Question Period Note: Telefilm Canada Becomes a Major Funding Partner of the Being Black In Canada Program

On October 20, 2020, Telefilm Canada joined Netflix, the National Bank and the Canada Media Fund as a major partner of the Being Black in Canada program of the Fabienne Colas Foundation. The Fabienne Colas Foundation, a professional non-profit artistic organization, is dedicated to the advancement of education and diversity through the arts as well as to support for the creation, production, promotion and distribution of cinema, art and culture both nationally and internationally. Being Black in Canada is the largest mentorship, training and creation program in Canada entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. The Canada Media Fund announced its support for the Being Black in Canada program in July 2020.

• Our government is very pleased to learn of Telefilm Canada’s decision to become a major partner of the Fabienne Colas Foundation’s program Being Black in Canada.
• This initiative will give emerging Black filmmakers in Canada insight and exposure to develop and further sustain their careers, helping to break down the barriers that Black creators have disproportionally faced.
• Telefilm Canada’s initiative is also aligned with our government’s Speech from the Throne commitment to support the artistic and economic contributions of Black Canadian culture and heritage.

• Created in 1967, Telefilm Canada’s (Telefilm) mandate is to foster and promote the development of the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm administers the Canada Feature Film Fund, the Canada Media Fund (under an agreement with the Canada Media Fund Corporation) and the Canadian audiovisual coproduction treaties.
• Telefilm is a Crown Corporation that operates at arm’s length from the Government. It is exempted from the majority of the articles of Part X of the Financial Administration Act, including section 89 that normally allows the designated ministers to give instructions to Crown Corporations. The Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism therefore does not intervene in the daily operations of the corporation.
• On October 20, 2020, the Fabienne Colas Foundation announced that Telefilm Canada was to be a major partner of the Being Black in Canada Program – Canada’s largest mentorship, training, and creation program entirely dedicated to Black filmmakers. By offering its strong support, Telefilm Canada joins previously announced major partners Netflix, the National Bank and Canada Media Fund to ensure the sustainability and expansion of this pan-Canadian incubator program. The Canada Media Fund announced its support for the Being Black in Canada program in July 2020.
• Telefilm will provide $75,000 in assistance in 2020-2021 and up to $100,000 in subsequent years.
• The Fabienne Colas Foundation (FCF) is a not-for-profit cultural organization dedicated to building bridges and advancing education through the arts as well as to support the creation, production, promotion and dissemination of cinema, the arts and culture in Canada and elsewhere. To fulfill its mission, the Foundation put together 9 festivals and programs to break barriers, celebrate diversity, foster togetherness, understanding and inclusion.
• Since its inception in 2005, its initiatives/festivals have showcased and supported over 3,000 artists and attracted over 2 million festivalgoers in Canada, the USA, Haiti, and Brazil. The Foundation mostly promotes Black culture in Montréal, Toronto, Halifax, New York City and Salvador de Bahia (Brazil); and Quebec culture in Port-au-Prince.
• Created in Montreal in 2012, the Being Black in Canada Program presented its first cohort in 2014. In 2019, the program included 15 Black filmmakers, ages 18 to 30, from Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax. These filmmakers premiered their documentary shorts at the Black Film Festivals in Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax.
• As a result of this cross-industry partnership, the 2020 program will expand to include 20 new participants from Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax. Over the next two years, the program will extend its reach to Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver with an aim to support a total of 70 new filmmakers and 55 alumni by 2022.
• Participants from this program will benefit from mentorship and training by established experts across multiple areas of film production including screenwriting, directing, editing and post-production. They will also be provided with the opportunity to create individual documentary shorts that address the issue of social integration of people from Black communities in Canada.

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