New Funding Opportunity for Female Filmmakers in Ontario
Octavia Films has launched a Short Film Grants Program to assist female filmmakers in Ontario between the ages of 18-30. This new organization is based in Toronto, Ontario and aims to provide opportunities for women filmmakers and encourage them to choose filmmaking as a career.
The Short Film Grants Program awards grants to directors and writer/directors to help with production expenses for short films. Grants are awarded at three levels: $500, $1,000 and $2,000. Selection is made based on the overall quality of the proposal. Octavia Films will never exclude a film from consideration based solely on genre or content, with the exception that the films cannot be documentaries.
These grants are intended for emerging filmmakers with a limited track record who can demonstrate a sound knowledge of the craft and show strong potential for future artistic achievement. The grant can be used for any stage of the filmmaking process. For this program, a short film is defined as a film of less than 10 minutes with a budget of no more than $5,000.
The initial grants application process runs from December 1, 2011 to February 1, 2012. Winners will be notified and funds awarded by March 9, 2012.
Northern Ontario Television Industry Continues to Grow
A new television series will be filmed in Northern Ontario.
The production is helping to build the North’s growing television and film production industry and will create approximately 200 jobs during filming.
Ontario is supporting the project by investing in the 13-week dramatic series to be aired on TVO. Hard Rock Medical will follow a fictitious group of medical school characters as they train in Northern Ontario communities. Production will begin in early 2012 for broadcast in 2013.
Investing in Northern Ontario’s television and film industry is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to create good jobs for families in the face of global economic uncertainty.
“I’m delighted that our government, through its support of projects like Hard Rock Medical, is increasing film and television industry jobs and investment in Northern Ontario.”
– Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines and Chair of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC)
“What’s so exciting about Hard Rock Medical is its potential to open a window onto the people, places and culture of Ontario’s north. We really appreciate the investment the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation is making to bring the project to life.”
– Lisa de Wilde, Chief Executive Officer, TVO
Sudbury’s animation industry creating up to 120 jobs
With support from the Province, March Entertainment is developing three animated productions, targeted to young children, at its downtown Sudbury production facility.
- Dex Hamilton, Alien Entomologist is set in the year 3000 where Dex and his friends battle to subdue alien insects and keep the world safe;
- Mia and Me is a fantasy adventure series about a young girl who is magically transported into a world of unicorns, elves and dragons;
- Tossed in Space, is a comedy feature centered around a group of misfits on a mission to establish a colony on another planet.
Investing in Northern Ontario’s film and television industry is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to grow economy of the future by creating good jobs for families in the face of global economic uncertainty.
“March Entertainment continues to be one of the pillars of Northern Ontario’s film and television sector and our government is very pleased to help the company build careers in the North for our young people and create local jobs in Sudbury.”
- Rick Bartolucci, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chair of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and MPP for Sudbury
“We’re very excited about these projects. Mia and Me in particular has been sold to most major territories around the world and begins to air in France,Italy and Germany over the next few months. This investment has allowed us to increase the quality of our CGI 3D animation to be able to truly compete on a global level.”
- Dan Hawes, President, March Entertainment
March Entertainment operates a state-of-the-art 13,000-square foot production facility on Larch Street in downtown Sudbury. It is capable of handling everything from pre-production to post-production.
Film and television production contributes almost $2 billion annually to our economy and supports more than 23,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Learn more about March Entertainment by logging on to www.marchentertainment.com.
2012 Short Documentary Film Competition for Northern Ontario Filmmakers
The 2012 Thunder Bay Environmental Film Festival invites filmmakers to
enter the second short documentary film competition for local and
regional filmmakers. The top prize is provided by Cinevate Inc., the
world’s professional camera equipment source located right here in
Northern Ontario!
Create a short 5-15 minute non-fiction work about:
a. an environmental issue or problem that is occurring anywhere in
Northern Ontario
OR
b. an environmental success story about a person, group or project
from anywhere in Northern Ontario
Entry Fees:
Early-Bird Film Submission fee is $15
Final Film Submission Deadline is $20
Payment by cheque or money order payable to “Thunder Bay Environmental
Film Festival”. The film title must be clearly printed on all cheques
or money orders. Do not send cash.
Submission Deadlines:
Early-Bird Film Submission Deadline: February 27, 2012
Final Film Submission Deadline: March 9th, 2012
The Thunder Bay Environmental Film Festival takes place March 30, 31
and April 1st, 2012
Full competition entry procedures and submission form along with
festival details will be posted shortly at:
http://tbefilmf.wordpress.com/documentary-film-competition/
Submit your Short Film to Win!
The National Screen Institute wants YOUR short films for the NSI Online Short Film Festival. There is no charge to submit your film and all films selected to screen in the festival are eligible for the $2,500 A&E Short Filmmakers Award.
We’re looking for Canadian films no longer than 30 mins. (the shorter the better!) produced after January 2006, so dust off your collection and send them to us! Drama, comedy, animation, short documentary, experimental and music video are all eligible. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 4 at 4:30 p.m. CT.
The NSI Online Short Film Festival is a year-round 100% Canadian short film showcase with new films uploaded every week.
Satisfy your craving for short films anytime by checking out the collection of over 250 Canadian short films in our festival archives. New films are added frequently and can be found by title or director in our film index.
The NSI Online Short Film Festival has been made possible through the support of Presenting Sponsor Shaw Media, and A&E Television Networks which has generously funded the A&E Short Filmmakers Award.
The NSI Online Industry Centre has been made possible in part through the support of Presenting Sponsor Telefilm Canada. We also gratefully acknowledge the ongoing financial contributions of our additional Founding Site Sponsors:Rogers, Shaw Media, and MANITOBA FILM & MUSIC.