Project Catalogue
TELUS independent is pleased to support the following projects. Unless otherwise indicated, for festival programming and distribution inquiries, please contact production companies directly.

Plastic People
Award-winning science journalist Ziya Tong travels the world to investigate the infiltration of microplastics into the human body.
https://plasticpeopledoc.com/
Director: Ben Addelman
Co-Director & Science Journalist: Ziya Tong
Producers: Vanessa Dylyn, Stephen Pannicia
Impact Producer: Good Measure Productions, Sholeh alemi Fabbri
Executive Producers: Peter Raymont, Rick Smith, Steve Ord
Production Company:
Awards: Canadian Screen award, Banff Rockie award, Anthem Impact Award
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution
Co-Director & Science Journalist: Ziya Tong
Producers: Vanessa Dylyn, Stephen Pannicia
Impact Producer: Good Measure Productions, Sholeh alemi Fabbri
Executive Producers: Peter Raymont, Rick Smith, Steve Ord
Production Company:
White Pine Pictures
Awards: Canadian Screen award, Banff Rockie award, Anthem Impact Award
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution

Leaving Beringia
Métis/Cree filmmaker Barbara Hagar asks, did Indigenous people arrive via the Bering Strait just 13,000 years ago? Ancient sites and Knowledge Keepers are telling another story.
Director: Barbara Hager
Producer: Barbara Hager
Production Company:
Status: Available for festival programming
Producer: Barbara Hager
Production Company:
Acimow Media Inc.
Status: Available for festival programming

Exclusion: Beyond the Silence
Granddaughters of Chinese immigrants reveal the human toll of an immigration policy that destroyed their families, and honour the women who paved the way for Canadian Multicultural Policy.
Director: Keira Loughran
Producer: Craig Thompson
Production Company:
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution
Producer: Craig Thompson
Production Company:
Ballinran Entertainment
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution

The Good Virus
The World Health Organization warns that antibiotics are losing efficacy. Scientists hope bacteriophage viruses will stem the rising tide of superbugs.
Director & Writer: Rosvita Dransfeld
Producer: Vanessa Dylyn
Impact Producer: Sarah Margolius
Executive Producer: Rosvita Dransfeld
Production Company:
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution
Producer: Vanessa Dylyn
Impact Producer: Sarah Margolius
Executive Producer: Rosvita Dransfeld
Production Company:
ID: Productions
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution

Media Stamped
Award-winning writer and producer Nicole Stamp, helps kids 9-12 analyze media content to recognize and create factual, balanced and equitable narratives.
Director: J. J. Johnson
Producer: J. J. Johnson
Writer & Host: Nicole Stamp
Production Company:
Awards: Winner of a Japan Prize of Honour
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution
Producer: J. J. Johnson
Writer & Host: Nicole Stamp
Production Company:
Sinking Ship Entertainment
Awards: Winner of a Japan Prize of Honour
Status: Now available on TELUS Optik TV on Demand, TELUS TV+ and in distribution

Burning Planet
Award winning filmmaker Phyllis Ellis teams up with member of Order of Canada and award winning science journalist and filmmaker, Ziya Tong to explore the origins of global fire in the 21st century.
Directors: Phyllis Ellis, Ziya Tong
Producer: Stephen Paniccia
Executive Producers: Peter Raymont, Steve Ord, Fred Peabody
Production Company:
Status: In Production
Producer: Stephen Paniccia
Executive Producers: Peter Raymont, Steve Ord, Fred Peabody
Production Company:
White Pine Pictures
Status: In Production

In Praise of Invasive Species
When invasive species are characterized as destrucive villians, this film asks - what if we've been misled? Blending humor, pop culture and breathtaking visuals,this film re-imagines invasive species as part of a new, dynamic, climate-resilient wild that - just might be our future.
Director: Mila Aung-Thwin
Producers: Bob Moore, Mila Ang-Thwin
Executive Producers: Valerie Shamash, Daniel Cross
Production Company:
Status: In Production spring 2026
Producers: Bob Moore, Mila Ang-Thwin
Executive Producers: Valerie Shamash, Daniel Cross
Production Company:
EYESTEELFILM
Status: In Production spring 2026

Seeing Green
Is our environment something to take from, or something to tend? Are plants, animals, landscapes an "it" or a "who"? In Seeing Green, celebrated scientists and writers, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Suzanne Simard and Paco Calvo help us imagine a different future of kinship within a democracy of species.
Director: Susan Rynard
Producers: Nadine Pequeneza, Susan Rynard
Co-Producer: Kerriann Cardinal
Production Company:
Status: In Production
Producers: Nadine Pequeneza, Susan Rynard
Co-Producer: Kerriann Cardinal
Production Company:
HitPlay Productions
Status: In Production

Kokum & Dot
In this limited series for kids 4-7, Kokum Dorothy shares cultural stories and the 7 Cree Guiding Principles with her inquisitive friend, Dot. Speaking English and Cree, Kokum and Dot frolic in a magical world of Woodland Cree animation, live action and puppetry.
Director: April Johnson
Writer: Jules Koostachin
Producer: April Johnson
Executive Producer: Trevor Bentley
Production Company:
Status: In Production
Writer: Jules Koostachin
Producer: April Johnson
Executive Producer: Trevor Bentley
Production Company:
Ekosi Productions
Status: In Production