September 9, 2026 — The Independent Production Fund (IPF), in partnership with Media NB, Innovative PEI and Picture NL, is pleased to announce the participants of the inaugural IPF Pre-Application Training Program for Atlantic Producers.

Building on the successful launch of the program earlier this year, this initiative provides emerging and mid-career producers based in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador with critical training and mentorship to help them prepare competitive series development funding applications. The primary focus of the program is to strengthen the overall funding outcomes of Atlantic-based producers, including francophone creators, within IPF programs.

Facilitated by Program Manager Brendon Sawatzky, the program will offer to its participants workshops and individually tailored mentorship from experienced industry professionals across Canada. 

Selected for their potential, creativity, and commitment to contributing to the Atlantic screen sector, the following participants have been accepted into the inaugural cohort:

Aditya Raj Sikka, NL Aditya Raj Sikka is an emerging writer, producer, and filmmaker based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He worked as an Associate Producer on the Bell Fibe TV series Runway on the Rock and produced and coordinated a province-wide arts and cultural project with Eastern Edge. He was recently selected for the PictureNL Writers’ Room and is the writer-director of 23 Kgs: A Suitcase of Belonging, an upcoming narrative short film supported by ArtsNL. His work spans television, independent film, and arts production, with a growing focus on character-driven scripted storytelling.
Brad Gover, NL Brad creates dramatic films and documentaries, and also mentors emerging filmmakers at NIFCO – the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Cooperative. Most recently, he directed the second season of “Only The Night Knows” (2026), a Newfoundland-set murder mystery starring Ruth Lawrence, Mary Walsh, Greg Malone and Robert Joy. He also recently directed “Don’t Tell The Newfoundlanders” (2025), a feature-length documentary based on Greg Malone’s best-selling book detailing Newfoundland’s less-than-constitutional confederation with Canada in 1949. In addition to that, he directed the NIFCOPictureStart film, “If Not To Die” (2023) and previously produced two feature films: “Away From Everywhere” (2016), starring Jason Priestley which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival; as well as “Riverhead” (2016), which was nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards. Brad serves on the Board of Directors for NIFCO, and is a former president of the Nickel Independent Film Festival.
Ekaterina Pavlova, NB Ekaterina Pavlova is a writer, director, and animator based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, working across animation, live-action, and long-form writing. For the past several years, she’s built a dedicated online community around Slavic culture, mythology, and folklore through her writing and her blog. Ideal Energy Winner, her adult animated sci-fi drama, grew directly out of that work: sci-fi blended with Slavic folklore. In May 2026, she brought the series’ animatic trailer to the Marché du Film at Cannes and pitched it everywhere. Across every medium, Ekaterina is drawn to cultural histories that get overlooked and to finding the story inside them.
Hélène Lebon, PEI Hélène Lebon est une productrice et réalisatrice franco-canadienne basée à l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard. Formée en journalisme, elle œuvre depuis plus de huit ans dans la création et la production de contenus et a fondé Productions LTDU Inc. en 2023 pour explorer des thématiques qui jalonnent son parcours :l’immigration, le sentiment d’appartenance et la transmission des savoir-faire, dans une perspective écoféministe. Elle accompagne ses projets de l’idée à l’écran et développe des collaborations entre artistes, communautés et partenaires de l’industrie. Après plusieurs productions documentaires, elle élargit aujourd’hui sa pratique vers la fiction et l’animation. Elle est notamment membre de l’APFC, de RACCORD, de Réalisatrices Équitables et de DOC Atlantic.
Jeremy Thornhill, PEI After 20 years of experience as a creative development and supervising service producer, working alongside Oscar and Emmy winning creatives, helping win bids, acquire funds, manage large teams, production finances, successfully pitching IP to major studios, and helping to create successful multi-award-winning brands for major service providers… The projects that gave Jeremy his fondest memories always had one thing in common: they were fun to make. This is the philosophy that led him to take the creative reins himself and seek funding to develop his first property as a writer/showrunner.
Nathan Lacroix, PEI PEI-based film and television producer with hands-on experience across independent producing, assistant directing, and production coordination. Founder of Great Imagination Productions, currently producing an original scripted dramedy series in predevelopment and developing an original television series concept. Combines on-set crew experience with a growing track record of taking projects from concept through funding and production.
Rebecca E. Tremblay, NB Rebecca E. Tremblay is a trilingual screenwriter, director, producer and actor based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Her award-winning film work has been broadcast on CBC and screened at film festivals across Canada and the US. Recognized with grants from The Canada Council for the Arts, The New Brunswick Arts Board and CBC Atlantic, Rebecca’s storytelling is known for its emotional depth and focus on the lived experiences of women, in the genres of drama and comedy. Rebecca is the founder of Elmire Films, whose mission is to champion women both behind and in front of the camera by creating opportunities for underrepresented creatives and amplifying women’s voices on screen. Elmire Films strives to contribute to a more inclusive and compassionate film industry where authentic representation is prioritized.
Reine Faiad, NL Reine Faiad is a multidimensional artist. Growing up in a traditional environment, she’d find herself in spaces where she questioned why the line was drawn instead of whether or not she should cross it. She is an abstract thinker, and likes to break frameworks of how things “should” work.

 

“The IPF is thrilled to welcome such a talented group of producers to the first Atlantic cohort. The range of perspectives, experience and creative approaches speaks to the potential of the region’s screen sector. Through this program, we hope to help these producers turn promising ideas into competitive applications and ultimately bring more distinctive Atlantic voices and stories to audiences.” said Jon Taylor, CEO, Independent Production Fund.

The program begins on September 10, 2026, with all participant materials to be finalized in early 2027 in preparation for the IPF Short Form Series Development Program submission deadline at the beginning of March, 2027.

 

For media inquiries, please contact:

info@ipf.ca

 

      

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