Toronto-based Dark Slope is investing $1 million to support Canadian film and television projects over the next year.

The new fund is positioned to help projects that lend themselves to virtual production get greenlit. They have to have a minimum of one-third of their financing secured and at least one recognized buyer already committed to be considered, and will also get access to the company’s 35,000 square-foot Toronto-based studio – which opened in June 2024 – featuring a LED volume virtual production smart stage soundstage.

Dark Slope has a history of lending out its smart soundstage to help productions cut costs, but this particular investment initiative came to life because they noticed those some projects were still experiencing gaps in their financing, Raja Khanna, Dark Slope’s executive chair, tells Playback Daily. 

“We made the executive decision on certain projects that we feel have very strong commercial appeal. Why don’t we just invest in [them]?” said Khanna.

He also explained that while scripted dramas are the “sweet spot” when it comes to support, the company is open to investing in all formats that would benefit from virtual production, including reality, unscripted and game shows, to name a few. The last two investments from the company were in the “low hundreds of thousands,” so Khanna estimates the $1 million should support upwards of four to five projects.

Having met success on like-minded partnerships to date, Khanna also said that investments like this could become a permanent part of the company’s business model alongside plans for more volume stages in Canada.

Separate from the new funding announcement, Dark Slope had already invested more than $500,000 in third-party productions such as Accent Aigu Entertainment’s Crave original series Heated Rivalry.

Image courtesy of Dark Slope