Vancouver (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Indigenous filmmakers are seizing opportunities to tell authentic stories, with representation across all aspects of production—from leadership to cast and crew. To amplify their voices for a rapidly expanding audience at home and around the world, and to ensure support for the Indigenous point of view in Canada’s motion picture industry, Rogers Group of Funds and Creative BC today announced plans to jointly establish a new $1 million fund for Indigenous creators in British Columbia.
To launch the Fund, a collaborative partnership with the Indigenous Screen Office opened the first program, delivering a top-up to B.C.-based recipients of their recently announced ISO Development Grant program. ISO insights show that B.C.-based Indigenous applicants far outnumber those from other provinces, reflecting the strong filmmaking talent base locally, which the Fund will seek to nurture and develop.
Supported privately by Rogers Group of Funds and administered by Creative BC, the Fund is Canada’s first provincial-national partnership focused on Indigenous creators and will also be the first targeted Indigenous screen fund at Creative BC. With a priority on Indigenous sovereignty and decision-making, Creative BC will undertake a collaborative consultation process within the Indigenous community of content creators in B.C. The process will contribute to the creation of a relevant, targeted, and responsive suite of programs over four years. To spearhead design and delivery, Creative BC opens recruitment today for a knowledgeable Indigenous lead for this Fund’s programs, as well as to engage as a program analyst informing and delivering other existing and emerging Creative BC streams, partnerships, and services for Indigenous creators.
The Fund will help increase access and representation for Indigenous producers and Indigenous-led production companies in B.C.’s domestic motion picture industry. By establishing consistent multi-year support, early partnership and collaboration with the ISO, and an Indigenous lead within Creative BC, the Fund is intended to contribute to strong foundations that can serve to help correct the systemic and historic underrepresentation of Indigenous stories and storytellers in Canada’s screen sector. Funding implementation through Creative BC will appropriately apply and adhere to the imagiNATIVE On-Screen Protocols & Pathways, a framework designed to ensure a stronger voice for Indigenous creators.
More details about the fund, its programs, eligibility criteria, deadlines, and the submission process will follow next year.
