The CanWest Alberta Fund has doled out its first round of funds, backing five projects around the province. The fund — set up earlier this year with $10.5 million to hand out over the next seven years — has put undisclosed funds into:

• Burn Up, a Canada/U.K. political thriller in the works at Calgary’s Seven24 Films for CanWest and the BBC

• Caution: May Contain Nuts, a sketch comedy series by Mosaic Entertainment for APTN

• The third season of Family Restaurant, a Food Network series from Anaid Productions

• Inuit Invasion, a documentary about conflict among the First Nations from director Tom Radford, for CBC

• Ride Guide Snow, a show about skiing and snowboarding, in the works at Calgary’s Ride Guide Productions for CanWest Global.

The CAF is administered by the Independent Production Fund. CanWest set up the fund, at the behest of the CRTC, upon putting up new transmitters in Calgary and Edmonton for its Red Deer TV station CHCA. The next deadline for applications is March 15.