Exceptional Canadian documentaries and VR showcased at MIP 2017

TORONTO and MONTREAL, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm Canada, have once again partnered with Canadian industry leaders to feature compelling content at this year's MIPDoc and MIPTV.

Three thought-provoking Canadian documentaries will share the spotlight at MIPDoc, taking place in Cannes on April 1 and 2. Three innovative Canadian virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) productions will also take centre stage at MIPTV, between April 3 and 6. Canadian producers will have the opportunity to share their expertise and showcase their quality productions to over 10,000 international global audiovisual industry leaders attending the subsequent events.

Canada: a factual content production powerhouse
According to the Canadian Media Producers Association, the documentary genre accounted for the largest single share of projects produced in Canada in 2015-2016. Canadian producers made 449 documentaries in that year, which accounted for approximately one-third of all film and television projects produced by Canadians and 40 per cent of all Canadian official coproductions. Canadian documentary production volumes reached $322 million, an increase of 18 per cent over the previous year.

The CMF and Telefilm will feature the following three documentary projects at the MIPDoc session on April 2, 2017 at 11:15 am (CET), entitled "Canadian Documentary: When Creative Talent Takes Over."

Abandoned, Vice Canada (Ontario): Skateboarder Rick McCrank explores abandoned places with the people who love them long after the lights have gone out.

Rhino's Cry (Le Cri du Rhinocéros), Groupe Fair-Play (Québec): Actor Marc Labrèche tackles the difficult question of whether artists' creativity has an "expiry date" by taking viewers on a touching journey into the lives of renowned Québec artists whose careers have spanned many years.

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, Rezolution Pictures (Québec): The story of a missing chapter in the history of North American music: the Indigenous influence. This Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary features music icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Randy Castillo, and others; while showing how these talented Indigenous musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives.

"Beginning with the National Film Board of Canada in the 1940s, our country has a long tradition in documentary filmmaking," said Carolle Brabant, Telefilm Canada's Executive Director. "So it's with great pride that we witness one of the most interesting developments in 21^st-century content creation: the rising popularity of this art form. With their ability to inform, challenge, shock and delight audiences in equal measure, Abandoned, Rhino's Cry and Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World all promise to have successful international careers."

Through the Theatrical Documentary Program, in partnership with the Rogers Group of Funds, Telefilm supports Canadian production companies looking to finance feature-length documentary projects in production and post-production.

Canadian VR and AR continue to soar high
According to a Digi-Capital forecast, by 2020 the global VR market will reach US$108B. The International Data Corporation forecasts that Canada will spend $723M on AR and VR products and services in 2017 — an increase of more than 535% over last year. Canada's market is predicted to reach $7.1B by 2020. From entertainment to healthcare, through education and industrial applications, new ways of using AR and VR are constantly being developed.

The quality of VR and AR content is progressing exponentially thanks to the creativity and innovation of creators around the world, many of them in Canada. Recent data indicates that, currently, 22.5M people consume VR content around the world. A figure which is expected to reach 154M by 2020.

"Creators around the world are turning to VR projects as a way to produce experiences that push the limits of art and technology. Canadian companies are at the vanguard of innovation in this technological and creative revolution," said Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. "Since 2012-2013, the Canada Media Fund has invested in 59 innovative VR and AR projects, totaling $24.4M in funding. We also continue to promote Canadian VR at major markets such as MIPTV. We are eager to see what the future of VR holds and are certain that our investments in this new medium will deliver increasingly high-quality, immersive content for all to experience."

The following three Canadian AR and VR projects will be featured at a session on April 4, 2017 at 11:15 am (CET), entitled "Discover How Canadian VR and AR Give a New Dimension to This Artform."

Quand la foule devient cirque (When Spectators Become Performers), Ingrid Ingrid (Québec): Using their smartphone, spectators will take part in an urban and collective experience that reinvents the notion of a live show by transforming their experience from one of spectators to that of performers.

Multi-Sensory Virtual Reality Historical Vignettes, SimWave Consulting (Ontario): A VR experience transporting users to the Great War trenches in 1917 France, with a particular focus on the impact Canadian Soldiers had in the battle of Vimy Ridge. This will be coupled with another multisensory VR experience taking users inside the train which carried King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on their 1939 Royal Tour across Canada.

Welcome to Wacken, Secret Location and Banger Films (Ontario): An interactive VR documentary that takes viewers deep into Germany's Wacken Open Air, the biggest heavy metal festival on earth. With the ability to hop across the grounds in an instant, users are granted impossible access to the event's most restricted areas.

Alongside the three featured VR projects, the CMF and Telefilm will exhibit an additional two Canadian VR productions at the MIPTV Canada Pavilion. These are Trek by Quebec's Minority Media VR, and Bear 71, produced by the National Film Board of Canada's Vancouver studios.

For more information on the Canadian exhibitors at MIPDoc and MIPTV, please click here.

About the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) fosters, develops, finances and promotes the production of Canadian content and applications for all audiovisual media platforms. The CMF guides Canadian content towards a competitive global environment by fostering industry innovation, rewarding success, enabling a diversity of voice and promoting access to content through public and private sector partnerships. The CMF receives financial contributions from the Government of Canada and Canada's cable, satellite and IPTV distributors. Please visit cmf-fmc.ca.

About Telefilm Canada—Inspired by talent. Viewed everywhere.
Celebrating 50 years in 2017, Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada's audiovisual industry. Through funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent at home and around the world. Telefilm also makes recommendations regarding the certification of audiovisual treaty coproductions to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Launched in 2013, the Talent Fund accepts private donations to principally support emerging talent. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/telefilm_canada and on Facebook at facebook.com/telefilmcanada.

SOURCE Telefilm Canada

Media enquiries: André Ferreira, Communications Manager, Canada Media Fund, [phone], [email protected]; Douglas Chow, Head of Public Relations, Telefilm Canada, [phone] ext. 2048 or 1-800-567-0890, [email protected]