Details
Union:
Union or Non union
Area of media:
Short Film
Network:
Paid?:
No
Rates:
Unpaid as per ACTRA/CFC agreement for 8+1 shoot day and up to 4 hours of rehearsal. Overtime paid at 35% of the ACTRA IPA, if incurred.
Deadline:
Oct 9, 2026
Callbacks:
N/A
Shooting starts:
Nov 9, 2026 1 day shoot + 4 hour rehearsal (on Nov 6th)
Shooting finishes:
Nov 9, 2026 1 day shoot + 4 hour rehearsal
Shooting locations:
GTA
Cities for response:
Toronto
Comments
These one-day shoots are called “VOICE” and they are professionally produced 5 minute productions designed to showcase the writer’s voice and one of their feature length projects in development. VOICE productions are a carefully crafted moment or scene that connects an audience to what’s at the heart of the writer’s feature. These pieces will be screened at an Industry Showcase event for The Norman Jewison Film Program and will eventually be available online through the CFC’s YouTube channel for further viewing.
Alice Wang is a queer Chinese-Canadian filmmaker whose work often touches on themes of loss, acceptance, and belonging with nuanced perspectives on family dynamics and self-actualization. Their short films have played at festivals such as Iris Prize, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Image+nation Montreal and more. Most recently, Alice produced the 2024 ACTRA Queer Your Stories short film which premiered at Inside Out Film Festival, a psychological thriller short that played at TIFF Next Wave and Fantasia Film Festival, and is currently producing a TELUS originals feature documentary.
As an organizer and arts worker, Alice has worked as the Manager of Programming at Regent Park Film Festival and co-founded Videatur Collective which helped support first time QTBIPOC filmmakers in creating their short films. As a creative, Alice is currently a resident in the CFC Writers’ Lab working on their first narrative feature, which participated in the 2026 Inside Out Finance Forum. Alice is also the Creator/Writer/Director of the IPF funded RENT A PLUS-ONE, a digital series reimagined as a vertical series, launching on iQiyi in fall 2026.
Alice Wang is a queer Chinese-Canadian filmmaker whose work often touches on themes of loss, acceptance, and belonging with nuanced perspectives on family dynamics and self-actualization. Their short films have played at festivals such as Iris Prize, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Image+nation Montreal and more. Most recently, Alice produced the 2024 ACTRA Queer Your Stories short film which premiered at Inside Out Film Festival, a psychological thriller short that played at TIFF Next Wave and Fantasia Film Festival, and is currently producing a TELUS originals feature documentary.
As an organizer and arts worker, Alice has worked as the Manager of Programming at Regent Park Film Festival and co-founded Videatur Collective which helped support first time QTBIPOC filmmakers in creating their short films. As a creative, Alice is currently a resident in the CFC Writers’ Lab working on their first narrative feature, which participated in the 2026 Inside Out Finance Forum. Alice is also the Creator/Writer/Director of the IPF funded RENT A PLUS-ONE, a digital series reimagined as a vertical series, launching on iQiyi in fall 2026.
Storyline
After years of estrangement, Lou crashes her cousin Sarah’s lesbian wedding, hoping to understand why the family she believes to have rejected her for being queer as a teen has now accepted Sarah. Her unexpected return creates an awkward reunion. While Lou attempts to reconnect, her family scrambles to prevent her from discovering that her estranged father is dying of cancer. A secret they’ve kept for months. As the wedding preparations continue, a phone call from Lou’s mother threatens to derail the celebration.
Roles
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | LOU | Non-binary 21 - 39 Years old |
Description AFAB non-binary/genderqueer/gender diverse, 20s-30s, East Asian. Chinese heritage, ability to understand Mandarin is a plus. A former rebellious teenager, Lou was sent to a strict boarding school after punching a boy at an alcohol-fuelled party which caused a scandal during her father’s federal re-election campaign. She has been estranged from her father and his side of the family ever since. For Lou, part of the estrangement always felt like a rejection of her queer identity. Emotionally guarded, sharp, and self-reliant, Lou knows how to put on a smile and play nice when needed. When she learns that her cousin Sarah is marrying a woman with the family’ssupport, she’s not expecting her father - a former conservative cabinet minister to be there. And that’s why she decides to crash. To understand why Sarah has been granted the acceptance that Lou believes she was denied. And Lou arrives hoping to prove that she’s a different person now, someone that has rebuilt her life through her accomplishments in academia. Deep down, Lou hopes that there might finally be a place for her in the family again. Performers from the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged to submit. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | ELAINE | Female 40 - 65 Years old |
Description Female, 40-60s, Chinese. Proficiency in Mandarin required. Sarah’s mother. The founder of Kwan & Lewis LLP and older sister of Vincent, Lou and Jenn’s father. While demanding and calculating at work, she is known to be generous as a mentor and philanthropist. She has spent years helping manage her brother’s political career, learning to anticipate crises and contain it before they become out of control. Her instinct is to manage a situation before it manages her. Intimidating and imposing without ever needing to raise her voice, Elaine can be gentle and cruel at the same time. Elaine believes she is protecting the people she loves from truths they might not be ready to face. For her, control and protective lies are an act of care and love. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | SARAH | Female 20 - 29 Years old |
Description Female, 20s, East Asian, Chinese or mixed-Chinese heritage. Raised by a single mother, Sarah had a close bond with her uncle Vincent and saw him as a father figure. This is why after learning about his terminal diagnosis, she moved her wedding up in the hopes that he could be there. As a kid, Sarah idolized her older cousin Lou but was too young to understand or be told about what happened with Lou. She secretly hopes that Lou will come to her wedding, not only so that they can reconnect, but because she believes her uncle Vincent wants to reconcile with Lou before it’s too late. Warm, sensitive, and often puts other people’s needs before her own, Sarah is the closest thing the family has to neutral ground. Performers from the LGBTQ+ community are encouraged to submit. | ||
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | JENN | Female 21 - 39 Years old |
Description Female, 20s-30s, East Asian. Chinese heritage, ability to understand Mandarin is a plus. Lou’s younger sister and often takes on the role as the family mediator, she continued to keep in touch with her sister even after the estrangement. Composed and pragmatic, Jenn has learned to conceal her own feelings behind a polished exterior. Per her father’s wishes, she kept his cancer diagnosis a secret from Lou even though she doesn’t necessarily believe it’s the right thing to do. Her silence has made her complicit and it’s something she grapples with every day. Currently following in her father’s footsteps and running for political office, Jenn feels burdened not just by the weight of family secrets but also in carrying on the family legacy. | ||