TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund sent a note out to the production community on Friday assuring everyone it – and the program administrator team at Telefilm Canada – are still operational during the Covid-19 crisis.
“Among all the challenges our industry has overcome, none has been as destabilizing as the one we currently face. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to a standstill most sectors of the economy, including ours,” said CMF president and CEO Valerie Creighton in her email.
She added the CMF is looking at added flexibility for its programs and funding, as well as what critical relief measures may be necessary – and that it is in regular communication with the federal government. “While the situation for our industry is dire, governments are rightly responding to front line priorities such as human resource support, food supply and health care,” Creighton wrote.
More than 1,500 projects supported by the CMF in 2019-2020 have been impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We will work with our clients to ensure maximum flexibility as we consider relief measures, wind down and start-up costs,” she said.
While the crisis continues, the CMF will continue working.
The 2020-21 Performance Envelopes will still be provided to each individual broadcaster next week for the standard two-week review process before they are posted on the CMF website. The Program Budget and Guidelines for 2020-2021 have been approved, too and those will be released April 1. “The program budget is comparable to previous years. We hope this will offer some predictability and stability at this difficult time,” reads Creighton’s email.
“The changes to the Guidelines are not extensive but we have done what we can to respond to the industry consultations and points of view we have received over the past year. We anticipate that as the Covid-19 situation unfolds, additional flexibility in the Guidelines may be required for the broadcast and production sector.
“Thank you for doing your part. Our collective response will determine how quickly we recover from the crisis. We will work with you to mitigate the impact on our sector to the best of our ability. The world needs your stories now and especially when the focus on survival comes to an end.”
