GrantSaskatchewanProduct Development

Feature Film & Television Production Grant

The Feature Film & Television Production Grant provides financial support to eligible applicants for feature film and television productions that have secured a relevant market trigger or distribution agreement of fair market value. There are two streams within this grant: the Saskatchewan Stream and the Service Production Stream.

Offered by Creative Saskatchewan

Amount

Up to 30% of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures (Saskatchewan Stream) or 25% of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures up to a maximum of $5,000,000 (Service Production Stream); with bonuses, a maximum of 40% (Saskatchewan Stream) and 35% (Service Production Stream)

Quick eligibility check

Years in business
No minimum stated
Employees
No limit stated
Revenue
No limit stated
Legal structure
No requirement stated
Location
Saskatchewan

Who can apply

  1. Applicants must be in good standing in all respects with Creative Saskatchewan.
  2. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria defined in the General Guidelines.
  3. Applicants may be an individual or a corporation – see the General Guidelines for definitions.
  4. The applicant company must be incorporated in Saskatchewan or incorporated federally and registered in Saskatchewan. The head office or principal place of business must be located in Saskatchewan, and substantial ownership control must remain with Saskatchewan residents.
  5. Projects with budgets exceeding $250,000 must demonstrate that the production’s rights and liabilities are assigned to a single purpose production company (SPPC), rather than a general parent corporation.

There are two streams available to eligible applicants:

Saskatchewan Stream

Applicants must be the owner or co-owner of the project and, at minimum, must control a share of copyright proportional to Creative Saskatchewan’s financial participation.

Service Production Stream

There are no copyright ownership requirements for the Service Production Stream.

All applications must meet the following requirements:

  1. Feature Film productions must be feature-length (a minimum of 75 minutes).
  2. Productions must demonstrate interest from other agencies or a relevant third-party market trigger(s) minimum 20% of the eligible production costs (i.e. a combination of distribution agreement of fair market value, federal funding agencies etc.).
  • Creative Saskatchewan will consider exceptions for production companies that have completed a minimum of two commercial productions with a similar degree of financial risk, budget and that have been made available to in a meaningful way to audiences including on a broadcaster or subscription service within 24 months of application date.
  • Or
  • Financial structures agreed upon and contracted with Telefilm or the Indigenous Screen Office.
  1. The production company cannot hold a broadcasting license issued by the CRTC or deal at non-arm’s length with a corporation that holds a license.
  2. Applicants must be significantly involved in the production and receive a Producer credit on the final project.
  3. Applicants must have experience as producers of feature films and/or television productions or related experience satisfactory to Creative Saskatchewan and must demonstrate that they possess the necessary expertise and resources to complete the proposed production and arrange for its marketing.
  • Applicants with insufficient experience for the project scope must secure the participation of an experienced Executive Producer prior to applying to Creative Saskatchewan.
  1. Inter-provincial co-productions and co-ventures are eligible.
  2. At the time of submission, applicants must provide written evidence of a relevant market trigger or distribution agreement of fair market value and evidence of a minimum of 50% confirmed financing, unless the project budget is over $1 million, then evidence of a minimum of 70% confirmed financing is required.
  • The Creative Saskatchewan Feature Film and Television Production Grant and federal tax credit calculations may be included as part of the confirmed financing.
  1. Applications must be received prior to the completion of principal photography.

About the funding

  1. Saskatchewan Stream: Eligible applicants may apply for financial support equal to a maximum of 30% of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures.
  2. Service Production Stream: Eligible applicants may apply for 25% of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures.
  • For requests over $5 million, please contact our office here.
  • The production may be eligible for certain bonuses, to a maximum of 40% (Saskatchewan Stream) and 35% (Service Production Stream) of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures. (See Bonuses below).
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  1. For Service Production Streams, eligible applicants may apply for 25% of all eligible Saskatchewan expenditures up to a maximum of $5,000,000.
  • For requests over $5 million, please contact our office here.
  1. Funding will be in the form of a grant.
  2. Only financial contributions will be considered when examining the financing structure – the value of deferrals and in-kind contributions will not be considered part of the overall project financing.
  3. Producer Investment cannot exceed 25% of the total PFCO (Producer Fees and Corporate Overhead).
  4. Each of the Producer Fees and Corporate Overhead cannot exceed 10% of the B+C portions of the budget (with the exception of Documentary projects with budgets under $2.5 million for which the cap is set at 15% for each of these items).
  • Creative Saskatchewan may grant exceptions to this amount on a case-by-case basis.
  1. The budget must include an amount representing a minimum of 6% of B+C in the Contingency account.
  • Creative Saskatchewan may grant exceptions to this amount on a case-by-case basis.
  1. Investments from non-industry sources, such as family members, or companies whose primary activity is not industry-related cannot exceed 25% of the total budget. It is Creative Saskatchewan’s discretion whether a financier constitutes a non-industry source.
  • Creative Saskatchewan will consider exceptions to the PFCO and Investments from non-industry sources cap if the production company meets one of the following criteria:
  • Production companies that have completed a minimum of two eligible productions with a similar degree of financial risk, budget and made available to a commercial audience within 24 months of application date; or
  • Production companies that have agreements with financial structures with the Canadian Media Fund or Telefilm or the Indigenous Screen Office.
  1. Grants must be used for the purposes described in the application approved by Creative Saskatchewan.
  2. Total related party transactions exceeding $500,000 attributed to the determination of Saskatchewan spend require written approval from Creative Saskatchewan.
  3. All related party transactions must be disclosed at the time of the application. Creative Saskatchewan will not allow additional related party costs in the determination of Saskatchewan spend following the signed agreement date, unless formally approved in writing.
  4. The Apprenticeship Stream is a source of additional project funding available to successful Feature Film & Television Production Grant Applicants. Please see the Feature Film & Television Production Grant Guidelines – Apprenticeship Stream for more details.

Bonuses

Creative Saskatchewan offers a series of bonuses under the Feature Film and Television Production Grant (FFTV Program) to encourage rural production, Saskatchewan‑based post‑production activity, and sustained production volume in the province.

General Bonus Eligibility

  1. Eligibility for all Creative Saskatchewan FFTV bonuses is limited to eligible applicant projects that meet one of the following Saskatchewan activity requirements:
  • Live action/Scripted Feature Film or Television projects: A minimum of 51% of principal photography days are completed in Saskatchewan;
  • Documentary projects: A minimum of 51% of principal photography days are completed in Saskatchewan or a minimum of 51% of the post production spend is incurred in Saskatchewan;
  • Animation projects: A minimum of 51% of principal animation production days are completed in Saskatchewan.

Bonus Types

  1. Rural Bonus – 5%

Projects may be eligible for a 5% Rural Bonus where:

  • The majority of principal photography days occur a minimum of 50 km outside of Regina or Saskatoon (calculated from the center-most point).
  1. Saskatchewan Post Production Bonus – 5%

Projects may be eligible for a 5% Saskatchewan Post Production Bonus where:

  • The majority of the post production spend is incurred in Saskatchewan.
  1. Saskatchewan Production Volume Bonus – 10%

Eligibility

  1. To be eligible for the Saskatchewan Production Volume Bonus, the applicant must be a producer significantly involved in the project(s) used to meet the volume threshold (as determined by Creative Saskatchewan).

Volume Bonus Threshold

  1. To qualify for the Saskatchewan Production Volume Bonus, the applicant must demonstrate:
  • A minimum of two (2) eligible Feature Film and Television Grant (FFTV) projects; and
  • A minimum combined eligible Saskatchewan spend of $1.5 million.

Calculation of the Volume Threshold

  1. The production volume threshold will be calculated based on the following:
  • Only completed projects that have fulfilled their final reporting requirements with Creative Saskatchewan within Creative Saskatchewan’s current fiscal year and the most recent three (3) fiscal years will be considered.
  • Projects included in the calculation must meet one of the following Saskatchewan activity requirements:
  • Live action/Scripted Feature Film or Television projects: A minimum of 51% of principal photography days are completed in Saskatchewan;
  • Documentary projects: A minimum of 51% of principal photography days are completed in Saskatchewan or a minimum of 51% of the post production spend is incurred in Saskatchewan;
  • Animation projects: A minimum of 51% of principal animation production days are completed in Saskatchewan.

Maximum Funding Limits (Bonus Caps)

Total Creative Saskatchewan funding, including all applicable bonuses, is capped as follows:

  1. Saskatchewan Stream:
  2. Maximum of 40% of eligible Saskatchewan expenditures.
  3. Service Production Stream:
  4. Maximum of 35% of eligible Saskatchewan expenditures.

Final Determination

  1. All bonus eligibility assessments, calculations, and approvals are subject to Creative Saskatchewan’s final review and approval. Creative Saskatchewan reserves the right to request additional documentation to confirm eligibility, Saskatchewan production activity, and eligible expenditures.

Payment schedules are contingent upon Creative Saskatchewan’s risk assessment of the application and identification of milestones that the production must meet in order to receive payments. This may vary from project to project depending on scale and risk. Your payment schedule will be outlined in the Letter of Commitment (LOC) you receive from Creative Saskatchewan upon being approved for funding.

Marketing expenses directly related to the project being applied for, no more that 10% of the total production budget.

  • Please note that Creative Saskatchewan offers a dedicated Marketing Grant for larger marketing projects.

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