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.ca.