Vancouver, B.C. (May 12, 2025) – Today, Creative BC announces the 11 projects that will receive production and post production financing for their long form scripted feature length films, documentaries, and series projects. With grants of $20K to $200K each, this is the fifth round of filmmakers funded through the Production Program (the Program). The Program was announced in 2020 and funded by the Domestic Motion Picture Fund (the Fund) announced in 2020 by the Province of British Columbia.
This round of funding represents a $1,397,145 investment for production phase financing, and these 11 projects bring the total number supported by the Program to 67. The Program allows 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.
The Program aims to enhance funding access by eliminating the requirement for a ‘market trigger,’ 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 financial support boosts each production’s budget, enhancing its appeal to attract additional investments from private and public funders. This enables projects to move into the production phase and transform fully developed scripts into screen-ready products.
The following projects are this year’s successful recipients:
- Project: QʷAYAĆIIK
After Skookum and Marcie return to Skookum’s home in Nuu-chah-nulth territory, they must protect a pack of coastal wolves from habituation.
Company: Seal Folk
Producers: Sam Rose Phillips, Gloria Pancrazi, Teri Snelgrove
Amount/Type: $120,000, Documentary or Factual Content - Project: FREAKS UNDERGROUND
Chloe risks her life, and her fragile relationship with her mom, in order to find a friend in their brutal and fascist world.
Company: Chloe Pictures Inc.
Producers: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Amount/Type: $200,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: IN ALASKA
Depressed Woody (17) shoots the Alaskan Pipeline, sparking a manhunt led by FBI agent Tarheel—and a journey of survival and self-discovery.
Company: Alaska EFF Productions Inc., Alaska UUK Productions Inc., IJswater Films 1 BV
Producers: Tyler Hagan, Vincent Karetak, Marc Bary
Amount/Type: $200,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: THE BRYCE LEE STORY
A Chinese 13-year-old named Bryce Lee lies about being related to Bruce Lee in an effort to be accepted by classmates at school.
Company: Flying Nunchucks Films Ltd.
Producers: Lynne Lee, Arnold Lim
Amount/Type: $120,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: THE EDEN EXPRESS
Based on the memoir by Mark Vonnegut (son of Kurt Vonnegut), this depicts his 1970 search for a better way of life on a British Columbia homestead.
Company: Eden Productions BC Inc.
Producers: Lori Lozinski, Daniel Bekerman, Christina Wood, Chris Yurkovich
Amount/Type: $200,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: THE GOOD CANADIAN
Behind every myth is the truth. Behind every inequity is a system. Behind them all is…The Good Canadian.
Company: Great Stories Productions Inc.
Producers: Leena Minifie, David Paperny
Amount/Type: $50,000, Documentary or Factual Content - Project: LUCID
A 1990s art student uses a lucid dreaming elixir to break through creative blocks, only to find herself trapped in a surreal dreamscape.
Company: Sublunar Films Inc.
Producer: Emanuel Foucault
Amount/Type: $20,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: WEST COAST MOST HAUNTED
A documentary series about a respected team of Indigenous paranormal investigators and the terrifying real-life phenomenon they investigate.
Company: WM-COLD PRODUCTIONS INC.
Producer: Tania Koenig-Gauchier
Amount/Type: $120,000, Scripted Feature Length Content - Project: UNTITLED FLYING CLOUD PROJECT
A feature length documentary.
Company: Flying Cloud Productions Inc.
Producer: Leon Lee
Amount/Type: $120,000, Documentary or Factual Content - Project: RECLAIM MY SKIN
A three-part one-hour documentary series that reclaims Indigenous women’s history and authority in North America.
Company: Anukiri Ura Daka Pictures Inc., Marie Clements Media Inc., Screen Siren Pictures Inc.
Producers: Marie Clements, Trish Dolman, Ernest Webb, Catherine Bainbridge, Steven Thibault
Amount/Type: $200,000, Documentary or Factual Content - Project: CLAN OF THE PAINTED LADY
A Hakka-Canadian filmmaker contends with the loss of her ancestral community in Kolkata, India…
Company: 1436994 B.C. LTD
Producer: Jennifer Chiu
Amount/Type: $47,145, Documentary or Factual Content
View a list of the recipients by program online here.
To learn more about the Production Program, visit Creative BC’s website: www.creativebc.com/services/funding-programs/domestic-motion-picture-programs/production-program/
This program partnership is supported by the Province of British Columbia’s historic announcement made on April 19, 2023, for $15.9 million three-year investment into B.C.’s domestic motion productions, workforce and creators through 2027. The Program and the Fund are part of Creative BC’s Reel Focus BC suite of support for B.C.’s domestic motion picture industry.
Quotes:
Honourable Spencer Chandra Herbert, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
“As someone who deeply loves the creative sector, I’m so proud to see more B.C. stories being brought to life by our own creators. These are our voices, our communities, our experiences—reflected on screen in ways that move, challenge, and inspire us. It means a lot to be able to support the incredible talent here at home and help more local filmmakers take the next step in sharing their work with the world.
Prem Gill, CEO, Creative BC
“Creative BC is proud to support the fifth round of this program, enabling 11 additional domestic projects to move into the production and post production stages. This funding empowers B.C.’s independent producers at all career stages to create competitive, market-ready content and foster the development of B.C.-owned intellectual property. Since reintroducing this production funding in 2021, we’ve supported 67 domestic filmmakers in bringing their creative visions to life.”
Arnold Lim, Flying Nunchucks Films Ltd., Program Recipient
“As a filmmaker based in a smaller region, I’ve seen firsthand Creative BC’s foundational support in helping build a human legacy of economic, artistic, and experiential infrastructure for the cast and crew working in film. I’m filled with gratitude for the opportunity to shoot our feature film, THE BRYCE LEE STORY, in the community I call home and I applaud Creative BC, its staff, and the Province of British Columbia for helping buoy our local artists and for supporting not only the films we’re proud to craft in our great province, but the people we’re so proud to know made those films come to life”
Media Contact:
Creative BC
Lisa Escudero
media@creativebc.com
+1 604-730-2235
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About Creative BC
Creative BC is an independent non-profit society created and supported by the Province 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