Annual report 2016 17 © Ken Woroner © Ken Woroner © Julian Papas © Allen Fraser 21-31 YEARS OF FULFILLING YOUR CREATIVE DREAMS TABLE OF CONTENTS MESSAGE FROM OUR PARTNER 04 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE Program 05 MANAGEMENT / MESSAGE FROM THE CO-CHAIR AND THE PRESIDENT 05 MANAGEMENT / BOARD OF DIRECTORS, COMMITTEE AND STAFF 07 FEATURE FILM / STORY OPTIONING 10 FEATURE FILM / TREATMENT TO FIRST DRAFT 11 FEATURE FILM / FIRST TO SECOND DRAFT 12 FEATURE FILM / SECOND TO THIRD DRAFT 14 FEATURE FILM / POLISH AND PACKAGING 15 EQUITY INVESTMENT PROGRAM 17 INDUSTRY INITIATIVES 24 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / CONTRIBUTIONS 30 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / 2016-2017 FINANCED PROJECTS 31 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / 2016-2017 FINANCIAL REPORT 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS FRENCH-LANGUAGE Program 33 MANAGEMENT / MESSAGE FROM THE CO-CHAIR AND THE 33 PRESIDENT AND MANAGING DIRECTOR MANAGEMENT / BOARD OF DIRECTORS, COMMITTEE AND STAFF 35 FEATURE FILM / STORY OPTIONING 38 FEATURE FILM / SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT 39 FEATURE FILM / POLISHING 41 FEATURE FILM / EQUITY INVESTMENT 42 DEVELOPMENT TELEVISION CONCEPT 47 FORMAT / TELEVISION SERIES - FORMAT CONVERSION 49 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / CONTRIBUTIONS 51 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / 2016-2017 FINANCED PROJECTS 52 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS / 2016-2017 FINANCIAL REPORT 53 The 2016-17 fiscal year was no exception, as the Harold Greenberg Fund’s A WORD FROM English and French-Languages Programs (HGF) invested over $5.5 million in 158 projects, including the highly acclaimed films Stockholm, Meditation OUR PARTNER Park, Bon Cop Bad Cop 2, De père en flic 2 and C’est le cœur qui meurt en dernier, among others. Bell Media is proud of We are particularly thrilled to see how well the work and talent of our its partnership with the exceptional artists was received and appreciated, as 15 of the productions Harold Greenberg Fund, backed by the HGF were featured at the latest Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), including the Sanchez Brothers’ A Worthy Companion. which has enabled the Further accolades came in the form of Canadian Screen awards, which this creation of high-quality year honoured Tatiana Maslany for her compelling role in The Other Half, a Canadian content for romantic drama. viewers both at home Soon, we will have the opportunity to see major productions that have and abroad for the past received support from the HGF, including The Death and Life of John F. 30 years. Donovan, Xavier Dolan’s first English-Language and star-studded feature, and The Breadwinner, an animated feature film based on an acclaimed Canadian novel by Deborah Ellis, executive produced by Angelina Jolie and directed by Academy Award nominee Nora Twomey. In French, three major productions were supported by the HGF, including La course des tuques, the sequel to the cult movie La guerre des tuques; 1991, the last part to Ricardo Trogi’s trilogy which also includes 1981 and 1987; as well another breathtaking full length feature from Denys Arcand, Le triomphe de l’argent. At Bell Media, we are dedicated to quality Canadian content. This is why we are proud to contribute to the Harold Greenberg Fund, which remains true to its mission of supporting the best Canadian productions. Randy Lennox President Bell Media 4 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAM Message from the Co-chair and the President As Harold Greenberg The year was not without its challenges to both the industry and Fund’s English-Language the Fund. Reduction to the funding Fund receives has required a change in our program and the type of support we can offer the Program (Fund) entered Canadian filmmaking community. The board and staff of the Fund its fourth decade of recognized the impact that these changes will create but we have supporting the Canadian been working hard to mitigate these challenges and to focus our creative community, efforts in areas that will have the greatest positive impact. our 2016-17 fiscal year Production Program was one of successes First opened in 1991, our equity program has also been able to and challenges. As you support the production of 244 films. This year’s slate of 14 films is as exciting as ever and full of promise. review the list of amazing projects supported this Five of the films on this year’s slate have finished in time to make year you will see one of their premieres at TIFF17, part of a record number of Fund films to show at the festival – nine features, two shorts and one TV our strongest slates ever. project. We are excited to see Mary Goes Round, Meditation Park, Canadian filmmaking Porcupine Lake, A Worthy Companion and Indian Horse all make continues to excel at all their premieres in Toronto. budget levels despite Seven of the 14 new films are led by female directors. We are the ongoing challenges proud to be building on past years similar achievements of parity to traditional funding and to be taking an industry leadership position on this vital issue. models. As creators and However, as is now fairly widely known, we have had to come to producers are adapting the very difficult decision of closing the production fund after to the increasingly global 2017 – this represents the last group of projects to be funded. marketplace, Canadian Due to reduced resources Fund has decided to focus all remaining storytelling is shining support in the area of script and concept development. The 244 films supported over the years are an amazing testament to the through. creativity, skill and passion of Canadian filmmaking and it has been our honour to be associated with each and every film. 5 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAM Development Program Since 1986, Fund has been able to offer support through 2581 optioning, writing and packaging phases. This has always been our core focus and it remains our belief that by focusing on script and concept development, projects will have greater success in attracting both financing and audiences. This year Fund was able to support the development of 87 projects which will become the next wave of projects to seek financing and make their way to Canadian screens. The projects represent the full range of Canadian script-writing talent across genres and budget levels. The story craft is strong and these stories need to be told. We are honoured to help support their journeys. As the lines continue to blur between feature films and high level long form TV drama, Fund has seen several of the projects supported through story optioning and development migrate to the long form drama format. This year will see the launch of Sarah Polley’s Alias Grace which joins Clement Virgo’s Book of Negroes as the leading projects in this trend. Several other projects initially developed as films are making the transition. Fund is excited by this and believes that it is critical for the organization to support story- telling across platforms. It is the story and the story-tellers that should ultimate determine the proper form. Industry Initiatives As a component of our development program Fund has always supported various Industry Initiatives aimed at both developing talent and craft and also creating project financing opportunities. Through workshops, events and forums across the country Fund has supported 360 of these events, many of them annually over multi-year commitments. This represents the last group of 15 such initiatives. As we focus on our core business of script development we have had to pull back from this type of support for the industry. The Future The Fund has always been proud of its record in identifying and supporting very best of Canadian storytelling talent. This would never be possible without the passion and intelligence of its board and staff. The depth of experience and commitment is unmatched and had allowed us to truly work with the industry in a sense of partnership. We thank the board and staff for all their commitment over the years and we know that with the support of the industry we will all pilot a new path towards an even stronger future. Suzette Couture John Galway Co-chair and President Committee President 6 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT Board of Directors and Committee Members Suzette Couture Co-chair and Committee President Independent Board Member Suzette Couture was awarded the Humanitas Prize for her CBS four hour series Haven, four Gemini Awards for screenwriting, a Canadian Screen Award and a WGC award for screenwriting. Her CBS four hour series Jesus, was nominated for an Emmy. As a partner in Sarrazin Couture Entertainment, she won the Golden Reel Award for highest box office for her first Canadian feature, La Florida. She is writing and producing the feature film adaptation of 419, the Giller Prize winning novel to be directed by Jeremy Podeswa. She is currently writing a six hour series Four Queens for CBS. John Galway President Independent Board Member John Galway is an MBA graduate with twenty-five years of experience in film and television, John’s career has ranged from film festivals, to production and financing. In 2005, he joined The Harold Greenberg Fund’s English-Language Program as President and Board Member. At the Fund, he has overseen investments of more than $30 Million and has helped develop over 1000 feature film and television projects. He is also the co-founder of the Toronto Irish Film Festival and is a board member of the Irish Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He sits on various industry boards, juries and advisory committees. Damon D’Oliveira Independent Board Member Damon D’Oliveira produced the miniseries, The Book of Negroes which debuted to record- breaking numbers on the CBC in Canada in 2015 and on BET in the US, winning 12 Canadian Screen Awards and earning two nominations for U.S. Critic’s Choice Television Awards, four NAACP Image Awards and was a finalist for the 2016 Peabody Award.