Submissions are open: RBC $15,000 Emerging Filmmaker Pitch at GIFF 2025

Overview:

• Applications open: Monday, May 20, 2025

• Application deadline: Sunday, June 16, 2025

• Live pitch event: Saturday, July 26, 2025, during the Gimli International Film Festival

The RBC Emerging Filmmaker Pitch Competition returns to the Gimli International Film Festival (GIFF) with a $15,000 production grant and expanded industry support for early-career Manitoba filmmakers.

Now in its 14th year, the competition provides funding, mentorship and in-kind resources to help selected filmmakers produce their first short film.

Applicants will pitch their short film concepts live on Saturday, July 26 to a jury and public audience at GIFF 2025. The winner will receive production and promotional support from across Manitoba’s media production industry, with the completed film premiering at GIFF in summer 2026.

Who Can Apply

Applicants must:

• Be early-career filmmakers based in Manitoba

• Have fewer than three years of filmmaking experience

• Have completed at least one film or video screened publicly (festival, broadcast, etc.)

• Have some formal or informal production training (e.g. workshops, college/university, hands-on experience)

Prize Package

• $15,000 production grant from RBC

• $5,000 equipment rental grant from Sunbelt Rentals

• $3,000 in-kind support from Talon Production Services

• $2,000 studio rental from Winnipeg Film Group

• Mentorship from the National Screen Institute

• One-year Industry Professional Membership and All Access 365 pass from On Screen Manitoba

• Premiere screening at the 2026 Gimli International Film Festival

For full details, eligibility and application form, visit this link.

Past Participant Spotlight: Coby Friesen

“Winning this competition has been a rewarding experience. It opened amazing resources and collaborations that are helping me fulfill the complete vision of my film.”

-Coby Friesen, 2024 RBC Pitch Competition winner

Friesen returns to GIFF this summer to premiere Cruising in Gomorrah, the project he pitched in last year’s competition.