Education through entertainment is the theme of the latest decisions at Telefilm Canada, where 25 of 38 projects that received financing by its Canada New Media Fund qualified as edutainment.

The breakdown by language and region saw 23 successful English apps for product development and marketing from the Atlantic (2), Western (9) and Ontario/Nunavut (12) regions. Quebec apps garned the go-ahead for 15 multimedia titles.

Successful applicants from Ontario in the edutainment/convergent web category include Burnt Toast Interactive from marblemedia, spun off from the CBC/Bravo! series in which people romance each other by singing opera. The wireless and online version promises to allow users to ‘virtual date and form relationships’ enhanced by ‘seduction tools’ geared to improve one’s chances.

Also in the hopper is ReGenesis Extended Reality out of Xenophile Media, which will bring viewers of the science drama further into the world of its NorBAC, the organization formed to investigate questionable advances in biotechnology.

Les Gonflantes aventures de Peter Flat, from Frima Studio, which was awarded product development funding, is a web-based game product out of Quebec, a province renowned for its powerhouse vid-game developers. Dancing Beavers from Everywhere Cell Phone Games, based in B.C., is pitched as a wireless-based game, while Monstories from The Storyworks Productions Canada and Facelift Enterprises will roll out its entertainment game product across wireless and web platforms with some marketing financing from the CNMF.

Internet-based initiatives account for 66% of the projects, while 34% are being developed as offline media.

The trend towards edutainment perhaps reflects recently installed CNMF head Bruno Légaré’s background, which included time at CogniScience, one of Quebec’s largest educational multimedia publishers. ‘We have invested in a wide range of diverse properties – including wireless products, interactive DVD-ROMs, convergent websites, console games and CD-ROMs,’ says Légaré. ‘Canadian content and overall quality and innovation were extremely high, indicating the enthusiasm with which the industry is embracing the objectives of the fund.’

Winners were announced Sept. 29, with the next application deadline having been Oct. 19.

www.telefilm.gc.ca