Bell Fund announces decisions for the May 7, 2018 Inaugural Deadline for the Short-Form Digital Series (Fiction) Pilot Program.
Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario, June 27, 2018: The Board of Directors of the Bell Fund has announced its decisions for the May 7, 2018 round of applications. Over $4.1million in grants has been approved including over $1 million to help support the Discoverability Plans for these series. Supporting audience engagement strategies is a priority for the fund.
23 Independent Production Companies are being supported across 15 English language and 8 French language projects. Included in this funding are projects from BC, Manitoba, PEI along with Ontario and Quebec. Women-led projects took centre stage in addition to several series exploring themes of inclusion and diversity.
1. The following English language projects received Production Grants under the Bell Fund’s Short-Form Digital Series (Fiction) pilot program:
| SHORT-FORM DIGITAL SERIES (FICTION) |
|---|
| Barbelle (Season 2) Boss & Co 10 x 8 minutes |
| Pop duo Alice and Veronica (Barbelle) are heading out on tour immediately following a highly publicized romantic breakup, then very private reconciliation. |
| Bit Playas LaRue Productions Inc. 8 x 10 minutes |
| A series about two best friends living in downtown Toronto. Think the classic relationship of The Odd Couple meets the urban angst of Broad City crossed with the playful magic realism of Man Seeking Woman. Some may say it’s a show about diversity but really it’s a show about reality. |
| Detention Adventure Broken Compass Films Inc. 10 x 11 minutes |
| Mystery and adventure abound when three sixth grade nerds and the school bully purposely get themselves thrown into detention after discovering the entrance to a labyrinth of tunnels, laden with traps and riddles, protecting Alexander Graham Bell’s hidden laboratory. |
| For the Record Old Soul Productions 6 x 10 minutes |
| A dramedy anthology series that follows a diverse ensemble cast as the music they listen to directly impacts their daily lives, elevating those moments into unforgettable memories. |
| Gay Mean Girls Gearshift Films 8 x 10 minutes |
| Gay Mean Girls is about how relationships shift as we redefine ourselves. The web series examines how friendships can be just as heartbreaking and uplifting as romantic relationships and how the” mean girls” dynamic shifts when queer women are involved. |
| Hospital Show Bullrush Pictures Inc. 10 x 7 minutes |
| A workplace comedy about the broken, deluded, narcissistic, addicted and loveable actors who play TVs most respected doctors. |
| How to Buy a Baby (Season 2) LoCo Productions 10 x 10 |
| Thirty-somethings Jane and Charlie have long given up on having a baby the fun way. They have also given up on having a baby the medically invasive way too. But while they lack the genetic components to make a child, they refuse to give up on being parents altogether. |
| The Motorcycle Project Shaftesbury Development Inc. 10 x 8 minutes |
| Two half-sisters take a motorcycle journey from Alberta to Argentina in search of the answer behind their older sister's disappearance. Kate’s dead…or is she? |
| Nikola Tesla and the End of the World (Season 2) Zoot Productions Inc. 6 x 10 minutes |
| Harriet Goldring figures out that Nikola Tesla is not trapped in time, he is traveling through other dimensions in the multiverse and about to get in trouble with an inter-universal death cult. |
| The Ninth The Artcraft Zoo Ltd. 10 x 12 minutes |
| A fast paced, character-driven comedy, following the fights, hookups and legendary post-game parties of an amateur baseball team. |
| The Runner N5 Pictures Inc. 10 x 8 minutes |
| Nate is a drug runner with a troubled past, who tries to navigate through the pitfalls of working for a criminal enterprise in Toronto. |
| Running with Violet (Season 2) She Said Films 10 x 10 minutes |
| A dramedy about two women and a toddler who find themselves descending further and further into the world of small town crime. |
| Save Me (Season 2) iThentic 7 x 10 minutes |
| A dramatic comedy that takes a look at trauma from both ends of the ambulance, tracking the moments leading up to 911 calls while exploring the lives of the paramedics involved. |
| Tokens Tokens On Call Productions Inc. 10 x 5 minutes |
| A comedy series about the actors of an “on call casting” agency specializing in diversity. Whoever is “on call” is randomly dispatched to producers desperate to hit their diversity quotas, often cast in a role they least expect. Think Uber for actors. |
| Wharf Rats Off the Warf Productions 7 x 13 minutes |
| A small-minded con artist with dreams of being the world's laziest fisherman conspires to steal back his family's fishing business from his crafty uncle. |
2. The following French language projects received Production Grants under the Bell Fund’s Short Form Digital Series (Fiction) pilot program:
For further details on the projects below, please see our French language website: fondsbell.ca
| SHORT-FORM DIGITAL SERIES (FICTION) |
|---|
| Faux départ Les productions Passez Go 8 x 10 min |
| Fourchette Attraction Images 10 x 10 min |
| Juste nous deux Blachfilms 8 x 7 min |
| La maison des folles Les productions St Laurent TV 10 x 12 min |
| Le Killing Productions KOTV, La CORP 8 X 7 min |
| Les Prodiges - saison 2 Koze.tv 10 x 7 min |
| Revenu Babel Films 6 x 15 min |
| Téodore pas de H Zone3 6 x 8 min |
The Bell Fund provides grants to Canadian media content makers who create and produce engaging content for audiences in Canada and around the world. Bell Fund investments support content development and production for broadcast and digital platforms that are accessible to all Canadians. For 20 years, since 1997, the Bell Fund has invested over $200 million in 2,000 Canadian digital media projects and television programs. The Bell Fund also supports training, research, professional development and promotion for the Canadian media production industry.
The Bell Fund receives annual contributions of approximately $16 million from Bell TV as part of its broadcast distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the industry. The Fund was also awarded a $10 million endowment from Bell TV which supports the Fund’s development programming. The Bell Fund is incorporated as a not-for- profit organization, governed by an independent Board of Directors representing various sectors of the television and digital media industry.
For further information:
Fonds Bell
514-845-4418
info@fondsbell.ca
www.fondsbell.ca
Bell Fund
416-977-8154
info@bellfund.ca
www.bellfund.ca