Bell Fund

Short Form Digital Series Fiction and Non-Fiction

by Maurice | February 5, 2023

Amount:

$200,000.00

Type of Program:

Grants

Description:

The Short-Form Digital Series Program is a selective program that supports Canadian, independent producer/creators by funding premium, original series for online distribution, specifically the production of fiction (drama, comedy, and children’s and youth programming) and non-fiction (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. 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:

September 26, 2022
2023 deadlines to be announced

Eligibility:

The applicant must:

be a for-profit company (a taxable Canadian corporation within the meaning of Canada’s Income Tax Act) carrying on business in Canada, with a Canadian business address, owned and controlled by Canadians, whose business is the production of film, video or live programs for distribution.
be incorporated, if the application is successful (incorporation is not required at the time of application).
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,
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;

produce series with a minimum episode length of 5 minutes and a maximum length of 20 minutes per episode and a minimum of 6 episodes;
meet the following conditions:

the platform must be acceptable to bell fund and the appropriate agreement must be in place;
the request for production financing from bell fund must not exceed 75% of the series budget;
principal photography must not start prior to the bell fund deadline;
at time of application all rights and underlying rights are owned, optioned or controlled sufficiently to produce and exploit the program throughout the world;
first-time applicants must attend an application clinic;
applicants applying for a series that received slate development financing must complete and deliver the development prior to applying;
all associated documents (including all sources of confirmed financing) must be signed and dated by appropriate parties.

Application Steps:

Applicants must:

attend an application clinic, if they are first time applicants

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

submit the application.

complete the 'Bell Fund’s Online Self-Identification Questionnaire' within 7 days of receipt of the email invitation.

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must submit:

1
The application form,
2
The Audience Development Preliminary Plan,
3
The Digital Platform Pre-Approval Form,
4
Project details form,
5
Proof that Copyright of Project is owned, optioned or controlled by applicant (producer),
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
Licence agreement or meaningful commitment letter from a digital platform that features Entertainment Programming and is accessible to Canadians.

8
Proof of other financing, if applicable,
9
List of pending applications to other funders, if applicable.
10
The budget,
11
Transactions by All Parties,
12
Content (series treatment + 1- 2 scripts for Fiction/series treatment + 1 episodic outline for nonfiction),
13
Production Schedule,
14
Credits of Applicant Company,
15
Key Personnel List + CVs,
16
Self Identification Form,
17
Co-Production Agreement, if applicable,
18
Service Agreement, if applicable,
19
Additional documents, if applicable.
20
Additional Letters of Support (eg. letter of support from mentor, if applicable).

Other Things to Note:

Guidelines – August, 2022

Program Contact:

Short-Form-Digital-Series_Guidelines_September-2021.pdf

Short-Form Digital Series - Bell Fund

How to Apply for Funding

Slate Development

by Maurice | February 5, 2023

Amount:

$75,000.00

Type of Program:

Loan

Description:

The purpose of the Slate Development Program is to help Canadian independent production companies build and diversify their slates by offering financial support for the development of original intellectual property (“IP”) with the intent to grow and foster the independent production industry.

Comments on Funding:

Funding is available as a non-interest bearing advance, of 100% of eligible costs repayable from production financing (on a per project basis). For a 2 project Slate the maximum amount requested may be $50,000, while for a 3 project slate the maximum request is $75,000. The minimum request for any slate is $20,000.

When It Ends:

Ongoing

Deadline:

November 28, 2022

Eligibility:

The applicant must:

operate as a Canadian independent Production Company (incorporation isn’t required at the time of application but is required if application is successful),
must not have received funding from the previous deadline,

Eligible Slate applications must meet the following requirements:

contain two or three projects,
proposed development activities have not commenced at time of deadline,
project is not under consideration for production financing from any source,
the Intellectual Property (IP) of each project in the slate is original, though it may be an adaptation of an existing licensed property,
at time of application all rights and underlying rights are owned, optioned or controlled sufficiently to develop, produce and exploit the program throughout the world.

Application Steps:

Applicants must:

attend an application clinic, if they are first time applicants (visit their bookings page for dates and sign up information

go to online application portal and create an account,

click on the New Applications tab and select the fund you wish to apply for,

submit the application.

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must submit:

1
the application form,
2
the producer statement, for each project,
3
proof that copyright is owned, optioned or controlled by applicant (producer) for each Project
4
A market interest form or meaningful letter of market interest, addressed to Bell Fund, from one of the following 4 options, for each project:

a Canadian programming undertaking, public or private, licensed to operate by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC),
an online service owned, controlled and operated by a Canadian licensed programming undertaking including operating as a Hybrid VOD service (CraveTV, Club Illico),
a digital platform that features Entertainment Programming and is accessible to Canadians (Canadian or Foreign owned),
a Distributor (Canadian or Foreign),

5
proof of other financing, for each project, if applicable b
6
budgets (for each project),
7
list of pending funding applications, for each project, if applicable,
8
development History & Plan for this phase (a list of the proposed development deliverables and a schedule of activities must be included, for each project),
9
credits of Applicant Company,
10
a list of all confirmed Key Creatives + CVs e.g., writer, director, show runner, producer, exec producer, story editor, mentor, on screen talent,
11
confirmation letter/ email from Key Creatives supporting application,
12
incorporation Certificate (if available at time of application),
13
self-identification contact list,
14
co-development agreement(s), if applicable,
15
service agreement(s), if applicable,

Other Things to Note:

Slate Development Guidelines – August, 2022

Program Contact:

Slate Development - Bell Fund

SD_Slate_Guidelines_June-2021.pdf

SL_Document-Checklist_June-2021.pdf

How to Apply for Funding

TV Program – Major Production Funder Envelope

by Maurice | February 5, 2023

Amount:

$250,000.00

Type of Program:

Grants

Description:

The purpose of the TV Program is to support the production of great, market-driven Canadian content in the genres of lifestyle, drama , comedy series and documentary series. For eligible projects supported by a Major Production Funder (MPF), funding will be allocated from a MPF envelope. The MPF shall provide a Bell Fund Broadcaster support form to the Producer that allows the Producer to submit an application for funding to the Bell Fund.

Comments on Funding:

Funding available for eligible projects in the drama or comedy category is a maximum contribution equal to $250,000, not to exceed 40% of the production’s eligible costs/budget.
Funding in the lifestyle category is a maximum contribution equal to $150,000, not to exceed 40% of the production’s eligible costs/budget.
Funding will be allocated from a MPF envelope. All funds will be paid to the Producer/Applicant for the eligible project.

When It Ends:

Applications intake starting April 11, 2022

Deadline:

April 11, 2022
2023 deadline to be announced

Eligibility:

The applicant must:

be a Canadian Production Company,
be a for-profit company (a taxable Canadian corporation within the meaning of Canada’s Income Tax Act) carrying on business in Canada, with a Canadian business address, owned and controlled by Canadians, whose business is the production of film, video or live programs for distribution;
In the event that the applicant is a broadcaster-affiliated company, only up to 25% of the available funds in an MPF envelope can be accessed by these companies;
not submit more than two applications for funding in any one year;
have been provided with a Bell Fund Broadcaster support form from the MPF.

Eligibility criteria for the TV programs:

Principal photography has not been completed at the time of the application deadline.
The program must qualify for CRTC or Canadian audio –visual certification office (CAVCO) program certification with a minimum of 8 out of 10 points or as an official treaty co-production certified by Telefilm.
A minimum of 75% of program expenses are paid for services provided by Canadians or Canadian companies or subject to official treaty co-production guidelines.
Underlying rights are owned and meaningfully developed by Canadians and creative and financial control remains with the Canadian producer throughout the production.
The program must be closed captioned and contain described video.
Must conform to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) code of ethics as well as the CRTC’s programming standards including but not limited to sex-role portrayals and television violence.
Funding is for 30-60 minute (half hour and one hour) formats and no less than 6 episodes for a comedy, lifestyle, documentary series (minimum 3 episodes for ‘blue chip’ documentary series with budgets in excess of $500,000/hour) and 4 episodes for a drama series.
Effective 2023, funding will be limited to any two 2 seasons of a series.
The project must have a commitment from a Canadian broadcaster with a plan to be broadcast within 18 months of completion and delivery of the series to the broadcaster.

Application Steps:

Applicants must:

receive a Bell Fund Broadcaster support form from the MPF that allows him/her to submit an application for funding to the Bell Fund;

go to online application portal and create an account,

click on the New Applications tab and select the fund you wish to apply for,

submit the application.

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must submit:

1
Project Details Form;
2
Proof that Copyright of Project is owned, optioned or controlled by applicant (producer),
3
License Agreement (commitment letter may be sufficient at application stage) with a CRTC Licensed, Broadcaster,
4
Broadcaster Support Form,
5
Proof of other financing, if applicable,
6
Budget - Series Production (.xls or .xlsx),

7
Creative (1 or 2 scripts plus bible/treatment),
8
Production Schedule,
9
Credits of Applicant Company (track record of applicant company and production team),
10
Key Personnel List + CVs (experience and achievements),
11
Self Identification Contact List,
12
Co-Production Agreement, if applicable,
13
Additional documents, if applicable.

Program Contact:

TV Program

Deadlines

How to Apply for Funding

BF_TV-Production-Guidelines_March-2021.pdf

BF_TV-MPF_Document-Checklist_v2_2021.pdf

TV Program – Selective

by Maurice | February 5, 2023

Amount:

$250,000.00

Type of Program:

Grants

Description:

The purpose of the TV Program is to support the production of great, market-driven Canadian content in the genres of lifestyle, drama, comedy series, and documentary series. For the Selective stream any public or private broadcaster may support up to 3 applications per deadline.

Comments on Funding:

When It Ends:

Ongoing

Deadline:

April 11, 2022
2023 deadline to be announced

Eligibility:

The applicant must:

be a Canadian Production Company,
be a for-profit company (a taxable Canadian corporation within the meaning of Canada’s Income Tax Act) carrying on business in Canada, with a Canadian business address, owned and controlled by Canadians, whose business is the production of film, video or live programs for distribution;
In the event that the applicant is a broadcaster-affiliated company, only 25% of the total funding available in the selective fund can be accessed by these companies;
not submit more than two applications for funding in any one year.

Eligibility criteria for the TV programs:

Principal photography has not been completed at the time of the application deadline.
The program must qualify for CRTC or Canadian audio –visual certification office (CAVCO) program certification with a minimum of 8 out of 10 points or as an official treaty co-production certified by Telefilm.
A minimum of 75% of program expenses are paid for services provided by Canadians or Canadian companies or subject to official treaty co-production guidelines.
Underlying rights are owned and meaningfully developed by Canadians and creative and financial control remains with the Canadian producer throughout the production.
The program must be closed captioned and contain described video.
Must conform to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) code of ethics as well as the CRTC’s programming standards including but not limited to sex-role portrayals and television violence.
Funding is for 30-60 minute (half hour and one hour) formats and no less than 6 episodes for a comedy, lifestyle, documentary series (minimum 3 episodes for ‘blue chip’ documentary series with budgets in excess of $500,000/hour) and 4 episodes for a drama series.
Effective 2023, funding will be limited to any two 2 seasons of a series.
The project must have a commitment from a Canadian broadcaster with a plan to be broadcast within 18 months of completion and delivery of the series to the broadcaster.

Application Steps:

Applicants must:

go to online application portal and create an account,

click on the New Applications tab and select the fund you wish to apply for,

submit the application.

Any public or private broadcaster may support up to (3) applications per deadline. When there are multiple channels affiliated by ownership to a parent company the company is allowed up to three (3) applications.

Documentation Needed:

Applicants must submit:

1
Project Details Form.
2
Proof that Copyright of Project is owned, optioned or controlled by applicant (producer),
3
License Agreement (commitment letter may be sufficient at application stage) with a CRTC Licensed, Broadcaster,
4
Broadcaster Support Form,
5
TV Ratings for previous season(s), if applicable,
6
Proof of other financing, if applicable,
7
Budget - Series Production (.xls or .xlsx),

8
Creative (1 or 2 scripts plus bible/treatment),
9
Production Schedule,
10
Credits of Applicant Company (track record of applicant company and production team),
11
Key Personnel List + CVs (experience and achievements),
12
Self Identification Contact List,
13
Co-Production Agreement if applicable,
14
Additional documents, if applicable.

Other Things to Note:

TV Program guidelines - 2022

Program Contact:

TV Program - Bell Fund

Deadlines

How to Apply for Funding

BF_TV-Production-Guidelines_March-2021.pdf

BF_TV-SEL_Document-Checklist_2021.pdf

Bell Fund

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