Department of Incompetence | The $740,000 Question (Episode 1)

The $740,000 question is a podcast from Plain Talk producer Matt Fern.

Making movies in North Dakota is hard. Unless you’re one company with powerful connections.

In the premiere episode of The $740,000 Question, filmmaker Matt Fern unpacks how a single production company, Canticle Productions, received $700,000 in taxpayer-funded film grants from the North Dakota Department of Commerce. With no state film office, no tax incentives, and virtually no infrastructure, how did this happen and why?

Matt traces the timeline of payments starting with a $40,000 stock footage deal in 2017, a $100,000 grant in 2021 with no public process, and a $600,000 grant in 2023 awarded after just six business days of competitive bidding. The eligibility criteria? What looks like a copy-paste of Canticle’s website.

Through public records, media reports, and insider interviews, this podcast reveals a process marked by secrecy and a total lack of accountability. With little answers from state officials, the governor’s office, or Canticle Productions itself, Fern asks the question no one in power seems willing to: How is all of this legal?