Australia and Canada to co-fund interactive digital incentive

25 October 2015 By Screen Australia

Canada Media Fund and the Australian Government through Screen Australia announced a near CAD$800,000* incentive specifically for digital interactive works today at the Power to the Pixel conference in London.

Today at the Power to the Pixel conference in London, the Canada Media Fund and the Australian Government through Screen Australia announced a near CAD$800,000* incentive specifically for digital interactive works.

“With 50 film and television co-productions between Canada and Australia, it’s a natural fit to build on this relationship and create an incentive for interactive digital media coproduction,” says Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “We’ve had the pleasure of meeting with Australian officials at the Screen Producers Association of Australia Conference, Prime Time in Ottawa, MIPTV and TIFF in order to better understand our respective markets and devise a plan to offer producers on both sides of the ocean an opportunity to create stellar content for all audiences to enjoy. On behalf of the Canada Media Fund, I want to thank Graeme Mason, CEO at Screen Australia and his team for this opportunity to work together and foster a relationship that supports creative talents in both countries.”

“The Canada-Australia Interactive Digital Media Incentive is designed to not only encourage creatives from each country to work together, but to facilitate the production of truly innovative and original narrative pieces,” says Screen Australia’s Investment Manager Mike Cowap. “We want creatives to be experimental. This Incentive is their chance to push the boundaries of how a story can be told in an interactive way, whether it is in an app, online, virtual reality or any other mind-blowing idea they can come up with. The hardest thing may be working with the time zone difference!”

The total maximum contribution for each funded project will be CAD$300,000. The contribution of each country to each project will be determined on a case by case basis and funding will take the form of a non-repayable contribution.

In order to facilitate creatives from both countries working together, the Canada Media Fund has setup a Find a Producer portal for both Canadian and Australia creatives to register online.

All applications must comply with the guidelines for the Incentive which will be available on both the Canada Media Fund and Screen Australia websites from 23 October, 2015. Submissions will open on 1 November, 2015 via both websites and close on January 22, 2016.

Projects will be evaluated and chosen by a selection committee composed of representatives from both funding organisations. Recipients will be announced in late February 2016.

*Fund is comprised of AUD$400,000 and CAD$400,000 which will fluctuate based on exchange rates.