Vancouver: The last few weeks of August proved a windfall for Vancouver producers securing development and production money.

Among those in the incubation stage, animator Herve Bedard of NOA Network received $5,000 from Citytv for the development of an adult-oriented animated series called Fashion Fashion, about the world of couture.

Producers Corby Coffin and Nick Orchard of Soapbox Productions have signed a rare development deal with Discovery Channel to put together Cosmic Highway, a 13-part, 30-minute series about astronomy. The producers have collected $96,000 from Discovery, British Columbia Film and Telefilm Canada and will likely go into production this fall.

And hot on the heels of Champions of the Wild, Michael Chechik at Omni Productions snagged $12,000 in development funding from the cbc to develop a one-hour primetime drama called Watch Dog, about a Vancouver parole officer.

Meanwhile, producers with projects either in or on the way to the can were also filling their wallets last month.

Among those in the almost-hatched stage, producer David Paperny secured $31,000 from the cbc and $12,000 from Knowledge Network for six half-hours called B.C. Times to be delivered in October. Paperny also expects to secure $28,000 from the Cable Production Fund and $14,000 from B.C. Film. A chronological history of b.c., the series starts in the time before the Europeans settled in b.c. and moves through to contemporary society.

Yaletown Productions has secured $60,000 from the cbc (for cash and services) and $5,000 from TSC Distribution to produce Out of Bounds, a documentary about two Canadian grandmothers (aged 62 and 72) who completed a race of 15 small planes from New York to the southern tip of Argentina and back – 27,000 kms for those wondering. cpf funding was secured earlier.

Bravo! committed money to producer Cindy Leaney for My Art Will Rise Up and Speak, a documentary about Argentinean political refugees and artists working in b.c.

Jim Hamm Productions received money from CBC Newsworld to produce the Newfoundland-inspired Between a Rock and a Hard Place. And David Pettigrew, who has been filming his documentary on spec, received money from the cbc for African Brushstrokes.

Last chance for finance

Production money from the cable companies is flowing more freely toward the West Coast compared to last year. Better still, the Cable Production Fund still has $4 million to spend.

b.c. producers – who felt jilted last year when only 4% of funding was received even though b.c. has 15% of Canadian cable subscribers – have thus far accounted for 15% of the English-language applications compared to 10% for the entire fiscal term last year. In terms of overall applications this year, b.c. accounts for 10% to date compared for 6% in the last fiscal year.

Some of the local recipients: Kleo the Misfit Unicorn, Madison, A Place Called Chiapas, Communities, The Paddler Shaman and Out of Bounds.

Caroline Murphy, director of operations at the cpf, says the improvement in cash flowing to b.c. is due to the information seminars and receptions designed to increase awareness. The $1 million cap for companies means that the English fund has stayed open longer, which has benefited western producers, she adds.

Teen spirit

Earnest Vancouver series Madison – whose characters are graduating high school – began production on season four on Aug. 12, one month prior to the launch of the 13-episode season three this week.

Season three – which premiers on atv in the Maritimes Sept. 10 and hits cisa-tv Lethbridge, cict-tv Calgary, itv Edmonton and chch-tv Hamilton before it airs on bctv Sept. 15 – features the same cast and formula that has earned it 25 international awards. The show is produced by Vancouver-based Forefront Entertainment.

The airing of the newest season was delayed a whole year after the show was canceled by its original broadcast backer CanWest Global and was picked up by WIC Western International Communications. Because some CanWest stations were airing old Madison episodes in repeats until August, wic held off the new season to September in order not to confuse audiences and undermine fall promotions.

Season four will wean the core ensemble cast of 10 down to six, in part because some actors have secured gigs with other series. The fourth season of 13 episodes will likely begin airing in January.

Forefront, meanwhile, is four weeks into producing Shirley Holmes, a 30-minute, 13-part mystery series for the seven-to-13 crowd. The show, which is shot in Winnipeg, is a 50:50 coproduction with Winnipeg’s Credo Entertainment.

Wanted: A few good films

The first annual Sea to Sky Film Festival takes place Sept. 30 in Squamish, b.c., an hour north of Vancouver, and will feature 10 to 15 alternative, 16mm short films. The goal, says organizer Adriane Polo, is to broaden film literacy and recognize short films as an artistic form.

A panel of five judges will present awards to the best drama, comedy, animated film, documentary and experimental film.

Polo says first-year proceeds will go to the production of the feature Squamish Squamish, while subsequent years’ proceeds will go toward a film education fund in the Squamish area.

Polo can be reached at (604) 898-5930.

In production

Ellen Foster, a cbs mow being produced for Hallmark, started shooting Aug. 20 and carries on to Sept. 23. Cast includes Jena Malone and Julie Harris.

The Paramount feature Kiss the Girls shot in North Vancouver’s Lynn Canyon for two days of reshoots Sept. 5 and 6. Disney is currently budgeting two unnamed features for Vancouver.