November 23, 2020 – The IPF announces funding for nine scripted short form series.

The IPF Board of Directors has approved 2020 production financing for nine (9) scripted short form series. These are series which have been created for exploitation primarily on digital platforms and channels. Six (6) of the approved series are in English and three (3) are in French. The IPF makes equity investments in these series totaling over $1.7M as well as providing consultation, training and advisory services.

The IPF has previously funded 143 scripted short form series with over $16M since 2010.

The IPF/CMF Development Packaging Program and the IPF Short Form Series Production Program exist to stimulate Canadian creative and business expertise in the digital story-telling world and encourage and support new voices in our industry. The series supported by these programs will serve as “calling cards” for the creative teams and as proof-of-concept “pilots” for potential television series. Successfully marketing and distributing the original linear digital content and the talents behind it, to Canadian and international audiences, is an important measure of success for the program.

164 projects were submitted to the IPF from across Canada in March. These were reviewed by a 50+ member pre-selection committee and 20 projects were selected and received development financing. All twenty projects completed their development phase and were eligible to apply to the Short Form Series Production Program.

Production funding applications were analysed and rated by an international jury and the IPF Board of Directors, providing a wide range of perspectives. They reviewed the creative materials, producer and writer team leads, production schedule, budget and financing, business and distribution strategies, audience engagement planning, as well as recoupment potential and any confirmed financing or distribution partners.

Comedy, drama, mystery, musical, thriller – a wide range of genres are represented. The creators are both new talents and experienced digital production companies. IPF Chair Charles Ohayon commented: “Sincerest thanks to our jury, the IPF staff and our board for their dedication and hard work selecting these incredible projects. We look forward to seeing these amazing concepts come to life! “

The following productions are the recipients of the IPF 2020 Short Form Scripted Series Production program:

Boeuf haché Comedy Zone 3 Frédérique Traversy Québec
Elle et lui Drama Productions Bien Joué François Robidoux-Descary Québec
Get Up, Aisha Dramedy Get Up Aisha Inc. Lisa Baylin, Nisha Khan, Marushka Almeida, Rabiya Mansoor Ontario
Je ne suis pas un robot Comedy / Mystery Echo Media Sarah Châtelain Québec
Less Than Kosher Comedy / Musical Filmcoop Inc. Emily Andrews, Shaina Silver-Baird, Michael Goldlist Ontario
Tales from the Void Mystery / Thriller Envoi Entertainment Francesco Loschiavo, Barclay Maude Ontario
Topline Drama / Musical Shaftesbury Digital III Inc. Scott Garvie, Christina Jennings, Paige Haight, Davin Lengyel Ontario
virgins! Dramedy Miskeen Media Inc. Aden Abebe, Fonna Seidu, Luwam Tekeste Ontario
Zarqa Comedy Zarqa Production Inc. Zarqa Nawaz, Claire Ross Dunn, Dawn Bird, Liz Whitmere Saskatchewan