INDUSTRY ADVISORY – Écrire au long and Feature It!

Montreal, August 17, 2009 – Please be advised that the initiatives Feature It! and Ecrire au long have been redesigned to allow for more flexibility in the application process, as well as increased accessibility of Telefilm’s support for successful applicants. The modifications are the result of informal consultations with both the French and English language communities.

Telefilm is taking a global approach with this initiative by offering support to creators at every stage in the development process: selected applicants will take part in a 4-day immersion in Montréal to review the fundamentals of film development and scriptwriting with industry experts. Further training needs will be assessed following the immersion, at which time writer applicants will receive script editing support, while producer applicants will receive individual mentoring. Finally, successful participants will receive CFFF development financing in the form of an advance for a phase of their project.

The initiatives now allow for either production companies, or individuals (producer and/or writer), to apply to Ecrire au long or Feature It! for projects at various stages: production companies and individual producers may apply for both the Getting to First Draft and the First or Subsequent Draft stages (projects in outline, treatment or draft form), while writers may only apply for the Getting to First Draft stage (projects in outline or treatment form).

Ecrire au long and Feature It! are part of Telefilm’s Official Languages Activities Program (OLA-ALO). Ecrire au long seeks to enlarge the pool of Francophone creators working outside Quebec or in Quebec, but outside Montreal, while Feature It! seeks to enlarge the pool of Anglophone creators working in Quebec. This initiative has received financial support from Heritage Canada via the Interdepartmental Partnership with Official-Language Communities (IPOLC).

Guidelines for both initiatives can be found at www.telefilm.ca