Village Gamer

During her keynote presentation today at the Prime Time in Ottawa conference, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada Carolle Brabant announced the launch of a new private donation fund consisting of two streams: one stream will provide better support to promising young filmmakers while the other is aimed at established filmmakers and will seek to help them achieve their full potential both in Canada and abroad.

“In keeping with its commitment to foster success, Telefilm continues to find innovative ways to fulfill its role as investor and promoter by offering the Canadian industry a new tool to help it diversify its funding sources and attract larger audiences,” said Carolle Brabant, Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director. “The consultations we held with the industry over the last year revealed that there is a real need for this new fund, and I am proud of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s support for this project.”

“Canadian filmmakers make all of us proud. We follow their triumphs around the globe- at the Oscars, Golden Globes and Césars. Yet, we need to provide better and stronger support to Canadian film production and talent,” added Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canada’s most influential business association. “The film industry is a clear example of Canadian competitiveness. This new fund is our opportunity to play a valuable role in future accomplishments in arts and culture.”

By drawing on companies as well as on individual donors interested in supporting the production, distribution and promotion of Canadian feature films–investors who will at the same time benefit from proportional tax deductions or credits–the fund will also help foster the success of Canadian cinema.

Once fully up and running, Telefilm estimates that the fund could be endowed with an annual budget of $5 million, a significant amount that producers could use to leverage other investment dollars. The fund will lead to the creation of some 150 jobs every year.

Telefilm will administer investments from the private sector, with these investments to be covered in a separate annual report. The fund will incur management expenses of less than 5%.

Consultations with companies demonstrated that the private sector has a real interest in Canadian film, which enjoys very positive branding. This new fund comes into effect immediately, and companies or individuals interested in becoming donors should contact Telefilm for further information.

Carolle Brabant also announced the launch of a pilot program aimed at the production and marketing of micro-budgeted feature films. These projects will utilize innovative production techniques, and benefit from complementary release strategies to reach audiences across multiple digital distribution platforms.

This program targets a new generation of filmmakers: young directors and producers who are accomplished short filmmakers and poised to produce and release their first feature-length film. Projects will come from a diverse group of partners from across the country who will recommend candidates submit their project for consideration.

The program will be endowed with an annual budget of $1 million. It is expected that Telefilm will support between eight and 10 projects per year and its contribution will take the form of a grant ($100,000 to $120,000). Each project will have a maximum budget of $250,000. Telefilm’s contribution will have a significant leveraging effect by enabling producers to obtain support from other funding sources. This program will launch summer of 2012.