Hannam & Paon's film, Wildhood to compete in TIFF 2018

Toronto, Aug 8 (Canadian-Media): Actor-producer Gharrett Patrick Paon and Bretten Hannam, writer and director of short film, Wildfire, have been invited to compete in TIFF’s annual Telefilm Canada’s PITCH THIS! event for their feature film script, Wildhood, based on Wildfire,  media reports said.
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Wildfire, the two-spirit Indigenous identity drama, was one of five scripts in Canada selected for Whistler Film Festival’s 2017 Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship. 

Hannam and Paon team will be presenting first-look footage from Wildfire in their pitch to help them win $15,000 in development support for Wildhood, which would be an interprovincial co-production. ​

      Gharrett Patrick Paon/Twitter                        Bretten Hannam/Facebook

Wildfire/Courtesy of Gharrett Patrick Paon

Wildhood, is to be filmed  in the summer of 2019, was developed through the Canadian Film Centre’s Producer’s Lab (2017), Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotia’s Community Culture & Heritage – Screenwriting Development Fund with Damon D’Oliveira as its Executive Producer.

Wildfire has been pre-licensed by CBC’s Canadian Reflections and will premiere on their digital platforms and broadcast channel in the summer of 2019.  

Cinematography on Wildfire by Catherine Lutes, was produced in association with CBC.

“Wildfire andWildhood are stories that have been evolving since I was a kid. When I finally shared them, I was overwhelmed by the positive response. Having people who support the story means everything—from working on the script, to recently shooting the short version, to being accepted into Pitch This! It makes me excited to share our project with as many people as possible,” said Hannam. 
 
Paon added, “I’m so grateful that TIFF has awarded us the opportunity to pitch Wildhood at PITCH THIS! Having recently completed production on Wildfire, I was reminded how rare and, for lack of a better word, important these films will be in representing a two-spirit and Mi’kmaw perspective on screen. The community’s genuine excitement and support to see their culture on screen has amplified my passion to tell this story.” 

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)