Canada and Scotland launch new fund to boost creative talent

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has teamed up with The Canada Media Fund (CMF) to offer a total of £200,000 through the ‘Canada – Scotland Co-development Incentive’.

Up to £25,000 is available to help businesses or individuals create new digital media and television ideas while working in partnership with Canadian production companies.

To be eligible, projects must work with a Scottish and Canadian producer on a live-action or animated drama or documentary. Projects created for digital platforms such as a web series, or transmedia projects including virtual or augmented reality will also be eligible.

CMF is investing £100,000 towards the fund, which is also financially supported by £100,000 from HIE and Screen Scotland. The fund aims to encourage producers to explore international markets.

Iain Hamilton, head of creative industries for HIE said: “TV production, whether for broadcast or for other platforms, is extremely important to our region and to Scotland as a whole. The sector is a major contributor to the economy and to cultural life of the region and is one we are keen to encourage and grow. We are delighted to be working in partnership with CMF – an organisation with a great reputation for international collaboration.

“The fund can directly help companies with the costs of developing new ideas and engage with new networks and broadcasters. The new scheme will be a catalyst for new creative partnership between producers in Canada and Scotland and we expect there will be significant interest in it. CMF already has many international partnerships in place and we welcome this new partnership with Scotland.”

Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the CMF, said: “Teaming up with HIE on this co-development initiative is a perfect partnership for us. This new funding facilitates a meaningful opportunity for our creative community to collaborate more closely with Scotland, especially in light of the linguistic, historical and cultural ties that bind our two countries. We look forward to seeing what exciting projects will be developed through this program.”

To apply and for more information visit https://xponorth.co.uk/news/canada-scotland-co-development-incentive-for-television-and-digital-media-content

XpoNorth, is a HIE-funded programme offering specialised support to creative businesses, and will provide advice and support on how to apply.  There is also an online tool created by CMF to help Scottish producers identify potential Canadian partners.

Screen Scotland can also provide funding support and advice and has a range of other funding schemes for the screen sector in Scotland.