MONTREAL — Telefilm Canada says it has improved its Feature It program to make it more accessible, after consulting with Quebec’s anglophone filmmaking community.

The program was set up to give English-language writers and producers working in Quebec the opportunity to develop market-driven feature film projects.

In the past, projects at the synopsis stage were submitted by the writers, explains Telfilm’s director of international and national business development Sheila de La Varende.

Under the new changes, production companies and individual producers may apply for both the Getting to First Draft and the First or Subsequent Draft stages (for projects in outline, treatment or draft form), while writers may only apply for the Getting to First Draft stage (for projects in outline or treatment form).

Selected applicants will take part in a four-day immersion in Montreal to review the fundamentals of film development and scriptwriting with industry experts. Further training needs will be assessed following the immersion. Writers will receive script editing support and producers will get individual mentoring. Successful participants will receive Canada Feature Film Fund development financing in the form of an advance for a phase of their project.

Both programs are financed by Canadian Heritage via the Interdepartmental Partnership with Official-Language Communities.

Details are available at www.telefilm.gc.ca.