BISMARCK, ND ( KXNET ) — The North Dakota Ethics Commission launched an investigation last week into the state’s Motion Picture Production and Recruitment grants, with over a dozen filmmakers claiming that the application process was uncompetitive, lacked transparency, and favored film company Canticle Productions.

In 2021 and 2023, Canticle Productions received a total of $700,000 from the Motion Picture Production and Recruitment grants to produce three feature-length films.

According to an email from the outdoor promotions manager of the North Dakota Department of Commerce to Fern, these grants were created by the legislature as part of their budget bill in order to support the state’s filmmaking industry.

And Fern says that because the film industry is so microscopic in North Dakota, these grants are the lifeblood of small filmmakers, providing them with the financial means to get local movies made.

“These grant programs, I believe, are an incredible opportunity and a really good thing for the state of North Dakota,” says Fern. “They not only provide opportunity for filmmakers in the state; they also provide opportunities for new filmmakers to come to the state.”

However, Fern and other filmmakers argue that this money has been funneled into Canticle Productions through what some might call a “sweetheart deal” with the North Dakota legislature.

According to the complaint, Canticle Productions hosted a VIP dinner and motion picture screening in Senator Brad Bekkedahl’s district on April 14, 2023, and only 15 days later, Bekkedahl made the announcement of reserving grant money for Canticle.

In fact, in the footnotes of the 67th and 68th Legislative Assemblies, the legislature planned to direct all available to funds for the 2021 and 2023 grants to Canticle, even though the communications manager of the Department of Commerce said the funds weren’t meant to be predetermined.

“I really recommend anyone to watch the legislature talking about these grants,” says Fern, “and it’s very obvious that they had one company in mind. And that they were only aiming to help one company at least from my opinion.”

This led to a confusing and even elusive application process for both grants.

In 2021, there was no competitive bidding process for a grant of $100,000, being speedily awarded to Canticle. In 2023, a $600,000 grant was only open for six business days and was once again given to Canticle.

Most grants remain open for 24 to 84 days as it takes months for production companies to submit a quality, thoroughly vetted proposal.

In a letter to the North Dakota Governor’s Office, Fern notes that even for a $25,000 film grant in 2020, the Department of Commerce went through two rounds of submissions, where the grant was open for 75 days total.

Fern notes that Canticle Productions’ proposals for both grants were lacking, not including such essential information as a company address, project budget, timeline, cast, crew, and script.

The outdoor promotions manager of the Department of Commerce, however, asserts that Canticle did fulfill the application requirements set forth in the Requests for Proposal.

“The fact that the state had invested or that the taxpayers have invested almost a million dollars to help build the film and media industry,” says Fern, “and only one person, one filmmaker, has received the benefit of nearly a million dollars of funding to make three completely different movies is very frustrating.”

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