Montreal: Telefilm Canada supported just under 20% of the production and post-production projects submitted to its Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program in 2001/02. The agency received 66 project submissions this year, 49 for production financing and 17 for post-production support, with 13 accepted, mostly in the production financing category. Eighty projects were submitted in 2000/01.

‘It is a very competitive national program,’ says Pierre Even, director business unit, feature films with Telefilm’s Quebec operations office.

The program’s filing deadline across the country is April 15. Decisions are anticipated May 31.

Telefilm’s total investment in low-budget Canadian features exceeded this year’s $1.8-million program allocation, says Even. The program is part of the Canada Feature Film Fund, and Even says while there may be ‘minor changes’ to guidelines for 2002/03, the overall allocation will remain at current levels.

Qualifying low-budget projects must be creatively controlled by the director, including control over final edit, and produced on a budget of between $300,000 and $750,000. The program is open to experienced directors and emerging directors with at least one dramatic short film credit. Telefilm’s contribution is capped at 65% of the budget up to a maximum of $200,000. The agency recoups at least 10% of its advance against revenues.

Qualifying feature projects must be more than 75 minutes in length and may be originated in DV, 16mm or 35mm formats, with or without a theatrical release pre-agreement from a recognized distributor.

Low Budget Independent Feature Film Assistance Program projects in 2001/02 include Boris Mojsovski’s Three and Half; Shirley Cheechoo’s Bearwalker; Paul Pogue’s Prey; Sandra Sawatzky’s The Girl who Married a Ghost; Michael Dowse’s Fubar, which preemed at this year’s Sundance Film Festival; Anita McGee’s The Bread Maker, the only Atlantic region project; and three French-language Quebec projects – Jeannine Gagne’s Au fil de l’eau, Nathalie Saint-Pierre’s Le Silence nous guette and Jean-Pierre Lefebvre’s 26th feature film, Le Manuscript erotique, starring Lyne Riel, Sylvie Moreau and Francois Papineau. It was produced on a budget of $400,000 last fall by Lefebvre’s own house, Cinak, and Bernard Lalonde of Vent d’Est Films, and will be released in theatres later this year by Film Tonic.

-www.telefilm.gc.ca