OTTAWA – The Canada Media Fund celebrated its six month birthday with an event in Ottawa that saw stars of Canada’s television industry rub shoulders with senior government officials.
"Six months into the Canada Media Fund, we have come an incredibly long way and it’s gone incredibly well," Heritage Minister James Moore told the crowd, which also included representatives from the creative, broadcasting, and distribution industries. "We want to make sure there’s a broad diversity of Canadian content and Canadian culture available on the platforms that Canadians choose to consume it on."
Created by Canada’s cable and satellite distributors and the federal government, the CMF champions the creation of successful and innovative Canadian content and software applications for current and emerging digital platforms through financial support and industry research. It launched April 1st.
"The Canada Media Fund is pleased to be a part of the government’s digital economy strategy, and we will strive to be a leading example of public investment that supports innovation in the creative industries”, said Louis Roquet, chair of the board of the CMF, in an announcement. “As we complete the first year of the CMF and look towards the future, we will continue to foster innovation, support the development of jobs in the digital economy, and seek opportunities to increase export revenue through the sale of CMF-funded content to international markets."
In related news, the CMF named Catalina Briceño to the position of director of industry and market trends on Monday. In this newly created role, Briceño will ensure that the CMF’s policies for supporting the production of Canadian television and digital media content are aligned with emerging trends and developments in the industry in Canada and internationally. She will monitor key trends and developments in terms of emerging technologies; business models and production financing; and regulation in order to provide the CMF with market intelligence to develop effective policies.
With over 13 years of experience in the audiovisual and new media industry, Briceño comes to the CMF from Salambo Productions. She also served as vice chair of the board of the Regroupement des producteurs multimedia. Briceño will join the CMF on October 25, 2010.
