B.C. Producers and Directors Receive $595K in Production Financing from Creative BC

Vancouver, BC (September 13, 2022) – Creative BC proudly announces eight creative teams will receive production financing for their B.C. owned and controlled motion picture projects. With grants of $35K to $125K each, this is the second round of filmmakers funded through the new Production Program (the Program). The Program is funded by the $2M Domestic Motion Picture Fund (the Fund) announced in 2020 by the Government of British Columbia and represents essential support to B.C. producers not available in the province since 2003. The Program and the Fund are part of Creative BC’s Reel Focus BC suite of support to B.C.’s domestic film and television industry.

This round of funding represents $595K of a total $1.4M investment specifically earmarked from the Fund for production phase financing, and these eight projects bring the total number supported by the Program to 20. The Program is targeted toward longer form projects, including scripted feature length films and documentaries, allowing B.C. filmmakers to complete their projects for broadcast, sale and distribution. All recipients of the program are B.C. resident individuals, or B.C.-owned and controlled production companies, that own the intellectual property behind their projects.

Significantly, one of the Program’s core aims is to foster a more inclusive approach to funding access. The Program removes a typical funding barrier for producers and directors—that of having already secured a “market trigger” for their projects (proof of existing financing to the project through a distributor or broadcaster’s commitment.) The result is support for creators at a variety of career stages, and for a mixed slate of projects that do and do not have existing market trigger financing, with many now given the opportunity to leverage this grant in securing further investments. The Program’s financing support anchors each production’s budget and thereby increases its capacity to approach other funders, whether private, public or both, to attract the remaining additional budgetary investments required to move into the production phase, and to turn their fully developed scripts (intellectual property) into screen-ready creative products.

The following is the list of successful recipients:

1. Project: The Certainty of Symmetry
   The Certainty of Symmetry is a narrative/documentary hybrid that follows a young woman who discovers that she has an incredibly rare and potentially fatal genetic condition, which pushes her to explore the unique world of death doulas.

Producers: Keltan Stepanowich, Bernie Yao, Director: Jaren Brandt Bartlett
Amount/Type: $35,000, Scripted Feature

2. Project: Inedia
   After a series of mysterious and debilitating allergic reactions to food, a young woman joins a radical community of people who claim to be nourished by light.

Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Jennifer Chiu, Tyler Hagan, Alex Ordanis, Christopher Yurkovich, Director: Elizabeth Cairns
Amount/Type: $125,000, Scripted Feature

3. Project: King Arthur’s Night
   A genre-defying documentary film inspired by a medieval musical play created by an amazing company of artists living with and without Down Syndrome.

Producers: John Bolton, Veda Hille, James Long, Niall McNeill, Joan McNeill, Virginia Prasad, Marcus Youssef, Director: John Bolton
Amount/Type: $50,000, Documentary

4. Project: Lunatic
   She scared little boys and inspired generations of women, ‘Lunatic’ explores the complex life and tragic death of famed Canadian women’s pro-wrestler, Luna Vachon.

Producers: Kate Kroll, Michael Paszt, Pasha Patrizki, Director: Kate Kroll
Amount/Type: $50,000, Documentary

5. Project: My Own Flesh and Blood
   A terminally ill scientist transfers her mind into to a teenage body in an effort to cheat death, but the process leaves her old empty body alive without memory. Her adult children must now decide which version of their mother deserves to survive.

Producers: Nessa Aref, Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein, Director: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Amount/Type: $100,000, Scripted Feature

6. Project: Seagrass
   Set in the 90s, a Japanese Canadian woman, grieving the death of her mother, brings her husband and daughters to a self-development retreat

Producers: Sara Blake, Tyler Hagan, Kathleen Hepburn, Randall Okita, Director: Meredith Hama-Brown
Amount/Type: $75,000, Scripted Feature

7. Project: Skoden!
   From infamy to inspiration, how a notorious photo became an iconic Indigenous meme and a rallying cry for Indigenous peoples to assert their digital sovereignty.

Producers: Damian Eagle Bear, Nilesh Patel, Director: Damian Eagle Bear
Amount/Type: $35,000, Documentary

8. Project: Shared Planet
   Shared Planet features dramatic stories of the relationships between people and wildlife, revealing the path to a surprisingly bright future for both nature and humans; an inspiring vision for a new age on planet Earth.

Producers: Louise Ferguson, Jeff Morales, Jeff Turner, Chelsea Turner, Directors: Louise Ferguson, Jeff Morales, Jeff Turner, Chelsea Turner
Amount/Type: $125,000, Documentary Series

View the previous round of funded projects through the Program.

For more information on Creative BC programs for domestic motion picture projects visit Creative BC’s website.

Quotes:
Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
“Congratulations to the B.C. creators receiving production support,” said Melanie Mark, Hli Haykwhl ?ii Xsgaak, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “We are so excited to watch more of your stories on the screen, and to see the domestic motion picture industry grow throughout the province. As a call to action,  our government invested $2 million to support domestic production activity to keep us on the map, and I am proud to shine a light on the local, homegrown talent behind productions that will be made right here in B.C.”

Prem Gill, CEO, Creative BC
“We are thrilled to congratulate the second intake of recipients of the Production Program. We have seen a high level of competitiveness in this program, which is indicative of the capacity that exists in local talent. This funding will lead to greater capacity and creation of intellectual property, to open doors for new opportunities, diverse voices, and new audiences to hear those stories. We look forward to seeing these filmmakers bring their stories to life.”

Zach Lipovsky, Director | Program Recipient
“B.C. is a world leader in film production, yet our local creatives have often struggled to compete due to lack of financing. Creative BC’s Production Program is an essential step in investing in our local filmmakers to bring our voices to the world stage. We couldn’t be more excited to be part of this pilot program, and proud to be part of the next wave of growth in our vibrant industry.”

Media Contact:
Lisa Escudero
Creative BC
media@creativebc.com
604-730-2235

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About Creative BC
Creative BC is an independent society created and supported by the provincial government to sustain and help grow British Columbia’s creative industries: motion picture, interactive and digital media, music and sound recording, and magazine and book publishing. The society delivers a wide range of programs and services with a mandate to expand B.C.’s creative economy. These activities include administration of the provincial government’s motion picture tax credit programs, delivery of program funding and export marketing support for the sector, and provincial film commission services. Combined, these activities serve to attract inward investment and market B.C. as a partner and destination of choice for domestic and international content creation. The society acts as an industry catalyst and ambassador to help B.C.’s creative sector reach its economic, social, environmental, and creative potential both at home and globally.

Website: www.creativebc.com

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