The Directors Guild of Canada is proud to announce the 11 long-listed films for the 2023 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award, highlighting some of the top up-and-coming directors to watch out for this festival season.

The films will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Festival du nouveau Cinema (FNC), the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), ImagineNATIVE, Reelworld, Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) and the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) as well as others having appeared at HotDocs. Following the list of films is a summary of which festivals these films are playing at, for those festivals which have announced all or part of their slate of films.

“These bold, fearless filmmakers are extraordinary new voices in the landscape of Canadian cinema,” said Warren P. Sonoda, DGC President. “Striving to tell the stories that need to be told, these films are not to be missed.”

Last year, the Discovery Award was rededicated to long-time DGC Director Member Jean-Marc Vallée. The Discovery Award Jury is chaired by Danishka Esterhazy, along with Trevor Mack, Titus Heckel, Heather Young, Geordie Sabbagh, Andrea Martinez Crowther, Ariel Nasr and Yasmin Mathurin.

2023 Discovery Award Long List:

• Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person), Ariane Louis-Seize
• Soleils Atikamekw (Atikamekw Suns), Chloé Leriche
• Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, Banchi Hanuse
• Gabor, Joannie Lafrenière
• In Flames, Zarrar Kahn
• Hey, Viktor!, Cody Lightning
• I’m Just Here for the Riot, Asia Youngman & Kathleen Jayme
• The Queen of My Dreams, Fawzia Mirza
• With Love and a Major Organ, Kim Albright
• Coaching While Black, Alex Eskandarkhah
• Seagrass, Meredith Hama-Brown

Hot Docs:

Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, Gabor, I’m Just Here for the Riot

TIFF:

Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person, In Flames, Hey, Viktor!, The Queen of My Dreams, Seagrass

VIFF:

Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person), Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, In Flames, Hey, Viktor!, I’m Just Here for the Riot, Seagrass

CIFF:

Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person), Aitamaako'tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, In Flames, Hey, Viktor!, I’m Just Here for the Riot, The Queen of My Dreams, Coaching While Black

AIFF:

Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Humanist Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person), In Flames, The Queen of My Dreams, With Love and a Major Organ, Seagrass