GEMS Vancouver Announces 2026 Genre Film Lab Teams
GEMS (Gender Equity in Media Society) has announced the five feature film projects from female and gender-diverse filmmakers from across Canada that will participate in this year's The Genre Film Lab 2026.
The accelerator program takes projects that are at an advanced stage of development and offer further support to help get them over the line and into production. The program starts in Vancouver at the end of the month. The five projects will also present in a dedicated pitch session during Frontieres at Fantasia in July.
The sessions will include group development & pitch masterclasses, a Film Sales & Distribution seminar, strategy sessions with genre industry experts focusing on financing and packaging, one-on-one pitch development sessions, individualized consultancies, and a practice pitch session with a group of genre industry professionals.
The program has been led by Vanessa Meyer for the past five years. They are an alumna of the Frontieres program during Fantasia and friend to the many filmmakers and industry folk who passed through the coproduction market during their time there.
Another alumna from the festival side is filmmaker and producer, Jenn Wexler (The Sacrifice Game, The Ranger). They will be travelling to Vancouver this year to be an instructor and mentor for the five teams.
The five projects are listed in the announcement below. There are no loglines at this time.
GEMS VANCOUVER ANNOUNCES 2026 GENRE FILM LAB TEAMSGender Equity in Media Society (GEMS) is pleased to announce the five feature film teams selected for The Genre Film Lab 2026. The Genre Film Lab (formerly known as From Our Dark Side) is an accelerator program designed to support the development of Canadian genre film creators whose projects are at an advanced stage of development. Genre projects include, but are not limited to: thrillers, western, science fiction, fantasy and horror – or any imaginative combination of these. The teams include writers, directors and producers selected based on the submission of their original narrative feature film concepts.We are proud to announce that the five films this year include projects from British Columbia, Quebec, and Ontario. The projects are: LOUP-GAROU (Nathalie Therriault, Nneka Croal of Latchkey Pictures Inc.), SEVERED (Lauren Marsden), STACY’S MOM (Marushka Jessica Almeida, Rabiya Mansoor, Nisha Khan of Cult Following Pictures), TO THE NORTH (Jean Parsons), and WIFEY (Cassidy Civiero, Mariel Sharp of True Sweetheart Films).This year’s projects were evaluated and selected by a jury of filmmakers and genre industry experts including: Austin-based acquisitions manager, programmer, professor, and producer Logan Taylor, Canadian Screen Award nominated director, writer and actor Mary Galloway (The Cowichan Sweater: Our Knitted Legacy), from the Cowichan nation, and Elizabeth Purchell, a Brooklyn-based queer film historian, programmer, and filmmaker. Leading the 2026 Genre Film Lab for the fifth year, is filmmaker, writer, and former Programming Director for Frontières International Co-Production Market, Vanessa Meyer.“I am so proud to enter my fifth year with GEMS’ Genre Film Lab. Since taking over from the veteran Frontières Executive Director Lindsay Peters, who initially started this incubator program in 2021, I am thrilled to have been able to watch it grow and to have helped to turn it into such a strong pipeline to market for female and gender-diverse filmmakers from across Canada," says Program Director Vanessa Meyer. "If I have learned anything, it is that there is so much quality filmmaking and there are so many brilliant storytelling voices out there in the Canadian landscape. With submissions growing and increasingly excellent projects coming to us every year, I’m so happy to see us creating space for new and exciting voices in the genre space.”The Genre Film Lab program starts at the end of April 2026, with two masterclasses focused on pitching and story development. This year the lab is proud to welcome the award-winning genre director, writer, and producer Jenn Wexler as a distinguished instructor and mentor (dir. The Sacrifice Game, dir. The Ranger, prod. Like Me, prod. Most Beautiful Island). The lab will culminate with a dedicated pitch session at the Frontières International Co-Production Market (July 22-25, 2026). The sessions will include group development & pitch masterclasses, a Film Sales & Distribution seminar, strategy sessions with genre industry experts focusing on financing and packaging, one-on-one pitch development sessions, individualized consultancies, and a practice pitch session with a group of genre industry professionals.More on the film projects and teams below:Top 5 Finalists:PROJECT TITLE (Original & English language): WIFEYDIRECTOR: Cassidy CivieroWRITER: Cassidy CivieroPRODUCER, with associated PRODUCTION COMPANY: Mariel Sharp of True Sweetheart FilmsPRODUCTION PROVINCE or TERRITORIES: OntarioPROJECT TITLE (Original & English language): SEVEREDDIRECTOR: Lauren MarsdenWRITER: Lauren MarsdenPRODUCER(S), with associated PRODUCTION COMPANY(IES): TBDPRODUCTION PROVINCE or TERRITORIES: British ColumbiaPROJECT TITLE (Original & English language): LOUP-GAROUDIRECTOR: Nathalie TherriaultWRITER: Nathalie TherriaultPRODUCER, with associated PRODUCTION COMPANY: Nneka Croal of Latchkey Pictures Inc.PRODUCTION PROVINCE or TERRITORIES: British Columbia, QuebecPROJECT TITLE (Original & English language): TO THE NORTHDIRECTOR: Jean ParsonsWRITER: Jean ParsonsPRODUCER, with associated PRODUCTION COMPANY(IES): TBCPRODUCTION PROVINCE or TERRITORIES: British ColumbiaPROJECT TITLE (Original & English language): STACY'S MOMDIRECTOR: Marushka Jessica AlmeidaWRITER: Marushka Jessica AlmeidaPRODUCER(S), with associated PRODUCTION COMPANY(IES): Rabiya Mansoor, Nisha Khan, Marushka Jessica Almeida (Cult Following Pictures)PRODUCTION PROVINCE or TERRITORIES: OntarioThe Genre Film Lab 2026 is proudly supported by Telefilm Canada and Creative BC in partnership with Frontières Market.
Do you feel this content is inappropriate or infringes upon your rights? Click here to report it, or see our DMCA policy.
