RBC and the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television are proud to announce 11 grant recipients for the seventh round of the MVP Project, which provides support to emerging Canadian musicians and filmmakers for music video creation and production. Since its inception in 2018, the joint initiative between RBCxMusic and the Prism Prize, has awarded 75 grants to emerging artists to support the creation of 52 music videos, with more to follow this year.
The MVP Project is also pleased to introduce MVP Labs, a mentorship program offering guidance to young filmmakers and artists around the development of music video treatments, budgets and production plans that will begin later this year. As the MVP Project remains focused on the growth of the Canadian music video community, this new series will build on the foundation of virtual mentorship opportunities offered throughout the pandemic, which showcased creators including Kid. Studio and Joël, and offered access to valuable production resources to the emerging music video community.
Grants from the MVP Project provide emerging talent with the necessary means to make their creative vision a reality. The result is a slate of powerful, attention-grabbing music videos that have garnered wide-spread critical acclaim throughout Canada and abroad. Recently, three MVP Project-supported music videos were nominated to the Top 10 shortlist for the 2021 Prism Prize (Rich Aucoin’s “Walls,” Sean Leon’s “90 BPM,” and TOBi’s “24 (Toronto Remix),” while director Alexander Farah’s clip for Desiree Dawson’s “Meet You At The Light” landed a highly-coveted Vimeo Staff Pick designation.
“I am forever grateful for having received the MVP Project grant support,” said Jasmyn, MVP Project Round 7 recipient. “Throughout my career it has become more apparent that having the time and space to be creative is a privilege. Therefore, when organizations such as MVP invest in artists, they invest in the time and energy it takes to create something special.”
These music projects have also proven to be an important springboard for artists and directors to advance their careers; after receiving an MVP Project grant in support of the album’s blazing first single “Senna,” Cadence Weapon’s Parallel World went on to win the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album of the year. Recent MVP Project releases include Phöenix Lazarre’s “Gold,” directed by Deanna Milligan, Liza’s “Done is Done” by director Isiah Blake, Amaal’s “Honey” by director Dan Lemoyne, which has garnered more than 600,000 video views to date, and Haviah Mighty’s “Protest,” following her inspiring performance at the 2021 Juno Awards.
“What began as an idea in 2018, has since grown into a platform for bringing emerging creatives’ visions to life, and an integral part of the Canadian music video industry,” said Shannon Cole, Senior Director, Brand Marketing, RBC. “With each round of the program, our teams have been truly impressed by the diverse creative talent in this country and we are excited to welcome the round seven recipients to our growing MVP Project roster.”
“These 11 teams represent an incredibly musically diverse roster of recipients, and we are so pleased that they have chosen to make the MVP Project a part of their creative journey,” said Louis Calabro, Vice-President, Programming & Awards, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. “Through the years, the MVP Project has grown into an integral piece for some of the most exciting Canadian musicians and filmmakers creating art today, and we cannot wait to support and mentor the next generation of creators with the introduction of MVP Labs.”
The recipients selected for Round 7 represent a diverse collection of musical genres and filmmaking styles, and were selected by a jury of industry professionals. Recipients include:
Recording artist Amanda Sum (Vancouver), Director Mayumi Yoshida (Vancouver), and Producer Sebastien Galina (Vancouver)
Recording artist and Producer Francesca Wexler (Oshawa), Director Sean Cartwright (Ottawa)
Recording artist Ghostly Kisses (Québec City), Director Fred Gervais (Montréal), and Producer Catherine Boily (Montréal)
Recording artist IDMAN (Toronto), Director and Producer Dara Heng (Toronto)
Recording artist Jasmyn (Hamilton), Director Iris Kim (Toronto), and Producer Jeff So (Toronto)
Recording artist Jesse Ryan (Toronto), Director and Producer Chris Strikes (Toronto)
Recording artist Kim Harris (Halifax), Director Meaghan & Marie Wright (Halifax), and Producer Emily Flynn (Halifax)
Recording artist Ouri (Montréal), Director Derek Branscombe (Montréal), and Producers Raphaëlle Savoie, Catherine Marsland and Karine Pronovost aka Le Répertoire (Montréal)
Recording artist Ramona Vee (Toronto), Director and Producer Serville Poblete (Toronto)
Recording artist Ruben Young (Calgary), Director Jimmy Vi (Toronto), and Producer Rey Mendoza (Toronto)
Recording artist TyriqueOrDie (Scarborough), Director Luke Fenton (Toronto), and Producers Hayden Currie and Shane Campbell (Toronto)
The MVP Project is part of RBC’s ongoing commitment to supporting emerging creatives through the RBC Emerging Artists Project. Since 2015, over 25,000 alumni have been supported by the RBC Emerging Artists Project, with support from the RBC Foundation totaling over $9 million each year to hundreds of arts organizations across Canada.
Eligible emerging recording artists and filmmakers are encouraged to apply for Round 8, which will open on April 1, 2022 at MVPProject.ca.
