Following is the 1996 edition of Playback’s annual digest of national funding and investment sources available for Canadian independent film and television program development, production and/or distribution.

key: Certified-Canadian means projects must be certifiably Canadian under the criteria set out by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office or the crtc.

Alliance Equicap

alliance Equicap, a subsidiary of Alliance Communications, raises money for investment in productions. Producers may avail themselves of a full range of Alliance’s services or use Equicap as a standalone operation.

At present, Equicap is exploring the possibility of providing banking facilities in a number of areas including the new tax credit.

Alliance Equicap has offices in Toronto and Vancouver.

Contact: Jeff Rayman, Alliance Equicap president, (416) 967-0682

Bank of Nova Scotia

the Bank of Nova Scotia offers production financing and distribution financing out of its corporate banking media group.

Contact: Karen Fisman (416) 933-2273

Bravo!FACT

this program, sponsored by Bravo!, provides indie producers, artists and arts groups with up to 50% of the total production costs (to a maximum of $25,000 per project) for short Canadian arts videos. The fund is $600,000 per year or 5% of Bravo’s gross revenues from the previous year, whichever is greater.

Through non-refundable grants, Bravo! expects to invest $4 million over the licence term (seven years) towards promoting development, production and exhibition of these videos. Although the fund provides core programming for Bravo! through non-exclusive broadcast rights, applicants retain copyright. The next deadline is June 28. To receive an application, fax your name and address to (416) 591-9317.

Contact: Marie G. Lalonde, executive director, (416) 591-7400, ext. 2734

The Cable Production Fund

the Cable Production Fund, now in its second year of operation, estimates a $42 million budget for its current fiscal year. Funded by voluntary contributions from cable companies, cpf is a market-driven fund designed to support quality, high Canadian-content television programming.

Eligible programs are dramas, children’s, docs, variety and music/dance productions. The fund operates on a first-come, first-served basis.

One of the critical eligibility requirements is that productions must have already obtained substantial licence fees from eligible Canadian broadcasters.

Dramas out of Toronto and Montreal are eligible for a contribution which equals 12.25% of their budget when broadcasters have paid licences equal to 22.74% or more of the budget. Regional dramas can trigger 15.05% of the budget when broadcast licences equal or exceed 19.95%. All other eligible genres must obtain licences equaling at least 15% of their budgets to trigger a contribution equivalent to 10%.

All programs must have a minimum duration of 30 minutes and be aired during peak viewing hours for the intended audience.

International treaty coproductions are eligible if the amount of Canadian participation is at least 65%.

Approval involves two review processes – one at the core documentation stage, whereby 50% of the allocation will be provided, and the second shortly after the production’s audit. The second payment of 50% can be banked by way of an interim certificate.

Contacts: Beverly Bettens or Phil Serruya, project co-ordinators, (416) 975-4941

The Canada Council

the Canada Council’s parliamentary appropriation for 1996/97 is $90.8 million. Since the publication of its Strategic Plan in March 1995, the Council has gone through a major restructuring (including a 30% reduction in staff). The Council is in the process of reviewing its operations and programs in view of reducing its operating budget by nearly 50% by 1997/98 while maintaining its grants budget.

Contacts:

Professional indie filmmakers: Leuten Rojas, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4253

Professional indie videomakers: Yasmin Karim, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4251

First productions in media arts: David Poole, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4252

Canadian Film and Video Production Credit

a fully refundable tax credit for eligible films and videos produced and owned by qualified taxable Canadian corporations, the Canadian Film and Video Production Credit will be available at a rate of 25% of eligible salaries and wages expended after 1994. Eligible salaries and wages qualifying for the new credit may not exceed 48% of the cost of an eligible production. As a result, the credit will provide assistance of up to 12% of the cost of an eligible production.

It’s expected that the Canadian film and video production credit will provide a more direct return to production companies, and help encourage a more stable financing environment and longer-term corporate development than the Capital Cost Allowance-based tax-shelter mechanism.

Contact: Robert Soucy, Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office, (613) 990-4091

CIBC Wood Gundy

cibc Wood Gundy underwrites public equity issues and provides private equity capital to non-public companies. The firm has participated in financing by Alliance and Cinar. It also provides corporate finance and advisory services. Typically, a company would have to be capable of raising upward of $5 million on the public side, and over $2 million on the private side.

Contact: Katie Nelson, analyst, (416) 956-6429

Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund

the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund is geared toward educational/informational projects, docs and interactive multimedia programming. It has both a regional and linguistic quota system.

The fund, an Ottawa-based, private-sector, non-profit organization, can normally be involved in the financing of development to a maximum of $10,000, and in production to a maximum of $50,000. In business for five years, it has funded close to 300 projects.

Contact: Robin Jackson, cifvf executive director, (613) 729-1900

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

under its Film and Video Co-Production Unit, cida aims to work in partnership with Canadian producers to produce and distribute programs that raise the awareness of international development issues. Film and video companies must be registered and accredited with the federal government agency, Public Works and Government Services Canada, prior to being awarded a contract. For information on how to register, call (613) 991-5791. It should be noted that the registration process takes up to six weeks.

Contact: Debbie Davis (819) 953-9506

Cultural Industries Development Fund

the cidf is administered by the Business Development Bank of Canada. It can provide working capital loans to producers of film and video ranging from $20,000 to $250,000. Companies must have been in business for at least two years to apply, and loans are normally repayable over a five-year period.

Contact: 1-888-INFO BDC (463-6232)

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

the Cultural and Educational Goods and Services Division of the Bureau of International Cultural Relations runs a program to promote the marketing and export of Canadian film and video products. The department can cover a portion of international travel expenses, or costs related to promotion, based on the availability of funds. About 50 to 60 grants are typically approved each year, ranging anywhere from $500 to $15,000.

Grant requests should be made three months prior to the event and should include detailed descriptions of the project, relevant documentation, a promotional plan and a budget.

Contact: (613) 944-1608

DGC Entertainment Ventures Corp. (EVC)

sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada, evc is a $5.7 million investment fund that provides venture capital funding to companies in the entertainment and communications industries. The fund actively reviews proposals from companies requiring expansion financing, capital asset financing, project financing, and debt/equity financing.

Contact: Robb Hindson (416) 365-8037

Export Development Corporation

through various programs, this Crown corporation helps Canadian companies which are exporting products globally. The edc provides risk management services, including insurance, financing to foreign buyers importing Canadian goods, and guarantees. The edc has regional offices and the head office is in Ottawa.

Contact: (613) 598-2500

(Trying to contact someone at the information center? May the force be with you.)

Family Channel/ Owl Fund

through joint ventures with young producers, Owl Communications invests in the development of innovative quality children’s, youth or family projects through the Family Channel/Owl Program Development Fund (for family programs deemed suitable for airing on Family Channel). With Family, Owl puts together development budgets for the various stages of project development. Typically, the amount ranges from $3,000 to $8,000 for any given stage.

Contact: C.J. MacLeod (416) 971-5275

The Foundation to Underwrite New Drama for Pay Television

founded and sponsored by TMN – The Movie Network in 1986, fund administers a script development program with an annual budget of $1 million and, since 1991, an equity investment program endowed with $1 million per year by Viewer’s Choice Canada.

fund’s programs are available for feature-length movies suitable for theatrical release or broadcast on pay-tv. Applicants should be Canadian citizens or permanent residents or, in the case of a corporation, have at least 51% Canadian ownership. fund has five deadlines per year, with the next one being July 5, 1996.

Contact: (416) 956-5431

TMN – The Movie Network

as well as sponsoring fund’s script development program, tmn contributes about $9 million annually to the Canadian feature industry through prelicensing fees and equity investments, in addition to acquisition licence fees.

Contact: Jamie Wynne, manager, original productions, (416) 956-2010

Global Canadian Program Investment Fund

founded to enable Global Television to enhance its Canadian drama, the Global Canadian Program Investment Fund made its first investment in the summer of 1992. The fund will make available $9,055,000 in each of the four years of the licence term.

Separate from Global’s $400,000 development fund, the gcpif provides loans, equity investment (though not necessarily copyright acquisition) and interim financing to producers whose projects have production financing already in place. In order to access the fund, Global must decide the project meets its on-air needs.

Contact: gcpif executive director Loren Mawhinney at Global (416) 446-5415

Gordon Capital Corporation

this Toronto-based company participates in taking film and tv production companies public. Its money-raising activities (accessing capital markets) is geared to companies with annual production budgets in excess of $20 million. Gordon Capital also provides financial advisory services, including merger and acquisition matters.

Contact: Gerry Throop (416) 868-5392

Horizon

this Telefilm Canada initiative, administered by Telefilm’s Vancouver office, provides script development funds for directors who are residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba and who are working towards their first or second feature film. Eligible projects must be low-budget (under $1 million) and originate in the Prairie provinces. They may also be considered under Telefilm’s Low Budget Feature Program.

Directors can apply with treatments of no less than 20 pages (including one scene in screenplay format and main character profiles). No producer or distribution company is required at the application stage. A professional story editor will provide written critiques for accepted projects.

Application deadline is tba.

Contact: Colleen MacDonald, Telefilm Vancouver project co-ordinator, 1-800-663-7771 or (604) 666-1566

Kick Start

kick Start, administered by the Directors Guild of Canada B.C. District Council in conjunction with Telefilm Canada, offers assistance to emerging directors and is currently under annual review.

The program provides support of up to $10,000 per short film or video project. It is restricted to emerging filmmakers from Western Canada (b.c., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories), or other applicants with equivalent experience. Details concerning maximum budgets and competition closing dates are tba.

Contact: Colleen MacDonald, Telefilm Vancouver project co-ordinator, 1-800-663-7771 or (604) 666-1566

Maclean Hunter Television Fund

the Maclean Hunter Television Fund was established to assist independent production of Canadian television drama series for private-sector broadcast. It was founded by Maclean Hunter as an independent charitable foundation with a capital endowment of $33 million. As such, it operates autonomously.

The fund has approximately $3 million a year to invest in tv production. It provides equity investment to independent production companies for dramatic tv series and pilots. The majority of production financing must be confirmed before applying and projects must have a broadcast licence from a Canadian private broadcaster. Producers must be independent Canadian producers and the production must be at least 51% Canadian.

The fund also provides grants to recognized trade organizations for special projects such as training programs, conferences, research, and workshops targeted at industry professionals.

Contacts: Toronto, Andra Sheffer (416) 596-5878; Montreal, Claire Dion (514) 737-9969

Cogeco Program Development Fund

The Cogeco fund is administered by, and is a complement to, the Maclean Hunter Television Fund. It provides development financing in the form of loans, repayable on the first day of photography, for Canadian dramatic television series. Loans cover treatments, first draft scripts or final draft scripts in English or French. Independent Canadian producers with a Canadian screenwriter and a letter of intent from a Canadian broadcaster are eligible.

Marleau Lemire

This Montreal-based investment company is active in taking companies public. It also does private placements through offices across Canada and internationally.

Typically, companies with annual production budgets in excess of $10 million would be considered for public offerings. While there is no minimum for private placements, a track record is desirable.

Contacts: Montreal, David McFadgen (514) 877-3861; Toronto (416) 595-5500; Vancouver (604) 668-7900

National Film Board

with a mandate to ‘produce, distribute and promote the production and distribution of films designed to interpret Canada to Canadians and other nations,’ the nfb will participate as coproducer and full partner in the development and production of culturally relevant Canadian films, videos and multimedia productions with Canadian independent producers.

Independent producers interested in coproducing high-quality Canadian projects are encouraged to submit their projects. The nfb favors the development of new filmmakers, and documentary, animation and multimedia projects will receive special consideration.

Projects must be certifiably Canadian, as defined in the Income Tax Act, and be submitted by an incorporated production company prior to the commencement of principal photography. Coproductions will be selected according to how well they meet nfb cultural goals and objectives.

The nfb will retain copyright ownership in proportion to its participation, and will recoup its cash and services contributions. Canadian and international distribution rights are subject to agreement.

Aboriginal Filmmaking Program

As of April 1996, the nfb introduced The Aboriginal Filmmaking Program to replace its former Studio One structure. The program, which has a three-year mandate, will have an overall goal of providing aboriginal filmmakers from diverse regions of Canada with more opportunities to make films. The nfb’s English Program has set aside $1 million per year for productions or coproductions with indie aboriginal filmmakers. The program is accessible through all English Program production centers across the country.

The program aims to engage aboriginal talent in the production or coproduction of audiovisual works, so productions produced as part of the program will include training positions and endeavor to fill those positions with aboriginal candidates.

Various genres will be considered, but the program’s main focus will be on documentaries.

PAFPS/ACIC Programs: The nfb assists emerging private sector filmmakers via pafps (English Program) and acic (French Program) initiatives; these programs offer technical support. A variety of services are available and the number and level of services granted are determined on a case-by-case basis.

English Program:

Vancouver: (604) 666-3838

Edmonton: (403) 495-5456

Winnipeg: (204) 983-3160

Toronto: (416) 973-2979

Montreal: (514) 283-9458

Halifax: (902) 426-1739

French Program:

Montreal: (514) 496-1171

Toronto: (416) 973-2225

Moncton: (506) 851-6104

National Screen Institute

each year, the National Screen Institute offers five teams of filmmakers the chance to produce their projects through $6,000 in cash and $5,500 in service sponsorships. The value of each Drama Prize winner’s professional development package is $20,000.

Telefilm Canada, CanWest Global, cbc, Rogers Telefund and WIC Western International Communications each sponsor an award. Kodak, deluxe toronto, Thompson, Thompson Insurance Brokers, William F. White and Production Services Limited are the service sponsors.

Awards are limited to emerging professionals with less than five hours credit in their discipline. The deadline for applications is Nov. 15, 1996.

Contact: Debbie Yee (403) 421-4084

Paragon Financial Investments

paragon Financial Investments, a subsidiary of Paragon Entertainment, puts together financing for producers with Canadian-certified projects.

Contact: Laura Polley, vp corporate affairs, (416) 977-2929

Program for Export Market Development

the pemd is a federal, repayable program which supports export marketing and might help with marketing-related costs. Film and tv distribution activities are eligible. For guidelines, the pemd handbook can be obtained through the Info-Export information services of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which also has market studies and over 1,200 titles available free of charge to qualified Canadian exporters.

Contact: 1-800-267-8376

The Shaw Children’s Programming Initiative

Shaw Fund: Shaw Communications established the Shaw Fund in January 1994, and a total of $10 million was made available for investment in quality children’s programming from Canadian indie producers.

The fund provides an estimated $2 million per year for tv projects appropriate for children under the age of 13.

For program equity investments, the Shaw Fund operates primarily as a top-up equity investor, normally for up to 10% of the total budget to a maximum of $200,000.

Special program grants to Canadian television industry non-profit and charitable organizations are available for professional development, special awards or research initiatives which have a national impact.

Preference is given to original projects, and a production company or affiliated company will normally be entitled to funding only once in any fiscal year.

The Dr. Geoffrey R. Conway Programming Fund

The Conway fund supports tv programming that encourages children to participate in activities at home or school, with a particular emphasis on the preschool and primary school audience. Shaw has committed a total of $17.5 million to develop and invest in eligible programming.

Top-up project development money is available in the form of interest-free advances, repayable on the first day of principal photography, for a maximum of 25% of the total development budget up to $30,000. Development advances may be converted into an equity position in a project.

Top-up production equity investments of up to 10% of the total budget, to a maximum of $200,000, are available.

Multimedia loans, versioning loans and special program grants are also available.

A production company or affiliated company will normally be entitled to access the fund only twice in any fiscal year, but coproducers with 50% or less copyright can apply up to four times in any fiscal year.

Contact: Gerri Cook (403) 468-7115

Rogers Telefund

rogers Telefund is a revolving fund available for interim financing to Canadian producers with fully financed tv projects that have a Canadian broadcaster attached. The pot is $15.5 million and there’s no minimum or maximum amount that can be loaned. Telefund loans have no administration fee and favorable interest rates.

Rogers Documentary Fund: Starting in 1996, one English-language and one French-language Canadian documentary will be financed (the portion of the budget not covered by a broadcast licence) annually for the next four years by this new fund. The fund will also provide ‘last-in’ or ‘top-up’ financing to other doc projects. The producer must have a primetime airdate commitment (within a two-year time frame) from a national Canadian broadcaster. Canadian themes are preferred. The fund has a budget of $4 million over the next four years.

Contact: Robin Mirsky, executive director, (416) 864-2325

Royal Bank of Canada

the Royal Bank provides interim financing for film and tv productions through its national media and entertainment software finance group.

The focus is on three areas, the largest of which is filmed entertainment, followed by music publishing and the new-media area. Minimum requirements for filmed entertainment project consideration are: a fully financed production budget or bankable licences, a shooting budget and deferrable cost analysis, cash-flow projections, a completion guarantee and insurance. Different criteria apply to the other entertainment areas.

Contacts:

Toronto: Robert Beattie (416) 955-FILM

Vancouver: John Genzel (604) 684-FILM

Regina: Glen Graves (306) 775-FILM

Winnipeg: Wayne Deslauriers (204) 988-FILM

Montreal: Diane Debue (514) 874-CINE

Halifax: Ken MacIntosh (902) 463-FILM

Royal Bank Capital Corporation

For those who didn’t go public and want to stay competitive, rbcc provides corporate investment for established companies through private placements. rbcc has $125 million for equity play, targeting knowledge-based industries and exporters, and film and tv companies qualify on both counts. The capital corporation made three deals this year ranging from $2.5 million to $10 million. Ownership on projects would be in the neighborhood of 10% to 50%.

Contacts: Toronto (416) 974-2588, Montreal (514) 874-5087, Vancouver (604) 665-0460

RBC Dominion Securities

A full-service international investment bank with a specialty focus on media and telecommunications. Its services include private placement of equity and debt, public equity, and also provides strategic financial advice. For private placement, RBC Dominion Securities’ focus is on seasoned, senior companies, and taking companies with revenues over $35 million public.

Contacts: Bruce Rothney (416) 864-4066, Dan Coholan (416) 864-4996

Superchannel

allarcom Pay-Television’s Superchannel operates two funds:

Superchannel Development Fund: $500,000 is available per year for development loans for series, tv movies, features and children’s shows. The Superchannel Development Fund can be accessed at any stage of development, so amounts allocated vary widely – typically anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000.

Contact: Doug Steeden, vp production/creative development, (403) 430-2800

Superchannel Production Fund

Production loans, equity investment, licences or combinations thereof are available for series, tv movies, features and children’s shows. The fund is based on 20% of Superchannel’s revenues – recently averaging about $2 million per year. The average production investment is about 10% to 15% of the actual budget.

Contact: Nic Wry, vp business affairs, (403) 430-2800

Telefilm Canada

since Telefilm Canada is currently finalizing its Action Plan for 1996/97 (which should be out in June), the following details on the various film/tv programs refer to the ’95/96 guidelines.

Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund (in ’95/96 – $58.2 million)

Established to help the independent production community develop and produce tv programming, the broadcast fund may finance up to one-third of a program (up to 49% in certain instances) through equity financing, secured loans or non interest-bearing advances.

Telefilm requires that projects be certifiably Canadian and satisfy specific broadcast licence fee requirements. Projects should be innovative in their subject matter, have superior production values and strong Canadian elements.

In 1995/96, the equity contribution ceiling on hour-long series was $4 million, and $2.4 million for half-hour series.

Feature Film Fund (in ’95/96 – $22 million)

Created in 1986 to stimulate investment in independently-produced Canadian features for theatrical release, this fund is for projects with Canadian certification, a strong creative package, the involvement and commitment of a Canadian feature film distributor, a marketing strategy, and a business package with a realistic budget.

The 1995/96 guidelines allowed Telefilm to finance up to 40% of a production budget, to a ceiling of $1.5 million. For certain regional, or distinctly Canadian projects, Telefilm’s participation could increase to 49%. In special cases, such as for first-time directors, Telefilm could finance up to 49% of production costs on low-budget films without a distributor on a few projects per year.

Feature Film Distribution Fund (in ’95/96 – $10.3 million)

This fund is used to market or to acquire rights to Canadian films. Applicants to the fund must have been in business as a feature film distributor for at least two years and have distributed 12 or more films, of which at least two were Canadian.

Commercial Production Fund (in ’95/96 – $12 million): This fund expands Telefilm’s range of involvement in film and tv projects by contributing to the corporate development of Canadian production companies. No less that 65% of Telefilm’s involvement must be guaranteed by the production company and a third party.

Interim Financing Fund (in ’95/96 – $8 million)

A revolving loan fund, Telefilm uses the interim fund like a commercial banking operation. Applications should be for amounts between $50,000 and $1 million.

Production Revenue Sharing Program (in ’95/96 – $5 million)

Producers with good track records (depending on the kind of revenues they’ve generated in past experiences with Telefilm) can access funds for film/tv projects faster through this revenue redistribution program.

Versioning Assistance Fund (in ’95/96 – $3.5 million)

Canadian independent distributors and foreign sales companies (and in some cases, Canadian producers) may be advanced up to 100% of the cost of dubbing or subtitling Canadian productions into English or French. Telefilm expects to recoup a portion.

Loan Guarantee Program (’95/96)

Telefilm can guarantee up to $1 million of an individual borrower’s financial obligation for a maximum 18-month term. Total outstanding loan guarantees must not exceed $25 million at any time.

Concept Development for TV Series (’95/96)

For initial development financing (up to $10,000), experienced producers are exempt from broadcaster commitment requirements.

Cross-Over Writers Program (’95/96)

This program gives experienced writers working in literary fields other than scriptwriting an opportunity to work on a feature script. Playwrights and writers from the West and Atlantic provinces are eligible to apply for first draft development funds of $10,000.

(Revised information on all Telefilm funds will be available in the Action Plan for the Administration of Telefilm Canada’s Funds 1996/97, which should be available in June.)

Head office: Montreal, 1-800-567-0890 or (514) 283-6363

Toronto: (416) 973-6436

Halifax: (902) 426-8425

Vancouver: (604) 666-1566

Toronto Dominion Bank

td Bank provides a full range of financial services to producers, distributors and broadcasters, including cash management and payroll services, operating lines of credit, interim production loans, and term loans for acquisition and development. TD Securities provides integrated investment banking, merchant banking, fixed income, institutional equities and brokerage services. This includes the placement of equity on a private or public basis and merger and acquisition advisory services.

Toronto: Bob Marrs (416) 944-5291, Ruth Pullen (416) 9TD-FILM

Montreal: Sylvain Perras (514) 289-8327

Vancouver: Joan Rafter (604) 654-3518

TD Securities: Mary Ann Leon (416) 307-9831

VideoFACT (Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent)

videofact, sponsored by MuchMusic and MusiquePlus, provides financial assistance towards music video production. Awards cover up to 50% of the production budget to a maximum of $12,500.

Requests for financing may come from record companies, record producers, video directors and artists. While most videos are produced to promote a sound recording, this is not a requirement. Videofact supports all forms of music videos in English and French.

The board of directors makes awards based on the creative presentation and financial requirements. Applicants must submit an audio cassette or cd and a detailed visual concept for the proposed video, as well as a production budget outlining expenditures and financing sources. The board adjudicates proposals five times per year.

Since its foundation in 1984, the fund has contributed over $8 million to the production of 1,000 music videos and stimulated over $21 million in music video production.

Contact: Julie Thorburn Padula (416) 596-5696

List addendum at press time:

A&E/Canal D Canadian Production Fund

a&e annually devotes the net proceeds from its programming agreement with Premier Choix: tvec to funding the development and production of original certified Canadian programming by independent producers. The programming will be broadcast by both a&e and the French-language service Arts et Divertissement in Canada, and by a&e in the u.s.

Contact: Brooke Bailey Johnson, senior vp programming and production, (212) 661-4500