The Independent Production Fund (IPF) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) have selected 33 scripted short-form series under the 2024 CMF-IPF Short Form Series Development Program.

The program supports the development of original scripted short-form series for exploitation primarily on digital platforms. The selected projects will receive a combined investment of $1 million as well as consultation services from the IPF and CMF.

Of the selected projects 22 are in English and 11 in French, and include dramas, comedies, children’s live action, animation and sci-fi genres. A total of 218 eligible projects were submitted to the program, according to a news release.

A total of 11 selected short-form titles hail from Quebec, with 10 from Ontario, eight from British Columbia, two from Prince Edward Island and one each from Manitoba and Alberta.

The Quebec-based projects include the dramas Casse-toi (Roméo & Fils), written by Raphaël Massicotte and produced by Martin Henri and Jacinthe Robert; and L’été d’Imani Nelson (Afro Dynamic Films), written and produced by Kimberley Ann Surin.

Also from Quebec are the dramedies Échouées (Amalga Créations Médias), written by Manal Drissi and Gabrielle Lisa Collard, produced by André Dupuy, Marie-Alexandra Forget and Justine Landreville; Le pire f**king band du monde (Art et essai), written by Rémi Dufresne and produced by Anaëlle Béglet; and Mukbang (Babel Films), written by Fanie Demeule and Kevin T. Landry, and produced by Philippe-A. Allard, Marco Frascarelli and Mathieu Paiement.

The Ontario-based projects include the comedies Aced It (erAced Productions), written by Hools Kay and Ashley Comeau, and produced by Kay and Natasha Advani Thangkheiw; Been Here (Pique), written by Angelique Knights and produced by Imad Elsheikh, Lola Gafaar and Tré Akula; Comedy College (LoCo Productions), written by Rob Shapiro and produced by Lauren Corber and Palmer Baranek; and Confession Queens (Archipelago Productions), written by Aditi Raina and Cass Cervi, and produced by Maeve Kern, Nicholas Ewart and Jana Stackhouse.

Other projects include the adult animated comedy Gone to Hell (Banger Media), written and produced by Brian Peco; the comedy Half-fishing (Dr. Bruno Productions), written by Trevor Christie, Lisa Benedetto and produced by Lisa Benedetto; and the mystery comedy Of Perfume and Bondage (One Ten Productions), written by Erica Genereux Smith and produced by Jade Blair.

Also selected from Ontario is the drama Perdue au bord de la baie d’Hudson (Kannon Films), written by Micheline Marchand and produced by Émilie Martel.

Projects from B.C. include the dramas Clinic (Digital Warriors Productions), written by Brishkay Ahmed and coproduced by Ahmed and Hedyeh Bozorgzadeh, and This Side of the Grave (Curious Cat Productions), written by Catharine Parke and produced by Ruth Lawrence.

The two P.E.I.-based projects include the mystery horror Compel (Human Moves Media), written by Luc Trottier and produced by Max Collister, and the mystery drama Sea Salt (Westgate Pictures), written by Logan Fulford and produced by Céleste McNiven.

Anatomy of a Séance (Familiar Films) is a horror mystery from Manitoba, written by Jessica Landry and produced by Landry and Shawn Watson.

The multi-genre project Eyes in the Woods (Numera Films) is the sole project from Alberta. It is written by Morgan Ermter and Alanna Schwartz, and produced by Griffin Cork, Kenya Weaver and Cayley Ermter.

The projects were selected by 45 evaluators from across Canada, who rated the applications based on originality and quality of written materials and the experience of the team, proposed budget and potential for success.

Since its inception in 1991, the IPF has invested more than $90 million in 1,142 projects, including 90 short-form series development projects, 179 short-form series productions, 323 TV productions and more than 550 professional development projects. The IPF is a charitable foundation with an endowment valued at approximately $40 million.

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