New firm Media Ventures Capital drawn to Manitoba film financing by tax credits potential
Manitoba-made movies are in the sightline of a new investment company touting itself as risk-free.
Media Ventures Capital Inc. recently began its hunt for investors. The fledgling corporation aims to fund films shot in Manitoba for Lionsgate, Netflix and other Hollywood notables.
'Winnipeg is … a great place to shoot,' said Byron A. Martin, a Toronto-based film producer with titles including American Pie sequels under his belt.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
American actor Bob Odenkirk works during a scene on the Nobody 2 film set at Winnipeg Beach last year. Nobody 2 is scheduled for North American release in August.
He said he's created several films in Manitoba. Now, he's hoping to produce movies Media Ventures Capital finances.
He and another producer have been working with Frank Szafranski, Media Ventures chief executive (and the producers' friend), to build the company over the past year. The crew researched financial incentives for the film industry across Canada; tax credits drew them to Manitoba.
Media Ventures plans to stack various provincial and federal tax credits; its leadership believes the structure will cover film production costs. It's an easy way to guarantee investors get full returns on their money, the founders relayed.
'I think it's brilliant,' Szafranski said. 'A sophisticated investor — someone who has the ability to put in a half-million dollars — they can see that their money is protected and has potential to do a lot better.'
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up
Szafranski moved to Manitoba after selling his Alberta business, Grande Prairie Valve and Fitting.
Manitoba's film and video production tax credit can hit 65 per cent. It's considered a competitive advantage within the local industry.
Media Ventures Capital hired KPMG to ensure it could stack tax credits in Manitoba; the Free Press reviewed a comment letter from the accounting firm.
The next step is attracting investors, per Media Ventures leadership.
The company is trying to raise $10 million. Its goal is to draw major investment by the end of the year, Szafranski said.
Supplied
Frank Szafranski, chief executive of Media Ventures Capital Inc.
'It's a bit of a chicken and egg,' he said, considering the balance between accumulating financing and committing to films. 'We're trying to do it simultaneously.'
Two Lionsgate movies are in the works. Filming will begin as soon as Media Ventures raises enough money, Martin said.
It could take a couple years for investors to see a return on their equity, Szafranski noted. The company is targeting an annual return between 12 and 20 per cent, its officials said.
Media Ventures Capital's launch time has arrived amid a trade war between Canada and the United States.
On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to place a 100 per cent tariff on movies produced outside the country. It's unclear how the levy — if it transpires — will affect the local film industry, Szafranski said.
'I think the industry is going to continue to grow in Manitoba regardless of what happens south of the border,' he said, adding the proposed U.S. tariff won't hurt Media Ventures financially.
Meantime, Manitoba film executives are watching news from the south 'very closely,' said Kenny Boyce, City of Winnipeg manager of film and special events.
Boyce said Tuesday he hadn't received many details about Media Ventures Capital. Often, production companies finance their projects through banks, he noted.
'Anything (that) helps take out some risk for local filmmakers or visiting filmmakers, I'm sure, will be a great asset to the community,' Boyce said.
He's anticipating 2025 to be a 'banner year' for film production in Manitoba.
RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES
Media Ventures Capital Inc. recently began its hunt for investors. The fledgling corporation aims to fund films shot in Manitoba for Lionsgate, Netflix and other Hollywood notables.
Eighty-six film and television productions shot in the province last year. The cumulative production budget neared $435 million, according to Manitoba Film & Music projections.
Lynne Skromeda, the organization's chief executive, credited the province's film and video production tax credit for growing the industry.
'It's virtually one of the best ones in North America,' she said of the credit. 'People know that.'
She hadn't heard of Media Ventures, nor could she think of a company using multiple tax credits in Manitoba for a similar purpose.
Media Ventures Capital doesn't yet have a website. It's liaising with potential investors over email (mediaventurescapital@gmail.com) and requires parties sign non-disclosure agreements before detailing its tax credit plan, officials said.
John Heimbecker, an owner in agriculture company Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd., is one of two investors so far, according to Media Ventures's founders. Heimbecker didn't respond to an interview request by print deadline.
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Gabrielle Piché
Reporter
Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press . She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News , before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.
Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press 's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press 's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
GOP tax bill would ease regulations on gun silencers and some rifles and shotguns
WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive tax and spending cuts package that President Donald Trump wants on his desk by July 4 would loosen regulations on gun silencers and certain types of rifles and shotguns, advancing a longtime priority of the gun industry as Republican leaders in the House and Senate try to win enough votes to pass the bill. The guns provision was first requested in the House by Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, a Republican gun store owner who had initially opposed the larger tax package. The House bill would remove silencers — called 'suppressors' by the gun industry — from a 1930s law that regulates firearms that are considered the most dangerous, eliminating a $200 tax while removing a layer of background checks. The Senate kept the provision on silencers in its version of the bill and expanded upon it, adding short-barreled, or sawed-off, rifles and shotguns. Republicans who have long supported the changes, along with the gun industry, say the tax infringes on Second Amendment rights. They say silencers are mostly used by hunters and target shooters for sport. 'Burdensome regulations and unconstitutional taxes shouldn't stand in the way of protecting American gun owners' hearing,' said Clyde, who owns two gun stores in Georgia and often wears a pin shaped like an assault rifle on his suit lapel. Democrats are fighting to stop the provision, which was unveiled days after two Minnesota state legislators were shot in their homes, as the bill speeds through the Senate. They argue that loosening regulations on silencers could make it easier for criminals and active shooters to conceal their weapons. 'Parents don't want silencers on their streets, police don't want silencers on their streets,' said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The gun language has broad support among Republicans and has received little attention as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., work to settle differences within the party on cuts to Medicaid and energy tax credits, among other issues. But it is just one of hundreds of policy and spending items included to entice members to vote for the legislation that could have broad implications if the bill is enacted within weeks, as Trump wants. Inclusion of the provision is also a sharp turn from the climate in Washington just three years ago when Democrats, like Republicans now, controlled Congress and the White House and pushed through bipartisan gun legislation. The bill increased background checks for some buyers under the age of 21, made it easier to take firearms from potentially dangerous people and sent millions of dollars to mental health services in schools. Passed in the summer of 2022, just weeks after the shooting of 19 children and two adults at a school in Uvalde, Texas, it was the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. Three years later, as they try to take advantage of their consolidated power in Washington, Republicans are packing as many of their longtime priorities as possible, including the gun legislation, into the massive, wide-ranging bill that Trump has called 'beautiful.' 'I'm glad the Senate is joining the House to stand up for the Second Amendment and our Constitution, and I will continue to fight for these priorities as the Senate works to pass President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill,' said Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who was one of the lead negotiators on the bipartisan gun bill in 2022 but is now facing a primary challenge from the right in his bid for reelection next year. If the gun provisions remain in the larger legislation and it is passed, silencers and the short-barrel rifles and shotguns would lose an extra layer of regulation that they are subject to under the National Firearms Act, passed in the 1930s in response to concerns about mafia violence. They would still be subject to the same regulations that apply to most other guns — and that includes possible loopholes that allow some gun buyers to avoid background checks when guns are sold privately or online. Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who supports the legislation, says changes are aimed at helping target shooters and hunters protect their hearing. He argues that the use of silencers in violent crimes is rare. 'All it's ever intended to do is to reduce the report of the firearm to hearing safe levels,' Keane says. Speaking on the floor before the bill passed the House, Rep. Clyde said the bill restores Second Amendment rights from 'over 90 years of draconian taxes.' Clyde said Johnson included his legislation in the larger bill 'with the purest of motive.' 'Who asked for it? I asked,' said Clyde, who ultimately voted for the bill after the gun silencer provision was added. Clyde was responding to Rep. Maxwell Frost, a 28-year-old Florida Democrat, who went to the floor and demanded to know who was responsible for the gun provision. Frost, who was a gun-control activist before being elected to Congress, called himself a member of the 'mass shooting generation' and said the bill would help 'gun manufacturers make more money off the death of children and our people.' Among other concerns, control advocates say less regulation for silencers could make it harder for law enforcement to stop an active shooter. 'There's a reason silencers have been regulated for nearly a century: They make it much harder for law enforcement and bystanders to react quickly to gunshots,' said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. Schumer and other Democrats are trying to convince the Senate parliamentarian to drop the language as she reviews the bill for policy provisions that aren't budget-related. 'Senate Democrats will fight this provision at the parliamentary level and every other level with everything we've got,' Schumer said earlier this month.
Winnipeg Free Press
3 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sports scoreboard for Sunday, June 22, 2025
Saturday's Scoreboard MLB American League Chicago White Sox 4 Toronto 2 N.Y. Yankees 4 Baltimore 2 Detroit 9 Tampa Bay 3 Cleveland 3 Athletics 0 Houston 8 L.A. Angels 7 National League Philadelphia 7 N.Y. Mets 1 Miami 5 Atlanta 3 Cincinnati 4 St. Louis 1 Colorado 4 Arizona 2 L.A. Dodgers 13 Washington 7 Interleague San Diego 3 Kansas City 2 Pittsburgh 8 Texas 3 Milwaukee 9 Minnesota 8 Seattle 14 Chicago Cubs 6 San Francisco 9 Boston 5 — NBA Finals Oklahoma City 103 Indiana 91 (Oklahoma City wins best-of-seven series 4-3) — WNBA Atlanta 93 Chicago 80 Washington 91 Dallas 88 (OT) Las Vegas 89 Indiana 81 Seattle 89 New York 79 Golden State 87 Connecticut 63 — Canadian Elite Basketball League Calgary 100 Vancouver 83 Scarborough 102 Niagara 70 Ottawa 89 Brampton 76 Montreal 93 Saskatchewan 89 Edmonton 98 Winnipeg 85 — Northern Super League Montreal 0 Vancouver 0 — Canadian Premier League Atletico (Ottawa) 0 York United (Toronto) 0 Forge (Hamilton) 5 Valour (Winnipeg) 0 Cavalry (Calgary) 1 Pacific FC (Greater Victoria) 0 —
Globe and Mail
4 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament ‘surreal' experience for fans
For traditional sports fans, the Valorant Masters Toronto e-sports tournament could be a culture shock. At Sunday's final, there was no field, rink or court. Instead, at game time, two groups of mostly 20-somethings sat behind computer monitors at a long desk atop a platform, trying to virtually eliminate their opponents as fans watched on a jumbotron above. Occasionally, strobe lights punctuated big moments. Attendees described it as a mix of a music festival and a sports game. For fans of the multibillion-dollar world of e-sports, it was an electric environment. 'It's bringing a community together that's been loving games all their lives,' said Matthew Ragoonath, near a crowd of people. 'Especially with events like this, everyone gets to come out, and it's just a surreal experience.' Valorant, a first-person shooter game centred around heroic characters called agents, exploded in popularity quickly after its debut in June, 2020. Tracker Network, which follows statistics, player population and leaderboards for popular online games, tracked nearly 850,000 Valorant players in its first month; that number grew more than five-fold in the next month. In May, 2025, Tracker Network tracked about 18.2 million players of the game. Valorant Masters Toronto arrived in the middle of the city's Video Games Month. The tournament was expected to have a $40-million economic impact, according to a City of Toronto news release at the beginning of June. Major leagues are turning to esports to draw in new, and younger, fans Edmonton school's e-sports athletes go mouse-to-mouse with province's best Sunday marked the culmination of two weeks of tournament gameplay. The arena was set up as if for a boxing or wrestling match, with the audience surrounding a raised platform at the centre. But instead of punches, the players exchanged gunfire with quick flicks of the wrist and deliberate mouse clicks. Just before the final began, players walked through an arch with flashing lights, taking time to brush the hands of fans who stretched over the metal barriers along the entranceway. A jumbotron hung above the players where spectators could watch the action as it was happening in the simulated war zone. The battle would shift from quiet footsteps and tactical moves to dramatic firefights in an instant. Fans would cheer and jeer at the sight of a fallen agent on-screen, not unlike the sound of an arena when a hockey puck slides dangerously close to the goal line, or a spectacular save from a soccer goaltender. The team winner of the final, Paper Rex, won a trophy and US$350,000, the largest cut of a US$1-million purse that's split between the top eight. Teams also garner circuit points on their way to the championship in Paris. In Sunday's crowd, some showed their support for Fnatic, the opponent team. Bri Sison was in the crowd wearing the flag of the eventual champions. She travelled from San Francisco for the tournament. 'The plot with their games are always just so unpredictable, you never know what's going to happen next,' she said of Paper Rex. Some people The Globe and Mail spoke with at the event say they formed connections in lineups to the event or, in one case, at a restaurant after noticing another person wearing an e-sport jersey. In a group of five, two had come solo, meeting the rest in lineups. 'My whole group actually cancelled on me, so I'm the only person who came, and every single day I've been with people, I've found groups, people have adopted me in,' Maria Liong said. She said that, despite the reputation the online game has for being toxic, events such as the e-sports tournament show a more inclusive community. Members of the group paid varying costs for their tickets. Some pre-sale buyers got tickets for $115, while another who bought their ticket later paid the Canadian equivalent of about $395. Tickets for the final available on Stubhub Saturday evening ranged from about $429 to more than $1,700 at the peak. Before game time on Sunday, hundreds of fans shuffled through a sign-making area, markering slogans or artful creations to hold in the sky. Others crowded into lines for merchandise, games or photo opportunities. Some attendees chose to dress up as characters in the game, not unlike patrons at comic or gaming conventions, in what's known as cosplay. Cai Zhao had an elaborate costume that resembled the character Jett. 'I can't actually play the game, I'm really bad, so I can dress up as one,' she laughed. She watches Valorant's fast-paced gameplay often, but said the energy of an in-person viewing adds to the excitement. For tournament host Toronto, the 'gaming industry reflects the best of our city. It is creative, diverse and forward-thinking,' Mayor Olivia Chow said ahead of this month's competition. 'Video Game Month is an invitation to celebrate this growing sector and the talented people behind it and to discover how gaming connects with art, innovation and our local communities.'
