INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION FUND (IPF) 2019 WEB DRAMA SERIES FUNDING DECISIONS
June 21, 2019
The Independent Production Fund announces funding for 12 scripted web series.
The IPF Board of Directors has approved 2019 production financing for twelve (12) scripted short-form series. These are series which have been created for exploitation primarily on digital platforms and channels. Seven (7) of the approved series are in English and five (5) are in French. Two (2) of the approved projects are for renewals for additional episodes of successful web series previously funded by the IPF.
The IPF makes equity investments in these series totaling over $1.5M as well as providing consultation, training and advisory services.
The IPF has previously funded 131 scripted short-form series with over $15M since 2010. The program was created to stimulate Canadian creative and business skills in the digital story-telling world as well as encouraging and supporting new talent in the industry. These series also serve as “calling cards” for the creative teams and as proof-of-concept “pilots” for potential television series. Successfully marketing and distributing this original linear digital content and the talents behind it, to Canadian and international audiences, is an important measure of success for this initiative.
In the initial evaluation phase, 160 projects were submitted to the IPF from across Canada. These were reviewed by a 40-member pre-selection committee and 20 projects were selected and short-listed. The applications from these finalists were analysed and rated by an international jury and the IPF Board of Directors, providing a wide range of perspectives. They reviewed the originality and quality of the content, audience engagement strategies, production styles and processes, business and marketing plans, distribution and revenue potential.
The 2019 international jury included: Joël Bassaget (Founder and Editor-in-Chief Web Series Mag – FR), Fred Bastien (Web-TV host and YouTuber – CAN), Nathalie Dorais, (Content and Script Consultant, TV and Web – CAN), Steinar Ellingsen (Former Director and co-founder of Melbourne WebFest – AUS), Spencer Griffin (Head of TV Development for Just For Laughs – U), Alison Norrington (CEO, Founder, Chief Creative Director, storycentral – UK) and Dr. Emilia Zboralska (CEO and Co-founder of King Squared Media, and Associate Director of the Transmedia Zone – CAN).
Comedy, mockumentary, animation, music, thrillers, romance – a wide range of genres are represented for children and adult demographics. The creators are both new talents and experienced digital production companies. IPF Chair Jon Taylor commented: “Kudos to our international jury, the IPF staff and our Board for their incredible energy and hard work to select these amazing projects. Congratulations to the incredibly talented creator teams whose submissions blew us away. We look forward to watching!”
The following productions are the recipients of the IPF 2019 web drama series program:
| Amours d’occasion Mystery / Suspense QC Les Production Saint-Laurent Web Lou Bélanger, Rafael Perez, Laurence Atkins | |
| Avocado Toast Comedy / Drama ON Border2Border Entertainment Charlie David, Jefferson Mappin, Heidi Lynch, Perrie Voss | |
| Band Ladies Comedy / Musical ON Moon Astronaut Studios Kate Fenton, Dana Puddicombe, Molly Flood, Melissa D’Agostino, Matthew Campagna | |
| Decoys Comedy ON Counterfeit Pictures David Pelach, Anton Leo, Shane Corkery, Joyce Wong, Dan Bennett | |
| For Heaven’s Sake Comedy ON Muse Entertainment Jonas Prupas, Courtney Dobbins, Mike Mildon, Jackson Rowe | |
| Je voudrais qu’on m’efface Drama QC Babel Films Marco Frascarelli, Eric Piccoli, Philippe-A. Allard, Félix Rose | |
| Kristal Clear (Season 2) Comedy / Drama ON Kristal Clear Productions Joshua Demers, Shannon Fewster, Amanda Fahey | |
| Le Killing (saison 2) Comedy QC la corp, KOTV Mélanie Viau, Camille Montreuil | |
| Les Fleuristes Comedy / Drama QC UGO Média Shawn Bedford, Nathalie Vézina, Lisa Tremblay, Patrick Bilodeau | |
| Miikshi the Meek Sheep Children’s Animation ON Gazelle Automations Justin T. Lee, Lindsay Lee, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Jennifer McCann | |
| My Pride Drama / Fantasy ON Dizzy Rhino Productions Madeleine Patton | |
| Top Dogs: Homicide Comedy QC Koze Inc. Vincent Chabot, Guillaume Lacelle |
Jury 2019 Bio’s
Joel Bassaget
Joël Bassaget is a screenwriter, producer, blogger, columnist, speaker and author of several books on webseries. His most recent publication, now available on Amazon, Short, Narrative & Serialized: A Complete Guide to the Phenomenon Web Series, offers more than 450 pages of analysis and comparison on the history of short format series, formats, budgets, genres, platforms, audiences and themes, and 500 links to lists of series titles and episodes, statistical tables and hundreds of links to useful articles. In 2016, Joel published Le Guide des Webséries: La Nouvelle Vague, updated in 2018. He was co-author of Sériescopie : Guide thématique des séries télé in 2011 and 2012.
Follow Joël on http: //webseriesmag.blogs. liberation.fr/auteurs/Joel.Bassaget/
Fred Bastien
Fred is the Internet guy on TV and the TV guy on the Internet. His interests are many, as are topics on his YouTube channel, which is followed by more than 37,000 people. Excellent popularizer, Fred has been a columnist for RDS, MusiquePlus, Canal Vie, Z, ARTV, Urbania and Radio-Canada. His multiple talents have also been recognized by his nomination to the 30/30 Infopresse in 2017. Sometimes producer, sometimes director, he worked at the Rio Olympics and on various publicity contracts for television behind the camera. He was born on the Web and will stay there all his life.
Nathalie Dorais
Nathalie Dorais is a content and script consultant in the film, television and web industries. She has been a project manager in the drama sector of Radio-Canada and has also participated in the development of fiction web series for the Internet sector and digital services of the broadcaster.
Steinar Ellingson
Steinar Ellingsen is a senior lecturer in Journalism, and Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong (Australia). His current research is a long-term study on the value of web series to the screen ecology. He is a co-founder and former Director of Melbourne WebFest (MWF), Australia’s international web series festival.
Spencer Griffin
Spencer Griffin is currently the Head of TV Development for Just For Laughs. Previously, he has been an executive at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios and Big Breakfast while also serving as an EP of Adam Ruins Everything, Hot Date, Middle of the Night Show, and more.
Alison Norrington
Alison Norrington is a writer & Chief Creative Director of storycentral, an entertainment company that incubates and develops ground-breaking IP with global partners in film, television, animation, publishing, advertising, branding, theme parks, Virtual Reality and gaming. Alison is Conference Chair for StoryWorld Conference, Exec Producer of Virtual Reality sessions for Children’s Media Conference, is a two-time TEDx speaker, featured on the BAFTA Guru series and is a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The Writers Guild of Great Britain and Women in Film & TV.
Dr. Emilia Zboralska
Dr. Emilia Zboralska is CEO and Co-founder of King Squared Media, and Associate Director of the Transmedia Zone, an incubator for innovation in media and storytelling at Ryerson University. Emilia’s award winning PhD research examines the world of Canadian web series and the opportunities and challenges that exist for creators working in this space.
The IPF is incorporated as a charitable foundation with an endowment valued at $35M. It uses the interest generated by the endowment and return on its project investments for its annual operations and project funding. In addition, it is certified by the CRTC as a Certified Independent Production Fund and is eligible to receive Broadcast Distribution Undertaking contributions. Cogeco Connexion contributes $1.9M annually to the IPF to administer the Cogeco Television Production Program for investment in dramatic television series. The Board of Directors of the IPF is composed of independent representatives from the industry and undertakes all final funding decisions.
For further information:
| Andra Sheffer 416 977 8966 asheffer@ipf.ca www.ipf.ca |
Claire Dion |