Bilingual media company wins 2023 Francophone Ignition Contest

ABRAM VILLAGE, P.E.I. — Geneviève Ouellette and Brent Chaisson are the winners of the 2023 Francophone Ignition Contest with their bilingual audio-visual production company, On y va! média.

The competition, organized by RDÉE P.E.I., saw three finalists present their projects on March 2 in AbramVillage.

Ouellette and Chaisson impressed the judges the most with their project On y va! média, which produces documentary videos, music videos and other videos.

Chaisson has 20 years of experience as a sound engineer, while Ouellette has been a designer and educator for many years. Both are musicians.

Their services range from filming to final editing and mastering, including all dimensions of sound, as Chaisson also owns a recording studio.

The champions won the grand prize investment of $25,000.

They also won several other prizes, including a free Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce membership and a college course at Collège de l'Île.

With the new funding, the duo plans to purchase new video and lighting equipment, bags and boxes to move their equipment, a trailer to transport their equipment, production software and promotional material.

The competition was funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and RDÉE P.E.I. and attracted nine competitors, with the first two withdrawing.

The remaining seven participated in a training weekend to better understand finances and present their projects effectively. A pre-selection process narrowed the field down to three finalists.

All three finalists received a free one-year membership to the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of P.E.I. and a finalist certificate from RDÉE Prince Edward Island.