Toronto, ON – August 26, 2020 - To augment and extend other initiatives focused on the advancement of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour creative communities, Game Theory Films is pleased to announce their new distribution fund, aligning major industry partners to make financial and in-kind contributions in support of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour feature filmmakers. The resources will be allocated on a quarterly basis by a committee made up of contributors to the initiative and members from the Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmaker communities with a goal of supporting eight projects in the first two years of the initiative.

For the first time, Game Theory will be offering recoupable Minimum Guarantees, committing $100K for the Canadian distribution rights of Feature Films and also allocating an additional $100K of non-recoupable in-kind services for filmmakers. The MGs will be funded by companies Woods Entertainment, JoBro Productions, Comweb Foundation and William F. White. Canadian streamer Crave has come onboard as a partner to support the first title selected by the committee with a broadcast and SVOD license. William F. White will also contribute in-kind services along with VFX studio and tech company MARZ, URBAN POST, the Toronto-based full service post-production facility, and Entertainment Partners who will provide accounting, scheduling and budgeting software and training as well as tax credit expertise to the emerging filmmaker team.

Non-Recoupable In-Kind Services:

1 x Grip and Electric package from William F. White (up to $20,000)

1 x Full post-production for a feature film from Urban Post (up to $40,000)

2 x VFX packages for feature films from MARZ (up to $10,000 each)

8 x Scheduling, Budgeting and Accounting software and training from Entertainment Partners

Recoupable Advances against Canadian Rights:

- Cash advances will be between $10,000 - $50,000 and will be recoupable from Gross Revenue from the exploitation of the Canadian Rights of the film

- Any funds recouped from the advances will be re-committed to Black, Indigenous and People of Colour producers in the future, similarly in the form of advances for Canadian distribution rights

- Producers will retain full control of their films

- Advances paid 50% on start of Pre-Production and confirmation of closing of financing and 50% on Delivery

“Our hope is that this initiative will exist indefinitely and will continue to collect resources to nurture new voices, support emerging talent, and bring more Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour producers into the Canadian feature film space, an arena that has historically been populated by those who benefit from privileged backgrounds. Working together as a group, we are able to enhance our individual financial commitments and also pool our time, share knowledge and truly support talented emerging producers.” said William Woods, Producer & President, Woods Entertainment.

“Although our contributions can only be a small piece of a film’s financial structure, we hope to work with Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers to help them strategically close their financing and will always be available to connect them with other industry partners when needed. It’s an exciting new opportunity for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers and for Game Theory and I’m excited to get started! Hopefully we’ll be able to meet in person at festivals and industry events soon, but until then we’ll also be receiving pitches and taking meetings digitally.” said Hilary Hart, Director of Distribution & Acquisitions, Game Theory Films

“Our goal is to ensure inclusive and equitable opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour filmmakers, and this is a logical first step. We are committed to long-term and lasting change in the industry and our communities,” said Jonathan Bronfman, President, JoBro Productions, Co-President of MARZ

Open call for pitch submissions will commence on August 31st; submissions will be accepted on the Game Theory Films website.