MONTREAL – The Institut national de l'image et du son (National Institute of Image and Sound, or INIS) is designing a new film and television production apprenticeship program funded by Netflix, becoming the first Quebec organization to partner with the U.S. streaming giant.
Netflix said that the partnership is being funded from it's $25 million market development fund, though precise financial terms were not disclosed.
The Montreal-based organization said Friday that the three year program will target participants from First Nations, Aboriginal communities and those with diverse cultural backgrounds in Quebec in an effort to “counter the exclusion often experienced by members of these communities”.
INIS pledged to recruit nine students – three scriptwriters, three directors and three producers – for each edition of the intensive six-month program offered in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The Film and Television Creation Learning Program will cover production basics, theoretical workshops, plus contain a series of concrete creative exercises to help develop new Francophone creators “who can share their vision and reality through documentary and fiction”, continued the announcement.
"INIS is very proud to be the first Quebec organization to benefit from the support of Netflix as part of its commitment to support industry development opportunities in Canada, with a focus on developing the next generation of Canadian creators and talent”, said INIS board chair Judith Brosseau, in the announcement. “This gesture, made for the benefit of a training institution, is a pledge of confidence in the Institute. The program that will be put in place will increase the representation of First Nations, Aboriginal communities and those from culturally diverse backgrounds in the process of creating the Quebec audiovisual community."
The agreement with Netflix also includes scholarships towards other programs offered by INIS.
