There might still be a dearth of Canadian drama on TV screens, but it’s not for lack of effort on the producers’ side, at least if the volume of recent applications for the Cogeco Program Development Fund is any indication.

‘We’ve got files coming out of our ears. There’s a lot of stuff going on,’ says Toronto-based Cogeco fund executive director Andra Sheffer. The fund, strictly focused on supporting drama, had a recent application deadline of March 1, and its next is July 1.

Sheffer notes that recent applications point to a growing number of projects for premium services such as The Movie Network and specialties like Showcase. Shows from premiums often have second windows on specialties, and those launched on specialties and premiums can even land on conventionals, as with the science-thriller series ReGenesis, which had a first window on TMN and has subsequently been acquired by Global Television.

‘[Premiums and specialties] are coming out with new series and original work, and those projects really have a different feel,’ Sheffer says. ‘That’s a whole new process going on in development and funding.’

Sheffer foresees the fund as having about the same sums at its disposal this year as last: $265,000 for the development of series and MOWs, about $105,00 for feature film development, and nearly $2 million for the production of MOWs, miniseries and series pilots.

The fund’s annual report, released last month, shows that for the year ending Aug. 31, 2004, the fund assisted 44 dramatic TV projects in development, and 11 in production.

Projects that benefited from the fund’s production stream in 2003/04 include the MOW Crazy Canucks (Alberta Filmworks/CTV), the mini H20 (Whizbang Films/Sound Venture International/CBC) and the feature La Lune viendra d’elle-même (ACPAV/Télé-Québec) from first-time director Marie-Jan Seille.

English series that received development financing include Godiva’s (Keatley Film/CHUM), Instant Star (Epitome Pictures/CTV), Common Law (Hungry Eyes/Film Food/Toronto 1) and season two of Slings & Arrows (Rhombus Media/TMN/Movie Central/Showcase). Among the French series that got development funds are L’Argent du Monde (Zone3), the animated Et Dieu Créa… Laflaque (Productions Vox Populi/Klik Animation) and NDG 67 (Cirrus Productions), all for Radio-Canada.

Sheffer says that while the number of projects seeking development in 2003/04 was up, the number seeking production financing remained stable. She estimates that so far this year, one in three projects that has applied (all of which must have a broadcaster on board) will get Cogeco development funds, while one in five will get production cash.

Seventy percent of projects that got development funding in 2003/04 are English-language, but French-language projects received an increased piece of the production and feature development pie. Four TV projects out of 11 (36%) that got production funding are French, compared to an average of 19% over the past five cycles. Sheffer says the jump is due to more MOWs being produced in Quebec and the fact that this stream is now open to French-language theatrical features as well, provided they have a broadcaster licence agreement.

In an era when prodcos are most concerned about corporate viability, the Cogeco fund also gives an average $35,000 to each of four companies to help sustain them during a development cycle of at least three projects. If one of the projects goes into production, the prodcos pay back 50% of the loan, and the other half if a second project goes to camera. The four recipients of this assistance in 2003/04 were Montreal’s Cinémaginaire and Max Films, Calgary’s Voice Pictures and Toronto’s Ralph Zimmerman.

‘The companies love it, because it’s not tied to any particular projects – they can pay their rent with it for all we care. It’s really corporate core funding, which is really what’s needed desperately in that industry,’ Sheffer says.

A new feature of the fund in 2003/04 was the launch of the director advisor program – about $5,000 of funding per project to allow producers to bring in a director to participate in the earliest scriptwriting stages. The fund administers this initiative on behalf of the Directors Guild of Canada – Ontario. The inaugural recipients were the Common Law series, with Stacey Curtis as director, and the feature Red (Devine Entertainment), with director David Devine, who is also one of the project’s producers.

The Cogeco fund is administered by the Independent Production Fund. Its development stream offers interest-free advances for series, MOWs, minis and features, while the production component offers equity investment towards MOWs, minis and series pilots. Available funding is calculated annually as 1% of Cogeco Cable revenues for production, and as interest on a $5-million Cogeco endowment for development. The selection committee is a subcommittee of the Cogeco fund board, usually consisting of three to four members.

-www.ipf.ca