INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION FUND AND CANADA MEDIA FUND ANNOUNCE 2023 DEVELOPMENT PACKAGING FUNDING DECISIONS
April 18, 2023
The Independent Production Fund (IPF) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) have approved financing for 30 scripted short-form series as part of the 2023 CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program. These are series which are being developed for exploitation primarily on digital platforms and channels. 20 of the approved series are in English and 10 are in French.
The IPF and the CMF are providing a combined investment of $900,000 and will also provide consultation advisory services to the producers of the successful projects.
The CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program is designed to support the development of high quality, Canadian, original, scripted short-form series.
A record 187 eligible projects were submitted from across Canada – 149 English-language, 38 French-language. Representing all regions of Canada, applications were received from 8 provinces and 2 territories. 28 evaluators from across Canada helped analyze and rank the projects providing a wide range of perspectives.
Evaluators looked for originality, authenticity, quality of written creative materials, the experience of the team, the strength of the story editor / development executive, the proposed budget, and the overall potential for success.
The 30 successful applications represent all major genres, including children’s live action, animation, comedy, drama, horror, musical, mystery/thriller, science fiction, and fantasy and come from a broad diversity of creators and producers.
IPF Chair Emilia King commented: “This was a record-breaking year not just in terms of volume but also the caliber of applications we received. We are so thrilled to be part of this exciting era in digital short form series and we cannot wait to see these projects come to life!!”
“The CMF is excited to once again partner with the IPF to support Canadian creators from across the country,” said Valerie Creighton, President & CEO, CMF. “Congrats to all the funding recipients! I look forward to seeing your stories on screens at home and around the world.”
The following productions are the recipients of the 2023 CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program:
| Backwoods Lodge Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror Production Company: Bad Bar Pictures Producer: Jean Ngo Writer: Rose Schimm Development Executive / Story Editor: Adam Reid, Gavin Heffernan |
| Bar et Gouin Genre: Animation Production Company: SPORT CONCEPTION AUDIOVISUELLE INC. Producer: Audrée-Anne Prieur Writer: Maxime Scraire Story Editor: Charles-Alex Durand |
| Cauchemar chamanique Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller, Horror Production Company: Oraquan Medias Inc. Producer: Neegan Trudel Writers: Neegan Trudel, Eve Ringuette Story Editor: Julie Roy |
| Cellule grise Genre: Comedy Production Company: Pimiento Médias Inc. Producers: Paola Arriagada-Nunez, Orlando Arriagada, Chantal Bessette, Writer: Louis-François Grenier Story Editor: Yves Lapierre |
| Comedium Genre: Comedy Production Company: Beanduck Productions Producer: Julian Stamboulieh, Beatrice Warner Writers: Holly Brace-Lavoie, Tranna Wintour Story Editor: Jessica Salomon |
| Dish Genre: Comedy, Drama Production Company: Tokimeki Studio Inc. Producers: Jiro Okada, Tess Degenstein Writer: Tess Degenstein Development Executive: Davin Lengyel |
| Don Valley Girls Genre: Comedy Production Company: DVG Productions Producers: Rabiya Mansoor, Mona Hersi, Fateema Miller, Andie Hong, Jonas Diamond Writers: Rabiya Mansoor, Mona Hersi, Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller, Andie Hong Story Editor: Isabel Kanaan |
| Dying Seconds Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller Production Company: 2295344 Ontario Inc. Producers: Davin Lengyel, Brendan Halloran Writer: Brendan Halloran Development Executive / Story Editor: Sam Nasrawi, Mark de Angelis |
| Exil Genre: Drama Production Company: Duo Productions Producer: Anne Boyer Writer: Daniel Abraham Story Editor: Marie-Josée Ouellet |
| Ils sont parmi nous Genre: Comedy Production Company: Productions Pixcom Inc Producer: Véronique Paquette-Corriveau Writer: Justine Philie Story Editor: Martine Pagé |
| Jook-Sing Genre: Drama Production Company: Invalid Symbol Ltd. Producers: Karen Shaw, J. Lee Williams Writer: J. Lee Williams Development Executive / Story Editor: Ana Serrano, Romeo Candido |
| La réforme Genre: Comedy Production Company: Casadel Films Producers: Patrick Francke-Sirois, Juliette Provost-Dubois Writer: Emma-Jeanne Robitaille Story Editor: Sylvie Bouchard |
| Les baleines ne savent pas voler Genre: Drama, Fantasy Production Company: Chaos harmonique inc. Producer: Justice Rutikara Writer: Justice Rutikara Story Editor: Judith Brès |
| Les bons artistes copient, les grands artistes volent Genre: Drama, Mystery/Thriller Production Company: Groupe Fair-Play Inc Producer: Laurence Atkins Writers: Didier Charette, David Fuenz Story Editor: Pierre-Michel Tremblay |
| Les faillites d’Astrid Genre: Drama Production Company: Ray Films Inc. Producer: Danielle Sturk Writer: Elena Sturk-Lussier Story Editor: Stéphane Oystryk |
| Liv Laugh Love Genre: Comedy, Drama Production Company: Monkeys & Parrots Producer: Jane Loughman Writers: Becca Willow Moss, Cassidy Civiero Story Editor: Gwenlyn Cumyn |
| Monster Problems Genre: Animation Production Company: LASS Productions Inc. Producer: Shannon Fewster Writer: Shannon Fewster Story Editor: Jocelyne Meinert |
| Novelette is Trying Genre: Comedy Production Company: Orange Rose Productions Inc. Producer: Jessica Wadsworth Writer: Giselle Miller Story Editor: Ruth Atkinson |
| Packing Genre: Comedy, Drama Production Company: Snail Mail Media Producer: Fonna Seidu Writer: Jay (Carolyn) Wu Story Editor: Nattasha Shrestha |
| Petra PI Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller Production Company: White Wolves Inc. Producers: Faith (Eglantine) Leleu, Samantha Wyss Writer: Samantha Wyss Story Editor: Léa Geronimo Rondot |
| Raksha Genre: Comedy, Musical Production Company: Diaspora Creative Producer: Abubakar Khan, Praneet Akilla Writer: Tesh Guttikonda Story Editor: Nadine Bhabha |
| Rent-a-girlfriend (working title) Genre: Comedy, Drama Production Company: It's A Secret Productions Inc. Producer: Ariel Yang Writer: Alice Wang Story Editor: Christopher Yip |
| Returning Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy Production Company: ElliFilms Inc. Producer: Lee Marshall Writer: Lee Marshall Story Editor: Elza Kephart |
| Secret Satan Genre: Comedy, Drama, Animation Production Company: Subnormality Inc. Producers: Geoff Lapaire, Chris Ruddick aka Winston Rowntree Writer: Chris Ruddick aka Winston Rowntree Story Editor: Ethan Cole |
| Solstice Stories Genre: Children’s Live Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller, Animation, Horror Production Company: BP Solarpunk Media Inc. Producers: Kai Little-White, Jared Lorenz Writers: Kai Little-White, Alice Wang, Jose Holder Story Editors: Aisha Porter-Christie |
| T-Rex Genre: Drama Production Company: Inséparables Films Producer: Jérémie Boucher, Gabriel Savignac Writer: Louis-Philippe Vachon Story Editors: Liz Plank, Christine Dolan, Gabriel Savignac |
| The Third Party Genre: Comedy Production Company: Club Red Productions Inc. Producer: Jenna MacMillan Writer: Jenna MacMillan Story Editors: Heidi Brander, Jonathan Torrens |
| Thread Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction Production Company: Archipelago Productions Producers: Vinuja Shanthasoruban, Maeve Kern, Jana Stackhouse, Nicholas Ewart Writer: Alex Josselyn-Hamilton Story Editor: Christopher Yip |
| Trauma Bonding Genre: Comedy Production Company: True West Films Ltd Producer: Elizabeth Yake Writer: Daniela Pagliarello Story Editor: Allie Pearce |
| Uptown Saturday Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller Production Company: MPEG6 Productions Producer: Nason Markwell Writers: Sara Peters, Bernard Gray Development Executive / Story Editor: Anthony Farrell, Allison Wilson-Forbes |
About the Independent Production Fund
Since its inception, the IPF has invested $86,371,855 in 1,067 projects: 60 Short Form Series Development projects, 170 Short Form Series Productions, 314 TV Productions, and over 500 Professional Development projects. The IPF is incorporated as a charitable foundation with an endowment valued at approximately $40M. It uses the interest generated by the endowment and return on its project investments for its annual operations and project funding. The IPF Board of Directors is composed of representatives from the industry and makes all final funding decisions.
About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances, and promotes the production of Canadian content for all audiovisual platforms. In addition, it guides Canadian content towards a competitive global digital environment by supporting industry innovation, rewarding success, promoting diversity of voices, and encouraging access to content through public- and private-sector partnerships. The CMF receives funding from the Government of Canada and from cable, satellite, and IP service distributors across the country. Visit the CMF website for more information.