The Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) invested a total of $142.6 million in Quebec’s cultural sector in 2023-24, according to its annual report.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, SODEC supported 1,031 businesses across the audiovisual, music, entertainment, books, digital, crafts and art market fields. This year’s total funding is less than the $203 million in investments detailed in the previous year’s report, given to 1,328 projects. The notable drop is partially attributed to the $48.7 million in temporary aid fund allocated in 2022-23 for 455 projects that had stalled due to the pandemic.

In the audiovisual field, 345 projects were supported in Quebec, accounting for $88.3 million in spending for the fiscal year. The prior year, SODEC spent $137 million on the film and television production sector, spread across 864 projects.

The investment for 2023-24 included 49 projects in development ($2.3 million); 96 in production ($60.6 million); 97 in promotion and broadcasting ($6.1 million); 74 in emerging creation ($5.3 million); 14 in pre-development stage television series that are literary adaptations ($249,589); 12 in production television and production value enhancement ($4.65 million); and three in corporate aid for production ($9 million).

In addition, 253 export and cultural outreach projects were funded.

SODEC’s investment bank financed 73 projects totaling $36 million.

In fall 2023, SODEC launched a program focused on producing digital immersive experiences. In May this year the organization put $7.5 million toward the program.

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