2008 ANNUAL REPORT MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR In 2008 we invested a record $12.3 Since its inception, the Shaw Rocket Fund has nurtured Canadian producers to million in diverse projects connecting a position of strength and confidence, supporting programming that inspires and unites Canadians, in particular Canadian youth who comprise 25% of our audiences across Canada and around overall population. the world. During these times of The viewers of today are the leaders of tomorrow. The Shaw Rocket Fund is economic uncertainty, the Shaw proud to be a voice for Canadian children’s production, fostering programming Rocket Fund believes more than that speaks our languages, celebrates the rich fabric of our communities, and ever in the necessity of our funding motivates our youth. initiatives. Coast to coast, we are united through our children and through our combined response to the challenges and possibilities facing our industry today. Together, we will continue working to secure a bright future for children’s programming across Canada. Annabel Slaight, Chair Mission The Shaw Rocket Fund is dedicated to investing in the Canadian children’s independent production industry as funder and as a champion of the best in children’s programming. 9% WEST COAST OF OVERALL FUNDING Canada’s rich first nation’s heritage plays a key role in our cultural identity. When the traditions of Aboriginal storytelling are applied to children’s and youth programming, wonderful things can happen, as witnessed by many of the projects coming out of Canada’s West Coast. The Shaw Rocket Fund has supported a wide range of productions in this region, including such innovative Aboriginal productions as MYTV, Nehiyawetan and Tiga Talk!. Production Production Company Broadcaster A Shine of Rainbows Smudge Ventures Inc. Movie Central MYTV Season 2 WoneWomanWorks Productions Ltd. APTN Nehiyawetan Season 2 Nehiyawetan Productions Inc. APTN See the Sea Season 2 See the Sea Productions II Ltd CBC Tiga Talk! Hummingbird Take Two Productions Ltd. APTN Zeke's Pad Season 1 My Pad Productions Inc. / Bardel Entertainment Inc. YTV ZEKE’s PAD In this half-hour animated comedy series, artist extraordinaire and no-holds- barred skateboarder, Zeke Palmer, repurposes a mysteriously wired electronic drawing pad to wickedly transform the world around him from fun but ordinary humdrum to wacky and extraordinary wonderfulness! As interactive offscreen as it is onscreen, Zeke’s Pad will soon feature a friends-2-friends gamespace, a multi-model skateboarding game, and mobile downloadable, episodic tie-ins that let viewers “create, challenge and share” FAMILY BIZ 14% ZEKE’S PAD 14% with friends online any time! (FRANCE) (AUSTRALIA) A SHINE OF RAINBOWS WIBBLY PIG 11% 17% (IRELAND) (UK) ROB THE ROBOT 9% (FRANCE/AUSTRALIA) SARILA 9% (FRANCE/UK) BUSYTOWN MYSTERIES 18% DOGGY DAY CARE 8% (SINGAPORE) (BRAZIL) 9% OF OVERALL FUNDING A sHinE oF RAinBoWs The universally transforming power of the imagination illuminates this magical feature film in which the orphan Tomas’s friendship with the nature-loving and imaginative Mairi empowers Tomas to guide Mairi’s grieving husband to a re- engagement with himself and the amazing island world in which he lives. Based on the novel by Lillian Beckwith, A Shine of Rainbows demonstrates the rewards of translating compelling material into different media, and, as a co-production between Canada and Ireland, the benefits of diversifying and expanding communities internationally as well as nationally. 2008 FUnD FACT inVEsTMEnT BY Co-PRoDUCTion FAMILY BIZ 14% ZEKE’S PAD 14% (FRANCE) (AUSTRALIA) A SHINE OF RAINBOWS WIBBLY PIG 11% 17% (IRELAND) (UK) ROB THE ROBOT 9% (FRANCE/AUSTRALIA) SARILA 9% (FRANCE/UK) BUSYTOWN MYSTERIES 18% DOGGY DAY CARE 8% (SINGAPORE) (BRAZIL) This year the Rocket Fund celebrated the connecting power of media through investment in a number of outstanding co- productions between Canada and various other countries. 7% PRAIRIES OF OVERALL FUNDING Perhaps it is Canada’s often harsh, physical landscape that explains our penchant for dramatic storytelling. Dramas that explore such themes as community, conflict and personal development have helped put Canadian family and youth programming on the map internationally. In the prairies, this tradition has continued through such Rocket funded programs as Heartland and Drug Class. Production Production Company Broadcaster Heartland Series II Rescued Horse Season Two Inc. / Dynamo Films Inc. CBC Promise Burning Bridge Entertainment Inc. CBC Drug Class Season 2 101093537 Saskatchewan Ltd. SCN Wapos Bay Eps 20 – 26 Wapos Bay Productions Episodes 20 – 26 Inc. APTN, SCN HEARTLAnD Love, family and life connect, collide and reconcile in this dynamic family drama, in which fifteen-year-old Amy Fleming uses her gift of healing horses to negotiate the turmoil and exuberance of adolescent life on Heartland, the busy Alberta horse farm run by her grandfather Jack with the help of Amy and her sister, Lou. Complementing the life-changing twists and turns that occur at Heartland Ranch are its downloadable shows and music, blog, behind-the-scenes diary, and Facebook fan page. VARIETY 2% DRAMA 81% MAGAZINE 5% DOCUMENTARY 12% 7% OF OVERALL FUNDING DRUG CLAss The freedom to tell their stories without criticism or judgment gives the Drug Class kids and their audience the tools to imaginatively reinvent themselves physically, mentally and spiritually. In teacher Randy Teed’s drug class, it isn’t drugs or alcohol but trusting conversation with supportive friends that creates strong individuals and stronger communities. An online site with information links and a Facebook page provide further excellent resources for kids wishing to learn more about addiction and how to confidently reach out to others, both peers and adults, for guidance, support and positive connection. 2008 FUnD FACT inVEsTMEnT BY GEnRE VARIETY 2% DRAMA 81% MAGAZINE 5% DOCUMENTARY 12% Committed to productions that enhance our individual and community awareness, the Rocket Fund supplied a record $10,012,526 to 35 drama projects, 81% of its overall funding for 2008. 45% ONTARIO OF OVERALL FUNDING Given Canada’s cultural diversity, multiculturalism is one of the hallmarks of our creative identity. In Ontario, the sheer diversity of the productions funded by the Shaw Rocket Fund is a testament to the many different perspectives and experiences that contribute to our industry. BUsYToWn MYsTERiEs Helping the under-5’s imaginatively connect in new and interesting ways with their immediate environment and with the larger world beyond are the colourful characters of Busytown Mysteries, a cartoon series based on Richard Scarry’s popular Busytown books. Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Sally Cat, Hilda Hippo, Pig Will and Pig Won’t use an innovative blend of humour and learning, along with some unique transportation, to solve each episode’s intriguing mystery from everyday life! Of course, solving a mystery is only half the fun. Asking questions, finding clues and piecing all those clues together to find the ultimate answer – and all from the unique perspective of the preschooler – is where the real fun and the real imaginative journey begins! PRIMARY (6–9) 7% ELEMENTARY (9–12) 35% FAMILY 13% YOUTH 14% PRESCHOOL 31% Production Production Company Broadcaster 45% The Adrenaline Project Season 2 marblemedia Adrenaline 2 Inc. YTV OF OVERALL Booky's Crush Booky III Inc. CBC FUNDING Busytown Mysteries Season 2 Cookie Jar Entertainment CBC, SRC Carl Squared IV (53 – 65) Carl Squared Productions IV Inc. Teletoon Canada Connor Undercover Connor Undercover I Inc. Family Channel Degrassi: The Next Generation Cycle 8 Epitome Pictures Inc. CTV Dino Dan Season 2 Sinking Ship (Dino Dan) Productions Inc. TVO, Knowledge Network Franny's Feet Series 3 Decode / Franny Productions 3 Inc. Family Channel How To Be Indie Indie 1 Inc. YTV The Latest Buzz Season 3 Decode / Buzz Productions 3 Inc. Family Channel Listen to This Proximity Films RP Inc. TVO / Bravo Majority Rules Go Girl Television Productions Inc. Teletoon Canada Inc. Mighty Machines Series 3 Mighty Machines Series 3 TVO, TFO, SCN, Knowledge, Access Overruled Shaftesbury High Court I Inc. Family Channel Overruled Season 2 Shaftesbury Overruled II Inc. Family Channel Rob the Robot Amberwood Productions (Rob the Robot) Inc. TVO, SRC, Knowledge This is Turtle Island Summerhill Productions Nine Inc. / Media Rendezvous Inc. APTN Wibbly Pig WP Productions Inc. TV Ontario, Knowledge THE ADREnALinE PRoJECT This weekly prime-time reality competition series dares thrill-seeking teens to compete in a range of intense physical and mental challenges. Fear Factor meets Survivor as participants fight their fears and phobias, testing their mettle as they go head to head in and around Boomer’s Basecamp! A strong online presence keeps The Adrenaline Project’s challenges and rewards front and centre 2008 FUnD FACT of real teens’ lives, connecting them through their inVEsTMEnT BY AUDiEnCE computers with the exciting world of the great outdoors where anything is possible! PRIMARY (6–9) 7% ELEMENTARY (9–12) 35% FAMILY 13% YOUTH 14% PRESCHOOL 31% Out of 357 hours of Rocket-fuelled programming, 243 hours spoke directly to the needs to children under 12 for quality programming, equalling an overall investment of more than $9 million. 18% QUEBEC OF OVERALL FUNDING Quebec’s production industry not only contributes to French Canadian culture, it contributes to Canada’s linguistic and cultural diversity through programming that speaks to a wide range of audiences and experiences – and with programs like La Cache, this year was no exception. LA CACHE Twelve recruits (6 girls and 6 boys) compete to join La Cache Agency using new navigational technologies like Global Positioning to go on an old-fashioned outdoor treasure hunt. The treasure troves in question are “geocaches” or “caches,” and, like The Apprentice or The Amazing Race, individual problem-solving skills along with lots of enthusiastic teamwork are a must for participants and their viewers. Technology in La Cache connects youth with one another and with the outdoors world beyond the screen.