From a media release:

Super Channel, Canada’s only national English pay television network, is pleased to announce the funding of 15 new feature films, documentaries and series,supported through the Super Channel Development Fund.

The diverse list of projects includes 11 feature films, 3 documentaries and one returning series.

Among the feature films is horror thriller, Jacqueline Ess, produced by Raven Banner Entertainment’s James Fler, Andrew T Hunt, and Michael Paszt, and executive producers Clive Barker and Mark Miller.  Based on the short story by Clive Barker, the film is written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic and stars Lena Heady (Game of Thrones). Jacqueline Ess tells the story of a beautiful woman with the ability to horrifically change people’s body shapes simply with her mind. Her ability gives her the power to grant men the ultimate sexual experience, albeit one that always proves fatal. It’s a captivating tale of sex, power, and the extremes that await us at the limits of desire.

Also included among the features is Goalie, produced by Daniel Iron at Foundry Films. Directed by Adriana Maggs and written by Jane Maggs and Adriana Maggs, the story revolves around Terry Sawchuk who is left to fend for himself in a rocky childhood, after his brother dies. He takes on his brother’s mantle of goalie – and later finds a new family with his first NHL team, the Detroit Red Wings. Although he is the best the league has ever seen, his insecurity and alcoholism ultimately drive away the only family he has ever had.

Indian Horse produced by Christine Haebler and Trish Dolman of Screen Siren Pictures, with Roger Frappier of Max Films, is a wise and moving story based on the novel by Richard Wagamese. Written by Dennis Foon and directed by Stephen Campanelli, the film tells the story of Saul Indian Horse as he struggles to break free of the horrors of the Canadian residential school system and redeem his dignity as an Aboriginal man, by immersing himself into the unlikely world of semi-professional hockey.

The Keeper, also from Screen Siren Pictures, written by Graeme Manson (Orphan Black) and directed by Zach Lipovsky, is a taut psychological thriller set in 1920 on a remote island off the stormy Pacific coast that focuses on the tumultuous and tangled relationship between two men — one an experienced but cloistered lighthouse keeper, the other a former soldier with a haunted past — and a beautiful woman who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck.

Super Channel is also proud to support the documentary features Manic and Healer Heal from Bob Moore at EyeSteelFilm. In Manic, screenwriter and director, Kalina Bertin, looks back at her own father – a man known alternately as a cult leader, a scam artist, a prophet, and a father of 15 children around the world. His manic state lives on through his kids after his untimely murder, but as the filmmaker begins to ask- is he even dead? Healer Heal, written and directed by Mia Donovan, is an exceptional story about the critical journey being taken by a doctor facing his own mortality. Once known as “The Pied Piper of Acupuncture in America”, Dr. Mario Wexu was an eccentric genius who dedicated his life to creating innovative therapies for the very thing that almost destroyed him: drug addiction.

Receiving funding for a hilarious fourth season is the Canadian Screen Award nominated comedy series, Tiny Plastic Men produced by Mosaic Entertainment’s Camille Beaudoin, Jesse Lipscombe and Eric Rebalkin. From screenwriters and stars Chris Craddock, Mark Meer and Matt Alden, the series follows three nerdy man-boys working as prototype testers at an off-beat toy company that makes anything but conventional toys. Testing these weird and often dangerous toys is the easy part. It’s the eccentric bosses, hostile co-workers, and odd-ball guests that make the job… interesting.

For a list of the funded projects, as well as information on criteria, eligibility and the submission process for the next round of funding, please visit: http://www.superchannel.ca/producers/development-fund/

The next deadline for the Super Channel Development Fund is October 9, 2015.

From a media release:

Buck Productions, the Coup Company, and CBC announced today that production has begun on the half-hour special HumanTown (@Human_Town), a sketch comedy that depicts everyday life in the deranged and eccentric town of HumanTown. The special is currently shooting in Hamilton, ON.

HumanTown is a story-driven sketch comedy that focuses on life in the bizarre town of the same name. Viewers follow the eccentric citizens, some of whom embrace the absurdity of their town while others continue to struggle with the ever-growing surrealism. Unlike most sketch shows,HumanTown is not an assortment of unrelated sketches. Events in one sketch often impact characters and environments in future sketches, creating a continuous universe for viewers to follow and invest in.

HumanTown took home $500,000 in production financing from CBC ComedyCoup, the disruptive studio model for independent content creators that helps develop, market, and build audiences for original TV comedy projects. HumanTown received the production financing in December 2014 and the project has since been in development.

HumanTown is a six-man comedy troupe based in Vancouver, comprising of Miles Chalmers, Daniel Doheny, Jack Heyes, Ki Kwiatkowski, Liam MacLeod, and Kane Stewart. The group met on their first day of high school in 2003, and for 12 hilarious years has been creating their own comedy content. HumanTown was a finalist in the NexTV WebSeries and Indie Film Competition; a finalist in Bite TV’s Webseries pitch competition; winners of The Comedy Network’s Exposed competition; and have now taken home the grand prize from CBC ComedyCoup.

HumanTown is executive produced by Sean Buckley (Coopers Christmas, Running Mates, Defendor, Pretend We’re Kissing). Showrunner and director is Vivieno Caldinelli (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Hotbox, Picnicface). The series is written and co-created by Miles Chalmers, Daniel Doheny, Jack Heyes, Ki Kwiatkowski, Liam MacLeod, and Kane Stewart. HumanTown is produced by Buck Productions in association with CBC.