Northern Ireland Screen: CANADA-NORTHERN IRELAND CO-DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE FOR AUDIO-VISUAL PROJECTS
Overview
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Northern Ireland Screen (NIS) have announced the reopening, for the seventh year, of their funding incentive for the development of audiovisual and interactive digital media projects between Canadian and Northern Ireland producers.
The Canada-Northern Ireland Co-Development Incentive for Audiovisual Projects funds television projects in the drama, documentary, animation, entertainment, and education genres, or digital media content, including web series, video games, transmedia projects, and virtual or augmented reality.
The total amount of funding available through the incentive is C$200,000 (approximately £136,000), with each funder contributing half of the budget. Selected projects may receive up to C$50,000 (approximately £34,000) each.
Read the full programme guidelines.
Project Eligibility
Eligible projects must meet the following criteria: Is either:
- a television project in the following genres: drama, documentary, animation, entertainment or education;
or
- digital media content made for other platforms, including web series, video games, transmedia projects, virtual or augmented reality.
- Involve at least one Canadian producer (eligible under CMF criteria) and one Northern Irish producer (eligible under Northern Ireland Screen’s criteria);
- If the proposed project has already been in receipt of development funding from either CMF or NIS, the applicant must demonstrate clearly what the new development will entail and how it will develop the project further;
- The Canadian portion of the project/content complies with the applicable subsections of section 3.2 in the CMF’s Development Program or Prototyping Program Guidelines and the Northern Irish portion of the project/content complies with Northern Ireland Screen Fund development guidelines.
- The television project (if applicable) may be supported by a Letter of Interest or Commitment by an eligible Canadian broadcaster3 and an eligible UK or Irish broadcaster4. However, such Letter of Interest or Commitment is not mandatory.
Evaluation Criteria
Projects will be evaluated by representatives of the CMF and NIS based on the following criteria:
- Cultural value of the project;
- Originality and creativity of the proposal;
- Blending of Northern Irish and Canadian cultural concepts in a way that engages audiences from both territories and beyond;
- Representation of (i) the themes of Northern Irish culture, voices, heritage and experience and the growth and development of the Northern Ireland production sector and (ii) the CMF’s mandate (to foster, promote, develop and finance the production of Canadian content and relevant applications for all audio-visual platforms) and vision (to give Canadian and world audiences access to innovative, successful Canadian television and digital content on all platforms);
- Target audience;
- Potential for the project to reach Canadian, Northern Ireland and international audiences;
- Track record, experience and achievements of the creative team;
- The extent to which the creative team includes women in a leadership role;
- Track record, experience and achievements of the production company;
- Feasibility of the project;
- Feasibility of the development financial plan, including confirmation of 3rd-parties’ support, if any;
- Realism of the agenda/timeline of the project.
- The extent to which the project deals with themes of climate change.
Applicant Notes
- Each coproducer will be responsible for submitting the complete application to the authority (CMF or NIS) of its own country. The same set of documents must be submitted by each coproducer, and the application form must be signed by all coproducers.
- Canadian Producers should submit the complete application through https://telefilm.ca/en/log-in. The application should be submitted in English or in French.
- Northern Ireland Producers can find further details on how to apply via www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/funding.
- The period of eligibility of costs will start the date the application has been submitted and no funding will be applied to costs which occurred more than 6 months prior to the application submission date. Only the costs related to the acquisition of copyright are eligible retroactively for a period of 12 months preceding the date of the submission.
- Applications must include the following Administrative information:
- A list of the recent projects produced by the Northern Ireland production company in the previous 5 years
- A list of the recent projects produced by the Canadian production company in the previous 5 years
- The deal memo or the co-development agreement
- Contracts proving the acquisition of necessary rights (e.g. option contract, script writer’s contract etc.)
- Development goals and timeline for the development phase
- Development budget
- Development financing plan
- Detail on how the project will be developed and potentially produced in a sustainable way
- For the Canadian production company:
- Complete incorporation documents
- Signed and dated CMF Declaration of the Corporation’s Canadian Status, and its shareholders and Directors
Applications must include the following Creative information:
- CV of key creative personnel
- Brief project summary
- Description of the project and, in the case of certain digital media projects, its main features (e.g., technology, architecture, navigation, interface, graphic design, creative elements, user experience, functionalities, etc.).
- Preliminary plan for project progress to further stages – further development (if needed), production and distribution (maximum 1 page)
The Parties reserve the right to require other documentation from applicants for the completion of the assessment of the project.
There will be no obligations for the CMF and NIS to support any of the projects submitted if the standards and objectives of the CMF and NIS are not met.
All successful applicants must enter into contracts with NIS and CMF within 6 months of the offer of funding.