Bell Fund allocates $2.2 million to 11 short-form series

The selected series include seven scripted projects and four documentaries.

The Bell Fund has announced $2.2 million in funding to 11 short-form series through its Short-form Digital Series Production Program.

The projects include seven scripted series and four documentaries. Of the total funding, $1.65 million was allocated for production and $550,000 for audience development. The short-form program supports Canadian filmmakers by funding original series for online distribution.

In the English-language fiction stream, three projects hail from Ontario and include Sportnet’s YouTube channel series Dying Seconds (Dying Seconds Season One; 6 x 15 minutes); season two of Super Channel’s Streams Flow From a River (Fae Pictures; 6 x 15 minutes); and OUTtv’s Thread (Archipelago Productions; 8 x 11 minutes).

The remaining fiction projects include APTN lumi’s Alberta-produced Tales from the Rez (Blackfoot Nation Films; 26 x 15 minutes); and OUTtv and Hollywood Suite’s B.C.-produced Pass the Salt (PK Studio Productions; 6 x 20 minutes).

In the English-language doc stream, the two projects are both from Ontario prodcos and include APTN lumi’s Bannock Stops (Little Bear Big Wolf Pictures; 6 x 11 minutes) and marblekids’ I Love Being Me! (GAPC Entertainment; 8 x 7 minutes).

The four French-language projects are all from Quebec and include two scripted series for Tou.tv; Ayer’s Cliff (Roméo et fils; 15 x 7 minutes) and season two of Coeur Vintage (Zone3; 8 x 10 minutes).

The two French-language unscripted series are for Téléquebec; Le bogue de l’an 2000 (Picbois Productions; 8 x 11 minutes) and season three of On joue ! avec Biscuit et Cassonade (Echo Media; 32 x 7 minutes).

According to a release, 18% of the series are from regions outside of Ontario and Quebec, including Alberta and British Columbia, and 73% of funded companies are majority-owned by individuals from Indigenous and/or diverse communities.

Of the companies funded, 27% are majority-owned by individuals who self-identify as women or gender-diverse, while 55% of projects have key creative teams from diverse communities and/or are women or gender diverse.

Photo by Samantha Falco