Amid a flurry of rumors out of Ottawa – from word that Heritage Minister Michel Dupuy will lose his Cabinet post to speculation that interim Telefilm Canada head Peter Katadotis will step down from the agency – the federal government is expected to announce two key industry appointments days before the Feb. 27 release of the 1995 budget.

Sandra Macdonald, president of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association since 1992, will be taking over the National Film Board as film commissioner mid-April, and the nine-month-old rumor that Francois Macerola, vice-chair of Malofilm, will head up Telefilm, is confirmed. He will step into the new job mid-March.

Macerola has been at Malofilm for four years and before that was government film commissioner for the National Film Board.

Before joining the cftpa in 1992, Macdonald was director general, television at the crtc and prior to that an independent film and television producer.

Industry response to the appointments is mixed, although there is consensus that the timing of the announcements is more positive than threatening.

Kevin Shea, coo of Atlantis Communications, says, ‘I think we’re pleased on both counts, but particularly in Telefilm because the appointment has been open for so long, that there is finally someone in both seats in advance of the budget.

‘Clearly both agencies in the years ahead are going to need strong and bold leadership, and if there wasn’t someone in either chair at the time of a new budget, I think it would have been very disruptive to the industry overall.’

Macerola has long been expected to take the reins at the national funding agency and most of the controversy regarding his appointment comes from within the institution.

Word from Telefilm insiders is that Katadotis, who is also responsible for the national production division, threatened to quit if Macerola got the job. Rumor from inside also says Macerola has few friends at Telefilm and he may be there to clean house. One industry source says Telefilm insiders were ‘trembling with fear’ at the prospect the Macerola appointment would go through.

Another source says Katadotis offered up the Broadcasting Fund as a sacrifice in the impending program review cuts and thereby lost a significant amount of support in his running for the top post.

Macerola says his desire to shape film and television policy is what is driving him back into the public sector after a six-year hiatus. ‘It’s a challenge, but I wanted to be involved in the development of film and tv policies.’

Rene Malo, chairman of Malofilm Communications, says Macerola is a good appointment for the industry ‘because he knows how the (government) machine works. When he was government film commissioner, he fought for the budget and succeeded. The big advantage is that Francois knows both the public and private sector.’

Malo says the new leadership at Telefilm should make some important changes in the agency’s orientation.

‘Choices will have to be made. Television is doing well because of the incredible advantages it has over feature films, especially quotas.’

Despite what some have called ‘the circus’ of denials and delays in naming a new executive director, there is a clear consensus in the industry the nomination represents a major turning point for Telefilm. The agency will continue to operate on sharply reduced budgets, especially if revenues don’t rise, and new leadership will be called on to solve critical problems facing Canadian feature film production.

Tom Berry, president of Allegro Films and vice-chair of the cftpa, says Macerola and Telefilm face a serious dilemma – namely, deciding where they stand on the issue of culture versus industry.

He says Telefilm has been highly instrumental in the creation of the country’s largest production companies, but rapid evolution by producers in financing, export and other terms ‘has left Telefilm with a philosophical mindset (which) is no longer appropriate.’

‘Telefilm was conceived to develop an industry which doesn’t exist anymore,’ says Berry. ‘It really comes down to the question, ‘Does Telefilm have to make a decision?’

‘Telefilm has a hell of a lot of money, even $100 million is a lot, but it (Telefilm) is now less significant in overall terms. Its investment might have represented as much as 50% of total production in the past, but now it’s more like 10%. The issue is, do they go with the evolution of the independent companies they’ve created as these companies move into new areas?

‘My own personal view, and not necessarily the view of Allegro, is that Telefilm has the right to be extremely vigilant,’ says Berry. ‘If anything, staff should be more involved, more vigilant. They should live or die by their success. Look at the record for successful cultural bureaucracies like the bbc where careers rise or fall on the success of projects. You can’t have it both ways. A cultural mandate means accepting both rewards and the downside.’

Veteran Quebec film and tv industry commentator and publisher Jean Pierre Tadros says the local industry will be ‘very cautious in making any comments on the nominations. No one will speak out against these nominations, no one will dare. The milieu is very prudent.’

Tadros says Macerola’s association with Malofilm could work against him because of fears he’ll favor a more industrial orientation to the advantage of better capitalized producers.

Regarding the Macerola appointment, Montreal-based Ron Weinberg, president of Cinar Films, says, ‘Francois faces a big challenge. My feeling is that Telefilm is totally worthwhile, but it has to start running its ship more in accordance with the industryÉ many times they are a source of frustration in their desire to help.’

Weinberg says the new leadership has to ‘go further and do moreÉ(and) keep in step with the demands of a much larger industry. Their potential support on certain projects is as vital as it was five years ago, but the deal-making dynamic has to be accelerated.’

Regarding Macdonald’s appointment, industry response is largely one of surprise, and although Macdonald is perceived as a good choice by many, there is some reservation.

When the Secor Report was released in November, Macdonald commented the nfb was 20 years out of date and said, ‘The time has certainly come for a significant reassessment of what activities need to be done by a public producer and what ones don’t.’ She also indicated she was intrigued by the recommendation in the report that the nfb be turned into a film school and felt it was ‘glossed over far too readily.’

In hindsight, industry sources say most ominous is Macdonald’s view that the report’s recommendations ‘for how to save money – particularly with respect to the film board – will be pounced upon by the deficit reducers.’

Barri Cohen, cochair of the Canadian Independent Film Caucus, says, ‘I think she’s done a great job at the cftpa, but since in her capacity she was arguing for the dismantling of the nfb, I am concerned. It will be very interesting as to how she reconciles her new role with recent public statements she has made about the board.’

After a quick poll of some cifc members, Cohen says there is concern that Macdonald has been appointed to the position in order to oversee the downsizing of the board, ‘precisely given her legal and political acumen.’

Cohen also expresses disappointment that Heritage Canada did not consider someone with a documentary background for the role. Although Macdonald’s predecessor, Joan Pennefather, had no film experience, Cohen says she was trusted because she had worked her way up through the ranks of the board.

On the other hand, Paul Donovan of Salter Street Films of Halifax says, ‘because the nfb has plenty of experience in the area of documentary and animation,’ that is not an issue. Serious revision is.

‘The appointment sounds positive because the nfb needs someone with a new vision. Otherwise there is no future for the nfb. It needs a reformer – and I don’t mean in the political sense, but in the spiritual sense.’

Productions La Fete producer Kevin Tierney, who is active in both the national and Quebec producers associations, says he’s pleased the new nfb head is ‘fresh from the independent production sector – and that means being involved in everything, not only features, but commercials, television production, broadcasting.’

Tierney says the nfb can no longer live on past glories, and Macdonald’s nomination will ensure the board ‘is in tune with private-sector developments.’

‘She has a real sense of the big picture. I think she is a wonderful choice, and she is not afraid of Ottawa,’ he says.

Macdonald’s reputation at the cftpa – as a shrewd and efficient leader and lobbyist – looks good for the nfb, says cftpa board member Steve Levitan of Protocol Entertainment who has worked with Macdonald. He sees the appointment as a ‘significant loss’ for the cftpa but a boost to the board. ‘She knows administration and she is somebody the industry can be very comfortable with as a collaborator as opposed to an obstacle.’

Weinberg says he hopes Macdonald’s appointment will broaden the nfb’s outlook and help create new relationships with production companies in Canada.

Levitan connects the timing of the appointments to a higher government strategy to implement budget cuts, whereby the two new public sector leaders are positioned to see through the inevitable in the cleanest manner possible.

‘I have no doubt whatsoever from the government point of view the government expects the cuts to be swallowed without any flack,’ says Levitan. ‘We’ve had the blessing of government support for years and nobody ever expected it to be immutable. These are tough times and we have to change with it. They are both fair people and that’s as much as we can ask.’

At press time, Macdonald was not available for comment.