Creative BC has selected 11 grant recipients for early project development funding through the Rogers Indigenous Film Fund (RIFF) Program.

Approximately $200,000 has been allocated via the multi-year $1 million fund launched in 2021, providing up to $20,000 per recipient.

RIFF is open to First Nations, Métis and Inuit creators and filmmakers based in B.C., and was created through Creative BC’s Reel Focus BC program suite to support the early development of Indigenous-owned IP. The fund was created in consultation with the Indigenous community and industry, according to a news release.

Of the 11 recipients, six are Vancouver-based: Justin Ducharme, who is in development on the project Seventeen; Leena Minifie of Stories First Productions with investigative title The Good Canadian; Esteban Manuel with feature script ¢kaʔ (Doubt); Quanah Napoleon with “multi-chapter” title Beneath the Surface; Justin Neal with dramedy series Hole in the Donut; and Jay Cardinal Villeneuve with Cree Métis story Nôhcimihk (in the bush).

Additional recipients include Langley’s Brianne Island with the animated short Cahcahkapew Piyesis; Saanichton’s Eva Grant of Tooth & Nail Pictures with Entity; Fort Nelson’s Ryan David Lee Dickie with Fourth Sister to the Land; Surrey’s Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson of Raven Calling Productions with documentary project Roots of Haida Law; and Port Alberni’s Tanner Zurkoski of Two Hounds Media with feature documentary Too-Mook (Kingfisher).

Eight of the 11 recipients were allocated the maximum $20,000. A total of $13,000 went to Ducharme’s Seventeen, with $12,150 going to Villeneuve’s Nôhcimihk and $10,000 to Neal’s Hole in the Donut.

The financial support goes toward research, community engagement and script development. Recipients will also have access to virtual professional development resources “throughout the duration of the RIFF program and beyond,” said the release.

RIFF is the first of three programs administered by Creative BC and funded by the Rogers Group of Funds, and will be offered through 2024. The initiative builds on an initial investment of $200,000 to provide top-up funding for recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office Development Fund program.

“Each of the recipients selected for the Rogers Indigenous Film Fund represents a voice that needs to be heard, with creative ideas and concepts that will truly help educate and inform us in meaningful ways,” said Rogers Group of Funds director Robin Mirsky in a statement, adding that Rogers Group of Funds is “committed to investing in and removing barriers for Indigenous content creators.”

Added Creative BC CEO Prem Gill: “These emerging, early and mid-career First Nations, Métis and Inuit creators will develop their careers and high-quality, market-ready content, through funding, business support, and mentorship.”

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