Non-fiction projects, including Quebec-market adaptations of popular formats The Voice and Dragon’s Den, dominate the latest batch of spending by the Quebecor Fund’s main television production assistance program.

The spending, totalling $2,881,203 on eight programs, may of which include interactive or transmedia elements, was unveiled Tuesday.

The project details, as provided by the fund, are as follows (the fund didn’t break the funding down by project):

An animation series starring the Jar Dwellers, three creatures unknown to humans who were unearthed by Albert Derwent in the farthest reaches of the globe 170 years ago. When children discover their hiding place under the Bateman Academy, they decide to release them into the light of day. In the interactive component, players discover the origins of the Jar Dwellers through a role game in which they encounter strange creatures, solve problems, find clues and try to attract them using a variety of inventive methods.

• Apocalypse World War I from Idéacom International

Canadian broadcasters: TV5 Québec, History (Shaw Media), TVO

Foreign broadcasters: France 2, France Télévisions

A sweeping chronicle based on 400 hours of never-before-seen, colorized footage, Apocalypse World War I takes the audience into the belly of the war, onto the battlefield and into the daily lives of the civilians behind the lines, letting viewers see and feel how a bygone world was plunged into apocalypse. The multiplatform component consists of an interactive drama that combines illustrations, animation and documentary footage. Ten stories pull users into the Great War as they follow the intersecting paths of characters experiencing the war in their personal lives, characters who are manipulated by history but also act on it.

• La Voix by Productions La Voix Inc. (Productions J. Inc.)

Broadcaster: TVA

La Voix is a Québec adaptation of The Voice, the reality talent contest that has taken the world by storm. The judges select the contestants in blind auditions – that is, without seeing them, based only on their voices. The contestants improve steadily throughout the series as they are coached by the judges and compete against each other. To help find the best voice and build buzz, the TV show is accompanied by a digital platform and a narrative approach based on transmedia writing.

• Dans l’œil du dragon by Cité-Amérique Inc.

Broadcaster: Société Radio-Canada

Dans l’œil du dragon (the Québec adaptation of Dragons’ Den) is the TV series that makes starting a business fun and entertaining. Entrepreneurs present their ideas and inventions to five multimillionaires, the “dragons.” They must convince at least one of them to invest a specific amount in their project. A simultaneous multiplatform experience using a “second screen” app is available on iOS and the Web. Viewers can bet on the candidates in real time during the show and guess which dragons will invest in each project.

• Faites-moi confiance by TVA Productions Inc.

Broadcaster: TVA

A new TV game show featuring fun contests in which two contestants chosen from the audience must convince the audience to bet on them in tests of intellectual and physical skill. The tone ranges from light-hearted to dramatic. Audience members can win if they go with the right contestant. The game and the brand go beyond the TV screen with a digital platform for the Web, ITV, mobile and social networks.

• L’Argent avec un grand $ by 9125-2767 Québec Inc. (Communications Swan Inc.)

Broadcasters: Société Télé-Québec and Canal Savoir

Bernard Derome talks to major figures from the worlds of industry, commerce and finance in order to shatter the taboo surrounding wealth in our society and elicit their thoughts about the social, environmental and economic issues of the present and the future. A website containing a wealth of information and opinions will offer visitors exclusive complementary content and videos about the topics dealt with in each episode. Web 2.0 tools let users invite their friends and acquaintances and compare notes.

• The DNA of GSP by 9266-9753 Québec Inc. (Triplex Films Inc., Jimmy Lee Inc., Groupe Média Upside Up Inc.)

Broadcasters: Astral Television Networks, Movie Central and Encore Avenue (Corus Entertainment), Sportsnet (Rogers Media)

The action-packed life story of Georges St-Pierre (GSP), the Ultimate Fighting Championship World Welterweight Champion, yields a powerful mini-series about one of the most high-profile athletes in the world. The documentary mini-series is accompanied by an interactive multimedia component that will tap into the huge pool of interested viewers (GSP has more than 3 million Facebook fans and the UFC has 13 million) and convert them into influencers of the general public.

• Le Parcours by Les Productions Kenya Inc.

Broadcasters: TVA and Mlle (TVA Group)

A reality TV show in which overweight men and women try to lose weight. During the 10-episode season, participants go through demanding exercises and training regimes that constantly push them past their limits as they fight to make it to the very end. The transmedia project has TV, ITV, Web and social media versions designed to help the candidates as well as users who want to change their habits and adopt a healthier, fitter lifestyle.