INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION FUND AND CANADA MEDIA FUND ANNOUNCE 2023 DEVELOPMENT PACKAGING FUNDING DECISIONS

The Independent Production Fund (IPF) and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) have approved financing for 30 scripted short-form series as part of the 2023 CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program. These are series which are being developed for exploitation primarily on digital platforms and channels. 20 of the approved series are in English and 10 are in French.

The IPF and the CMF are providing a combined investment of $900,000 and will also provide consultation advisory services to the producers of the successful projects.

The CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program is designed to support the development of high quality, Canadian, original, scripted short-form series.

A record 187 eligible projects were submitted from across Canada – 149 English-language, 38 French-language. Representing all regions of Canada, applications were received from 8 provinces and 2 territories. 28 evaluators from across Canada helped analyze and rank the projects providing a wide range of perspectives.

Evaluators looked for originality, authenticity, quality of written creative materials, the experience of the team, the strength of the story editor / development executive, the proposed budget, and the overall potential for success.

The 30 successful applications represent all major genres, including children’s live action, animation, comedy, drama, horror, musical, mystery/thriller, science fiction, and fantasy and come from a broad diversity of creators and producers.

IPF Chair Emilia King commented: “This was a record-breaking year not just in terms of volume but also the caliber of applications we received. We are so thrilled to be part of this exciting era in digital short form series and we cannot wait to see these projects come to life!!”

“The CMF is excited to once again partner with the IPF to support Canadian creators from across the country,” said Valerie Creighton, President & CEO, CMF. “Congrats to all the funding recipients! I look forward to seeing your stories on screens at home and around the world.”

The following productions are the recipients of the 2023 CMF-IPF Development Packaging Program:

Backwoods Lodge
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Production Company: Bad Bar Pictures
Producer: Jean Ngo
Writer: Rose Schimm
Development Executive / Story Editor: Adam Reid, Gavin Heffernan
Bar et Gouin
Genre: Animation
Production Company: SPORT CONCEPTION AUDIOVISUELLE INC.
Producer: Audrée-Anne Prieur
Writer: Maxime Scraire
Story Editor: Charles-Alex Durand
Cauchemar chamanique
Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Production Company: Oraquan Medias Inc.
Producer: Neegan Trudel
Writers: Neegan Trudel, Eve Ringuette
Story Editor: Julie Roy
Cellule grise
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Pimiento Médias Inc.
Producers: Paola Arriagada-Nunez, Orlando Arriagada, Chantal Bessette
Writer: Louis-François Grenier
Story Editor: Yves Lapierre
Comedium
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Beanduck Productions
Producer: Julian Stamboulieh
Writers: Holly Brace-Lavoie, Tranna Wintour
Story Editor: Jessica Salomon
Dish
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Production Company: Tokimeki Studio Inc.
Producers: Jiro Okada, Tess Degenstein
Writer: Tess Degenstein
Development Executive: Davin Lengyel
Don Valley Girls
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: DVG Productions
Producers: Rabiya Mansoor, Mona Hersi, Fateema Miller, Andie Hong, Jonas Diamond
Writers: Rabiya Mansoor, Mona Hersi, Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller, Andie Hong
Story Editor: Isabel Kanaan
Dying Seconds
Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller
Production Company: 2295344 Ontario Inc.
Producers: Davin Lengyel, Brendan Halloran
Writer: Brendan Halloran
Development Executive / Story Editor: Sam Nasrawi, Mark de Angelis
Exil
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Duo Productions
Producer: Anne Boyer
Writer: Daniel Abraham
Story Editor: Marie-Josée Ouellet
Ils sont parmi nous
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Productions Pixcom Inc
Producer: Véronique Paquette-Corriveau
Writer: Justine Philie
Story Editor: Martine Pagé
Jook-Sing
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Invalid Symbol Ltd.
Producers: Karen Shaw, J. Lee Williams
Writer: J. Lee Williams
Development Executive / Story Editor: Ana Serrano, Romeo Candido
La réforme
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Casadel Films
Producers: Patrick Francke-Sirois, Juliette Provost-Dubois
Writer: Emma-Jeanne Robitaille
Story Editor: Sylvie Bouchard
Les baleines ne savent pas voler
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Production Company: Chaos harmonique inc.
Producer: Justice Rutikara
Writer: Justice Rutikara
Story Editor: Judith Brès
Les bons artistes copient, les grands artistes volent
Genre: Drama, Mystery/Thriller
Production Company: Groupe Fair-Play Inc
Producer: Laurence Atkins
Writers: Didier Charette, David Fuenz
Story Editor: Pierre-Michel Tremblay
Les faillites d’Astrid
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Ray Films Inc.
Producer: Danielle Sturk
Writer: Elena Sturk-Lussier
Story Editor: Stéphane Oystryk
Liv Laugh Love
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Production Company: Monkeys & Parrots
Producer: Jane Loughman
Writers: Becca Willow Moss, Cassidy Civiero
Story Editor: Gwenlyn Cumyn
Monster Problems
Genre: Animation
Production Company: LASS Productions Inc.
Producer: Shannon Fewster
Writer: Shannon Fewster
Story Editor: Jocelyne Meinert
Novelette is Trying
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Orange Rose Productions Inc.
Producer: Jessica Wadsworth
Writer: Giselle Miller
Story Editor: Ruth Atkinson
Packing
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Production Company: Snail Mail Media
Producer: Fonna Seidu
Writer: Jay (Carolyn) Wu
Story Editor: Nattasha Shrestha
Petra PI
Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller
Production Company: White Wolves Inc.
Producers: Faith (Eglantine) Leleu, Samantha Wyss
Writer: Samantha Wyss
Story Editor: Léa Geronimo Rondot
Raksha
Genre: Comedy, Musical
Production Company: Diaspora Creative
Producer: Abubakar Khan
Writer: Tesh Guttikonda
Story Editor: Nadine Bhabha
Rent-a-girlfriend (working title)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Production Company: It's A Secret Productions Inc.
Producer: Ariel Yang
Writer: Alice Wang
Story Editor: Christopher Yip
Returning
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Production Company: ElliFilms Inc.
Producer: Lee Marshall
Writer: Lee Marshall
Story Editor: Elza Kephart
Secret Satan
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Animation
Production Company: Subnormality Inc.
Producers: Geoff Lapaire, Chris Ruddick aka Winston Rowntree
Writer: Chris Ruddick aka Winston Rowntree
Story Editor: Ethan Cole
Solstice Stories
Genre: Children’s Live Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Mystery/Thriller, Animation, Horror
Production Company: BP Solarpunk Media Inc.
Producers: Kai Little-White, Jared Lorenz
Writers: Kai Little-White, Alice Wang, Jose Holder
Story Editors: Aisha Porter-Christie
T-Rex
Genre: Drama
Production Company: Inséparables Films
Producer: Jérémie Boucher, Gabriel Savignac
Writer: Louis-Philippe Vachon
Story Editors: Liz Plank, Christine Dolan, Gabriel Savignac
The Third Party
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: Club Red Productions Inc.
Producer: Jenna MacMillan
Writer: Jenna MacMillan
Story Editors: Heidi Brander, Jonathan Torrens
Thread
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction
Production Company: Archipelago Productions
Producers: Vinuja Shanthasoruban, Maeve Kern, Jana Stackhouse, Nicholas Ewart
Writer: Alex Josselyn-Hamilton
Story Editor: Christopher Yip
Trauma Bonding
Genre: Comedy
Production Company: True West Films Ltd
Producer: Elizabeth Yake
Writer: Daniela Pagliarello
Story Editor: Allie Pearce
Uptown Saturday
Genre: Comedy, Mystery/Thriller
Production Company: MPEG6 Productions
Producer: Nason Markwell
Writers: Sara Peters, Bernard Gray
Development Executive / Story Editor: Anthony Farrell, Allison Wilson-Forbes

About the Independent Production Fund
Since its inception, the IPF has invested $86,371,855 in 1,067 projects: 60 Short Form Series Development projects, 170 Short Form Series Productions, 314 TV Productions, and over 500 Professional Development projects.  The IPF is incorporated as a charitable foundation with an endowment valued at approximately $40M. It uses the interest generated by the endowment and return on its project investments for its annual operations and project funding. The IPF Board of Directors is composed of representatives from the industry and makes all final funding decisions.  For information visit www.ipf.ca

About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances, and promotes the production of Canadian content for all audiovisual platforms. In addition, it guides Canadian content towards a competitive global digital environment by supporting industry innovation, rewarding success, promoting diversity of voices, and encouraging access to content through public- and private-sector partnerships. The CMF receives funding from the Government of Canada and from cable, satellite, and IP service distributors across the country. Visit the CMF website for more information.