“It was an incredibly beneficial experience for Teri and I, and we feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in it,” said Stephen Huszar, Hulo Films producer. “The workshop was first class in terms of its presenters, content and overall organization. I truly feel that our experience was exactly what we needed at this stage in our careers to elevate us to the next level.“

Selected for their feature film Chilly: A Home-Made Hero, the producer / writer duo travelled to Toronto for the WIFT-T Development Incubator, designed to develop market-driven feature films and support the next generation of Canadian feature film professionals. Five emerging/intermediate producer-writer teams from across the country were awarded the opportunity to work with internationally renowned consultants and develop their screenplays with a story editor.

"It was an inspiring and informative week,” said writer Teri Armitage. “The highlight of it for me was meeting a member of Janet Crystal Yorga's family, learning a bit more about her life, and understanding how I can participate in her legacy by keeping her dream alive. I'm looking forward to the day we can invite Sadia and Raheel Zaman to the opening of Chilly: A Home-made Hero."

Most recently, Stephen and Teri were assigned Jono Howard (Atomic Betty, Transformers: Armada) as the story editor for Chilly and are looking forward to begin working with him.

WIFT-T

Women in Film & Television – Toronto is a not-for-profit professional organization that supports women in screen-based media—film, television and digital media—to build, advance and sustain their careers nationally and internationally.

Janet Crystal Yorga Memorial Bursary

Janet Crystal Yorga was a creative writer and entrepreneur with a passion for storytelling. Born in Rockglen, Saskatchewan, she moved to Ottawa where she worked on a variety of creative projects, including a documentary series. She had completed a number of feature film scripts when she died of breast cancer on March 30, 2010 at the age of 43. In her memory, Janet’s husband Raheel Zaman has donated this bursary to support other writers with prairie roots. It supports one producer-writer team residing in Manitoba or Saskatchewan by covering flights, program fee and two nights accommodation.

Chilly! A Home-Made Hero

In the secret world of Christmas trees, a hand-made snowman ornament named Chilly must lead a team of ornery ornaments on a quest to save Christmas for Cassie, the little girl who made him. Can Chilly overcome his deepest doubts about the Christmas wish legend and convince the others that just because it’s a story doesn’t mean it’s not true?