Rising Stars 2023

The first issue at NOW featured Elle-Mij Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn before their film The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open would premiere months later at TIFF and go on to rank among the all time best films directed by Canadians; it also spotlighted Simu Liu and Kawennhere Devery Jacobs before they were recruited by Marvel. They are among the Rising Stars alumni who we can now simply call stars, because they have name recognition beyond Canada or a few million followers on Instagram.

But what about other talents who are doing incredible work in an industry that just doesnt attract as much play, who pursue their craft even when they cant necessarily sustain a living in this economy doing it full-time?

A thread among most of this years Rising Stars is that they dont just make movies and TV they have alternative pursuits, side hustles, even day jobs. To be able to make great art within the underfunded gig economy that is the Canadian film and television industry, our people get resourceful working behind the camera on an award-winning film one day and behind the counter at the restaurant their parents own the next. (I didnt pull that last example out of thin air.)

Finding out what our Rising Stars do outside of making movies and TV, and how those side hustles interact with their art, was often the most revealing or fascinating part of our interviews. Concrete Valley director Antoine Bourges makes films while teaching film as an assistant professor at UBC. Next Stop actor Yaayaa Adams works in music marketing. Beacon 23 actor Noah Lamanna scooted over to our CBC Rising Stars shoot directly from their shift working at TIFFs Industry Box Office, a gig they do just because they love being in an atmosphere full of international movie posters and and cinephiles enthusing about the festival fare they loved with a sense of discovery.

At this years TIFF, Lamanna also happened to be appearing in Dream Scenario, playing a student in the Nicolas Cage-starring psychological thriller that premiered at the festival. Theoretically, someone could have picked up a ticket to Dream Scenario from Lamanna at the box office, only to catch sight of them again in the movie.

Thats the thing about our Rising Stars you have no idea where youll see them next.