Netflix has pulled its financial backing from several screen industry training and development programs in Canada.

A spokesperson for Netflix confirmed to Playback Daily that the company has reduced its support for the programs due to the new regulatory requirements from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to contribute 5% of annual Canadian revenues to various industry funds.

“Despite our longstanding commitment, the government has chosen not to acknowledge our substantial support for the Canadian film and TV sector,” read the statement from Netflix. “Consequently, we will be unable to continue funding many of the programs that have come to rely on our backing, as we are now required to allocate resources to meet the CRTC’s new investment mandates.”

As of press time, Playback has confirmed that impacted organizations include Hot Docs, the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), the Whistler Film Festival Society (WFFS), the Pacific Screenwriting Program (PSP) and L’institut national de l’image et du son (L’inis).

However, Netflix has not entirely pulled its support from organizations across Canada. The Canadian Film Centre said Netflix has confirmed its support in 2025 for the five-month Norman Jewison Film Program, which includes labs for writers, directors, producers and editors.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television said Netflix is still supporting Women in Post; and the Banff World Media Festival also confirmed continued financial support for the Netflix-BANFF Diversity of Voices market access program, which supports up to 100 creators and producers from racialized communities.

WFFS executive director Angela Heck told Playback via email that Netflix informed the organization on Sept. 20 that it would not renew its support for the Producers Lab and Screenwriters Lab in 2025. The talent development initiatives provide months-long training support for writers and producers in Canada.

Heck said Netflix’s contribution made up nearly 50% of the program costs in certain years since it was established in 2018, and the organization “will be examining the future of these very successful programs.”

PSP executive director Camilla Tibbs similarly voiced concern for the flagship Scripted Series Lab, which gives B.C.-based screenwriters hands-on experience in the writer’s room. “[Netflix’s] six years of funding was critical to the PSP, and unless we are able to replace it, the future of our programs is in jeopardy,” she said.

Netflix had sponsored Hot Docs programs for seven years via the Canadian Storytellers Project, which included the CrossCurrents Doc Funds and, most recently, the Hot Docs Incubator, which provided $150,000 to five documentary recipients in 2024 to develop projects and train and mentor filmmakers.

“While this represents a loss of significant program funding to Hot Docs Industry, we look forward to the opportunities the Online Streaming Act holds to support professional development in the documentary space,” said a spokesperson for Hot Docs in a statement to Playback. “Hot Docs remains committed to nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and ensuring the continued growth and sustainability of Canadian documentary film as a celebrated national art form.”

A spokesperson for Quebec’s L’inis confirmed Netflix has ended its support after five years. The streaming supported the Mixed – Documentary and Fiction program, dedicated to support creators from racialized communities, in the first four years, and was the lead sponsor of the Fiction – Cinema and Series program in 2023.

Additionally, the ISO confirmed that Netflix is no longer supporting the Apprenticeship and Cultural Mentorship Funding program, which has now sunset. The program provided up to $60,000 to establish apprenticeships for productions, either for individuals or to support a prodco in hiring up to four apprentices, and up to $25,000 for cultural mentorships to seek expertise from Elders, language speakers and knowledge keepers during development and production.

According to Netflix, the streamer has provided more than $25 million via training and development programs in Canada since 2017, and has supported an estimated 1,200 Canadian creators.

Netflix representatives warned of potential consequences to limiting contributions to Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs) last November during the CRTC hearings on base contributions. Dean Garfield, Netflix’s VP, public policy, said on Nov. 30, 2023, that the streamer would “have to move away from the partnerships that we built over time.”

Photo by George Pimentel