Creative BC and Rogers Documentary + Factual Development Fund – Canada

Early-stage investigative development funding will be provided to develop engaging, distinctive, entertaining, story-driven documentary or factual projects that include themes of climate change, environmental issues, or sustainability. While the scope of the content and format is broad, they are looking for projects that have, at a minimum, a story thread that authentically incorporates themes of climate change, environmental issues, or sustainability. Selected projects and producers will also have access to guidance from subject matter experts such as scientists and filmmakers.

Aims and Objectives

• The Documentary + Factual Development Fund is intended to encourage the development of motion picture projects in both documentary and factual series formats.
• Delivered over several years, this Fund represents the first partnership in Canada at the provincial level between the Rogers Group of Funds and a provincial partner.
• The Fund’s key objective is to support individual projects during early-stage development, before they have been greenlit by the market, growing opportunities for BC-based projects, filmmakers and producers. The fund will also support diverse voices that are historically systemically excluded and critical to a vibrant and equitable industry.

Funding Information

• In its fourth round, this fund supports Early-Stage Investigation Development. It will provide up to $15,000 per project, in the form of a non-recoupable advance, to BC-based filmmakers and producers.

Eligible Project Types: Documentary or factual one-offs or series.

Project Deliverables: funds are to be used for early-stage development (e.g. research, treatments, pitch documents, proof of concept, trailers etc.) that will enable applicants to successfully pitch the project to the market.

Targeted Funding: A minimum of 30% of the available funding will be dedicated to projects owned and controlled by applicants from systemically excluded groups, including Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, Women, Non-binary, and people with disabilities.

Project Eligibility

• Eligible projects may include B.C.-owned and/or controlled:
  • Documentaries and hybrid-documentaries for television broadcast, streaming, or for theatrical release;
  • Documentary or factual television series, pilots and mini-series;
  • Documentary short films and web series.
• Eligible projects that receive funding must be produced in British Columbia–although it is not a requirement that the subject matter is B.C.-based, nor that the project is shot in B.C.

Applicant Eligibility

Companies applying must:

• Be a production company incorporated in British Columbia or Canada with its head office in British Columbia.
• The primary owner/majority common voting shareholder(s) of the applicant company must meet be a B.C. resident – either a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident – who has resided in British Columbia for at least 200 of the 365 days prior to the application and have filed income tax returns in B.C. for the taxation year prior to the application.
• 100% of the copyright of the project must be owned, controlled, or optioned by the applicant (except for inter-provincial or international treaty co-productions).
• Companies must be in good standing with Creative BC.

For more information, visit Creative BC.