VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – Sept. 29, 2016) – TELUS, through its local programming fund, continues to support local content producers in Western Canada by proudly awarding more than $3.2 million in funding to 61 new projects.

TELUS supports compelling, original storytelling in British Columbia and Alberta by providing funding and training to filmmakers, as well as a platform to share their content with new audiences. Content is distributed for free on TELUS Optik On Demand as well as online.

“TELUS is extremely proud of the meaningful and sustainable impact that we are having on the lives and careers of people in the creative communities in B.C. and Alberta, and we are thrilled to support another exciting new slate of local creators,” said Blair Miller, vice-president of Content Solutions at TELUS. “The number and quality of the applications we receive, as well as the awards and accolades these projects garner, demonstrates that our innovative combination of grant funding, customized career acceleration and distribution channels is providing opportunities for local content creators to thrive.”

2016/2017 TELUS supported projects include:

• Cumberland: It Takes A Forest: the story of a former coal mining village on Vancouver Island that is working together to buy back its forest to protect it from being clear-cut. (Trish Neufeld, Vancouver/Cumberland)
• Raven’s Adventures: an animated/live action series based on Haida myths. (Groove Soldier Productions, Edmonton)
• Knobb’s End: a handful of background characters in an epic video game village are stuck in their roles as the supporting cast in a world meant to serve the almighty heroes. (Chris Ferguson, Oddfellows Labs, Vancouver)
• Ice Blue: a supernatural thriller that follows farm girl Arielle in her bid to discover the truth about her seemingly loving father and mysteriously absent mother. (Scott Lepps, Okotoks)
• Our Game: an inside look at the world of minor hockey in B.C. through the eyes of a former NHL player and his 13-year-old son Jack, arguably the best player of his age in the town. (Sam McLoughlin, Kelowna)
• Super Drycleaners: when super powers are thrust upon two high-school siblings, they must figure out who they really are and who they want to be. (Barb Briggs, Calgary)

Additionally, this year exciting new project partners Vancouver International Film Festival and Red Bull Media House are joining returning partners Whistler Blackcomb, Air Canada enRoute Film Festival, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival and the Vancouver Public Library Foundation to provide additional training and content production opportunities.

Since 2013, TELUS has funded more than 160 projects, including acclaimed productions The Drive (Best Web Series – Leo Awards), Hand Crafted (four Leo Awards, including Best Information, Lifestyle or Reality Program or Series) and Elder in the Making (Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes – AMPIA Rosie Awards). This grant funding is in addition to the projects greenlit by the innovative STORYHIVE funding platform; bringing TELUS’ support of local content creators to more than $4 million annually.

For more information and to view Optik Local programming, please visit optiklocal.com.

About TELUS

TELUS (TSX:T)(NYSE:TU) is Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, with $12.6 billion of annual revenue and 12.5 million subscriber connections, including 8.4 million wireless subscribers, 1.6 million high-speed Internet subscribers, 1.4 million residential network access lines and 1.0 million TELUS TV customers. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video, and is Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $440 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered more than 6.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Created in 2005 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle, TELUS’ 11 Canadian community boards and 4 International boards have led the Company’s support of grassroots charities and have contributed more than $54 million in support of over 4,900 local charitable projects, enriching the lives of more than 2 million children and youth, annually. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit www.telus.com.