Montreal and Toronto, July 10, 2023:

The Board of Directors of the Bell Fund has announced its decisions for the latest round of the Short-Form Digital Series Program and the TV Selective Program. Bell Fund has committed over $2 million to the production of 11 short-form series (6 English and 5 French) — including $1.5 million for production and half a million for audience development — and $2.4 million to support the production of 10 TV series (5 English and 5 French).

Among the six English-language digital series is Northern Tales. Produced by Yukon-based Shot in the Dark Productions, this children’s series uses puppets to explore how animals in the Boreal Forest interact with each other, their environment, northern people and the wider world. This is Bell Fund’s first short-form series with Northwestel Community TV as a distribution platform.

Also in the Children’s and Youth genre is Shaftesbury’s Macy Murdoch, which is set to return to CBC Gem with a second season of time travel, adventures and a new murder for Macy, Billie and Zane to solve.

OUTtvGO has licensed two scripted series this round. Well Versed (Border2Border Entertainment) follows Mason Flynn, an expert on queer romance and a matchmaker who seems to know it all when it comes to love … except the answer to why he can’t keep a boyfriend. Two Brothers follows the struggles of a set of fraternal twins faced with heartache, death, racism, and homophobia as they try to turn the small town of Severn Bridge into their new home. The series is produced by Meikle Productions, a new applicant to the Fund.

Non-fiction includes the heartwarming Finding Diamonds by Farpoint Films from Manitoba — the series follows Ian Bawa and his dog Diamond as they travel across the country to share stories about how pets have helped Canadians overcome tragedy and trauma — and Every Body Curious by Louise Pollard — a fun, illuminating series exploring sex, sexuality and healthy relationships.

English TV series season renewals lead the way in this round of the TV Selective Program with the fourth season of Drag Heals (from Border2Border Entertainment for OUTtv), and third seasons of Mysteries From Above (from Saloon Media for Blue Ant Media’s Cottage Life) and Gespe’gewa’gi: The Last Land (from Rezolution Pictures for APTN). This speaks to the appeal of stories that range from intimate views of drag artists creating live audience performances to mysteries investigated from the vantage point of drones to the world of Mi’kmaq fisheries in connection to their people, traditions, and homeland. Rounding up the English TV series are Allegiance (Lark Productions) and One More Time (Counterfeit Pictures), both set to launch on CBC.

The Fund remains committed to supporting Black, Indigenous, Racialized and underrepresented communities, enabling all producer/creators, emerging and established, to tell their original stories. This commitment is reflected not only in Bell Fund’s financial support for the production and development of audiovisual content by underrepresented producers and creators, but also in the Fund’s collaboration with and sponsorship of organizations and activities that foster equity, diversity and inclusion in the screen-based industries across Canada.

This year’s supported initiatives include the ACCT’s Anti-Racism Training, the BSO-Rogers Script Development Program, the Disability Screen Office’s Best Practice Guide for Disability Engagement in the Screen-Based Industries, the DOC Atlantic Breakthrough Program, Fondation Fabienne Colas’ Black Markets, the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, the National Screen Institute’s Access BIPOC Producers Program, Reelworld’s Film Festival and Emerging 20 Program, and Whistler Film Festival’s Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship.

1.1. The following English language series received production funding under Bell Fund’s Short-Form Digital Series Program:

SHORT-FORM DIGITAL SERIES (English)
Every Body Curious
Louise Pollard
Shaftesbury Kids (YouTube)
6 x 20 min
A fun and illuminating web series for young people and their parents that explores the birds and the bees with ease in today’s digital landscape.
Finding Diamonds
Farpoint Films
CBC Gem
6 x 15 min
In this heartwarming series, filmmaker Ian Bawa crosses the country with his dog Diamond to share stories about how pets have helped Canadians overcome tragedy and trauma.
Macy Murdoch, Season 2
Shaftesbury Digital
CBC Gem
8 x 11 min
Season two follows Macy, Billie and Zane as they receive a plea from their archnemesis and former TA Kurt, who is stranded in 1911 and wanted for murder. The teens must head back to the past — again — to help solve the murder and bring Kurt back to the present.
Northern Tails
Shot in the Dark Productions
Northwestel Community TV
6 x 11 min
Explores how animals in the Boreal Forest interact with each other, their environment, northern people and the wider world. Come meet your neighbours!
Two Brothers
Meikle Productions
OUTtvGO
8 x 10 min
Follows Aiden and Aaron, a set of fraternal twins who have struggled all their lives with finding acceptance within society, as they move to the small town of Severn Bridge. Not only are they visible minorities, but one is also gay. The two are faced with heartache, death, and betrayal.
Well Versed
Border2Border Entertainment
OUTtvGO
6 x 20 min
Mason is an expert on queer romance, and a matchmaker with a booming success rate. When it comes to love, he knows it all ... except the answer to why he can't keep a boyfriend.

1.2. The following French language series received production funding under Bell Fund’s Short-Form Digital Series Program:

SHORT-FORM DIGITAL SERIES (FRENCH)
Discrètes
Les Productions Avanti-Toast
ICI Tou.tv
10 x 15 min
J’adore le jus
Casadel Films
Noovo.ca
6 x 15 min
La préhistoire du Québec
Productions Planète en Rotation
Savoir.Media
10 x 15 min
On joue ! Avec Biscuit et Cassonade – saison 2
Écho Média
Telequebec.tv
21 x 7 min
SYNCHRO
Productions ToRos
TV5unis.ca
6 x 8 min

2.1.      The following English language projects received production funding under Bell Fund’s TV Program:

TV SELECTIVE PROGRAM (English)
Allegiance
Lark Productions
CBC
10 x 60 min
When the revered Sikh Minister in charge of the police is arrested and charged with being a key operative in a planned terrorist plot against Canada, his daughter launches her own covert investigation in direct opposition to her commanding officer to prove his innocence.
Drag Heals, Season 4
Border2Border Entertainment
OUTtv
8 x 30 min
Drag artists combine their deeply personal stories with the glitter of drag to create cathartic performances for a live audience.
Gespe'gewa'gi: The Last Land, Season 3
Rezolution Pictures
APTN
9 x 30 min
A fun and exciting look at Mi’kmaq fisheries and their connection to the people, their traditions, and their homeland.
Mysteries From Above, Season 3
Saloon Media
Blue Ant Media – Cottage Life
8 x 60 min
Investigates significant, historic and contemporary locations with a unique view from above. Every episode explores four different mysteries, each revealing astonishing new discoveries, many of which dramatically change the way we see ourselves and the world around us.
One More Time
Counterfeit Pictures
CBC
13 x 30 min
Together with his team of employees, a hard-of-hearing manager of a used sporting goods store tries to stay afloat in the modern age of box stores and online retailers, while lending a helping hand, and ear, to the town he loves.

2.2.      The following French language projects received production funding under Bell Fund’s TV Program:

TV SELECTIVE PROGRAM (French)
Avant le crash – saison 2
Productions Sovimage
Radio-Canada (ICI Télé)
10 x 60 min
Bête noire – saison 2
Encore Télévision
Série Plus
6 x 60 min
Hotel Beyrouth
Productions Sahkosh et Production Ocho
TFO
8 x 30 min
La clé Deschamps – saison 2
Iprod
Accessible Média (AMI-Télé)
10 x 30 min
L’air d’aller – saison 2
URBANIA
Télé-Québec
10 x 30 min

 

For further information:

Bell Fund
416-977-8154
info@bellfund.ca
www.bellfund.ca

Fonds Bell
514-845-4418
info@fondsbell.ca
www.fondsbell.ca