TORONTO and MONTREAL – Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund have announced the first 45 English- and French-language projects selected under the new Talent to Watch Program (formerly known as the Micro-Budget Production Program).
Creative teams from across the country submitted potential projects to one of the program’s designated partners. From there, each partner submitted projects to Telefilm for consideration by the decision jury. In all, 38 feature films and seven narrative web projects were selected – click here for the list of selcted projects.
“We were able to increase our support from 15 to 45 projects this year because of the extraordinary contribution of the film schools, coops, and festivals, our program designated partners”, said Telefilm Canada acting executive director Jean-Claude Mahé, in the news release. “In addition, I would like to thank Niv Fichman of Rhombus Media, Matt Johnson and Matt Miller for their insight and generosity in helping redesign this program last year – an important legacy that will benefit emerging creators for years to come. Together, we discover the next generation of storytellers from across Canada and help ignite their careers.”
The Talent Fund, a private donation fund, contributed significantly to the program once again, with support from principal partners Bell Media and Corus Entertainment, as well as numerous corporate and individual donors.
“The Talent Fund has made tremendous strides in the last six years,” added Talent Fund chair Hartley T. Richardson. “I’m pleased to report that, since the beginning of the year, we have raised an additional $1 million in commitments. Furthermore, we have added new partners including Québecor and we are determined to continue this momentum.”
