Film Production Life-Line: Bring on this year’s New Ideas

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May 16, 2022

It’s one thing to have an idea, but without development, getting investors to sign on to your as-yet small-time project can be verging on impossible.

 

To this end, The Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) created the NWT Producers Incentive Pilot Program (PIPP), which is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 season. The program is designed to help producers get their film and TV idea out of their heads and into the real world.

 

The first category, Pre-development, offers up to $10,000 for expenses associated with:

  • Producer, scriptwriter, or script editor fees
  • Option fees or acquisition of rights
  • Production of pitching materials
  • Travel and research

While the second category, Development, Allows up to $25,000 for expenses such as:

  • Location scouting
  • Marketing plan
  • Budget development
  • Operational overhead

In its inaugural year, 2021-22, PIPP supported five projects with one from the Dehcho region, two from the Beaufort Delta and two from Yellowknife.

 

As an applicant in the Dehcho Region, Caroline Cox was able to travel to the Mackenzie Delta region of the NWT to meet with experts and to scout locations for a natural science. She was also able to bring on Kylik Kisoun Taylor as a research assistant, which was a good learning opportunity for him as well, as he continues to develop the media branch of his company, Tundra North. While on location Cox also did some filming for part of a sizzle reel to enhance future pitch materials to bring her idea to prospective broadcasters. 

 

Meanwhile, Yellowknife writer, director and producer, Jennifer Walden, is very happy with this funding program as it is something that NWT film producers have been trying to get in place for the past few years. “This,” she says, “is the kind of funding we need to develop our projects to the point where we can start to build meaningful partnerships with professionals outside the territory. And allows us to bring a much more developed and professional package to southern broadcasters and producing partners. It's made a huge difference in my professional career.”

 

Even better, there is no fixed deadline to apply for this Funding Program, though it must fall within the 2022-2023 Fiscal calendar.