Atlantic Canada Business Grants

The Harold Greenberg Fund

Shorts-to-Features Program

  • This program is currently closed.

Amount:

$37,000.00

Type of Program:

Grants & Loan

Description:

The Shorts-to-Features Program is designed to finance the production of three short films, in the amount of $32,000 each, from emerging Canadian filmmakers to use as a calling card for their first feature film, in addition to a commitment of a further $5,000 to develop a second draft of their feature script. Eligible projects need to show how the short film relates creatively to a feature film currently in development.

Comments on Funding:

Funding comes as a prize of $32,000.
The Fund guarantees a further commitment of $5,000 per project in the form of a script development loan to go from First Draft to Second Draft. 

When It Ends:

Closed

Deadline:

December 2020

Eligibility:

​Applicants must:

  • be filmmaking teams, writer/director/producer. The writer, producer and director must not have had a credit on a feature in one of these three disciplines.
  • be Canadian (Canadian citizenship or Permanent Residents).
  • produce a short film between 5 and 10mins, with intentions to be certified by Canadian content.
  • work with an executive producer (EP) who meets the Fund’s Script Development/Equity Investment Program eligibility criteria - this person must be a Canadian and have produced at least one feature film within the last seven years. This individual will act as a mentor throughout the film’s production.

Application Steps:

The applicant must submit:

1

the application through the online submission portal located at Bellmedia.ca.,

2

the supporting documents as separate PDFs zipped into one .zip file

Documentation Needed: 

​The applicant must submit:

  1. 1
    the application,
  2. 2
    a script between 5 and 10 pages (scripts longer than 10 pages will NOT be accepted),
  3. 3
    the synopsis of short script (100-200 words) and the synopsis of feature script (300-500 words),
  4. 4
    a statement from the team on how this short can represent a calling card for a feature project in the future,
  5. 5
    a one page director’s vision statement, 
  1. 6
    a feature script (80-120 pages) which relates to the short film,
  2. 7
    a one-or-two page resumes for writer, director, producer,
  3. 8
    a production Budget,
  4. 9
    the executive producer letter of interest or a wishlist of potential EPs,
  5. 10
    one or two previous short films from the director (link/url – no DVDs).

Other Things to Note:

Harold Greenberg Fund ceased operations in 2021.

Program Contact:

​Home - Bell Media

​About ‘The Fund’

​Harold Greenberg Fund to cease operations later this year​​​

Script Development Program

  • This program is currently closed.

Amount:

No Fixed Amount

Type of Program:

Grants

Description:

The Harold Greenberg Fund's Script Development Program provides funding to Canadian production companies to develop a script for a scripted, theatrical feature-length film.

Comments on Funding:

There are a few funding levels as follows:

  1. 1
    Story Optioning – First Option - Up to the first two years of option fees plus up to $2,500 in admin/legal fees and $10,000 in First Draft funding;
  2. 2
    Story Optioning – Option Renewal: Up to 80% of two years of option renewal fees;
  3. 3
    First Draft to Second Draft: Up to $15,000;
  4. 4
    Second Draft to Third Draft: Up to $10,000;
  5. 5
    Polish & Packaging – Fast Track (projects with distribution): Up to $20,000;
  6. 6
    Polish and Packaging – Two Stage Phase (projects without distribution): Up to $10,000 per Stage;
  7. 7
    HGF Story Editor Program: (up to $5,000) 

When It Ends:

Closed

Deadline:

Rolling deadline

Eligibility:

​The applicant must:

  • be a Canadian production company,
  • hold the rights to the project (and, if applicable, co-applicant),
  • have produced (and hold/co-holds copyright in) at least one narrative feature film which has had its initial commercial release or broadcast premiere within the past seven years. Feature length documentaries do not qualify.

Projects involving two co-applicants (must be co-owners of the property) are permitted, as long as at least one production company satisfies the minimum credit requirement. An exemption to eligibility can be made if an attached Executive Producer can satisfy the minimum credit requirements. In this case a signed EP agreement with the applicant must be included (note: this EP need not have ownership of the property).

Project eligibility criteria:

  • Non-English Language projects intended to be subtitled are eligible. However, the script and other supporting documents must be submitted in English to be properly assessed. Projects that are primarily in French should be submitted to Le Fonds Harold Greenberg.
  • The applicant must not have entered into any agreement which could affect the availability of the exclusive Canada pay TV broadcast rights to this project.
  • The contracted screenwriters must be Canadian.
  • The script is intended for a scripted, theatrical feature-length film (at least 75 pgs long).
  • If the project has an optioned underlying property (novel, short story, play, etc.), the option period(s) must total term of at least 48 months.

Application Steps:

The applicant must submit:

1

the application through the online submission system,

2

the supporting documents as separate PDFs zipped into one .zip file

Documentation Needed: 

​The applicant must submit:

  • the application,
  • supporting documents (Resumes/Corporate documents, Chain of Title documentation, financing documents, and creative materials) as detailed in the guidelines. 

Other Things to Note:

Harold Greenberg Fund ceased operations in 2021.

Program Contact:

​Home - Bell Media

​Script-Development-Program-Checklist-and-Guidelines_2020.pdf

​Harold Greenberg Fund to cease operations later this year​​​