Telefilm Canada has selected 27 low-budget English-language films for financing under its Production Program.

The investment totals more than $14.4 million for the films, with genres that range from drama and thriller to horror, sci-fi and comedy. The low-budget stream covers films with a budget of less than $3.5 million.

Ten features hail from Ontario, including the dramas Dinner with Friends (Admiral Productions) from director and co-writer Sasha Leigh Henry and co-writer Tania Thompson, Rocket Fuel (Edge Entertainment) from writer-director Jessie Posthumus, and English- and Cantonese-language film Intro to Swimming (LaRue Entertainment) from writer-director Aram Collier, distributed by Filmoption International.

Additional dramas are the Canada/Mexico copro Labranza (Lulofilms) from writer-director Andrea Martínez Crowther and the Canada/Colombia film Los Turistas (The Tourists), produced by Rayon Verde, from writer-directors Brad Deane and Lina Rodriguez. Both films are in English and Spanish.

Two horror films out of Ontario are Devour (Wildling Pictures) from director and co-writer Erica Orofino and co-writer Olivia Loccisano, and Dirty (Let’s Get Dirty) from writer-director Devon Graye.

The selected sci-fi and fantasy films are Below Morning (Lockpicker Productions) from writer-director Randall Okita, distributed by Game Theory Films, and The Embers and the Stars (Obvious Allegory) from writer-director William Woods, distributed by VVS Films.

Rounding out the Ontario films is the thriller Phreaker (Phreaker Motion Picture Corporation) from writer-director Adam Yorke, distributed by Mongrel Media.

Five films hail from B.C., including the mystery feature Baby Tooth (Garden Film Studio, Studio 104 Entertainment) from writer-director Connor Gaston and the thriller Switchback (Instilling Entertainment) from writer-director Melanie Jones.

The other three films from B.C. are the sci-fi/fantasy Any Other World (Any Other World Productions) from writer-director Ben Pickles, distributed by Photon Films; the English- and Cantonese-language horror New Diamond Restaurant (Dear Hero Studios) from writer-director Milton Ng; and the English and Farsi drama Judas Tree (Understory Films) from writer-director Susan Bayani.

Three of the selected features come from Nova Scotia. Two dramas – Clara and Vanessa (Emotion Pictures) from writer-director Thom Fitzgerald and The Executor (Holdfast Pictures) from writer-director Joe Cobden – and the horror Feed (Cut/Off/Tail Pictures) from director and co-writer Nancy Urich and co-writer Stephanie Johns.

Another trio of films come from western provinces, including the Manitoba drama Northern Lights (Heart Shaped Movies) from writer-director Mackenzie Leigh, the Saskatchewan sci-fi/fantasy Alien Boy (Karma Film) from writer-director Fawaz Al-Matrouk and the Alberta comedy A Hero of Our Time (Man Vs Truck) from writer-director Ted Stenson, produced by Kino Sum Productions.

Rounding out the provincial picks are two horror films: P.E.I.’s Back For The Holidays (Dark Venetian Red Pictures) from writer-director Michael Gabriele and Quebec’s Worm (Good House Digital) from director and co-writer James Watts and co-writer Kelly Kay Hurcomb, distributed by Vortex Media.

The selection also features several inter-provincial coproductions. Among them are the Alberta/Quebec horror Camp (TNodrick Productions), distributed by Filmoption International, and the Ontario/Quebec thriller Import (OPC. TV, Sweet George Films, Metafilms), which is also a France/Serbia/Canada copro.

The remaining films are the Ontario/Nova Scotia drama Tides (Nice Picture, Shut Up & Colour Pictures) from writer-director Jessica Huras and the Quebec/Ontario crime-thriller Good in the Room (Banner House Productions, Grand Touring Productions) from director and co-writer Pat Kiely and co-writer Mark O’Brien.

A total of 216 projects were assessed for the low-budget stream this round, which represented $135 million in funding requests, according to a news release.

Telefilm said it will release the funding decisions for the Indigenous stream and the Theatrical Documentary Program in the coming weeks.

The funder announced a new initiative to give development and export support to animation features last week.

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