, in-kind equipment, mentorship opportunities, and more.

Applications are due August, 1st, 2026.

AFCOOP will only have one intake period this year. We will not be accepting applications in December.

Read more about each grant and how to apply by going to afcoop.ca.

ROMEO AND JULIET
Baz Luhrmann | USA | 1996 | 120 min

ROSE OF NEVADA
Mark Jenkin | UK | 2026 | 114m

THE CHRISTOPHERS
Steven Soderbergh | 2026 | 100 mins

DAISES (4K RESTORATION)
Věra Chytilová | Czech | 1966 | 76m

AIFF Early Bird Passes Now Available

The Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) announces its Opening Night Gala film for the 2026 festival, running September 16–23 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, alongside the launch of its Early Bird ticket packages.

AIFF is proud to present the World Premiere of 111 Echoes From Halifax, directed by Mauro Mueller and produced by Nova Scotia-based producer Ann Bernier. The film will open the festival as this year’s Opening Night Gala presentation and will be featured as part of the World Cinema program. The Switzerland-Canada co-production project brings together award-winning AIFF alumni.

Early Bird festival passes and ticket packages (available in sets of 4, 6, or 12) are now available for purchase for a limited time. This year, Early Bird pricing will apply to festival passes, ticket packages, and select offerings across the 2026 program.

All single tickets for screenings and special events, along with regular-priced passes and packages, will go on sale on August 14 at 11 AM through the AIFF Online Box Office at atlanticfilmfestival.ca.

The full 2026 program of films and events will be announced on August 12, with the complete schedule available online. Follow AIFF on social media for ongoing updates.

Wonder’neath Workshop:
Slow Photography Synthesis with natalie goulet

In an age of seemingly endless consumption – of resources, and of images – what can we learn from slow, tactile, and ecologically-minded approaches to photography?

Wonder’neath is pleased to present Slow Photography Synthesis with visual artist natalie goulet!

In this full day workshop, participants will obtain practical experience with cameraless processes, learn to make their own eco-friendly developer for film and paper negatives, and engage in critical discussion of ecological and ethical implications in photography. We will discuss the physical and chemical components and impacts of photography, how to integrate sustainable approaches, and how these ways of thinking and working can be echoed across disciplines.

What you’ll learn: This workshop covers how to make vibrant, colourful images with traditional black and white photo paper through Lumen printing (photogenic drawing) and Phytography, which activates the internal chemistry of plants and common household ingredients to selectively develop areas of silver gelatin paper and film.

Who is this for?: No science or photography background needed. This workshop is for anyone curious to learn alternative forms of image-making, informed by an intersectional ecofeminist research perspective.

All materials will be provided.

Capacity: 12 participants, min 7 to run

Format: Day-long session, July 12th, 2026 10-5pm

Location: 2482 Maynard Street. Fully accessible!

Ticket $165, proceeds supporting CARFAC fee, workshop materials and Wonder’neath’s ongoing, free community programming.

Conference For Art Games: a celebration of the weird and wonderful possibility at the intersection of art and games!

C4 builds off CFAT’s mission to put marginalized artists into the centre of discourses and practices of media art and as such, encourages artists and game makers from backgrounds not typically represented in mainstream games culture. We hope to support submissions which might not be valued in more traditional game conferences or art exhibitions.

We encourage those interested in submitting to any combination of the conference, exhibition and zine library.

Though our programming will prioritize opportunities for artists and gamemakers with connections to Atlantic Canada we welcome submissions from those based anywhere in the world. Though we can't support travel to the conference all accepted applicants will receive a ticket to the event.

We are hiring a Festival Coordinator for an 8-week contract for the Conference for Art Games (C4AG). This role works closely with the Lead Festival Coordinator and the Programming Coordinator to ensure the smooth running of the C4AG Festival. Prior experience with artist-run centres is an asset.

Application deadline: Aug 10, 2026

Learn more about the conference and how to apply here.

Screen Nova Scotia's Amplified Voices Pre-Development Program is now open for applications! The deadline to apply is August 14, 2026.

This program is designed to provide emerging producers and screenwriters from underrepresented communities in Nova Scotia with the skills they need to fast-track their knowledge and enhance the competitiveness of their project through tailored training. This includes a three-day retreat, participation at the Nova Scotia Content Market, and online workshops.

There is no fee to apply and participation in the program is free of charge.

Applications are now open for 2026. The deadline to apply is August 14th.

In-person workshops will be presented at a two-day weekend retreat, and at the Nova Scotia Content Market. Following the in-person training, additional workshops and consultations will be held virtually on Zoom. Travel stipends are available for participants travelling from outside HRM, and accessibility accommodations are available as needed, provided requests are provided in advance. Hotel accommodation and meals at White Point Beach Resort will be provided.

Participants must commit to participating in all required training. Absence from the retreat, Content Market, or Zoom workshops will result in disqualification from the program.