Category: Call For Applications

DOC is thrilled to invite DOC members to apply for our 2025 delegation to the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). This delegation is supported by Global Affairs Canada.

This opportunity is fully funded and open to emerging and mid-career DOC members who are producers or producer-directors creating documentary content. Travel will take place between November 15–20, 2025, and selected participants are expected to present their projects to international industry decision-makers at a special delegation showcase coordinated by the IDFA Industry team.

What’s Included:

• Roundtrip airfare, accommodation, accreditation, and per diem
• Presentation of your project at a curated delegation showcase
• One-on-one meetings with decision makers following presentations
• Pre-departure consultation sessions
• Access to IDFA Forum for eligible participants
• Online prep webinar with IDFA Industry team

✅ Eligibility Criteria

We encourage applications from emerging and mid-career creators who have had limited opportunities to attend major documentary markets. This opportunity will not prioritize those who are recent or regular attendees at IDFA or other major markets.

We also encourage applications from priority communities:
Priority communities are defined as: Producers who identify as one or more intersections of Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, living with a disability, Francophone outside Quebec, or living in a rural or remote region of Canada (remote being defined as a primary residence at least 150 km from cities with populations over 500,000).

Essential
YOU ARE:

• A DOC member in good standing
• A producer who creates documentary content (producer-directors are eligible)
• Available to travel between November 15 and 20, 2025

Preferential
Preference will be given to submissions from applicants who meet the eligibility criteria to access the IDFA Forum. To access the Forum, applicants must:

• Operate a registered independent production company
• Have produced at least one feature-length documentary that has:
  • Premiered at a recognized festival,
  • OR been broadcast on a major network or streaming platform,
  • OR received theatrical distribution

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants from priority communities, as defined above, who do not meet this criteria may still be eligible for a Forum day-pass and are encouraged to apply.

📅 Key Dates

• Application opens: August 1, 2025
• Deadline to apply: August 15, 2025
• Participants notified: September 5, 2025

The application form will contain 40 questions. Please plan accordingly to complete it carefully. A three-person jury will assess applications.

Please note: only selected applicants will be contacted directly. We encourage all applicants to stay connected with DOC for future opportunities and initiatives.

This delegation is supported by a contribution from Global Affairs Canada’s CanExport Associations program. 

DOC Business Leap will support six Canadian documentary producers with small to mid-sized production companies who have completed one or several funded projects, and who identify as one or more intersections of Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, living with a disability, Francophone outside Quebec or living in a rural or remote regions of Canada (remote being defined as oneʼs primary residence being 150 km from cities of over 500 000 people).

This program includes:

• Monthly meeting with a producer mentor
• Monthly consultations with a production accountant
• Consultation sessions with an entertainment lawyer
• $2000 of therapy

This program is designed for producers who want to grow their production company. Each participant is allotted a pre-paid block of time with specialized consultants that they can draw upon over the course of one year, beginning in January 2024. These regular consultations will help participants to better position themselves, their team and their company for long term sustainable growth.

Every month, participants will have a two-hour meeting with a veteran producer consultant. These regular check-ins are to help to keep their company and projects on track. Participants have regular access to legal consultants, to help with their company structure, to set up their standard production agreements, and any other support that is needed to establish the correct legal frameworks for the company as it prepares for long term growth. Participants have access to production accounting consultants, to help the company review and refine its systems for accounting, payroll, managing tax credits, and other key financial elements. Participants also have pre-paid sessions with a therapist – a key recommendation from DOC’s “DocuMentality” report released in May 2023.

Please fill out the form below to apply for DOC Business Leap before November 17, 2023.

This program is supported by

Eligibility Criteria. YOU ARE:

• A producer who creates documentary content
• The majority shareholder of a production company incorporated within Canada
• The majority shareholder of a production company that has produced at least one documentary production in Canada that has received Federal tax credits
• The lead producer on a documentary that has had one or more of: Telefilm funding, CMF production funding, a production license with a Canadian broadcaster, a coproduction with the National Film Board of Canada
• Working with a bookkeeper and / or production accountant on at least a part-time basis
• Interested in growing your company and producing documentary content at a higher volume
• An individual who is part of at least one of the communities prioritized by Business Leap
• Able to commit to up to five hours of meetings per month with the program’s mentors and consultants

This is a pilot program that is mostly being offered in English with some French elements.

FAQ

Q: Do I have to be working exclusively on documentaries?

A: No. You can be producing a variety of genres and formats, but need to have documentaries on your slate of projects

Q: Why is this program open only to documentary producers who are Indigenous, Black, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, living with a disability, Francophone outside Quebec or living in a rural or remote regions of Canada (remote being defined as one’s primary residence being 150 km from cities of over 500 000 people)?

A: This program is supported by the Canada Media Fund’s Sector Development program, that supports industry initiatives that seek to address gaps in our sector for the groups prioritized by this program. 

Q: How much time will I be required to spend on this program over the course of a year?

A: Every month, participants will spend 1-2 hours with their producer mentor, and 1-2 hours with their production accountant. These meetings do not have a fixed date and time and are set up to be flexible considering everyone’s busy schedules. The legal consultations and therapy sessions are according to each producer’s needs, and can be utilized until the bank of hours has been depleted.

Q. When will know if I’ve been selected for the program?

A: Participants will be notified by December 6, 2023

Q. Why is this program not offered in French?

A: DOC is running this program as a pilot with some bilingual elements: the legal consultations and resulting Agreements are available in French, and participants can choose a Francophone therapist. Should DOC be able to run a second, more expansive version of this program it will be a fully bilingual offer.