✖

Inside Out, OUTtv partner on doc financing fund

By Lauren Malyk
July 5, 2019
The OUTspoken Documentary Financing Fund will also support two documentary projects with production and mentorship assistance.

Inside Out, Canada’s largest LGBTQ festival, has teamed up with Vancouver-headquartered LGBTQ+ network OUTtv to create the OUTspoken Documentary Financing Fund.

Aimed at supporting Canadian LGBTQ2 documentary-makers, the new initiative will provide two projects with $18,000 in production financing each, in addition to mentorship and production support from both organizations. The fund will also place an emphasis on applications from filmmakers who are part of historically underrepresented groups within the industry. OUTtv will broadcast the winning documentaries, which will also be available on its SVOD OUTtvGO.

Submissions for the OUTspoken Documentary Financing Fund will open on July 15 until Sept. 3, 2019, with the selected projects set to be announced on the opening night of the 2019 Inside Out Ottawa Film Festival this October. Depending on the timeline, all films will also be submitted for consideration for the 2020 or 2021 Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival.

This partnership with OUTtv marks Inside Out’s most recent pact following its multi-year partnership with Netflix. Unveiled in May, the agreement saw the streamer invest in the festival’s Film Financing Forum as part of its $25-million fund to support Canadian creators. With the support of Telefilm, Ontario Creates and the CMPA, the investment will help Inside Out increase the number of participants in the forum, while expanding professional development opportunities for LGBTQ Canadian creators.

Additionally, just last week, Bell Media’s Crave commissioned Drag Race Canada (produced by Blue Ant Studios in association with Crave), a 10-episode, hour-long local remake of the hit reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. The greenlight also saw Bell Media announce a multi-faceted deal with OUTtv for various versions of the show, with future seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race airing on OUTtv’s linear channel and past seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars landing on Crave and OUTtv. Later this year, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will also be available on Crave and OUTtv.