Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Dartmouth North's Shelley Thompson on being the only Canadian to be shortlisted for the Breaking Through the Lens program, which will take place at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
Breaking Through the Lens curates a small selection of the highest-quality feature films directed by women, projects that are already far along in development but not yet made, and gives them the opportunity to pitch in front of top-tier financiers. This year the program had over 200 applications from 54 countries.
Shelley has been shortlisted for her feature film in development, Dawn, Her Dad and the Tractor, which is the story of Dawn, a young trans woman and her estranged father, who begin to repair their relationship as they restore an old tractor together.
Shelley has been an actor for many years, but only in the last few has she taken the giant leap and begun writing and directing her own film scripts. She has had so much success and I know we will hear of the success of this upcoming feature when it is finally funded and shot. She's also a strong voice for transgender rights and uses her artistic talent to give voice to an often-silenced community.
I ask the House to join me in congratulating her on this very big accomplishment.