The Quebecor Fund board of directors last week announced financial support totalling more than $1.5 million will be disbursed among eight Canadian production companies in the latest round of the fund’s Television Production Assistance Program.
Under the program’s Support for the Creation of Intellectual Property component, $390,000 will go to two projects from Productions Untamed 5 Inc. and Happy Camper Média Inc., according to a Quebecor Fund press release last Thursday. The broadcasters supporting the development of these projects are TVA Group and Télé-Québec.
Under the Support for the Production of Intellectual Property for International Markets component, Quebecor Fund is contributing $1,128,798 to five fiction series and one documentary series in this round. These include: Season 2 of Empathie, produced by Trio Orange Inc. for Bell Media; Season 2 of Dernière seconde, produced by Duo Productions Inc. and Attraction Images Inc. for TVA Group; Season 4 of Bête Noire, produced by Encore Télévision Inc. for Corus Media; Season 2 of Casse-Gueule, produced by Duo Productions for Bell Media; Season 3 of Les Armes, produced by Aetios Productions Inc. for TVA Group; and Season 2 of documentary series Saveurs précieuses, produced by Les Productions Lustitia Inc. for TV5 Québec Canada.
Since its inception in 1999, Quebecor Fund’s Television Production Assistance Program has supported a total of 433 projects, involving 105 production companies, 49 Canadian broadcasters and 100 foreign platforms and broadcasters, with grants totalling nearly $112.5 million across all of its components, according to the fund’s press release.
Counting this round of the Support for the Creation of Intellectual Property component, Quebecor Fund has provided repayable grants totalling more than $15.6 million to support creation projects in all genres that have received a financial commitment from a recognized French-language broadcaster, the release said.
Counting this round of the Support for the Production of Intellectual Property for International Markets component, launched in 2019 in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF), Quebecor Fund has provided repayable grants of nearly $19.5 million and the CMF $6.5 million, for a total of nearly $26 million, according to the release. This funding “enables Québec producers to add value to French-language fiction and documentaries, and to penetrate international markets,” the release said.
In addition, since June 2020, Quebecor Fund has granted specific funding to promote women’s shareholding in partner companies that receive support from the Export Assistance Program (EXAP). In this round, Écho Média Inc. will receive an $80,000 grant to support the transfer of shares to key female personnel. To date, total financing of $880,000 has been extended under this component to eight companies and 21 new shareholders, Quebecor Fund said.
The application submission deadline for the next round of Quebecor Fund’s Television Production Assistance Program is Oct. 1, 2026.
