How To Fund Your Short Film in Canada

Are you looking for ways to source funding for your Canadian short film? Check out these best funding opportunities for indie filmmakers!

Canada has a wealth of funding opportunities for emerging and established filmmakers. In particular, there are a group of major agencies that are commonly the go-to resources for Canadian short film creators. Are you looking to greenlight your next short dramatic or documentary project? Read about these 5 great funding resources to learn how to fund your short film in Canada.

CANADA COUNCIL: EXPLORE AND CREATE – RESEARCH AND CREATION

The Canada Council for the Arts was established in 1957. They act as an interdisciplinary major public arts funder within Canada.

Eligibility

• Canadian artists with basic training in their field
• Must be artistic productions that result in public presentation, publication, exhibition or digital production
• To determine further eligibility create an account with the Canada Council Portal

Funding

• You may request up to $100,000. However, most projects receive no more than $60,000

Deadlines

You may apply any time before the start of your project, with projects assessed twice yearly: October 6th & April 5th, 2022.

Notes

• You can only apply to this component twice per year (March 1st – Feb 28th)
• You must also register in the Canadian Council Portal at least 30 days before you apply

Click here for more information.

HOTDOCS: CROSSCURRENT DOC FUNDS

The CrossCurrents Canada Doc Fund provides support for both short and feature-length documentary films from emerging Canadian filmmakers. Furthermore, the Fund is a part of the Hot Docs Canadian Storytellers Project. This is an initiative with the goal of addressing systemic barriers that exist within the documentary film industry. In addition to this, The CrossCurrents Doc Funds are also generously supported by Netflix.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be the (co)director(s), and majority rights holder of the film project
• Must be an emerging or sophomore storyteller with three or fewer professional directing credits
• In good standing with Hot Docs at time of application submission
• A Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• Applicant must be from at least one of the following priority groups: Indigenous, Francophone, Deaf and/or have a disability, racialized and/or persons of colour.

Funding

• Development: Up to $10,000. Grant can reflect up to 100% of the development budget.
• Production: Up to $30,000. Grant can reflect up to 50% of the production budget.

Deadlines

• June 2023 (specific date TBA)

Click here for more information.

TELUS – STORYHIVE Voices 2.0

Established in 2021, the STORYHIVE Voices 2.0 program is a great resource for short filmmakers local to BC and Alberta. For the year 2022, STORYHIVE is funding up to 100 projects with $10,000, production training, peer-mentorship and community support.

Eligibility

• Project lead must be the age of majority, or older
• Must be in their province of residence (British Columbia or Alberta) as of the STORYHIVE program intake deadline date
• Must be a resident of the community from which they are applying, and be able to provide proof of residence
• Be able to provide complete, clean, unencumbered chain of title for the Project
• Must have all the rights, releases and clearances necessary to produce, own and exploit the Project
• Must fall into the category of nonfiction
• The project must be locally reflective

Funding

• One hundred $10,000 grants will be awarded to project leads of selected projects

Deadline

• August 4, 2022

Click here for more information.

BELL MEDIA – HAROLD GREENBERG FUND: SHORTS-TO-FEATURES PROGRAM

The Shorts-to-Features program is an initiative of The Harold Greenberg Fund in association with The Movie Network (Bell Media). The program provides emerging Canadian filmmakers with film funding for the production of a short narrative. This can also be used as a calling card for a feature film currently in development.

Eligibility

• Emerging Canadian filmmaker who has not had a feature film produced
• Short film scripts 10 pages or under
• Writer, producer, director must be Canadian
• Projects must be in English

Funding

• You may request up to $32,000

Deadlines

• 2023 Deadline TBA

Notes

• The grant provides $5000 of guaranteed script development support for the feature film version

Click here for more information.

THE NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA

The National Film Board of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada. They have produced over 13,000 productions since it was established in 1939. They work with creators from across Canada in the production of POV documentaries, auteur animation and original interactive digital content.

Eligibility

• Anyone who is a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant
• Projects with an unique perspective, and social and cultural relevance
• Productions that utilize technology to expand the scope of storytelling

Funding

• Assistance will be offered in the form of technical services.
• Awards can go up to a maximum cash value of $3,000 or $5,000 depending on the region in which you reside. Budgets will be based on your experience, and the project’s need.

Deadlines

• Proposals are accepted throughout the year via e-mail or regular mail to your closest studio

Notes

The two main models offered by the NFB are:

• 100% NFB productions: productions that are financed and produced entirely by the NFB. As such, NFB also retains 100% of the copyright and holds the distribution rights.
• National co-productions: productions that are in partnership with established, independent Canadian production companies. NFB will be involved as a minority co-producer.

Click here for more information.

Related Articles:

Crowdfunding Tips for Independent Filmmakers

Five Ways to Fund Your Film Project