Veteran filmmaker Anne Wheeler, Academy Award-winner Terre Nash (If You Love this Planet), John Pozer, festival winner Mike Hoolbloom and Robert Menard are among the established names gracing the Perspective Canada feature film lineup this year at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Proven talents they may be, but these and other recognized filmmakers are outnumbered this year by a bumper crop of newcomers. Twelve of the 19 features in Perspective Canada are from first-time feature filmmakers, definitely the highest percentage to date in the 11-year history of the program.

Perspective Canada co-ordinator David McIntosh says the high percentage of first-time features is almost unheard of on the festival circuit. ‘It’s almost like signaling a new generation of filmmakers, and because it has come in such a concentrated form, it is an indication there is a real effervescence in film production out there.’

Whether it is reflected in tones, colors, narratives or language, McIntosh says the new crop of films are true to their origins and capture a texture of life in Canada. ‘These films get closer to the bone of what the reality of living in this country is all about.’

It’s hard to pin the plethora of first-timers on a single cause, but McIntosh says it’s safe to place the maturing of a media-saturated generation as well as the development of a solid production infrastructure as key.

Colin Brunton, head of the Canadian Film Centre’s Feature Film Project, says, ‘There was a bit of a gap in the last few years where there were only a few new filmmakers breaking out. Maybe this is the new wave.’

Brunton, producer of Roadkill and Highway 61, has a little more than his usual stake of one feature up for what he calls the ‘acid test’ at the festival this year. The ante has, in fact, tripled.

Brunton is executive producer on the ffp’s offerings – Blood & Donuts, Rude and House – and the triumvirate accounts for three of Perspective Canada’s first-time films. The buzz is this first batch of ffp films is of major interest to festival goers and buyers alike.

Before the festival started Sept. 7, all three titles had been picked up by major distributors. Rude has a domestic deal with Cineplex Odeon Films and an international deal with Alliance Releasing. Blood & Donuts has been picked up by Malofilm and House struck a deal with Alliance late last month.

One festival veteran says it’s unusual how many of these first-time titles have distribution deals. At press time, 10 of the 12 had been signed with at least foreign or domestic deals.

To attract a distributor, it doesn’t hurt to have a lean budget. The first-time films in Perspective Canada certainly speak of frugality: production budgets for the 12 films come to roughly $6 million in total, a sign of promise in these times of fiscal restraint.

‘People have to be more fiscally responsible. We’ve got to make films that we think people are really going to want to see. It’s show business, not `show art,’ ‘ says Brunton. ‘People are going to have to make films with some sort of hook that will hopefully pay off financially. I used to always think to make a low-budget film you had to make it offbeat. The real word is `distinct,’ and it stands for any film you make.’

On the following pages, Playback presents production diaries of the first-time features in the Perspective Canada program. Other films in the ’95 lineup are:

– L’enfant d’eau from Cruising Bar director Robert Menard focuses on love and sexual relationships which stand free of society’s moral parameters. Film Tonic International is handling foreign sales and Max Films is handling domestic sales.

– House of Pain, experimental director Mike Hoolbloom’s latest feature, explores the relationships between body and mind, turning a provocative eye on the body’s fluids, tissues and organs. The ofdc is repping the film.

– Liste Noire, from Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallee, is a thriller about a Supreme Court judge who must fend off a circle of accomplices trying to cover their tracks. Astral is distributing in Canada and holds international rights.

– The Michelle Apartments, directed by John Pozer (The Grocer’s Wife), is a darkly comic tale about an auditor (Henry Czerny) caught in a libidinous web spun by Matty and her greasy boyfriend. The film is distributed in Canada by Cineplex Odeon Films and Alliance is handling foreign distribution.

– Voices of Change from documentary filmmakers Barbara Doran and Lyn Wright is an international cry for the need to struggle for women’s rights. The National Film Board is distributing.

– The War Between Us, the latest feature from b.c. director Anne Wheeler (Bye, Bye Blues), delves into two women’s stories during the Canadian internment of more than 20,000 Japanese prisoners of war during wwii. Atlantis is handling foreign sales. At press time, a domestic distributor had not yet been signed.

– Who’s Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics is an nfb production directed by Terre Nash which profiles New Zealand economist, feminist, author and mp Marilyn Waring. Distribution is handled by the nfb.

At press time, Philip Spink’s Once in a Blue Moon was unconfirmed for a festival screening, but Malofilm reported prospects were good the first-time feature would be ready in time.