CHUM loves new anthology

CHUM Television is calling for submissions from emerging and culturally diverse Canadian filmmakers for a 13-part anthology series entitled 13 Stories About Love. The chosen applicants will be given the opportunity to produce a one-hour episode for the series, which will be broadcast on Citytv Toronto and Vancouver.

Projects will be eligible for up to $100,000 in licence fees.

Submission guidelines call for short, contemporary, dramatic scripts that are set in Canada, reflect some aspect of the country’s cultural diversity and are about love in the broadest possible sense. The series is designed to provide opportunities for diverse filmmaking communities to make inroads within the film and television industry. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 29.

Corus, Telelatino partner in fund

Corus Entertainment has announced the launch of the Corus Telelatino Fund, a $1.1-million initiative designed to support the development and production of new programming geared towards Hispanic and Italian television audiences. The licence fee top-up fund will assist TLN Telelatino in both obtaining and financing high-end programming with a Euro-Latino appeal.

The fund is seeking program proposals for docs, dramas, comedies, talent and talk shows on an immediate and ongoing basis. Only those programs that spark Telelatino’s interest, in the form of a licence agreement or letter of intent, will be considered for funding.

Music Entrepreneur Program invests $18 million

Telefilm Canada has announced an investment of $18 million in 13 Canadian sound recording companies under phase two of the Music Entrepreneur Program. MEP’s second component provides support for the implementation of corporate business plans. Phase one provided financing for the development of five-year business plans.

Per Telefilm, ‘The business plans were assessed against the three criteria set out in the MEP guidelines: market tests (ex. the degree to which the applicant has the required understanding of the market, the competitive environment and industry trends); financial tests (ex. the degree to which the company is financially viable and the likelihood of it achieving self-sustainability); and cultural tests (ex. the degree to which the applicant is committed to both the development and promotion of Canadian artists, songwriters and the private sector).’

MEP is a component of the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Canada Music Fund. A full list of accepted sound recording companies and artists is posted on the Telefilm website, www.telefilm.gc.ca.