Montreal: Fonds Harold Greenberg has invested $445,500 in five French-language documentaries, two feature films and three pay-per-view special events for the partial year ending Aug. 31. Odile Methot, the fund’s president and director-general, anticipates next year’s investment will top $650,000.

A certain percentage of the feature investment is recouped in the first investor position, while the doc money is pro rata with all the other investors.

Fund documentary recipients include Les 30 journees qui ont fait le Quebec (part ii), produced by Eureka! Productions and producer Ronald Brault, and commissioned by Historia; eight new one-hours of Les Grandes institutions du Quebec (part ii), produced by Groupe Sagittaire and producers Pierre Nadeau and Marc St-Onge for Historia; 12 one-hours of La Vie sans frontieres, a biotechnology series produced by Productions Pixcom and Jacquelin Bouchard and Daniel Beauchesne for specialty service Canal z.

The fund also supported the wwii immigration/romance saga La Rencontre de Clara et Chaim, directed by Garry Beitel for Beitel Lazar Productions and broadcasters Reseau de l’ Information and the Women’s Television Network; and World March of Women – 2000 doc Partitions pour voix de femmes from director Sophie Bissonnette and producers Marcel Simard and Monique Simard of Productions Virage. The film was produced in association with the French Program of the National Film Board and has been licensed by TV5 and Tele-Quebec.

Equity investments (to a maximum of $100,000) were made in two new French-language feature films, the Cinemaginaire nuptial comedy Nuit de noces, directed by Emile Gaudreault, and GPA Films’ Chocolats, creme glacee et autres consolations, directed by Julie Hivon.

The fund also supported three 90-minute special events programs commissioned by pay-per-view service Canal Indigo – Les vins; champagnes et porto du millenaire avec Francois Chartier and Le cours de sushi/Le cours de bbq, all produced by Tele-Vision (84) producers Jean Remillard and Daniel Cormier.

The Harold Greenberg Fund was founded in 1986 by TMN-The Movie Network and its parent company Astral Media. Fonds Harold Greenberg ($6 million over seven years) was created in 1996 and is funded by Canal Indigo Pay Per View and Astral Media.

Fonds Harold Greenberg’s board is chaired by producer Rock Demers and includes Rene Bourdages, exec vp programming sales and marketing Super Ecran/Canal Indigo; Peter Pearson, independent producer; Louise Spickler, inis director-general; Louise Baillargeon, former apftq president and president of Fondation Lucille Teasdale et Piero Corti; Judith Brosseau, senior vp programming Canal d, Historia and Series+; and Michel Houle, industry consultant. *

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