Atlantic Canada Business Grants

Nova Scotia Business Incorporated (NSBI)

Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund

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Amount:

No Fixed Amount

Type of Program:

Grants & Loan

Description:

The Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund provides funding to facilitate the production of projects in Nova Scotia in order to support and expand the film and television production industry in Nova Scotia and to create economic value for a broad group of Nova Scotians, including, in particular, key creative positions such as Nova Scotia resident directors, writers, and principal performers.

There are two funding streams:

  • Stream I for 50 - 100% Nova Scotian ownership and control of production,
  • Stream II for less than 50% Nova Scotian ownership or control of production. 

Comments on Funding:

Funding for Stream I is a base amount of 26% of all eligible Nova Scotia costs.
Funding for Stream II is a base amount of 25% of all eligible Nova Scotia Costs.

For shoots where greater than 51% of the principal photography is in a rural/non-metropolitan area, there is 2% additional funding.
For shoots of more than 30 days in Nova Scotia, there is 1% additional funding.

For both streams, there is up to 3% additional funding if the production meets the criteria for the Nova Scotia Content Incentive.
The maximum funding from this Fund payable to any project is $4 million.

When It Ends:

Ongoing

Deadline:

2026

Eligibility:

Applicants:

  • must have a permanent establishment in the province and be engaged primarily in the creation of film/video productions for public viewing,
  • must be incorporated in Nova Scotia under the Companies Act or continued as a Nova Scotia company through a Certificate of Continuance and be in good standing with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies, 
  • must spend more than $25,000 (before HST) in Nova Scotia (Nova Scotia Spend) for the project,
  • must also be in good standing in all respects with NSBI (or its predecessor, Film and Creative Industries Nova Scotia), by having no outstanding or overdue reporting requirements,
  • for Stream I must have between 50 - 100% Nova Scotian ownership and control of production and a minimum of 50% Nova Scotians must be employed in Head of Department (HOD) positions or acceptable combination,
  • for Stream II must have less than 50% Nova Scotian ownership or control of production and where eight or fewer HOD positions are filled, half of the positions, rounded to the highest whole number, must be filled by Nova Scotia residents. Where nine or more HOD positions are filled, a minimum of four (4) must be filled by Nova Scotia residents.

Application Steps:

Applicants:

1

must sign up and create an account on Nova Scotia's online service for business.

2

must complete the online form, upload all submission materials, and pay the non-refundable application charge of $287.50 (including HST).

3

will receive a confirmation email upon submission of the online application form. Incomplete submissions will be returned.

Documentation Needed: 

Applicants must:

  • provide written evidence of a Commercial License Agreement and evidence of 75% confirmed financing for projects with budgets of $1 million or greater, and evidence of 50% confirmed financing for projects under $1 million, if seeking production funding.
  • provide documentation that adequately demonstrates in the opinion of the Administrator the funds available to the production.
  • document all approved incentives in an Incentive Agreement between the Administrator and the Applicant, and incentives must be used for the purposes outlined in the Incentive Agreement.

Program Contact:

​Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund

​Updated Guidelines Feb 2021​​​