As the big companies get integrated, and the midsize companies look for partners to share the risk, the ’emerging’ producers try quilting together public funding pieces that shrink each time the finance minister buys a new pair of sh’es. Rapid and frequent shifts in the production environment make for a varied funding picture, daunting to seasoned veterans and tenderfeet alike.

Playback’s 1997 Report on Investment & Finance lists national and regional pockets of money, as well as services to help producers raise and spend it wisely.

– Binchmarks p. 32

– National funding sources p. 33

– Provincial funding sources p. 41

– Multimedia funding p. 49

* * *

The following is the 1997 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.

-A&E/Canal D Canadian Production Fund

A&E devotes the annual net proceeds from its programming agreement with Premier Choix: tvec to funding the production and development of original Canadian programming by indie producers. The programming is intended to air on both a&e and the French-language service Arts et Divertissement in Canada, and on a&e in the u.s.

Contact: Amy Briamonte, manager – specials, weekend, Canada (212) 210-9013

-Alliance Equicap

A subsidiary of Alliance Communications, Alliance Equicap raises money for investment in production. Producers can access a full range of Alliance’s services or utilize Equicap as a standalone operation.

Thanks to a recent agreement which secured a $25 million revolving line of credit from the Royal Bank of Canada, Equicap established a new film financing arm, Equicap Financial Corporation. efc provides interim financing to independent film and tv producers worldwide and financial services for production and distribution.

Contacts:

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

Equicap Financial Corporation: Robert Beattie, vp (416) 967-0682

-Bank of Nova Scotia

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

Contact: Robert Findlay (416) 866-3332

-Bravo!FACT

Sponsored by specialty broadcaster Bravo!, this program 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 deemed suitable for broadcast on Bravo! The fund is the greater of $600,000 per year or 5% of Bravo!’s gross revenues from the previous year.

Through non-refundable grants, Bravo! expects to invest $4 million over its seven-year licence term towards the promotion of development, production and exhibition of arts videos. Although the fund provides core programming for the broadcaster through non-exclusive broadcast rights, applicants retain copyright of their production.

The next deadline is June 30. To obtain an application, fax your name and address to (416) 591-9317 or via e-mail to bravofact@bravo.ca

Contact: Judy Gladstone, executive director (416) 591-7400, ext. 2734

-The Canada Council For The Arts

The Canada Council offers a variety of grants and services to individual media artists and organizations.

Under its media arts section, the council offers grants to film, video and new media artists for both development and production. The film deadline is November 15, the video deadline is August 15 and the new media deadline is October 1. Grants are also offered for emerging artists undertaking first productions in media arts (deadline – September 1), and for travel (available anytime).

Under the Media Arts Presentation, Distribution and Development Program, grants are available annually for distribution organizations (November 15) and programming (May 15), in addition to grants for short-term projects and the development of initiatives which provide enhanced opportunities for independent media artists (May 15 and November 15). Annual grants are also available to media arts production organizations for operating costs and the acquisition of equipment (November 15).

Contacts:

Film; First Productions; Presention, Distribution & Development: David Poole, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4252

Video; New Media: Yasmin Karim, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4251

Travel Grants: Karen Tisch, 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4253

-The Canada Television and Cable Production Fund

Established in September 1996 as a government/industry partnership, the ctcpf combined the Cable Production Fund, Telefilm Canada’s Canadian Broadcast Program Development Fund, and $100 million of new money from the Department of Canadian Heritage to form a $200 million per year television funding initiative. The fund was established to increase the amount of high-quality Canadian television programming.

The ctcpf operates two complementary funding programs – the Licence Fee Program ($92.5 million for fiscal 1997/98), administered by what was formerly the Cable Production Fund, and the Equity Investment Program ($107.5 million for fiscal 1997/98), administered by Telefilm Canada.

The Licence Fee Program: The lfp operates in the tradition of the Cable Production Fund as an objective, first-come, first-served initiative which receives much of its funding from the Canadian cable industry. Eligible applicants must be Canadian, be situated in Canada, be in the production business, provide proof of independent producer status and must satisfy the lfp’s independence indicators.

Eligible programs must be owned by Canadians, fit within eligible genres, satisfy eight out of 10 cavco points, be at least 30 minutes, satisfy lfp’s principal photography requirements, must include all episodes of a cycle in the case of a series, must have an eligible licence agreement, must be closed captioned, and must be a French-, English- or aboriginal-language production.

Contacts:

Toronto: (416) 975-4941

Elsewhere in Canada: 1-800-975-4941

Equity Investment Program: Eligible applicants are Canadian-controlled corporations as determined by the Investment Canada Act and as defined in Section 1106(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, which are Canadian-controlled, situated in Canada, are financially stable and own the copyright in a production.

Eligible projects must have a minimum of eight out of 10 cavco points, have a commitment from a licensed Canadian broadcaster to be broadcast during primetime within two years of completion, and are of ‘high quality,’ among other restrictions.

Approximately two-thirds of the eip resources are earmarked for English-language production, and between 45% and 55% are available each year to indie producers with a broadcast agreement with the cbc. Children’s, docs, variety and performing arts programs are to receive 20%, and feature films (with a broadcast window) can receive up to $15 million.

Contacts:

Head office (Montreal): (514) 283-6363

Toronto: (416) 973-6436

Vancouver: (604) 666-1566

Halifax: (902) 426-8425

-Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit

A fully refundable tax credit for eligible film and video productions owned by qualified taxable Canadian corporations, the credit covers 25% of eligible salary and wage expenditures after 1994. Qualifying wages and salaries may not exceed a maximum of 48% of the total budget of an eligible production, meaning the credit will provide assistance of up to 12% of the total cost.

The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit was established to replace the Capital Cost Allowance-based tax shelter mechanism.

Contact: Robert Soucy, Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (819) 997-6861

-Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund

This fund is geared towards educational/informational projects, documentaries and interactive multimedia programming. There’s a linguistic and regional quota system, and projects are accepted only at specific deadlines.

The private-sector, non-profit fund can usually be involved in the financing of development to a maximum of $10,000, and in production to a maximum of $50,000.

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

-The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Under its Development Information Program, cida partially funds Canadian productions which raise awareness of international development issues and Canada’s role in developing countries.

A formal Request for Proposal (rfp) is issued a minimum of once a year. The rfp is posted on cida’s Website (www.acdi-cida.gc.ca) and notices are sent to the program’s distribution list. Submissions are assessed by an independent, four-member evaluation committee which recommends to cida the proposals that best reflect the objectives of the program.

For information and a copy of the guidelines for submitting proposals, visit the Website.

Contact: Paul Turcotte, manager, development information program (819) 953-9506

-CanWest Global Development Fund

CanWest Global has rolled all its national development obligations (ckvu, Global, stv, mitv, ckmi) into this single $1 million per year fund, effective September 1997.

The consolidation comes with the granting of the ckmi-tv Quebec City licence and the fund will operate until the end of the five-year licence term.

The development loans will be earmarked predominantly towards Canadian drama and comedy programming, but kids’ shows and documentaries will also be considered. Funding will be distributed to independent producers to bring projects to a stage where they can be sold to international parties to complete financing or CanWest Global can assess if they will license the property. There are no caps per project, assessments will be made on an ad hoc basis.

Contact: Loren Mawhinney, vp of Canadian production (416) 446-5415

-CIBC Wood Gundy

CIBC Wood Gundy underwrites public equity issues and provides private equity capital to non-public companies. It also provides corporate finance and advisory services.

A company would typically have to be capable of raising upwards of $5 million on the public side and over $2 million on the private side.

Contact: Shubo Rakhit, director, corporate finance (416) 594-8023.

-Cultural Industries Development Fund

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

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

-Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

The Arts & Cultural Industries Promotion Division of the Bureau of International Cultural Relations administers a program for professionals in the Canadian film, video and television industries. Producers may apply for grants to support their participation in international events with a view to the sale of their products abroad and the stimulation of international coproductions. Preference is given to projects which will help professionals launch international careers and develop market potential. The amount of funding per project depends on the availability of funds and generally covers the cost of international air fare.

Applicants should have proven experience in their field. Grant requests should be submitted as early as possible and include a detailed marketing plan based on clear objectives, a written invitation from the host event, and a budget.

Contact: (613) 992-1557

-Export Development Corporation

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

Contact: (613) 598-2500

-Family Channel/Owl Fund

Owl Communications, through joint ventures with producers, invests in the development of 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 Channel, Owl puts together development budgets for various stages of project development. Typically, the amount ranges from $3,000 to $8,000 for any given stage.

Contact: Wayne Arron, executive director of the Owl Children’s Trust (416) 971-5275, ext. 387

-The Harold Greenberg Fund/Le Fonds Harold Greenberg

Formerly fund (Foundation to Underwrite New Drama), the Harold Greenberg Fund was created in 1986 by TMN-The Movie Network. The fund has components for script development, senior projects, equity investment and French-language equity investment.

The script development and senior projects programs are intended to encourage the development of feature-length scripts, suitable for theatrical release and pay-tv, by providing interest-free development loans which are repayable on the first day of principal photography. The equity investment program intends to promote production of Canadian feature-length, theatrical-release drama with a pay-per-view window. The French equity program supports movie productions and special events.

Under the Script Development Program, up to $18,000 may be advanced for a first draft, and up to $10,000 may be advanced for a final draft. The fund may advance up to $50,000 to projects of exceptional merit under the Senior Projects Program. The Equity Investment Program has $2 million available annually to Canadian production companies with a track record in the production of long-form drama.

Contacts:

English-language programs: (416) 956-5431

French-language programs: (514) 939-5094

-Gordon Capital Corporation

Toronto-based Gordon Capital participates in taking film and tv production companies public. Money-raising activities (i. e. accessing capital markets) are geared towards companies with annual production budgets in excess of $20 million. The company also provides financial advisory services, including matters of merger and acquisition.

Contact: John Cushman (416) 868-5392

-The Independent Production Fund

(formerly Maclean Hunter Development Fund)

The Independent Production Fund (formerly the Maclean Hunter Development Fund) was established to assist independent production of Canadian dramatic tv series for private broadcasters. It is a private charitable foundation with a capital endowment of $33 million, established in 1990 by Maclean Hunter Limited. The fund operates independently of its original benefactor.

The fund has about $3 million a year for equity investment in dramatic tv series or pilot production. The majority of production financing must be confirmed before application is made, and projects must have a licence from a Canadian private broadcaster. Producers must be independent and Canadian, and the project must be at least 51% Canadian.

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

Contact: ipf@inforamp.net

www.radsheep.com/IPF

-Cogeco Program Development Fund:

The Cogeco fund is administered by, and is a complement to, the Independent Production Fund. It provides development financing in the form of loans – repayable on the first day of principal photography – for Canadian dramatic tv series. Loans cover treatments and first or final drafts in English or French.

Indie Canadian producers with a Canadian screenwriter and a commitment from a Canadian broadcaster are eligible.

Contacts:

Toronto: Andra Sheffer (416) 977-8966

Montreal: Claire Dion, (514) 737-9969

-Kick Start

Kick Start, jointly administered by the Directors Guild of Canada B.C. District Council and Telefilm Canada, is designed to assist emerging filmmakers. The program is under annual review, and a decision on whether it will continue for the upcoming year is expected soon.

The program provides support of up to $10,000 per short film or video project, and it’s restricted to filmmakers from Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories). Details concerning maximum budgets and competition closing dates are pending.

Contact: Gwen McCormick or Bill Hurst, Telefilm Vancouver, 1-800-663-7771 or (604) 666-1566

-Marleau Lemire

Marleau Lemire is a Montreal-based investment company active in assisting other companies with public offerings. It also d’es private placements through offices in Canada and around the world.

Typically, companies considered for public offerings would have annual production budgets in excess of $10 million. There’s no minimum annual budget for private placement, but a proven track record is considered advantageous.

Contacts:

Montreal: David McFadgen (514) 877-3861

Toronto: (416) 595-5500

Vancouver: (604) 668-7900

-National Film Board

The National Film Board, which reports to the minister of Canadian Heritage, will participate as a coproducer and full partner in the development and production of films, videos and multimedia projects deemed culturally relevant, with special consideration for new filmmakers, documentaries, animation and multimedia.

Eligible projects must be certifiably Canadian, as defined by the Income Tax Act, and they must be submitted by an incorporated company prior to principal photography.

The nfb d’es look to recoup on cash and services contributions, and the board retains copyright ownership in proportion to its participation.

FAP/ACIC: Through the English Program’s Filmmaker Assistance Program (fap) and the French Program’s Aide au cinema independent Canada (acic), the nfb offers technical support to emerging private-sector filmmakers. The number and level of services granted are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Aboriginal Filmmaking Program: Introduced in May 1996 to replace the former Studio One structure, the program has a three-year mandate to provide aboriginal filmmakers with more opportunities to make films. The English Program has set aside $1 million for productions and/or coproductions with indie aboriginal filmmakers, and projects produced via the program will include training positions and attempt to fill these positions with aboriginal candidates. The focus is on documentaries, but other genres will be considered.

English Program:

Atlantic Centre: Halifax – (902) 426-6000

North West Centre: Edmonton – (403) 495-3015

Ontario Centre: Toronto – (416) 973-2979

Pacific Centre: Vancouver – (604) 666-5410

Prairie Centre: Winnipeg – (204) 983-7996

Montreal – (514) 283-9501

French Program:

Studio Acadie: Moncton – (506) 851-6105

Studio Ontario/West: Toronto – (416) 973-2226

Montreal – (514) 283-9285

-National Screen Institute

Each year, the National Screen Institute offers six teams of filmmakers the chance to produce their projects with $6,000 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, Shaw Children’s Programming Initiative and WIC Western International Communications each sponsor an award. Kodak, deluxe toronto, William F. White and Thompson, Thompson Insurance Brokers are the service sponsors.

Awards are limited to emerging professionals with less than two hours’ credit in their discipline. The deadline for application is Nov. 14, 1997.

Contact: Debbie Yee (403) 421-4084

-Paragon Financial Investments

A subsidiary of Paragon Entertainment, Paragon Financial Investments puts together financing for producers with Canadian-certified projects, including tax credit and cable fund advances, and gap financing. Typically, producers availing themselves of pfi’s services have projects budgeted above $775,000.

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

-Program for Export Market Development

PEMD is the federal government’s primary international business development program, and is designed to increase export sales of Canadian goods and services. Preference is given to companies with annual sales between $250,000 and $10 million, and/or with fewer than 100 employees.

pemd supports companies by sharing the costs of export market development activities they could not or would not normally attempt on their own. The money invested is a contribution, and repayment is based on the new sales made by the company or the contracts obtained.

Contact: 1-800-567-2345; or //cbsc.org

-Republic National Bank

With offices in Montreal and Toronto, Republic National Bank – under its commercial lending division – provides interim funding for feature films and tv projects which are financed with presales, equity investments and/or government-related programs, including the federal and provincial tax credits. rnb also counsels producers on how to identify and manage foreign exchange risk when incurring Canadian dollar production expenses against u.s. dollar revenue streams.

Contact: Dan McMullen (416) 367-1710

-Rogers Telefund

Rogers Telefund is a revolving fund available for interim financing to Canadian producers with fully financed tv projects which have a Canadian broadcaster attached. The pot is $17 million and there’s no minimum or maximum amount which can be loaned. Telefund loans have no administration fee and favorable interest rates.

Rogers Documentary Fund: With $1 million a year for four years (1997 is year two), the Rogers Documentary Fund has a core funding program and a top-up program. The core program supports three documentaries a year (two English, one French) with a maximum contribution of $100,000. The balance of the fund is directed towards the top-up program, which has a maximum contribution of $35,000 per project.

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

-Royal Bank of Canada

The Royal Bank of Canada provides financial services for film, tv, digital and new media producers, distributors and publishers through its national media and entertainment division. Royal offers production and operating loans, and deposit and payment products designed for producers of film and tv.

The minimum requirements for standalone project financing are an experienced producer, a fully financed budget, weekly and monthly cash flow projections, a completion guarantee and standard insurance. Digital and new media producers are encouraged to contact Paul Stewart in Toronto.

Contacts:

Toronto: (416) 955-FILM

Montreal: (416) 874-CINE

Vancouver: (604) 684-FILM

Halifax: (902) 463-FILM

Winnipeg: (204) 988-FILM

Regina: (306) 775-FILM

Royal Bank Capital Corporation: rbcc provides corporate investment for established companies through private placements. rbcc has $350 million for equity play, targeting knowledge-based industries and exporters – film and tv producers qualify on both counts. Minimum deal size has been decreased to $250,000 and ownership in projects would be in the neighborhood of 10% to 50%.

Contacts:

Toronto: (416) 974-5088

Montreal: (514) 874-5081

Vancouver: (604) 665-0460

RBC Dominion Securities: A full-service international investment bank with a specialty focus on media and telecommunications. Services include private placement of equity and debt, public equity, and strategic financial advice. For private placement, the focus is on seasoned, senior companies. Likely candidates for public offerings are companies with revenues over $35 million.

Contacts: Bruce Rothney (416) 842-7608; Dan Coholan (416) 842-7544

-The Shaw Children’s Programming Initiative

Under the Shaw Fund (aimed at programming for children 8-12 years) and the Dr. Geoffrey R. Conway Fund (aimed at programming for children 3-7 years), Shaw Communications has committed a total of $27.5 million, made available to indie Canadian producers with projects licensed for Canadian private broadcast, specialty and pay-tv networks.

Areas of support include top-up project development (up to $30,000 per project), top-up production equity investment (up to $200,000), multimedia loans, versioning loans, and special program grants.

Contact: Gail Yakemchuk (403) 468-7115

-Superchannel

Superchannel, an Allarcom pay-tv company, has an annual budget of $500,000 (part of 20% of the company’s gross revenue) to assist the development of series, movies and children’s programming. The assistance is in the form of development loans. Superchannel utilizes the balance of gross revenue for equity investment.

Contact: Nic Wry (403) 430-2800

-TMN-The Movie Network

As well as sponsoring The Harold Greenberg Fund/Le Fond Harold Greenberg’s script development program, tmn contributes another $9 million annually to the Canadian independent production industry through prelicensing fees and equity investment, in addition to acquisition licence fees.

Contact: Jaime Wynne, manager, original production (416) 956-2010

-Telefilm Canada

Since Telefilm Canada is currently finalizing its business plan for 1997/98 (which should be available fall, 1997) details and figures regarding the following programs may change at that time. For information on the Equity Investment Program, see the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund.

Telefilm’s mandate is to encourage and financially assist the industry in producing culturally relevant, high-quality Canadian production, and to ensure the widest distribution possible in Canada and abroad. Telefilm will not normally invest in productions with fewer than eight out of 10 cavco points, and its participation is usually limited to the Canadian portion of the budget.

Feature Film Fund ($22 million): Telefilm may finance up to 49% of a project’s production budget, but will normally invest no more than $1.5 million. Telefilm’s participation may take the form of equity investment, secured loans, or non-interest bearing advances. Eligible productions must have a Canadian distribution agreement for release within one year of completion.

Feature Film Distribution Fund ($10.3 million): The distribution fund has a principal fund (which allocates annual lines of credit to established distributors) and a contingency fund (which provides project-by-project help to developing producers).

The principal fund may be used to acquire rights to Canadian films, to pay for marketing of Canadian films, or to secure corporate loans.

To be eligible for the contingency fund, a distributor must – in the preceding 24 months – either have been deemed eligible to trigger Telefilm’s Feature Film Fund and distributed two admissible Canadian films, or have acquired the rights to two arm’s-length productions financed under the Feature Film Fund.

Interim Financing Fund ($8 million): Telefilm may advance guaranteed, short-term loans of up to $1 million for ‘any industry activity that conforms to the overall objectives and mandate of Telefilm Canada.’

Versioning Assistance Fund ($3.5 million): Telefilm may advance up to 100% of the costs of dubbing or subtitling Canadian productions into one or both of Canada’s two official languages, expecting to recoup 40% of its advance for Canadian film productions, 50% for Canadian tv, and 60% for foreign productions.

Canadian Production Marketing Assistance Fund ($2.5 million): Telefilm may assist private sector Canadian distribution or foreign sales companies in marketing certified Canadian productions, official coproductions, or those projects which have currently received Telefilm production financing.

Eligible applicants must hold all necessary rights for maximum distribution of the production in Canada and/or abroad, and have a proven track record in those markets.

Loan Guarantee Program: A program designed to provide Canadian financial institutions with loan guarantees and appraisal of loan applications submitted by Canadian production, distribution and foreign sales companies.

The program is intended primarily for companies or projects which would otherwise be unable to obtain loans in the private sector. Telefilm can guarantee 85% of the maximum amount of the loan, not to exceed $1 million per project.

Commercial Production Fund ($12 million): Designed to enable Telefilm Canada to provide financing for lower risk Canadian tv programs and theatrical features. In order to be eligible, at least 65% of Telefilm’s investment must be guaranteed. Telefilm d’es seek profitability in commercial fund investments, and the maximum investment is one-third of the budget, up to $1.5 million.

Contacts:

Montreal (head office): (514) 283-6363

Toronto: (416) 973-6436

Vancouver: (604) 666-1566

Halifax: (902) 426-8425

-Toronto Dominion Bank

TD offers a full range of financial services to producers, distributors and broadcasters, including interim production loans, revolving lines of credit, term loans, cash management and payroll services.

TD Securities Inc. provides integrated investment banking, merchant banking, fixed income, institutional equities and brokerage services. This includes the placement of equities on a private or public basis, and merger and acquisition advisory services.

Contacts:

Toronto: Bob Marrs (416) 944-5291; Dwayne Priestman (416) 9TD-FILM

Montreal: Sylvain Perras (514) 289-8327

Vancouver: Kevin French (604) 654-3513

Halifax: Paul O’Hearn, (902) 420-8530

-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 $15,000. Requests may come from record companies, producers, directors and artists.

The board makes decisions based on creative presentation and financial requirements. Applicants must submit an audio cassette or cd and a detailed visual concept proposal with a production budget.

The next Videofact deadline is May 15 for proposals to be considered in June.

Contact: Beverley McKee (416) 596-8696

-Yorkton Securities

The entertainment and leisure division of Yorkton Securities raises equity capital for information technology companies. Since last May, the company has led financings for Nelvana ($20.7 million) and Vidatron ($6 million).

Contact: Nelson Smith (416) 864-3585

At press time national funding sources addendum

p49

CanWest Global Development Fund

CanWest Global has rolled all its national development obligations (CKVU, Global, STV, MITV, CKMI) into this single $1 million per year fund, effective September 1997.

The consolidation comes with the granting of the CKMI-TV Quebec City licence and the fund will operate until the end of the five-year licence term.

The development loans will be earmarked predominantly towards Canadian drama and comedy programming, but kids’ shows and documentaries will also be considered. Funding will be distributed to independent producers to bring projects to a stage where they can be sold to international parties to complete financing or CanWest Global can assess if they will licence the property. There are no caps per project, assessments will be made on an ad hoc basis.

Contact: Loren Mawhinney, VP of Canadian production (416) 446-5415