Filmmaker Assistance Program
The Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP) is an initiative of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) that’s designed to encourage and support independent anglophone Canadian filmmakers.
Filmmakers can apply to receive post-production services at the NFB’s headquarters in Montreal (Balmoral), or if they’re unable or do not wish to travel to Montreal they can apply to have local post-production services reimbursed by the NFB (Local).
Offered by National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Amount
Local: reimbursement of post-production costs up to $7,500 per filmmaker for short films and $15,000 per filmmaker for feature films; Balmoral: in-kind post-production services, NFB covers 90% of the cost (100% for filmmakers living more than 150 km from Montreal)
Quick eligibility check
Who can apply
- The director must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status.
- The film must be an independent Canadian production.
- Secured financing for the project must be demonstrated and shared (support provided through the FAP should be complementary to the financing structure).
- The filmmaker cannot be developing or producing another project with the NFB or another FAP program (i.e., only one project at a time allowed).
- Production and post-production schedules or production must be finalized to allow us to situate the filmmaker’s submission in our calendar and evaluate capacity.
- Eligible formats and genres include:
- short, medium-length or feature-length documentary;
- short-form documentary series for the web;
- animated short, medium or feature film;
- short fiction film (0-30 minutes)
- experimental short film.
Does the production have to be entirely in English?
The FAP accepts projects in any language except French (projects in French must be submitted to the NFB’s ACIC program, if they fulfil the program criteria). A film produced in a language other than English must have an English version, including opening and closing credits and subtitles in that language.
Can a producer submit a project to the FAP?
Yes, provided that the film is a Canadian production as defined by CAVCO and the project complies with the program specifications.
Can I submit more than one project to the FAP in the same fiscal year?
No. Only one project per production company or per filmmaker per year is permitted.
Not eligible:
The local reimbursement is not available to filmmakers based in Montreal. If you are in Montreal, we ask that you apply for the Balmoral option
The following are not eligible: interactive projects, narrative mid-length or feature films, mid-length or feature experimental films, films produced for an educational program, promotional films, commissioned films, commercial products, public service announcements, demo reels or music videos
About the funding
Local
Program Details
This program offers selected filmmakers’ reimbursement in support of post-production costs.
- The maximum amount of support is $7,500 per filmmaker for short films and $15,000 per filmmaker for feature films (other lengths and formats are subject to capacity and filmmaker requests).
Show all funding details
- If an application is accepted, support is provided through cash reimbursement to the filmmaker upon receipt of expense reports and proof of payment.
- The local reimbursement is not available to filmmakers based in Montreal. If you are in Montreal, we ask that you apply for the Balmoral option.
In-House @ Balmoral, the NFB’s Headquarters in Montreal
Program Details
This program offers selected filmmakers the opportunity to travel to Montreal to complete a portion of their post-production work in-house at our Balmoral studios. The services provided by the FAP to filmmakers working in or travelling to Montreal include NFB post-production services and access to post-production equipment such as picture and sound editing suites, online editing services, title and credits design, sound effects, voice recording, mixing, access to the NFB archives, master copies and authoring of a complete digital cinema package (DCP).
Filmmakers living in Montreal or within 150 km of Montreal must cover 10% of the total cost of requested post-production services. The NFB covers the remaining 90% in the form of an in-kind contribution at the post-production stage in our studios in Montreal. For filmmakers who live more than 150 km from Montreal but wish to travel to Montreal to access the services, the NFB waives the 10% fee and covers 100% of the cost of post-production services to acknowledge additional costs accrued.
All services are provided as in-kind contributions. Outside labour resources such as editors and sound designers are not covered under the FAP, except in the case of the sound edit or colour correction.
Is there a limit to the extent of support provided through the FAP?
Yes. Because of the limited capacity of its post-production services, the NFB may be able to provide only some of the services requested.
For reimbursement, the amount is up to $7,500 per short and $15,000 per feature.
If I want to travel to Montreal, will the NFB pay my way?
No. To accommodate filmmakers who reside more than 150 km from Montreal, we waive the 10% post-production fee to support some of the accrued travel costs.
How do I know whether I qualify for the 10% waiver?
If you reside more than 150 km from NFB headquarters in Montreal, you will not have to pay the 10% fee; the NFB will cover the entire cost.
Eligible Expenses
Eligible expenses are limited to post-production services provided by arm’s length, third-party local Canadian suppliers. FAP recipients are also eligible to discounted rates for archival footage.
Services covered include:
- Online Editing
- Colour Correction
- Titles / Credits / Supers / Closed Captions
- Sound Design and/or Sound Editing
- Foley / Foley Studio Rental / Foley Artist
- Sound Mixing / Sound Mixer
- Digital Masters (digital delivery)
- DCP Authoring (digital delivery)
Post-Production Services offered at Balmoral
- Offline Editing (excludes labour)
- Online editing
- Colour correction and online editing
- Titles, credits & supers
- Sound Editing (excludes labour)
- Foley
- Music and Voice Recording (excluding performers)
- Sound Mixing
- Reduced Rates for NFB Stock Shots
- Digital Masters
- Digital Cinema Package (DCP) authoring
Please note:
- For all short documentary, fiction, animation and experimental films, FAP supports image and sound post-production.
- For all mid-length and feature documentary and animation films, FAP offers image or sound post-production services.
We invite you to indicate your choice when filling out the form.
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