It is not hard to find friends after handing out more than $1.6 million, and after the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund released its annual round of grants, Leigh Badgley was quick to sing its praises.

‘They’re more of a partner than a funder,’ says Badgley, producer/director of Greenpeace: The Inside Story. The Omni Film Productions doc, about the early days of the eco-activists, was among the 67 lucky projects. ‘In these days of reality television, it’s really hard to fund a ‘serious’ or ‘meaningful’ documentary,’ says Badgley. ‘When there’s a valuable educational component, [the CIFVF] really come to mind as champions of that cause.’

Greenpeace, already in post for Global, Knowledge Network and Radio-Canada, includes one of the last interviews with Bob Hunter, the group’s cofounder, before his death from cancer in May.

Also selected was Kiviaq versus Canada, an hour-long documentary for Nunavut Independent Television Network and History Television, about the life of Canada’s first Inuit lawyer and the discrimination lawsuit he brought against the government on behalf of the Inuit. It is a copro of Igloolik Isuma and Kunik-Cohn Productions, working out of the latter’s Montreal office.

The fund did not shy away from controversial subjects, such as in the one-hour doc Nowhere Yet to Rest My Head: Iranian Women in Ongoing Struggle from Ciné 3 Productions, or Storyline Entertainment’s The Recorder – a TV hour on conflict-resolution pioneer Ben Hoffman, known for his work with victims of sexual abuse.

A jury of industry professionals made their choices from 167 applications for non-theatrical film and video productions.

This year Star Choice Communications donated $300,000 to the fund, which was divided among the top eight productions.

The CIFVF awards grants annually, and will be accepting submissions for its next round of evaluations in spring 2006. The dates and criteria will be made available on the fund’s website.

-www.cifvf.ca