Banff World Media Festival 2026
Banff Market Accelerator
The National Directors Division (NDD) of the Directors Guild of Canada is proud to announce selections for the NDD Market Accelerator Delegation at the Banff World Media Festival 2026 running from June 13 – 16.
Alyson Richards & Pat Mills
OntarioUNBOXED (Comedy)
10 x half-hour episodes
When a gay novelty doll from the ’70s comes to life with a mysterious purpose in 2026, a suburban mom is thrown into chaos as she’s forced to confront her sexuality…much to the surprise of her husband, kids, and neighbours.
Producing Partners: New Metric Media
David Strasser
British ColumbiaPinguin Lanes (Dark Comedy)
8 or 10 x half-hour episodes
When Keith inherits her estranged late father’s rinky-dink bowling alley, PINGUIN LANES, she plans to unload it and never look back. But she’s shocked to discover the alley is also a lifeline for the town’s addiction recovery community. With her grieving mother barely holding it together, the business circling the drain, and every local oddball looking to her for answers, Keith must decide whether to walk away from her father’s legacy or stay and keep the doors open, one gutter ball at a time.
Duana Taha
OntarioHouse Porn (Comedy, Drama)
8 x 45 min episodes
Charming underachiever Nate lands a construction gig on a home-reno TV show – but when the host is arrested for serious crimes, Nate’s thrust into the spotlight, navigating the manicured, scandalous world of ‘feel-good’ reality TV, and the slightly murderous wrath of the host who just wants his show back.
Producing Partners: M.E.M (McGillivray Entertainment Media)
Erica Meus-Sanders
Nova ScotiaDaughter of Eual (Sci-Fi, YA, Adventure)
6 x 60 min episodes
A young, sheltered Black woman discovers she’s an alien and must choose to embrace her awakening powers to save both human and newfound alien kin or live her life as a “normal” teenager.
Producing Partners: Britney Canzi, consulting producer
Frederick Kroetsch
SaskatchewanCrip Trip (Season 3) (Road-Trip, Docu-Series)
6 x 60 min episodes
As a quadruple amputee facing the threat of institutionalization, Daniel hits the road with his friend and caregiver Frederick, turning chaotic travel into a darkly funny look at disability, friendship, and the fight for independence.
Producing Partners: Catapult Pictures
Lisa Rose Snow
OntarioPsychic Spies (Paranormal Procedural)
60 min episodes
A larger-than-life paranormal investigator is forced to team up with her skeptic cop brother to investigate the most bizarre and unsolvable cases in the Maritimes…all while the mystery of their mother’s disappearance and a complicated love triangle threatens to tear them apart.
Producing Partners: Hi/Lo Entertainment
Nisha Platzer
British ColumbiaThe Pornographer’s Poem (Art House, Queer, Female-led Coming-of-Age)
5 x 60 min episodes
When two perceptive young teens are introduced to super8 filmmaking, they begin exploring their curiosities and perversions through the camera lens while spying on their new neighbours. As their amateur films grow in popularity, so too does their awareness of adulthood’s contradictions around gender, power, and desire. A coming-of-age story about young people seeking language for their inner lives, and turning to art to make sense of the world.
Producing Partners: Kristyn Stilling
Zarqa Nawaz
SaskatchewanDead Body Washing Committee (Comedy)
6 x 30 min episodes
When a disgraced mystery novelist joins her mosque’s Dead Body Washing Committee to repair her reputation, she and two reluctant volunteers discover one of the corpses they’re washing was murdered and launch their own secret investigation.
Producing Partners: Fundamentalist Films
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