The Northwest Territories (NWT) Film Rebate Program will be doubled to $1 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The program began in 2015 with $100,000, expanding to $500,000 for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Since its launch, the program has supported 20 projects.

According to a release, the program’s updated guidelines and structure, set to take effect Dec. 1, will simplify the application process and adjust rebate criteria. Eligibility for new productions such as commercials and music videos is now included, and funding can be provided across more than one fiscal year for projects that require it.

Now, the rebate rates are 40% for scripted film and television, 30% for documentaries and 20% for music videos and commercials. Eligible support also now includes up to 50% of additional shipping costs, capped at $30,000 per applicant. The rebate is administered by the Northwest Territories Film Commission (NTFC).

“The expansion of the NWT Film Rebate Program marks a major milestone that will drive economic growth and help foster a diverse, thriving media sector in the territory,” said Caitlin Cleveland, the Northwest Territories’ Minister of Industry, Tourism and Investment in a statement.

Following the announcement, the Northwest Territories Producers Association (NTPA) and  NTFC have launched a joint program offering training to Northern residents with no previous film and TV experience.

Billed as the first of its kind, the Northern Canada Producer Launcher (NCPL) is being offered exclusively to residents in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

With classes starting February 2025, the NCPL will take up to ten participants through a customized curriculum aimed at developing their unscripted, documentary or reality series ideas to be pitched, sold and produced professionally. The first cohort will be selected through an application process via a portal that opened Nov. 13, with special consideration given to Indigenous residents.

The program will take the form of Zoom classes as well as in-person meetings in Yellowknife on the first weekend of February and April, in addition to weekly assignments. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered as part of the program.

Like its 2022 predecessor, the Northern Canadian Producer Accelerator, the NCPL is produced by Access Canada.

Program organizers are seeking an experienced producer and Northern resident to be the facilitator.

Funding for the NCPL is provided by the Bell Fund, the Canada Media Fund, Canada’s Northern Economic Development Agency and NTFC.

Image courtesy of the Northwest Territories Film Commission