Directors Pierre Friquet’s and Adam Leipzig’s The Long Game on Prime Now

 

The Long Game: Saurabh Netravalkar, Between Two Worlds follows the remarkable journey of Team USA cricket star Saurabh Netravalkar as he balances life as an elite athlete and engineer. Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Adam Leipzig, and Pierre Friquet this Willow Original explores the sacrifices, opportunities, and decisions that shaped his path from India to the United States.

Every element—from the traditionally rooted, often meditative score to the brilliant dramatic pacing and animated sequences—is both gorgeous and incredibly effective. The way Friquet & Leipzig use animated interludes to manifest the “ghosts” of cricket star Saurabh Netravalkar’s past is a standout; it’s a beautiful, haunting touch.

The film also masterfully navigates the socio-political tension between India and Pakistan. The framing of Indian urbanity, particularly the chaotic beauty of Mumbai, offers a striking and visually rich contrast.
Ultimately, The Long Game is a necessary shot of hope. It hits you right where it counts.

The central subject is deeply endearing, and Saurabh Netravalkar’s journey is a testament to human resilience. Friquet & Leipzig build an intense, gripping suspense during the USA-Pakistan match that keeps you entirely locked in. On top of that, it serves as a brilliant primer on cricket, a sport still widely misunderstood or ignored in our corners of the world.

At its core, this is a deeply moving documentary. It’s an inspiring, family-friendly story about triumph that will hit home for the kids just as much as the adults.

Read The Wall Street Journals’ Review.

Author Meredith Hambrock Wins The Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

There are announcements that make you smile, and then there are those that confirm you’re exactly where you need to be.

Canadian writer Meredith Hambrock has just won the 2026 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. With a $25,000 purse, this isn’t just an award—it’s a national institution, honouring the legacy of humourist Stephen Leacock since 1947.

Meredith won for her razor-sharp novel, She’s A Lamb!. It follows Jessamyn St. Germain, an actor fueled by the absolute certainty that she is destined for superstardom.The novel is also a brilliant homage to The Sound of Music—the exact show Jessamyn is dying to star in at a Vancouver theatre. While the world might see her as delusional, the book tracks her relentless quest, brilliantly exposing the sheer depths she’ll sink to for her shot.

It’s incisively funny, wildly smart, and the momentum doesn’t stop on the page. The book is already slated for a feature film adaptation by 4am Film Studios, with the screenplay adapted by none other than Meredith herself. Talk about total creative control.

Meredith is a novelist and television writer. She’s no stranger to the literary spotlight—her story You Should Go Over There was longlisted for the 2016 CBC Short Story Prize, and she’s also the author of the novel Other People’s Secrets.

See the review in the Literary Review of Canada (Crushing It).

Other past winners include Patrick deWitt, Wayne Johnston, Heidi L.M Jacobs, Robertson Davies, Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat, Paul Quarrington, Mordecai Richler, Stuart McLean, Terry Fallis, Susan Juby and Cassie Stocks.

Read more news here:

CBC

Quill & Quire

Innisfil Today

The Woolf+Lapin Talent Briefing: 2026

We are proud to announce the latest additions to our roster—an elite group of creators, XR artisans, and world-builders redefining narratives and technology.


INVR.SPACE | Germany’s Prolific Immersive Studio
INVR.SPACE joins our roster to lead the charge in immersive experiences. We are happy to collaborate with INVR.Space giving us a sure footprint into the “Dôme” circuit and high-end XR distribution.

Monte Albers de Leon | Prestige Series
Harvard-educated attorney, with over two decades of high-stakes legal experience, Monte Albers de Leon has made a definitive transition to full-time narrative development. He is currently developing a high-profile collaboration with Shaun Redick and Yvette Yates Redick at Impossible Dream Entertainment, alongside a new series and feature projects with Woolf+Lapin.

Nic Bourgeois | Electronics Incarnate
At the intersection of experimentation and performance, Nic develops their own wearable digital instruments to liberate electronic music from its usual static nature. Their work—simultaneously raw and vulnerable—uses the body to explore queer and sensitive realities. Winner of the Gotfrit-Barlett Prize for Nœuds au ventre (2024), this Master’s candidate at the Université de Montréal has established themselves as a key figure in the digital arts, propelling an expressive physical presence into the heart of programmed logic, both in Canada and internationally.

New Voices
With the signing of Emily Roberson, Holly Richter-White, and Mark Alan Furney, Woolf+Lapin continues to prioritize voices that offer a visceral, intellectually rigorous perspective. These three creators exemplify a specific DNA: storytelling that is inherently cinematic, grounded in institutional knowledge, and unafraid of moral friction.

Emily Roberson: Lifestyles of Gods & Monsters is a retelling of Greek myth through the lens of modern celebrity rounding characters pursuing “escape velocity”.

Holly Richter-White: A RCMP member in Ottawa shaped by decades on the front lines of national and international security, Holly brings a forensic gaze to her feature Outgunned.

With more than twenty jury verdicts behind him, Mark Alan Furney crafts character-driven legal thrillers informed by his career as a public defender and prosecutor.

Paloma Dawkins | Symbiotic Frequencies
We are pleased to announce that Paloma Dawkins will participate in this year’s Forum at MUTEK. For the first time, the event unfolds across two adjoining cultural institutions: the Atrium et Studio-Théâtre des Grands Ballets and the Édifice Wilder – Espace danse.