Montreal: Telefilm Canada has announced funding for 52 feature film projects under its Screenwriting Assistance Program.

The federal funding agency says it received 242 applications, 183 for English projects, 59 for French, representing cumulative demand of close to $3 million. The program, in its first year, has an annual budget of $400,000, with support ranging from $10,000 to just under $15,000. About one of five applications was approved. Of the 52 approved projects, 35 are English, 17 French.

Peter Katadotis, Telefilm’s director of Canadian operations, says results for the program’s first edition ‘will be a collection of highly promising scripts. Telefilm Canada worked with juries for the first time in this program, one for French-language projects, the other for English-language projects. The experience has proved very fruitful.’

Eligible candidates must be professional screenwriters ‘actively working in the Canadian film and television industry’ with credits of at least one hour of produced drama including features, TV movies, half-hour drama and dramatic short films.

Telefilm says guidelines and application deadlines for 2001/02 will be available soon.

A list of approved 2000/01 Screenwriting Assistance Program projects is on the Telefilm website. *

-www.telefilm.gc.ca