Quebecor Fund provides $2.9 million for 8 TV projects

MONTRÉAL – A total of eight Canadian production companies will receive financial support from the latest round of disbursements from the Quebecor Fund.

A total of $2.88 million was allocated to the following production companies: Idéacom International Inc., PVP Projet Jar Dwellers Inc., Productions La Voix Inc., TVA Productions Inc., Cité-Amérique Inc., Communications Swan Inc., Québec Inc. (Triplex Films Inc., Jimmy Lee Inc., Groupe Média Upside Up Inc.) and Les Productions Kenya Inc.

The eight selected productions will air on TV5 Québec Canada, TVO, History (Shaw Media), Société Radio-Canada, TVA, Télé-Québec, Canal Savoir, Astral Television Networks, Movie Central and Encore Avenue (Corus Entertainment Inc.), Sportsnet (Rogers Media) and Mlle (TVA Group), and foreign broadcasters France 2, France Televisions, Network 10 (Australia) and Telemedellin (Colombia).

Since its inception in 2000, Quebecor Fund's MPAP program has supported 161 projects involving 60 production companies, 38 Canadian broadcasters and 19 foreign broadcasters. During this period, the Quebecor Fund has distributed more than $44 million to support the multiplatform components of the funded projects (amounting to 68% of the total sums invested in multimedia by the participating production companies) and more than $7 million to support the television components of the same projects, for a total of more than $51 million.

The funding granted to date by Quebecor Fund to support television and multiplatform production has been divided with 26% going to programs for children/youth, 30% to documentaries, 34% to variety/performing arts, and 10% to drama.

Quebecor Fund is an independent fund with a mission to support the production of high-quality television programs with value over time as well as their interactive multimedia components, which use new information and communication technologies including multiple platforms such as interactive television (ITV), video on demand (VoD), mobile devices and high-speed Internet.

Established through Videotron Ltd., it provides over $5.9 million annually in broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the Canadian industry under its Main Television Production Assistance Program (MPAP).

Recipients:

• Apocalypse World War I
  • Canadian broadcasters: TV5 Québec Canada, 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.

• Jar Dwellers SOS
  • Canadian broadcaster: Société Radio-Canada
  • Foreign broadcasters: Network 10 (Australia), Telemedellin (Colombia)

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.

• La Voix – Broadcaster: TVA

La Voix is the 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 – 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 – 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 $ – 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

– 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 UFC (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 – Broadcasters: TVA and Mlle (TVA Group)

A reality TV show in which overweight men and women try to lose pounds. 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.