A ward-winning director Clement Virgo (pictured) is among the filmmakers to receive production support from Telefilm Canada’s latest round of funding.

The national funder has allocated $23 million to 12 English-language films with a budget of $3.5 million or higher. The list has six Ontario productions, two from British Columbia and one from Manitoba, as well as two from Nova Scotia/Ontario and one from British Columbia/Ontario.

Among the selected projects is Virgo’s Ontario thriller Steal Away Home, co-written by him and Tamara Faith Berger, with Virgo attached to direct. The film will be produced by Toronto-based Conquering Lion Pictures, run by Virgo and producing partner Damon D’Oliveira, and distributed by Elevation Pictures.

Conquering Lion and Elevation previously partnered on Virgo’s drama feature Brother. The film broke the record for most film wins at the Canadian Screen Awards last week, with Virgo honoured for his writing and directing work, as well as for Best Motion Picture.

Berger is the screenwriter on another film selected for production funding, the Canada/Greece copro Maya and Samar, with Anita Doron attached to direct. The film is produced by Toronto’s January Films and Serendipity Point Films, with Montreal’s Sphere Films attached to distribute.

There are several coproductions on the list as well, including three with France. Among them are the drama Bonjour Tristesse from writer-director Durga Chew-Bose, produced by Toronto’s Babe Nation Films and Elevation, with the latter also serving as distributor, and the drama Kill Me Now, from director Daniel Grou and writer Brad Fraser, with Toronto’s Genco Pictures producing and Photon Films distributing.

The third film is the Canada/France/Belgium animated comedy Night of the Zoopocalypse, from directors Ricardo Curtis and Rodrigo Perez-Castro and writers James Kee and Steve Hoban, produced by Toronto’s Copperheart Entertainment and Mipa Film, with Elevation as distributor.

Rounding out the coproductions are three films, all distributed by Elevation: Canada/U.K. mystery film Flavia de Luce from director Bharat Nalluri and writer Susan Coyne, produced by B.C.’s Mystic Point Productions; Canada/Germany comedy Rumours from writer-directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson, from Manitoba’s Buffalo Gal Pictures, Walking Down Broadway and Thin Stuff Productions; and Canada/Netherlands rom-com Any Other Night from director Michiel ten Horn and writer Patrick Whistler, produced by Toronto’s Lithium Studios Productions and Film Forge.

The two Nova Scotia/Ontario features that picked up production support are: Thriller Skite’kmujua’kik (Place of Ghosts) from writer-director Bretten Hannam, produced by Halifax’s Shut Up & Colour Pictures and Mazewalker Films, and Toronto’s Plausible Communications, with VVS Films handling distribution; and drama Alien Boy from writer-director Fawaz Al-Matrouk, produced by Nava Projects and First Generation Media, with Elevation Pictures distributing.

The selections also include the drama Birth of a Family from writer-director Tasha Hubbard, co-written with Emil Sher, with Vancouver’s Experimental Forest Films and Toronto’s January Films producing, and Mongrel Media handling distribution.

Rounding out the titles is sci-fi fantasy Can I Get a Witness?  from writer-director Ann Marie Fleming, who is producing under the Vancouver banner AMF Productions, with Mongrel Media as the distributor.

Telefilm announced the French-language films selected for the Production Program’s big budget stream last week, with additional funding announcements to come.

Photo by George Pimentel Photography