DOC cautiously optomistic at appointment of new CMF

Toronto, ON (June 10, 2009)

The Documentary Organization of Canada / l’association des Documentaristes du Canada (DOC) is pleased with the nominations of the new Canada Media Fund (CMF) board members. These nominations suggest that the Department of Canadian Heritage has taken the issue of board-member independence seriously.

“The nominated board members bring a wide variety of experiences and backgrounds to the fund’s oversight,” says DOC Co-Chair John Christou.

However, DOC continues to seek clarity on the Fund’s support of the documentary genre, and remains extremely concerned about the eligibility of “in-house” broadcaster productions for CMF funding in spite of assurances that broadcaster access will be phased in. DOC will also be monitoring nominees to the Advisory Board whose role will be to help with fund policy.

DOC is pleased that the Fund’s two streams will make funding available for new-media projects that do not have a broadcast component. Documentary producers see this as a great opportunity, and are excited by the growth potential in the new-media sector.

DOC and its members are looking forward to being a vital part of the upcoming CMF consultation process, and are eager to work with the fund’s new board.

About DOC
The Documentary Organization of Canada is the collective voice of independent documentary filmmakers across Canada. DOC is a national non-profit association that represents over 700 directors, producers and craftspeople in the Canadian documentary community. DOC advocates on behalf of its members to foster an environment conducive to documentary production and strives to strengthen the sector within the broader film production industry.

Information
Lisa Fitzgibbons – Executive Director
(416) 599-3844 ext. 1
www.docorg.ca

More Than $800,000 From Ontario Trillium Foundation to Boost Youth Opportunities in Northern Ontario

June 5, 2009

“This investment is part of our government’s strategy to strengthen and diversify Northern Ontario to prepare the region for success in the knowledge economy,” said Orazietti,

“Developing innovative social enterprises aimed at youth is a new field,” said Cheechoo. “OTF is very excited to be supporting leading-edge projects focused on giving young people in Northern Ontario new opportunities. I believe these bold Future Fund initiatives will have tremendous social and economic impact.”

Sault Ste. Marie’s ProtoLaunch will receive a Future Fund grant of $461,800 over three years. This collaborative project is designed to provide invaluable training and work experience for high school students in the fast-paced video gaming industry and establishing the Sault Ste. Marie area as a key technological centre.

“The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre and its project partners are thrilled to be approved for this funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said Tom Vair, Executive Director of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. “Most of all, I am excited for the youth in the region who will have a chance to participate in an exciting initiative that will develop their skills and increase their awareness of opportunities in the video gaming sector.”

The ProtoLaunch collaborative is comprised of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre Algoma University, Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology, Anishinabek Information Technology Centre, YMCA Employment and Community Services and the Children’s Rehabilitation Centre – Algoma.

In Moose Cree First Nation, thanks to a Future Fund grant of $366,300 over four years, the Youth Opportunity Centre initiative will provide entrepreneurship training and mentoring to help local youth local overcome barriers to employment by developing their own businesses. In the initial stages local youth will be selected but the program intends to extend its reach to youth in the western James Bay and southern Hudson Bay regions.

The four-year pilot training program, offered at the new John R. Delaney Small Business and Youth Opportunity Centre, will pave the way to a brighter future for Cree youth who want to live and work in their northern communities.

“This new initiative is giving a second chance to youth who didn’t fit in mainstream education and careers,” said Doug Cheechoo, Moose Cree First Nation. “This program will give them a leg up to create their own businesses and develop important work skills. This is a dramatic change from a decade ago, when as many as 50 per cent of our young Cree had to leave their communities to earn a living.”

This Future Fund grant is one of six that have been made across Ontario in June, totaling up to nearly $2 million for a series of collaborative projects. Each is placing an emphasis on creating economic opportunities. The development of innovative, social enterprise opportunities is a new field in Canada and one which the Ontario Trillium Foundation is helping organizations explore.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation established the Future Fund in 2007 to support innovative partnerships and initiatives within a specific sector in order to strengthen their impact. This strategic funding program creates significant and sustainable opportunities for communities, networks and individuals to participate fully in Ontario’s future.

In 2007 and 2008, the Future Fund targeted leadership in the environment sector; in 2009, it will support innovative initiatives that create social and economic opportunities.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario. For over 25 years, the Foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives.

Profiles of latest Future Fund recipients:

Carleton University’s Carleton Centre for Community Innovation
Causeway Work Centre
LASI World Skills
Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District
The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
Moose Cree First Nation’s Youth Opportunity Centre

For more information, contact:

Lori Kay, Communications Officer
1.800.263.2887 ext. 216,
lkay@trilliumfoundation.org

Jay Monture, Youth Centre Manager
Moose Cree First Nation, 705- 658-4619
www.moosecree.com

Industry Advisory – Launch of the second edition of the OLA Program – Production component

Tuesday June 9, 2009 – Telefilm is launching the second edition of the Production component for French-language creators living in Canada outside Quebec. This component is part of the Official Languages Activities Program (OLA) and provides financial support for the production of feature films from creators in this community. Objectives and features The goals of this initiative are mainly to:

• Give Francophone producers and directors working in Canada outside Quebec the opportunity to produce feature film projects that can reach a wide audience
• Increase the number of creators from official language minority communities (OLMC)

The support consists of financial assistance granted at the production stage in the form of a non-interest bearing repayable advance, and may not exceed 65% of the total project budget. The envelope of available funds for this initiative is approximately $250,000.

Eligibility criteria To be eligible, applicants must be Francophone producers or directors working on a French-language project.

Applicants (producers and directors) must also meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Be Canadian citizens, within the definition of the Citizenship Act, or permanent residents within the definition of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act .
• Have resided in Canada outside Quebec for at least two years.
• Production companies must be a Canadian-owned and controlled corporation, as determined under sections 26 to 28 of the Investment Canada Act and have their head office based in Canada but outside Quebec.
• If the applicant’s (producer or director’s) application is accepted but he/she does not have a legally incorporated production company, the applicant will be required to form a Canadian-owned and controlled corporation in compliance with the Investment Canada Act. Telefilm Canada will allow these incorporation costs to be included in the film’s budget.

For more information on the program or on the project eligibility criteria, please consult the program guidelines .

Submitting an application Applicants must send the application form and Telefilm Canada’s standard budget, duly completed with all required documentation, to the Quebec regional office of Telefilm Canada. Applications should be sent to the attention of the project coordinator before 5 p.m. on August 17, 2009 . Please read the guidelines carefully for all the application submission details.

Developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. The Corporation also administers the funding programs of the Canada Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Television Fund and the Canada New Media Fund.

To learn more about Telefilm, please view the webcast of the Corporation’s first Annual Public Meeting, which took place on April 8, 2009, at www.telefilm.gc.ca .

Contact person : Brigitte Dupré