QUEBECOR FUND ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR PRODUCERS AND DISTRIBUTORS UNDER ITS FILM PRODUCTION AND EXPORT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

MONTRÉAL, March 11, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The Quebecor Fund Board of Directors today announced the list of projects that will receive funding under its Film Production Assistance Program and the business model that will be funded under its Export Assistance Program. 

Two projects were selected in the 23rd round of the Film Production Assistance Program, submissions for which closed on January 25, 2022. The selected producers and distributors will share a total of $480,000. The two successful projects will be produced and distributed by the following Canadian companies: Attraction Images Inc., A Média Films inc. and Les Films Séville inc.

Since it was launched in September 2010, Quebecor Fund's Film Production Assistance Program (which previously included event production) has granted 101 projects a total of nearly $16.5 million, including nearly $15.5 million for 87 film projects and more than $1 million for 14 event projects.

Quebecor Fund also has an Export Assistance Program (EXAP), which supports export initiatives by funding the development of audiovisual content adapted for non-Québec and international markets as well as marketing efforts. Since its inception in March 2014, EXAP has invested nearly $11 million in 45 export business models with 28 partner companies, and since 2017, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) has invested an additional $2.8 million in partnership with Quebecor Fund. In this 20th round, the CMF is investing $50,000 and Quebecor Fund $250,000 for a total of $300,000 in URBANIA Média inc's business model.

Quebecor Fund has also granted assistance to a new cultural diversity initiative under its Cultural Initiatives Support Program (CISP). The funding will support an internship program established by Agence On est là, an agency that represents artists and cultural workers from diverse cultural groups. Agence On est là is a non-profit social economy enterprise dedicated to promoting diversity in Canada's cultural industries. Quebecor Fund also provided the agency with start-up funding under the CISP.

RECIPIENTS:

Le Temps d'un été

• Producer: Attraction Images Inc.
• Distributor: Les Films Séville Inc.

For more than 25 years, parish priest turned street chaplain Marc Côté has been sharing his daily bread with the poor and the homeless. Now he's worn out. Exhausted by the effort of keeping his church cum shelter afloat, overwhelmed by bills he cannot pay, Marc realizes he has no choice but to close the church. Then he providentially inherits a property in the Lower St. Lawrence and sets out to visit it with a group of homeless men and women who need a vacation as much as he does. Le Temps d'un été is a sparkling tale of laughter, tears and silences, a feel-good movie with a social message in which despair is mixed with hope. There are sad scenes and moving scenes but we are never engulfed by the pain.

23 décembre

• Producer: A Média Films inc.
• Distributor: Les Films Séville Inc.

It's December 23 and holiday madness abounds. In this film's interweaving plotlines, a confirmed bachelor seeks love, a couple are worried their lives are about to change, a singer returns to the stage after a career break, a woman wants to organize the perfect Christmas celebration, a teenager harbours a secret, a man doesn't want the world to change, and a manager has to prove herself while coping with personal problems. Their paths will cross on an eventful, snowy day. Each of them has their own vision of the perfect Christmas but they will discover that the most magical moments can lie in things imperfect and unplanned.

Quebecor Fund

Quebecor Fund was established through Videotron Ltd., which provides nearly $5.9 million annually in broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to Canada's film and television industry. Its mission is to support the development, production, marketing and export of high-quality content and its exploitation on various platforms. To date, Quebecor Fund's programs have paid out a total of nearly $124 million.

The Board of Directors is responsible for all decisions pertaining to the Fund, including its priorities, and is entirely and exclusively responsible for its funding decisions. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, May 24, 2022 for the next round of the Film Production Assistance Program and Friday, April 1, 2022 for the next round of the Television Production Assistance Program, unless a special notice stating otherwise is posted on the website. For more information, see the guidelines on the Quebecor Fund website at www.quebecorfund.ca.

SOURCE QUEBECOR FUND

Source: Serge Thibaudeau, CEO, Quebecor Fund, 514-842-2497, [email protected]