News
May 5, 2023
May 5 FilmOntario Updates
Ontario Creates Strategic Plan
Powering Ontario’s Creative Economy, Ontario Creates’ Strategic Plan for 2023 - 2027, is now available on their website. The plan provides a framework to guide Ontario Creates’ activities, investment programs, and services over the next five years.
With the input of more than 700 industry, government, and partner stakeholders – including FilmOntario and many of our members – and after examining the leading practices of other internationally recognized creative economic development organizations, Powering Ontario’s Creative Economy identifies the key strategic and enabling goals that Ontario Creates believes will drive new levels of sustainable business growth, attract additional investment and international interest in the province’s creative assets, and strengthen and diversify Ontario’s creative workforce.
FilmOntario looks forward to working with our partners at Ontario Creates and across the provincial government to implement their Plan, and to make sure that Ontario continues to be the best place in the world for film and television production.
Promoting Ontario
Ontario Creates has also released a new Producer’s Guide to Shooting in Ontario. This guide contains everything you need to know when planning a production in the province. It is sure to be a handy tool for all of our production partners.
And while you’re on the Ontario Creates website …. check out the newly released Ontario VFX Showreel. It’s great to see the fabulous work of all our members featured in this reel.
Feel free to share these links far and wide – it’s our opportunity to show off what our province has to offer!
Tax Credit Regulatory Changes
As we noted in a previous newsletter, the province released proposed regulations to implement changes promised in the 2022 and 2023 Budget and Fall Economic Statement, namely to make online productions eligible for both the OPSTC and the OFTTC and to set out the new requirements for including a tax credit acknowledgement in the end credits for all productions which began principal photography after December 31, 2022.
FilmOntario was pleased to submit comments, in partnership with the CMPA, on the draft regulations. We will continue to work with our government partners at the Ministries of Finance and Tourism, Culture, and Sport as they consider further revisions to the regulations based on the feedback received.
While the regulations are not yet in force, we have not yet received any indication from either Ministry that the effective date for including the end credit acknowledgement will be changed. Therefore, if you have a production that began principal photography after December 31, 2022, we suggest you contact Ontario Creates for guidance on how to meet this requirement.
We will provide further information to members on this issue as soon as we receive it.
Important Dates
May 14 6:00 pm – Climate & Sustainable Production Training online course, offered free to all Ontario industry professionals through Ontario Green Screen. It is free to attend but pre-registration is required.
May 24 – Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) will be having the 2023 Mayoral Arts Debate at 10 am, at the Young Peoples’ Theatre. Registration will open on May 15 – admissions is free but RSVPs are required.
May 29 – Deadline for the 2023 TIFF Filmmaker Lab, a talent development program that takes place during TIFF in September. Applications are open to Canadian and international emerging filmmakers with a minimum of two short-film credits and a maximum of one feature-film credit as a director or screenwriter.
June 4 6:00 pm – Climate & Sustainable Production Training online course, offered free to all Ontario industry professionals through Ontario Green Screen. It is free to attend but pre-registration is required.
June 5 – Deadline for the 2023 TIFF Series Accelerator, which offers tailored mentorship for eight emerging Canadian series-creator teams from under-represented communities to refine their pitches and develop a business plan for their projects.
June 13 – Deadline to apply for the Ontario Creates International Financing Forum (iff), a feature film co-financing / co-production event at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Selected international and Canadian producers are brought together with international sales agents, US distributors, agents, equity financiers and executive producers for brokered meetings and exclusive networking opportunities.
June 30 – Deadline for the second round of Telefilm’s Production Program, for production projects with budgets of $3.5 million or more and for minority co-productions and postproduction applications.
July 13 – Next deadline for the Ontario Creates Film Fund – Production program. This Fund supports a range of projects across genres with both industrial and cultural benefits. Ontario Creates measures the results of the Ontario Creates Film Fund primarily based on net benefit from the proposed project to the province which includes but is not limited to return on investment and jobs created in the Ontario film industry. This is the second of three deadlines for the Fund this fiscal year.
August 8 – Final deadline this fiscal year for the Ontario Creates Business Intelligence Program, which offers financial support to incorporated not-for-profit industry organizations undertaking business intelligence initiatives aimed at gathering, formulating and disseminating business intelligence relevant to the growth of one or more content creating sectors in Ontario.
Member Updates
Don’t forget to send Cynthia a copy of your logo or photo that represents your company to be featured in our member directory on the website.
News to Share?
If there are any updates or announcements you would like to share with your fellow FilmOntario members, please don’t hesitate to let me know at clynch@filmontario.ca and I will include them in the next member update.