Vancouver: The week of April 6 was particularly bleak for Minds Eye Pictures of Regina.

The production company went zero-for-four in its applications for Telefilm Canada's Equity Investment Program. As a result, Minds Eye's entire slate of feature film production was having to limp toward the adjudicators at the Canadian Television Fund's Licence Fee Program in hopes of a funding reprieve. But by missing out on the eip money, Minds Eye's features lose 40 points each toward their rankings for the lfp.

"We understand there was a lot of competition," says Minds Eye coo Mark Prasuhn. "Still, we are disappointed."

It is dejection shared by more Canadian producers than not after Telefilm circulated on April 6 acceptance and rejection letters to drama and feature film applicants.

In all, Telefilm's eip dispensed $24.5 million to Canadian producers creating dramas and features for private-sector broadcasters and distributors. Before the vetting began, demand for the drama kitty reached $64.5 million.

In television drama, $14.7 million was given to English-language series and mows and $6 million to French series and mows. For feature films, $3.8 million was allocated to projects - roughly one or two features from each of the four Telefilm regions.

That left the Alliance Atlantis series Justice out of the running. At Minds Eye, dramas The War Bride, Tickets, Freezer Burn and Escape from Rangoon - a German treaty coproduction that actually received some funding from last year's Cable Television and Cable Production Fund process - were each passed over.

Celebrating successful applications were renewals like Traders and Cold Squad and small series like the Comedy Network's Skullduggery.

Prasuhn maintains that the eip loss "is not a disaster." It has, however, made the company scramble to find gap financing. Rejected producers had until last Thursday to come up with other risk financing to replace the eip so they did not lose points in their lfp rankings.

"As suspected, the industry demand led to oversubscription of these funds, which now means that if all these investment proposals are accepted, these budgets will be totally committed for this fiscal year," says Francois Macerola, executive director of Telefilm.

"The [eip] marks the first step in our decision-making process," says ctf chair Richard Stursburg. "The harmonized deadlines are going smoothly and we are pleased to see an increased level of Canadian content and quality."

Stursburg says the lfp will render its final decisions for drama and feature film productions by the end of April and all ctf decisions will be final by the end of May.

The ctf has a budget of $198.6 million for fiscal 1999/2000

Prasuhn, meanwhile, says Minds Eye is still waiting for eip news about its children's series. Producers of documentaries, children's, variety and performing arts programming will hear on or around April 19 whether they have received eip funding.

CBC envelopes

While the private sector was sorting out its production funding priorities, the cbc made plain which shows it favors this year. Through its feature film envelope, Marine Life, based on the novel by Vancouver's Linda Svendsen, has been greenlit for Vancouver-based Crescent Entertainment.

Possible Worlds from director Robert Lepage is a coproduction between Lux Films in Montreal and East Side Film Company in Toronto. And Through the Leaves will be produced by Heartland Motion Pictures in Regina.

East Side is also producing Saint-Jude, which is being funded through "last year's money," according to a cbc representative.

Renewals and youth-oriented fare highlight the cbc's lineup of drama production for the year.

Forensics drama DaVinci's Inquest (Haddock Entertainment/ Barna-Alper) has been renewed for another 13, as have family dramas Wind at My Back (Sullivan Entertainment) and Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (Milestone Entertainment).

Epitome's Riverdale will go for another 13 episodes. The urban romantic drama These Arms of Mine (Arms Length Productions) will go for six episodes.

Two 13-episode shows for teens will be produced in Toronto. In Tha Mix (Back Alley Films), a spin-off of Straight Up, will be about a college radio station and Our Hero will take place in the world of 'zines.

The half-hour children's primetime series Pit Pony (Cochran Entertainment) has been signed to another 18 episodes after a first season of 22.

Harry's Case (aac) - by the producer of the yet-to-air Cover Me - is a two-hour pilot about a one-time lawyer trying to uncover the conspiracy behind his downfall and a native man who comes to Toronto to look for his missing sister.

And after the recent and successful airing of the first North of 60 mow (Alberta Filmworks/aac), which pulled in one million-plus viewers, a second North of 60 mow will go into production.

"One of the very satisfying things about the slate is the number of pickups, which tell us the shows are doing well," says the cbc's drama head Susan Morgan. "The audience has spoken."