- AFCOOP Newsletter
- Posts
- AFCOOP Updates - May 8th, 2025
AFCOOP Updates - May 8th, 2025
Animation Festival of Halifax starts today!
Thank you to everyone that made it to the Spring GM! Welcome to our new membership. All the FILM 5 teams have shot their films and are heading into post-production. Congratulations to all the teams! Animation Festival of Halifax starts up today! |  |
WHAT’S SCREENING THIS WEEK?
ANIMATION FESTIVAL OF HALIFAX |  Elli and her Monster Team When a homeless little ghost knocks on the door to the eccentric residents of a Ghost Train on the lookout for a place to belong, she accidentally attracts the attention from the outside world and must team up with the motley crew of monsters on a crazy quest to save not only the future of the Ghost Train but also her only chance to finally have a family of her own.  Mother’s Day Clay Party Join Ukrainian artist Rodion Shub (Ridni Animation Studio) for a drop in, stop motion workshop using clay. No experience needed. Open to all ages. All materials provided. Workshop hours 1:30 PM - 4:00 PM  Memoir of a Snail Forcibly separated from her twin brother when they are orphaned, a melancholic misfit learns how to find confidence within herself amid the clutter of misfortunes and everyday life. Don’t miss this Oscar-nominated, multiple award-winning stop motion feature film from animation auteur Adam Elliot!  Rescored by Nomadika Eight-piece world ensemble NOMADIKA perform new original music to some of the oldest surviving animations. This is a partnership event with the Animation Festival of Halifax and NOVAFest, a musical celebration of local emerging artists held at venues across Halifax and Dartmouth from April 16 to May 23, 2025. |
HALIFAX INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
The Halifax Independent Filmmakers Festival is back for its 19th annual edition from May 28–31, 2025, at the Bus Stop Theatre! They’ve got four days of incredible film screenings, Q&As and artist talks with visiting filmmakers, and nightly soirees once the screenings are over at the Bus Stop Theatre bar. You can check out the full lineup at hiff.ca, which includes heavy hitters like THERE, THERE from our own Heather Young, acclaimed baseball comedy EEPHUS from Carson Lund, sensitive slowburn drama BLUE SUN PALACE from Constance Tsang, and to close the festival, the 4.5-hour megafilm CASTRATION MOVIE, with director Louise Weard in attendance.  BLUE SUN PALACE dir. Constance Tsang, playing May 28th. |  THERE, THERE dir. Heather Young is the opening night film, playing May 28th. Best of all, AFCOOP members get a special discount on all pass and ticket purchases! Use the discount code AFCOOPDISCOUNT2025 for $10 off passes (MAKING THEM $35!) or $2 off our already low, low ticket prices. Finally, would you like to volunteer with HIFF? They need your help! Lend a hand to your friendly annual celebration of arthouse cinema -- reach out to [email protected] to get involved. See you at the movies! |
 | Wonder'neath's Forever Home Art & Experience Auction is now live! Forever Home celebrates the vital role of arts in our communities and is our most important fundraiser to support Wonder'neath's Open Studio, an accessible and inclusive community art program that inspires a world of creative possibilities, connections, and hope! Check out the amazing items here: |
The Disability Screen Office wants to hear from everyone in the Canadian film and television industry! Take ten minutes to fill out this survey that can change the industry for years to come. |  |
UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES & SUBMISSIONS
 Digital Arts Resource Centre (DARC) Indigenous ResidencyDARC is proud to once again partner with the Hnatyshyn Foundation to present the DARC Indigenous Residency. New this year, the DARC Indigenous Residency will be open to Indigenous artists from across Canada! This one-month intensive on-site artist residency is offered to mid-career Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) artists who are seeking to develop their current practice, experiment with a new medium, or continue an existing project. | Artists in residence are provided with access to DARC’s facilities, including the DARC Microcinema, Soundstage, Digital Edit Suite, and Recording Studio. Artists also have access to an array of audio-visual equipment and up to 16 hours of advisor time for the duration of their residency. Additionally, artists in residence are provided with an artist fee for their work as well as for an artist talk or presentation following the residency period and free access to cultural events and workshops with DARC and partnering organizations. Out-of-town artists will receive subsidies for both housing and travel expenditures. Learn more about the residency by going to DARC’s website. Deadline to apply is June 30th, 2025. |
Screen NS Diversity Mentorship Program: Call for Applications
To accelerate the development of our young, diverse talent in the province, Screen Nova Scotia is offering paid internship opportunities, each lasting four weeks. Selected participants will be placed on a professional film/television set in a crew trainee position and paired with a designated mentor for the four-week period to gain hands-on experience in the department of their choice.  2024 participant Suzy Turner (Scenic Paint/Art Department mentee on feature film Place of Ghosts) |  2024 participant Eunice Abaga (Assistant Director mentee on This Hour Has 22 Minutes) The deadline to apply is May 19th. Please visit our website HERE for important details on eligibility criteria and application requirements. If you have any questions after visiting the website, please contact Danya Knowles, Industry Services Coordinator: [email protected] / (902) 229-1499.  |
The Parrsboro Film Festival [PFF] is inviting Atlantic Canadian filmmakers to submit films for the 15th Annual Parrsboro Film Festival short film competition.
There are two categories of films to choose from:
Films must have been completed within the past 24 months. All genres of film will be accepted.
| The short film competition will take place Saturday morning, October 4th, between 9am and 1pm. The audience will vote for their favourite film at the end of each category. Cash awards for The Audience Favourite in each of these two categories will be presented Saturday at the end of this portion of the Film Festival. Submission deadline is Monday, August, 4th, 2025. Applicants will be advised by Monday, September, 8th, 2025 if their submissions were selected or not. Short films will be jury selected. |
SENDING FILM FOR PROCESSING?
AFCOOP mails a package to our partner lab on the first Tuesday of every month!
You can drop the film off anytime to our technical coordinator, Cody at anytime! The next mail day is June 3rd!
For more information on getting your film processed, email Cody: [email protected]
AFCOOP’s Filmmakers Job Board is a place to connect with filmmakers and film crews looking for work, or volunteers looking to gain experience in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada.
Submitting to the AFCOOP Job Board is totally free! All posts are subject to approval by AFCOOP staff and will be reviewed before they appear on the site.
Note: You don't have to create an account to post a job. If you wish, simply enter your email to sign up at the time of job submission.
See it all HERE!
ABOUT AFCOOP: Established in 1974 the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative (AFCOOP) is a non-profit, community organization dedicated to supporting the production and presentation of independent film and moving-image-based work in a collaborative, learning environment.
AFCOOP acknowledges that we are located and operate in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet), and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaw and Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations. We are all treaty people.