Telefilm Canada has revamped the Export Assistance Program, directing funds to Canadian producers instead of international distributors.

The renamed International Promotion Program – Distribution Support was announced by Telefilm Canada on Friday (June 20), outlining key changes from the prior export program, which has been on hold since September 2023.

In addition to changing applicant companies to Canadian producers, the program has transformed from automatic to selective. Decisions will be based on criteria such as the film’s distribution strategy, its potential to reach international markets, the contribution from the distributor to acquire the project, whether the film has a sales agent, as well as the track record of the producers, agent the distributor and the film’s creative team.

In its advisory, Telefilm said the changes were designed to introduce a selection process that “focuses on the quality and viability of the international distribution strategy, to give Canadian producers greater control over the international promotion of their projects, and to ensure that we have better data to measure the results of this program.”

To qualify for funds, the minimum guarantee (MG) needed from the distributor has risen from $3,000 to $5,000. However, the highest amount available per region has dropped from $45,000 to $35,000.

The determination for the amount of funding has also been altered. Previously, the distributor received the lesser between $45,000 or its MG. Now, the producer receives the lesser between $35,000 or 50% of the sum of the promotional campaign’s eligible costs and the distributor’s MG.

Eligible costs include those related to marketing materials, the creation of trailers and posters, a launch event and publicist fees, as well as travel expenses for the Canadian producer, director, screenwriter and/or lead actor.

The international promotion program is the first to undergo a comprehensive evaluation through the lens of Telefilm’s strategic program analysis framework, adopted last year.

The Export Assistance Program sought to support the promotion and international marketing strategy of Canadian film, providing automatic funding to distributors that had acquired eligible Canadian projects for international markets.

Shant Joshi (Queen Tut), producer and president of New York- and Toronto-based Fae Pictures, told Playback Daily that directing the program to Canadian producers allows those more familiar with Telefilm practices to be the ones crafting the applications.

He said that while the selective process may slow application turnaround, it allows for funds to be focused on meaningful promotional strategies rather than “cookie-cutter or paint-by-number[s]” strategies, which he notes have seen less success in recent years.

“While appreciating that Telefilm Canada has limited availability of funds with no new budget to be released until later this year, I can really appreciate the thought and effort they put behind making this program a lot more supportive of Canadian films, which will be significant,” said Joshi.

Daniel Bekerman (The Apprentice), founder and president of  Toronto-based Scythia Films, says the change “seems to reflect the recognition that there will need to be new models to distribute films internationally and domestically, and having more agency with the producers.”

“I see it as [the] early stages of building in a new space and I think it’s overall exciting,” he says.

Bekerman adds that he would like to see more flexibility in the kinds of companies producers can partner with for distribution.

“We’ve seen over the last 15 years plenty of new types of companies enter the film space, and I think there will be more of that,” he says. “You have companies that started out as online book retailers that are now in this space and you have many different tech companies … If the right connections can be made, there could be new blood in the independent storytelling business.”

The applications for the International Promotion Program – Distribution Support open on July 3 and close Feb. 11, 2026, with funding subject to availability.

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