CMF & DHX Pledge C$1.4 Million to Support New Kids’ Content

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and DHX Media are launching a new program to support the development of Canadian kids’ and family content.

The DHX-CMF Kids and Family Development Program is funded by DHX at over C$1.4 million ($1.07 million) for two years. Administered by the CMF, the fund aims to support new entrants to the production community as well as regional projects, creators in official-language minority communities and French-language producers. The program will support development activities in the CMF-supported genres of children’s and youth and drama, including the acquisition of underlying rights, scripts, bibles and storyboards, with some additional funding allocated for travel and pitch materials.

Half of the program’s funds are reserved for female-led projects.

“This new partnership between the CMF and DHX will allow us to fund projects in a genre that has seen a decrease over the past few years,” said Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the CMF. “It’s imperative that we continue to focus on funding kids’ content. I’m especially proud that half the funds in this program are reserved for women-led projects, complementing and adding to our existing gender balance initiatives.”

“It is vital that we create opportunities to tell diverse Canadian stories for kids and families through original Canadian content,” said Joe Tedesco, executive VP and general manager of DHX Television. “We are delighted to team up with the CMF to launch the DHX-CMF Kids and Family Development Program as a funding source for a wide range of development projects, with a special emphasis on supporting those led by women.”