Canada and Wallonia renew joint interactive digital media incentive
Montréal, March 16, 2018 – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Wallimage today announced the renewal for a three-year term of the Canada–Wallonia Digital Media Incentive for Multiplatform Projects. The official signing ceremony marking the renewal of the agreement between the two funding organizations took place in the presence of Their Majesties, the King and Queen of Belgium, as part of their state visit to Canada.
The incentive encourages the codevelopment and coproduction of digital media projects involving producers in both countries. With an annual budget of $600K, the program will provide up to $100K in funding for each of two projects at the development stage and inject $400K for the production of one project. Each funding organization will provide about half of the program’s total budget.
“The renewal of this agreement underscores the CMF’s commitment to strengthen our ties with Belgium,” explains Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the Canada Media Fund. “The incentive serves to foster the development of business relations between producers in the two countries so they can continue to create new and innovative content that reaches audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world. I would like to express my gratitude to the Wallimage team for their collaboration and for supporting the goal of encouraging joint digital productions between our countries.”
“Our collaboration with the Canada Media Fund has delivered everything we had hoped for: their exceptionally dynamic team and advanced understanding of digital media have enabled us to take a giant step forward in just three years. I am delighted that in renewing the joint Canada–Wallonia funding program, we are joined by Pôle Media Grand Paris, who will be our logistical partner providing support for projects in development,” added Philippe Reynaert, Director of Wallimage.
“Pôle Media Grand Paris is proud to lend the expertise developed in its Labo, a proven incubator and accelerator for creative digital projects. Our company will put all its know-how to work in identifying and supporting selected projects within the framework of the new agreement between CMF and Wallimage, so that they might earn the same international recognition as some of the 42 projects supported by the Laboratory since 2012,” noted Lydie Fenech, Executive Director of Pôle Media Grand Paris.
To be eligible, projects must offer interactive or immersive digital content; be innovative, experimental or avant-garde in terms of content, technology or methods of delivery and use; and be created on an appropriate platform.
Since the Canada–Wallonia Digital Media Incentive was launched in 2014, five projects have received funding for a total investment of $1.5 million. For further information about projects funded by the CMF, view the database of funded projects by clicking here.
About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) supports the creation and promotion of popular and innovative Canadian content, as well as of innovative software for current and emerging digital platforms. CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global digital environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voices and promoting access to content through partnerships with industry and the private sector. To learn more, visit cmf-fmc.ca.
About Wallimage
Wallimage is the public financing arm of the audiovisual sector in Wallonia. Mainly recognized for supporting local talent and bringing topflight international co-productions to Wallonia, the funding agency is also active in financing audiovisual service companies based in southern Belgium. Wallimage was one of the founding partners of Creative Wallonia, a catalyst program that provides a platform for investing in the development of new creative digital industries. To learn more, visit www.wallimage.be.
Introducing Pôle Media Grand Paris
Pôle Media Grand Paris (www.lepole.org) is the French business cluster for the audiovisual sector in the Greater Paris region. Its collaborative network comprises 120 members, including 95 businesses and 16 training and research organizations involved in the creation, production, broadcast, distribution, archiving and funding of interactive and immersive digital content. It is active in funding (Prêt d’Honneur Image), innovation (including Labo, an incubator for creative digital projects), training, international development (Global Content Alliance, a European project) and environmental responsibility (ECOPROD).
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For further information, please contact:
Canada Media Fund
André Ferreira
Communications Manager
416-554-2768
[email protected]
Wallimage
Domenico La Porta
CrossMedia Manager
+32 476 70 27 32
[email protected]
