Canada’s public broadcaster CBC has announced that 119 original Canadian projects have been selected to receive immediate support through the CBC Creative Relief Fund, exceeding the initial commitment with $2.2 million in development and production funding confirmed across three programming streams, Innovation Stream, CBC Short Docs Stream, and Playwright Pilot Stream.
With close to 9000 submissions received, 99 projects have been selected for development funding and 20 for production funding, including 51 projects (43 percent) from self-identified Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) creators.
“Thank you to the thousands of Canadian creators who submitted their ideas to the CBC Creative Relief Fund, including new storytellers we have now been introduced to. We were overwhelmed by the response and the creativity of projects, which made for some very difficult decisions,” said Barbara Williams, Executive Vice-President, CBC. “The world has continued to evolve rapidly since the Fund was launched, and we are proud to champion these unique voices and stories that reflect our country and the extraordinary times we are living in. The innovative projects we have selected offer a diverse range of inspiring and entertaining perspectives from creators across Canada, and will help support the recovery and resurgence of our artistic and creative communities.”
The Fund was launched in April in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide $2 million in urgently needed development and production funding to a diverse range of original Canadian projects, including scripted comedies and dramas, unscripted entertainment, kids and young adult programming, podcasts, play adaptations and short documentaries.
SELECTED PROJECTS
The Innovation Stream was created in support of big, bold ideas that are innovative and take creative risks, with development and production opportunities on all platforms. Selected projects include: Scripted - Comedy (24 for development) and Drama (eight for development), Unscripted - Factual Entertainment (eight for development, two for production), Kids & Tweens (20 for development), Youth & Young Adult (16 for development, three for production) and Podcasts - Multiple Genres (six for development)
CBC Short Docs encouraged documentary filmmakers from across Canada to showcase their unique perspectives on what’s happening in the world during this time of COVID-19. CBC Short Docs sought standalone, immersive documentaries under 40 minutes in length, intended for a digital audience.
In Playwright Pilot Stream, CBC asked for concepts that are a natural fit for either limited or ongoing series in the comedy or drama genres, episodic or serialized, and is funding the writing of a pilot script with an intended broadcast duration of either 30 or 60 minutes for selected projects.
The world has continued to evolve rapidly since the Fund was launched, and we are proud to champion these unique voices and stories that reflect our country and the extraordinary times we are living in” Barbara Williams Executive Vice-President, CBC
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