Vivid Visions News
Projects, festivals, partnerships and everything happening beyond the frame.
BLACK LAKE SELECTED FOR TIFF SERIES CREATORS’ LAB 2026
Vivid Visions Studios heads to Toronto with original series Black Lake
Vivid Visions Studios is thrilled to announce that Black Lake has been selected for the 2026 TIFF Series Creators’ Lab, part of TIFF: The Market at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Co-created by Shannon Steele and Rebecca See, with Steele serving as lead writer and See as lead producer, Black Lake is an eight-part psychological horror and crime drama that follows Detective Blake Shilling as a series of ritualistic murders pulls her deeper into the secrets of a town where the investigation quickly becomes personal.
The Series Creators’ Lab brings together just eight Canadian series creator and producer teams developing episodic projects with international potential. The four-day program focuses on advancing projects toward production and the global marketplace through pitch coaching, project refinement, packaging and export strategy, alongside mentorship, industry workshops and opportunities to connect with buyers, financiers and broadcasters.
For Vivid Visions, the selection marks an exciting next step in the development of Black Lake and an opportunity to bring the series into conversations with the wider Canadian and international television industry.
Shannon Steele and Rebecca See will represent Black Lake and Vivid Visions Studios at TIFF 2026 in Toronto this September.
With its multi-season vision, international co-production foundation and dark, character-driven world, Black Lake has been built to extend far beyond the mystery at the centre of its first season. Developed in collaboration with U.S. co-production partner Potenza Productions, the series continues to build its international foundation as it moves toward its next stage of development. The TIFF Series Creators’ Lab provides an opportunity to further refine the project, strengthen its market positioning and expand those industry relationships.
ABOUT BLACK LAKE
Black Lake is a character-driven crime drama steeped in psychological horror, where the investigation is only the beginning. Beneath the town’s silence lies something far more unsettling: predators hiding in plain sight, histories that refuse to stay buried, and a darkness that may reach closer to Detective Blake Shilling than she realizes.
Black Lake | Crime Drama • Psychological Horror | 8 × 60 min | Multi-Season Series
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ALWAYS, EVEN NOW ENTERS POST-PRODUCTION
Vivid Visions Studios' intimate end-of-the-world drama moves into its next stage Vivid Visions Studios’ short film Always, Even Now has officially entered post-production following the completion of filming. Set during the final moments before the end of the world, Always, Even Now follows two women who retreat to a rooftop and choose to spend what little time remains together. With nowhere left to run and nothing left to plan for, they are left with something deceptively simple: being completely present with one another. At its heart, the film explores love, connection and what remains important when everything else has been stripped away. Rather than focusing on the spectacle of an approaching apocalypse, the story turns inward, examining the relationship between two people facing the certainty that there will be no tomorrow. With filming complete, the project is now moving through post-production as the team shapes the final film for its eventual festival run. The Always, Even Now screenplay has also begun its own journey, with the script submitted to screenplay competitions as Vivid Visions continues to develop opportunities for the project both on screen and on the page. ABOUT ALWAYS, EVEN NOW Always, Even Now is an intimate drama about love, presence and the choice to spend the end of everything with the person who matters most. Always, Even Now | Drama • Romance | Short Film | Post-Production
THE END BEGINS EXPANDS FROM CONCEPT FILM TO TELEVISION SERIES
Vivid Visions Studios continues developing the dystopian world of The End Begins What began as a contained exploration of an unfolding biological crisis is growing into something much larger. Vivid Visions Studios' The End Begins concept film is currently in post-production while development continues on a one-hour dystopian thriller and horror television series set within the same world. The concept film centres on Dr. Casey Wilde and Maria inside an underground military facility as information begins to emerge about an infection spreading beyond its walls. Their conversation raises a disturbing possibility: what is happening outside may not have been an accident. That world has since expanded into an ongoing television series exploring the collapse that follows. In The End Begins, a biological outbreak transforms ordinary people into violent, neurologically altered versions of themselves. But the infected are not mindless. Fragments of memory, identity and behaviour remain, creating an unsettling connection between who they once were and what they are becoming. Development of the series has reached another milestone with the completion of the 65-page pilot screenplay, The End Begins: Outbreak Origins. The pilot has now begun entering screenplay competitions as Vivid Visions continues developing the larger series and its multi-season story. Together, the concept film and pilot represent two different windows into the same expanding world, allowing Vivid Visions to explore both the immediate human experience of the outbreak and the larger story behind its origins. ABOUT THE END BEGINS The End Begins is a dystopian thriller and horror series exploring survival, identity and the consequences of a deliberately engineered biological outbreak. The End Begins | Dystopian Thriller • Horror | Concept Film in Post-Production • Television Series in Development | Pilot Complete
ONCE, AGAIN BEGINS ITS FESTIVAL JOURNEY
The completed Vivid Visions Studios short enters the festival circuit Vivid Visions Studios’ short film Once, Again has officially begun its festival journey, with the completed film now being submitted to festivals for consideration. An intimate drama centred on memory, loss and connection, Once, Again explores the complicated space between holding onto what was and finding the strength to move forward. With production and post-production complete, the focus now shifts from creating the film to finding its audience. The festival circuit provides an opportunity for Once, Again to reach new viewers, connect with filmmakers and industry professionals, and continue its life beyond production through screenings and festival programming. As submissions continue, Vivid Visions Studios looks forward to sharing the next chapter of the film's journey and announcing future selections and screenings as they happen. ABOUT ONCE, AGAIN Once, Again is an intimate short drama exploring grief, connection and the moments that continue pulling us toward the past, even as life asks us to move forward. Once, Again | Drama | Short Film | Completed • Festival Circuit
ZERO TO SET TAKES LISTENERS BEHIND THE JOURNEY OF GETTING FILMS MADE
The Vivid Visions Studios podcast shares the creative realities behind taking an idea from zero to set Vivid Visions Studios is taking the conversation beyond the screen with Zero to Set, a podcast exploring what it actually feels like to try to get films made. Hosted by Vivid Visions Studios co-founders Rebecca See and Shannon Steele, Zero to Set follows their experiences as filmmakers and artists while navigating the creative challenges, successes and unexpected turns that come with working in the film industry. Rather than presenting a polished version of filmmaking after everything has worked out, the podcast explores the journey while it is happening. From developing projects and finding collaborators to navigating production, artistic growth and the inevitable moments when plans change, Zero to Set creates space for candid conversations about the work behind bringing stories to life. The podcast also provides an opportunity to connect with other filmmakers and artists, sharing different experiences and perspectives from across the industry. Whether you're making films yourself, pursuing another creative path or simply curious about what happens before a story reaches the screen, Zero to Set invites listeners to follow along as Vivid Visions turns ideas into reality, one project at a time. ABOUT ZERO TO SET Zero to Set is the official Vivid Visions Studios podcast about filmmaking, artistic journeys and the challenges and successes that happen along the way. Zero to Set | A Vivid Visions Studios Podcast | Watch on YouTube
VIVID VISIONS STUDIOS EXPANDS INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION NETWORK
New and ongoing collaborations connect Vivid Visions with filmmakers across Canada and around the world As Vivid Visions Studios continues to grow its film and television slate, international collaboration has become an increasingly important part of how the company develops its projects. Working across borders allows Vivid Visions to build stories with filmmakers who bring their own creative perspectives, production experience and understanding of the places and cultures in which those stories are being told. Vivid Visions is currently developing projects through relationships with production companies and filmmakers across Canada, the United States, India, Romania, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Among these collaborations is U.S.-based Potenza Productions, which is co-producing Black Lake alongside Vivid Visions Studios. The partnership includes filmmaker Rocco Cataldo, attached to direct the series, and producer Amy Guth. In India, Vivid Visions is collaborating with Inflixious on What Would Whitney Do?, while VolksFilms India and Munich-based FilmCrew Media are working alongside Vivid Visions on the international feature This Side of Paradise. Romania-based SaroaFilm is partnering with Vivid Visions to co-produce the supernatural thriller Last Call, while the company's relationship with Saudi Arabia's Dark Arts Productions continues to expand Vivid Visions' international creative network. Closer to home, Vivid Visions has also collaborated with Calcor Productions on the post-apocalyptic short film From Above, currently in post-production. These relationships are more than a way to make projects in different countries. They allow filmmakers with different experiences, cultures and creative approaches to build stories together while creating pathways for projects to move between Canadian and international markets. As the Vivid Visions slate continues to develop, international co-production will remain an important part of the company's approach to building stories and long-term creative partnerships. Vivid Visions Studios | Alberta, Canada | Film • Television • International Co-Productions