As a follow up to his directorial debut in Defendor, Peter Stebbings latest project Empire of Dirt has also received funding. It's a First Nations story about families rebuilding that is being written by Shannon Masters, and produced by Jennifer Podemski. Edwin Boyd creators Nathan Morlando and Allison Black are back after having recently won Best First Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival®. Their latest project, The Lion's Share is the story of two men from opposite sides of the world and the law fighting for their families in the face of economic disaster.

Making a screenwriting debut is Giller prize-winning novelist Joseph Boyden with the adaptation of Red. It is based on a graphic novel by Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas that fuses Aboriginal tales and Japanese-style comic art. While this is Joseph Boyden's first screenplay, he is a best-selling, critically acclaimed novelist known for stories such as Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce.

The Trailer Park Boys are back with the mockumetary Race Dicks. Stars Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay and Mike Smith play themselves as they compete with drivers from around the world in the Newfoundland Targa. While this crew differs from the boys we've come to know from the long running, hit TV series, their typical misadventures ensue.

"This was a very competitive round of development, with a number of exceptional projects from some of the greatest filmmakers in Canada," said John Galway, President of Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund's English-Language Program. "Despite that, we were able to support a wide range of projects that accurately represents the diversified portfolio we pride ourselves on."

The fund also announced continuing support of many ongoing projects, including The Outlander and Sailor Girl. Both scripts have been supported in the second to final draft stage.

Following is a complete list of projects approved in this quarter:

SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Story Optioning

Alias Grace - Tangled Inc. Sarah Polley
The Cellist of Sarajevo - Strident Films Inc. TBD
Far to Go - House of Films Inc. Hannah Moscovitz & Rosa Laborde
Ty Conn - Four Seasons Productions Inc. Marcus Robinson

Treatment to First Draft

Heartbeat - Bad Astronaut Inc. Andrea Dorfman
Mulan - Gen One Films Inc. Deborah Chow
Red - Mamaoo Pictures Ltd. Joseph Boyden
Race Dicks - The Pits Inc. Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay and Mike Smith
Southpaw - Mutual Street Productions Jesse Moss & John Reardon

First to Second Draft

All That Matters - Triptych Media Inc. Paulo Barzman
Bottle Rocket - Hearts Me Three Productions Inc. Zoe Whittall & Linsey Stewart
A Death in the Bullfighting Hills - New Real Films Inc. Martyn Burke
Flop House - John Hazlett & Darren Curtis
The Harder They Come - Conquering Lion Pictures Inc. Clement Virgo & Douglas Century
Idiot Wind - Corey Marr Productions Inc. Joseph Kay
Nobody - Copperheart Entertainment Vincenzo Natali
Sitting on the Edge of Marlene - Rodeo Queen Pictures Inc. Ana Valine
Torchbearer - Circle Blue Films David Bradley Halls
What You Need - Picture Plant Ltd. Sherry White

Second to Final Draft

Beneath Planet Cronenberg Viddywell Films Inc. Chris Trebilcock
Don't Talk to Irene - Alyson Richards Productions Inc. Pat Mills Empire of Dirt Red Cloud Studios Shannon Masters
Esc - Suki Films Inc. Robert Higden
The Fifty - Raven West Films Jim Kouf
Glitch - Karma Film Inc. & Divani Films Srinivas Krishna & Peter Lauterman
The Outlander - Strada Films Inc. & Triptych Media Inc. Esta Spalding
Paris - Diamonds to Bullets Entertainment Dawn Kuisma
Sailor Girl - Markham Street Films Inc. Johanna Schneller

Polish & Packaging

The Lion's Share - Euclid 431 Pictures Inc. Nathan Morlando & Allison Black

The Script Development Program was created to assist in the development of quality Canadian feature film scripts. The program receives a yearly contribution of $1.3 million from Astral's The Movie Network. The script development applications are reviewed each quarter by the English-Language Committee of Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund, which includes Suzette Couture, Damon D'Oliveira, Melanie Friesen, John Galway, Bryn Matthews, Jane Tattersall and Kevin Wright.