There's a saying among actors that "there are no small parts," but the maxim extends to the action behind the scenes, too: When it comes to financing a Canadian independent film, every little bit helps. So, producers were alarmed last month when a small but vital not-for-profit agency announced that it was ending decades of funding film production.

The Harold Greenberg Fund (HGF) has made equity investments in some of the highest-profile Canadian films on the horizon, including Kim Nguyen's Eye on Juliet and Kathleen Hepburn's Never Steady, Never Still, both of which will be at the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as Xavier Dolan's English-language debut The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.

And money from the HGF was key to getting last year's breakout Canadian hit, Maudie, on the screen, as well as Dolan's It's Only the End of the World, which won the Cannes Grand Prix.

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But in late August, the fund sent a note to producers explaining that "In response to our internal financing outlook," its equity-investment program would cease activities this month. Although the amount in question may seem small – in its 2015-16 annual report, the fund said its equity program had invested a little over $1.1-million, spread among 10 features – producers say it can make a big difference.

The change comes as other major players in the industry have fallen by the wayside or been severely crippled in their activities, including the pay-TV service Super Channel, which entered bankruptcy proceedings last year.

As well, the country's oldest pay-TV service, the Movie Network, took over its Western counterpart, Movie Central, further reducing the number of outlets that might buy a project before it goes into production. That is a particular challenge since government agencies, which provide the lion's share of funding to Canadian feature films, often look for presales to broadcasters as a signal of a project's viability. Producers say TMN has been picking up fewer films at the prebuy stage, as it has shifted toward projects with higher profiles, such as the Oscar-nominated dramas Room and Brooklyn.

The Harold Greenberg Fund, named after one of the founders of Astral Media, was created by that Montreal-based company in the 1980s when it owned the pay-TV network First Choice (now known as the Movie Network), to support screenwriters and producers during the crucial development stage with small no-interest loans.

During its existence, it has supported thousands of projects, cutting small cheques – the current rate for a first draft is up to $10,000 – that allow writers to pay the rent while working on scripts.

Most recently, it helped writer-director Mina Shum develop Meditation Park and supported the adaptation of Richard Wagamese's acclaimed 2012 novel Indian Horse, both of which will be at TIFF this year.

The HGF has told the industry that, even as it reduces its overall spending, it will continue its development program, which can include paying for the rights to a book or play, writing first or second drafts, hiring a story editor, and "polish and packaging," which might involve scouting locations or attaching a director or actors to a project.

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Producers applauded that assurance, praising the Harold Greenberg Fund for the expertise of its staff and board, and as one of the few agencies to recognize the importance of spending time and money upfront.

"The funding they do and the support they give for development is really, really important, to be able to continue to make projects in Canada and to do independent film, because there's almost no other avenues to access," said Tyler Hagan, a producer of Never Steady, Never Still, which received money both during development and an equity investment of 10 per cent of its budget from the Harold Greenberg Fund.

"Without development funding, there's nothing [producers] can do to provide the amount of time it takes to really dial in a new script," noted Mike MacMillan, a producer of Don't Talk to Irene, which will have its world premiere Monday night at TIFF. HGF funding helps "make sure we have a couple of bucks in the pocket, so that writers aren't starving, so that you can afford to get someone to help with putting together budgets, hiring casting directors – these things are all absolutely crucial to getting films off the ground."

Mary Young Leckie, a producer of Maudie, noted that, as with most countries other than the United States, China and India, "we don't have an environment of risk capital investments in feature films in Canada." Maudie received about 3 per cent of its budget – roughly $200,000 of the $7.4-million of its production cost – from HGF as an equity investment, and made up the rest of its budget primarily from federal and provincial government sources, as well as the Irish Film Board.

"If there's someone out there who wants to be a risk capitalist and invest in my next five films, you can give them this phone number."

MacMillan suggested that continuing to support development is the smartest use of the HGF's shrinking funds. "If you get a great script together, you can go attract a co-producer internationally, or go south of the border and try to find money from companies that are used to putting actual cash into their projects. All of that starts with how good is the script."