Following is the 1996 edition of Playback's annual digest of provincial funding and investment sources available for Canadian independent film and television program development, production and/or distribution.

NOVA SCOTIA

Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation

about $1.3 million a year is available to film and tv projects through production investment, development loans and special project grants. Projects eligible for support are features, series, miniseries, tv specials, documentaries and non-theatrical programs for non-commercial broadcast settings.

The nsfdc can make up to $25,000 available in interest-free development loans, and up to one-third of production financing (through equity investment), with varying maximum dollar amounts depending on the project genre and recoupment potential of the project. The production funding cap is currently $200,000 per project.

The Nova Scotia Film Tax Credit is available to qualifying production companies. It provides a fully refundable corporate income tax credit of 30% of the eligible Nova Scotian labor content of a production, up to 15% of the total eligible budget.

Contact: NSFDC Funding and Administration at (902) 424-7177 or nsfdc@fox.nstn.ca

QUEBEC

Quebec Refundable Production Tax Credit

a refundable production tax credit covering 40% of eligible personnel costs incurred by Quebec production companies is available for the production of certified Quebec film or television programs. Eligible personnel expenditures cannot exceed 45% of eligible production costs, effectively capping the tax credit at 18%. In the case of a coproduction, the tax credit is calculated on the Canadian portion of the budget.

Corporations eligible for the tax credit are independent Quebec production companies directly controlled by persons who have had their domicile in Quebec for at least two years. Broadcasters and broadcasters' subsidiaries are ineligible.

Feature films, tv movies, tv series, miniseries, docs and children's programs are eligible provided they qualify as a Quebec production.

The tax credit may be interim financed by the Societe de developpement des entreprises culturelles (sodec).

Contact: Ministere du Revenu, Gouvernement du Quebec at (418) 652-5117

Societe de developpement des entreprises culturelles - Quebec (sodec)

sodec has $13 million available annually through a series of investment and grant programs intended to provide financial support for the production of quality Quebec film and tv. It offers assistance to companies in the private and independent sectors at all stages of the projects, from scriptwriting to production to distribution.

sodec's initiatives focus on the production of short, medium and feature-length fiction and pov docs. It provides preproduction advances for tv fiction series and miniseries.

sodec also supports exhibitors, festivals and other Quebec film events, as well as the distribution of foreign films with limited exhibition. It also, from time to time, initiates special projects intended to encourage the promotion of film and television production.