The Canada Television and Cable Production Fund’s Licence Fee Program has closed out the first abbreviated year of the fund with 314 tv programs receiving support. A total of 209 English-language programs received $53.3 million and 105 French-language programs received $26.7 million, representing a total of over $541 million of production activity and 784 hours of primetime programming.

As per the agreement with the Department of Heritage, 80% of the lfp funds went to drama and children’s shows. The fund supported 66 dramas, 47 children’s productions, 163 documentaries, 19 variety programs and 19 performing arts productions. Contributions ranged from $4,453 to $2.5 million.

Shortly after closing its French-language envelope, the lfp allocated its entire $80 million 1996/97 budget.

In other production news, Telefilm Canada’s international office says Canada together with nine international partners coproduced 42 film and television projects in 1996 representing cumulative budgets of $251.9 million.

The tally is up from 36 projects worth $245.6 million in 1995. The Canadian share of the budgets was down last year to 43%.

Leading partners included France with 24 projects, or 60% of the total, the u.k. with six, the Czech Republic with four, and Germany and Switzerland with two each. Single projects were coproduced with Japan, Venezuela, Russia and South Africa, the latter on an ad hoc basis.

Looking ahead, ’97 coproduction goals include more children’s and tv activity with u.k. partners, and more efforts at expanding feature film activity with France, says Sheila de la Varende of Telefilm’s Paris office.

New initiatives from Telefilm include a u.k. Immersion program in the children’s and/or animation program sector, probably for the late fall, and the agency’s first participation in a major Latin American tv market, Mercado Iberoamericano de la Television, in Havana, June1. MEA/LRB