FIRST LOOK – USA 2026

To be considered eligible, an applicant must meet all the following criteria:  

• be a Canadian controlled corporation, as determined under sections 26 to 28 of the Investment Canada Act;  
• have its head office in Canada and carry out its activities in Canada;  
• operate as an audiovisual production company;  
• producers and other key production personnel exercising creative and financial control over the project must be Canadian [1];  
• be searching for an international sales agent and/or an international distributor for the submitted project in the US market;  
• if selected, be available to participate in virtual mentorship meetings (early May 2026) and a virtual pitch (mid June 2026).
• if selected, be able to produce and deliver a pitch reel that includes film excerpts of the project by end of May deadline (exact date to be confirmed);   
• if selected, be available to attend the Gotham Project Market – Producers Hub in New York in (September 2026).   

  ^[1] “Canadian” means for individuals, a Canadian citizen within the definition of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the definition of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and for corporations, under Canadian control pursuant to the Investment Canada Act.  

To be considered eligible, a project must meet all the following criteria:  

• be a feature length (75 minutes or more) film, fiction or documentary, in the post-production phase; to be released in late 2026 or in 2027.  
• be produced or completed in French, English, an Indigenous language, or for artistic imperatives, in another language, must be subtitled if in a language other than English;  
• be under the ownership of the Canadian¹ applicant (including its copyright);  
• be written by a Canadian[1] screenwriter;  
• be directed by a Canadian[1] director;  
• with respect to Canadian content certification, upon completion be either:  
  • certified by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) as a “Canadian film or video production” with a minimum of  8 out of 10 points under the provisions of the Income Tax Act; or  
  • recognized as a treaty coproduction by the Minister of Canadian Heritage;
• be aimed primarily at the Canadian theatrical market, with a strong potential for international sales in the US market;
• conform to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Code of Ethics and to all other programming standards endorsed by the CAB or the CRTC, and not contain any element that is libellous or in any other way unlawful.  

 ^[1] “Canadian” means for individuals, a Canadian citizen within the definition of the Citizenship Act or a permanent resident within the definition of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and for corporations, under Canadian control pursuant to the Investment Canada Act.

Telefilm Canada will select 6 applicants to participate in this initiative. Decision-making will be based on qualitative information in order to select the projects with the best potential for success in the US market. The following criteria will serve as a guide, and no specific weighting will be attributed to each of the components:  

• International track record of the applicant production company;  
• International track record of the creative team;  
• Creative elements of the project, including originality and quality of the synopsis; and  
• The marketability of different elements of the film (e.g. renowned director, screenwriter, and/or performer(s), potential for success in the US, etc.).   

The selection process will be conducted by Telefilm Canada and based, among other things, on recommendations made by a US-based jury. In addition, decision making may take into account region of applicants in order to ensure a balanced portfolio of projects that reflects a variety of regions across Canada.  

• Synopsis  
• Director’s Statement  
• Biography, filmography, awards and festival selection list of the creative team  
• Participation objectives  
• Promotional and international marketing strategy