The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has revealed the 23 projects and creators selected for its inaugural Digital Creators Pilot Program (DCPP).

The program supports mid-career Canadian digital content creators making short-form video content exclusively on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

The creators were selected from a total of 71 applications by a jury comprised of peers in the digital creation ecosystem, including Chloé Savard and Carl-Edwin Michel, and CMF analysts in March 2024. CMF also announced the renewal of the program for a second year.

The total commitment for the 2023-2024 edition of DCPP is $438,050.

Receiving $20,000 in funding are Pancake Manor, a series created for preschoolers and kindergarten children and produced by Billy Reid and Reb Stevenson; Flouring Kitchen created by Mary Rozenfeld, who is known for her decadent dessert recipes; Nick Durocher a.k.a. Talk, a social media star and musician; and former teacher turned comedian Douaa Kachache.

Other creators and projects awarded $20,000 include comedy magician Wes Barker; Answer in Progress, a YouTube channel created by Sabrina Cruz, Taha Khan and Melissa Fernandes; the project Mission Surin: Entre l’ombre et la lumière, which hails from four-time Olympic sprinter Bruny Surin.

Also receiving $20,000 in funding are creator, singer/songwriter and director Mane Yousuf; Lucie Rhéaume, creator of The Bus Project and The Winter Expedition series on YouTube; Jonas Singh, a.k.a Zulushi for the project Zulushi: the Future of Canadian Storytelling; Julie Nolke, known for her series Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self; and Adrian Sousa, who operates soccer-focused YouTube channel, Rabona TV.

Rounding out the $20,000 recipients are digital creator, producer and artist Fred Bastien; content creator Mae Belen; the series Travel and Culture by Deya Kannesha;  Instagram creator Steve Daniel; Frick, I Love Nature from producer Stephen Robinson; Un weekend sur deux from Quebec comedian Eddy King; Imagining Indigenous Futurisms from Shayla Oulette Stonechild; and content creator Olivia Leclerc.

Other successful applicants include Quebec-based singer-songwriter Megan Oak ($10,000); content creator Munish Raghuwanshi ($15,000); and Biolovik, the online hub from Vikie Pedneault ($13,050).

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