The Rogers Group of Funds has invested $2.4 million across 29 Canadian documentary films, awarding assistance to upcoming Bell Media projects such as Buffy Sainte-Marie: Power in the Blood, Kings of Coke and The Grizzly Truth.

Selected from a group of 70 applications, the funder’s Rogers Documentary Fund has previously seen more than $42 million in grants pledged to Canadian producers and supported more than 900 documentary projects over the years, according to a press release. Grants for the fund go up to $100,000.

Celebrating and further examining the iconic musician and activist, White Pine Pictures’ Buffy Sainte-Marie: Power in the Blood sees Peter Raymont, Andrew Munger and Andrea Warner credited as producers on the CTV original. Meanwhile, both Kings of Coke (Urbania/Connect 3) and The Grizzly Truth (Grizz Films/Uninterrupted) are part of Bell Media’s Crave Original documentary lineup. Kings of Coke follows the rise and fall of Montreal’s West End Gang, while The Grizzly Truth looks at the disappearance of the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Producers attached to Kings of Coke include Philippe Lamarre, Raphaëlle Huysmans, Pablo Salzman, Michael Kronish, Andre Barro and Annie Bordeau, and producers on The Grizzly Truth comprise director Kathleen Jayme, Michael Grand, James Brown, Joella Cabalu, Scott Moore and Vinay Virmani. Notably, all three were unveiled during Bell Media’s June Upfront.

Urbania also received funding for Dans l’ombre du star wars kid (producers Jacinthe Carignan, Annie Bourdeau, Pierre-Mathieu Fortin, Philippe Lamarre, Raphaëlle Huysmans and Nathalie Cloutier, Télé-Québec). As well, Proximity Films’ Born to Run and Screen Siren Pictures’ Children of the Church secured support.

Producers on Born to Run (TVO) include Toxic Beauty‘s Phyllis Ellis and Proximity Films’ Howard Fraiberg. Meanwhile, Children of the Church (CBC) follows Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Mike Rezendes as he delves into the secret world of children of Catholic priests. Screen Siren Pictures president/producer Trish Dolman serves as a producer on the doc.

Other CBC projects that picked up funding include: Kino Sum Productions’ Borrowed from Nature (producers Sheila Peacock, Nicola Waugh and Gillian McKercher); Graphene Productions’ Carbon: An Unauthorized Biography (producers Niobe Thompson, Sonya Pemberton and Lucy Maclaren); Fringe Filmworks’ Carved in Stone (Angela Heck and Ivan Hughes, CBC Absolute Manitoba and Bell MTS); Bobby MSF’s Catwalk 2: Bobby’s Revenge (Judy Holm, Michael McNamara and Aaron Hancox, CBC and the documentary Channel); Yap Planet Productions’ State of the Planet (producers Elliott Halpern, Elizabeth Trojians, Martin Williams and Ben Schaub); Urban Whale’s The Urban Whale (producers Nadine Pequeneza and Joanne Jackson); Josh Freed Productions’ Unmasking the Human Face (producers Josh Freed and Janet Torge); Cinnamon Bowl Productions’ Meet and Eat at Lee’s Garden (producers Howard Tan, Day’s Lee and Isabelle Gregoire, CBC Absolute Quebec); Perpetuum Films’ Moonless Oasis (producers Josh Huculiak, Bryce Zimmerman and Nate Slaco); Terre Innue Productions’ Laissez-nous raconter (producers Josée Rock, Alexandre Bacon, Francine Allaire, Kim O’Bomsawin and Natalie Dubois, CBC and SRC); and documentary Cruising Towards Disaster from Michael Downie, David Wells and Diana Warmé.

Possessing Einstein from Frequent Flyer Films, which is connected to CBC’s the documentary Channel, also secured funding. Producers include Michelle Shephard, Bryn Hughes and Carolyn Abraham.

Super Channel, meanwhile, was attached to two projects: Dear Audrey from Cineflix (producers Glen Salzman, Katherine Buck, Annette Clark and Jeremiah Hayes) and Boyle’s War from Hootalinqua Motion Pictures (producers Trevor Birney, Max Fraser, Paul Cadieux, Michael Fanning). Boyle’s War also credits Northwestel TV as a broadcaster.

Explore: An Underground Journey from Peg Leg Films (producer Jenny Rustemeyer) and The Society Page from Towntalk Productions (Kevin Eastwood) with B.C. public broadcaster Knowledge Network also picked up funding.

Finally, the funder awarded coin to season one of VG Productions’ Visionary Gardeners (producers Moses Znaimer, Mark Bradley, Ian Toews, Beverley Shenken and Amy Walker, Vision TV); Bel Ange Moon Productions’ Le mythe de la femme noire (producers Kathy Wolf, Bianca and Tetchena Bellange, Natyf TV); Périphéria’s La Bataille pour l’âme du Québec (producer Yanick Létourneau, SRC-RDI); Catbird Productions’ La Forêt et la famille (producer Katarina Soukup, TV5 and Unis); and Productions Nova Média’s La vie devant moi (producers Yves Lafontaine and Martine Larouche, SRC).

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