Meet the colourful Winnipeg creator behind Cool Sweepings, a new Black curling comedy premiering October 30 on Bell Fibe TV1.
You can’t miss Chris Sharpe.
When we first met him, fluorescent orange was his signature colour. These days, he’s switched to fluorescent green, complete with colourful glasses and his ever-present toque. And once you get talking to him, you quickly discover that his personality is every bit as colourful as his wardrobe.
We’ve gotten to know Chris through several BSO initiatives, including Prime Time, the BSO Symposium, Content London and most recently TIFF 2026. He’s one of those people who makes the most of every opportunity, always meeting people, pitching ideas and looking for ways to bring more Black stories to the screen.
And now he’s got something to celebrate!
His eight-episode comedy series, Cool Sweepings, premieres October 30 on Bell Fibe TV1.
A Black curling comedy.
Yes, curling!
Caribbean Flavour Meets Canadian Ice
The idea for Cool Sweepings came from Chris’s own experience growing up Black in Canada. A high school gym class introduced him to curling, and years later, while studying video production at Red River College, he remembered that day on the ice.
“I started thinking about how amazing it would be to bring Jamaican culture and curling together,” he recalls. “I’ve always loved combining two completely different worlds and creating something fresh.”
The result is a comedy about a Jamaican Canadian teenager whose family’s curling rink is facing foreclosure. To save it, he and his friends enter competitive curling.
One small problem. They don’t know how to curl.
As it happens, neither did the four lead actors!
“None of the four main actors had curling experience, so when you see them struggling on the ice, some of those reactions are very real!” Chris laughs.
But the actors caught the curling bug, started practising on their own and eventually competed as Team Cool Sweepings in a real curling bonspiel organized around the series.
Life imitating art. You couldn’t make this stuff up.
Getting to Yes
Chris knows a thing or two about persistence. He spent years pitching Cool Sweepings, refining the concept and looking for the right partners before Bell Fibe TV1 came on board.
“The biggest hurdle was getting someone to say yes!” he says.
Once that happened, Chris rallied Winnipeg’s film and business communities, bringing together supporters and a talented Black creative team, including directors Reginald Isume and Maureen Edwards and editor Yorkwin Walters.
He also cast four emerging music artists as his leads: Joshua Calder, Darryan Edwards, Nathan Zayac and Dillin Morgan.
The result is a Black-led production that brings Caribbean culture, music and comedy to one of Canada’s most traditional sports.
And audiences are responding. A Winnipeg Cineplex premiere drew 318 people, nearly filling the theatre.
For Chris, hearing the laughter was particularly satisfying.
“There’s nothing quite like sitting in a movie theatre and hearing hundreds of people laughing, reacting and enjoying something you created.”
Thinking Big, Starting in Winnipeg
As founder of Black Film Space Manitoba Inc., Winnipeg’s first Black-owned production house, Chris has ambitions well beyond one television series.
He’s already released Cool Sweepings: The Album, an original soundtrack streaming worldwide, and organized a sold-out curling bonspiel featuring 24 teams, Caribbean food, DJs and steel pan performances.
And he’s just getting warmed up.
“I see Cool Sweepings as an entire entertainment universe!” he says.
He’s envisioning more seasons, feature films, music and live events, building original Canadian stories into properties that can reach international audiences.
His other projects include Kung Fu & Basketball, a feature film that recently received development funding, and Slippers vs. Aliens, a comedy combining science fiction and video game entertainment.
Clearly, Chris has no shortage of imagination.
For him, it’s also about creating opportunities for Black filmmakers and artists to tell their stories and build successful businesses.
“I want audiences to see Black characters leading stories in spaces where we don’t normally see ourselves represented.”
Opening Doors and Making Things Happen
Chris had developed projects and pitch materials but struggled to reach the industry decision-makers who could help move them forward. Through BSO, he gained access to new relationships and opportunities that broadened his ambitions.
“Sometimes all a producer needs is access to the right room and an opportunity to show what they can do,” he says.
And Chris certainly knows how to make the most of an opportunity.
His advice to other creators? “Don’t wait for everything to be perfect. Just start!”
Make the trailer. Build the pitch deck. Give people something to believe in.
Green Means Go!
And that brings us back to the fluorescent green.
We couldn’t resist asking Chris why he’d traded his signature orange for green.
His answer? Orange announced his arrival, full of energy and ready to make things happen.
But green represents something different.
“Green represents the green light. It’s my way of telling the world that I’m ready to get my projects greenlit, move into production and take things to the next level.”
Then came the perfect Chris Sharpe punchline:
“Orange was my arrival. Green means GO TIME!”
We love it.
Congratulations to Chris and the entire Cool Sweepings team! We’re delighted to have been part of his journey and can’t wait to see where he takes his big ideas next.
And Chris, wherever that may be, we’re pretty sure we’ll see you coming.
Fluorescent green has that effect.
Watch Cool Sweepings
Premieres October 30, 2026, on Bell Fibe TV1.
Made in Manitoba. Ready for the world!
