Atlantic Canada Business Grants

Bell Fund

Short Form Digital Series Fiction and Non-Fiction

Amount:

$200,000.00

Type of Program:

Grants

Description:

The purpose of the Program is to fund premium, original, digital video series for online distribution, specifically the production of scripted fiction (drama, comedy, and children’s and youth programming, excluding animated series) and scripted non-fiction (i.e. documentary and lifestyle/factual programming).

Comments on Funding:

Funding is available as a non-repayable grant of 75% of the costs of production up to a maximum of $150,000. At least 10% of the budget must be financed in cash by a third party. If series is Board approved for financing, an additional amount, up to a maximum of $50,000, can be requested for the cost of implementing the Audience Development Plan. 

When It Ends:

Ongoing

Deadline:

April 4, 2022
September 26, 2022

Eligibility:

​The applicant must:

  • be a production company which is a for profit company carrying on business in Canada and a resident of Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act - owned and controlled by Canadians as determined in sections 26-28 of Investment Canada Act, is incorporated in Canada and has a Canadian business address as its head office,
  • be a Canadian company carrying on business in Canada, with a Canadian business address, owned and controlled by Canadians, whose business is the production of film, videotape or live programs for distribution and in which the licensee or any company related to the licensee owns or controls, directly or indirectly, in aggregate, less than 30% of the equity.
  • have at time of application a licensed agreement or meaningful commitment letter from a digital platform owned, controlled and operated by a Canadian, licensed programming undertaking or a pre-approved digital platform,
  • must produce a content that:
  • is compliant with all standards and policies applicable to broadcasting and to intellectual property laws and will not infringe upon any public or private rights and will not otherwise contravene any civil and criminal laws in effect in Canada,
  • is closed captioned and have described video,
  • has a meaningful Covid-19 safety production plan,
  • achieve a minimum of 6 out of 10 Canadian certification points under CRTC or be certified, by Telefilm, as an official Canadian treaty co-production or be certified as per the CRTC’s requirements as a co-venture.

Eligibility criteria for the series:

  • only series will be supported, with a maximum length of 20 minutes per episode and a minimum of 6 episodes,
  • principal photography cannot have begun prior to the application deadline,
  • the copyright of the project must be owned, optioned or controlled by the applicant.

Application Steps:

Applicants must:

1

book a one-on-one information session, via email, at info@bellfund.ca, if they are first time applicants, 

2

go to online application portal: application.bellfund.ca and create an account,

3

submit the application.

Documentation Needed: 

​Applicants must submit:

  1. 1
    The application form,
  2. 2
    The Audience Development Preliminary Plan,
  3. 3
    The Digital Platform Pre-Approval Form,
  4. 4
    Project details form,
  5. 5
    Proof that Copyright of Project is owned, optioned or controlled by applicant (producer),
  6. 6
    License Agreement or meaningful commitment letter from a digital platform owned, controlled and operated by a Canadian, licensed programming undertaking including operating as a Hybrid VOD service (CraveTV, Club Illico),
  7. 7
    Licence agreement or meaningful commitment letter from a digital platform that features Entertainment Programming and is accessible to Canadians.
  1. 8
    Proof of other financing, if applicable,
  2. 9
    List of pending applications to other funders, if applicable.
  3. 10
    The budget,
  4. 11
    Transactions by All Parties, 
  5. 12
    Content (series treatment + 1- 2 scripts for Fiction/series treatment + 1 episodic outline for nonfiction),
  6. 13
    Production Schedule,
  7. 14
    Credits of Applicant Company,
  8. 15
    Key Personnel List + CVs,
  9. 16
    Self Identification Form,
  10. 17
    Co-Production Agreement, if applicable,
  11. 18
    Service Agreement, if applicable,
  12. 19
    Additional documents, if applicable. 

Other Things to Note:

As with 2020, a distinction will not be made between fiction and non-fiction. The two deadlines are open to both and applications will be evaluated together.

Program Contact:

​Short-Form-Digital-Series_Guidelines_September-2021.pdf

​Short-Form Digital Series - Bell Fund

​How to Apply for Funding​​​