Telefilm Canada invests $24M+ in 11 big-budget features in the English market
Telefilm Canada invests over $24 million to fund 11 feature-length films in the English market as part of the first round of decisions under the Production Program’s big budget stream, seven of which are majority coproductions and several book-to-screen adaptations. This investment accounts for 69 per cent of Telefilm’s annual budget for funding English market feature films under the Production Program’s big budget stream.
The selected projects represent impactful stories, told from distinctly Canadian perspectives, that will resonate widely and satisfy commercial and arthouse audiences.
In addition, four projects are receiving greenlight funding for additional pre-production support, including projects from Newfoundland, Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec; and three of which are majority coproductions.
The evaluated projects featured filmmakers with experience levels ranging from award-winning veterans to mid- and early-career creatives and those selected for funding echo that exciting mix.
A Thread of Violence (mystery/crime)
Director: Robert Budreau
Screenwriters: Robert Budreau and Grayson Moore
Production: January Media and Lumanity Productions
Co-Production: Sleeper Films
Distributor: Mongrel Media
Province: Ontario
Language: English
*Majority coproduction with Ireland
Eggplant (drama)
Director and screenwriter: Yung Chang
Production: Medium Density Fibreboard Films Inc.
Distributor: Game Theory Films
Province: Ontario
Language: Mandarin
*Majority coproduction with Ireland
Forgiveness (historical drama)
Director: Deepa Mehta
Screenwriter: Mark Sakamoto
Production: Hamilton-Mehta Productions Inc.
Distributor: Mongrel Media
Province: Ontario
Language: English and Japanese
Half-Blood Blues (historical drama)
Director: Clement Virgo
Screenwriters: Patrick Whistler and Clement Virgo
Production: Conquering Lion Pictures Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Ontario
Language: English, French and German
*Majority coproduction with Germany
Lullabies For Little Criminals (drama)
Director and screenwriter: Sarah Gadon
Production: Brightlight Pictures Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: British Columbia
Language: English and French
Mary, Mary (drama)
Director: Bruce LaBruce
Screenwriters: Bruce LaBruce and Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay
Production: Compass Productions Inc.
Distributor: A-Z Films Inc. (with Raven Banner)
Province: Quebec
Language: English
*Majority coproduction with Belgium
Nightingale (historical drama)
Directors and screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson
Production: Thin Stuff Productions Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Manitoba
Language: English
*Majority coproduction with United Kingdom
Rapture (horror)
Director and screenwriter: Jordan Tannahill
Production: Elevation Pictures
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Ontario
Language: English
*Majority coproduction with United Kingdom
Suffering Is Optional (drama)
Director and screenwriter: Zarrar Kahn
Production: CityLights Media Inc., LBG Films Inc., Other Memory Media, and Couronne
Nord Inc.
Distributor: Game Theory Films, with h264 (Quebec)
Province: Ontario, Quebec
Language: English, French and Urdu
Untitled Matt Johnson Film (drama)
Director and screenwriter: Matt Johnson
Production: Zapruder Films Inc.
Distributor: Elevation Pictures
Province: Ontario
Language: English
Worse Together (drama)
Director and screenwriter: Luis De Filippis
Production: JA Productions Inc. and Fra Diavolo Films Inc.
Distributor: Maison 4:3, with MDFF
Province: Ontario
Language: English
*Majority coproduction with Switzerland
In the first intake of the Production Program’s big budget stream, 55 projects – including 13 majority coproductions – were assessed, representing $126 million in funding requests. Telefilm met with the teams behind each project submission.
An advisory committee composed of external and internal representatives has evaluated the projects and made its recommendations. The decision-making process, across multiple rounds of decisions over the coming months, is designed to ensure that Telefilm funds a balanced production portfolio reflecting a variety of genres, budgets, company sizes, regions of the country, and perspectives. A list of the selection committee members will be posted on Telefilm’s Project Financing Advisory Committees page at the end of each fiscal year.
It should also be noted that the project teams selected under the Springboard Initiative will be contacted shortly. Under this initiative, projects that were not selected for production funding but ranked highly during the evaluation process may be invited to apply for development funding to strengthen their project for a future production application.
More funding decisions will be announced through April to September of this year. Statistics on all films funded in the year will be published in the 2026—27 Annual Report.