Despite firm commitments from Canada’s three principal federal film and tv agencies to maintain current levels of production financing, the latest round of cuts announced in the March 7 federal budget will inevitably be a blow to production and distribution financing.

Telefilm Canada executive director Francois Macerola estimates each Telefilm dollar generates between $3.20 and $3.50 in production spending. A further 16.8% cut (up from 12% last year) of $18.5 million in ’96/’97, which brings Telefilm’s budget down to $91.3 million, means about a $62 million reduction in domestic production dollars. Although last year’s 5% (or $12.6 million) cut was largely absorbed by administration and meant only a 1.9% cut to production and distribution funds, Macerola doesn’t see how his $14 million administration budget can incorporate the new shave.

The icing on the cake is a further loss of about $6 million in fiscal ’96/97 of revenue generation, says Macerola. ‘I’m looking for about $25 million altogether and that’s a lot of money.’

In addition to cuts to the nfb and the cbc, Telefilm’s shortage creates a domino effect which in turn affects the cbc (via the Broadcast Fund) and nfb coproducers.

Although the numbers have yet to be finalized, cbc president Perrin Beatty anticipates that in addition to the $227 million chop the cbc is already contending with, he has anywhere from $120 million to $150 million to trim this time around ($101 million in parliamentary allocation, $20 million to $50 million via unfunded inflation and prorated reductions to the Canadian Heritage portfolio). ‘We have to be very realistic, and once you sell your head office you can’t do it a second time,’ he bemoans.

Telefilm’s investment in cbc projects (which amounted to $26.4 million in develpment and production in fiscal ’94/95) contributes another loss factor.

The nfb has been trimmed by $10.68 million or 14%, and combined with an existing cut of about $10 million, lowers the budget to $56 million in fiscal 1997/98.

Film commissioner Sandra Macdonald maintains the nfb’s production arm will only be grazed by the cuts and will maintain its current annual tally of 85 titles, but with fewer permanent staff producers and filmmakers.

‘Overall, the budgets available for production may shrink by a couple of million dollars, but we’re taking almost all of the $20 million out of other areas,’ says Macdonald, adding that all non-production areas have been reduced by 50% in order to make up the difference.

Fiscal 1994/95 numbers show the nfb, with an average participation of 30% in 34 coproductions, spent $7.3 million on production. For in-house projects, $18.8 million was spent on 45 projects completed in the year. (The nearly $26 million figure does not incorporate development spending.) The fiscal 1996/97 production budget is $40 million.

According to the apftq, Quebec’s producers association, based on the latest round of cuts and those announced in the 1994 budget, the cbc, Telefilm and the nfb will be reduced respectively by 26%, 36% and 35%, representing a cumulative cut of over $400 million.

Overall, the savings in parliamentary allocation for the three agencies this budget amounts to about $130 million; Heritage, including its agencies, is facing a cutback of $217 million in fiscal 1996/97.

Perhaps the most promising, if sketchy, news is Heritage Minister Sheila Copps’ commitment in the budget to be ‘looking for ways to more effectively promote the production of Canadian culture by the cbc and private producers.’

In the meantime, each agency is adapting to its new fiscal parameters.

Macerola plans to reduce administration costs and will re-examine Telefilm’s involvement ‘in the programs more at the periphery of our mandate such as the professional development fund and festivals. We want to protect our investment capacity in production and distribution. I don’t know if we are going to succeed, but it goes without saying at a certain point we will have to reduce our involvement in production and distribution.’

Disagrees

Macerola disagrees with suggestions the agency could reduce its budget by either investing largely in commercial, and thereby bigger revenue-generating, projects, or reducing its involvement in creative aspects such as development.

The new media program is a priority, he says, ‘and even with the cut we’re going to find within our budget $1 million or $1.5 million because it is too important for Telefilm to remain away from.’

Macerola says he hopes to tap into some funds set aside for the information highway committee. ‘Personally, I know there is some money in the electronic highway committee for the infrastructure so maybe there is some money too for content.’

Although Beatty says it is too early to discuss strategic details in handling the new cuts, he confesses he is concerned the decrease will affect the quality of programming at the cbc. He says the $300 million generated from commercial revenues in tv will continue until an alternative is found and more layoffs (on top of the 2,000 last fiscal year) are to be expected.

New partnerships

Beatty wants to continue to see Canadian programming on primetime and hopes to trim costs via new partnerships (such as the recent agreement between Vision tv and the cbc to share some facilities).

‘Our goal has to be that we are the most efficient broadcaster in Canada, and that requires new collective agreements, embracing new technologies and looking for new ways of doing business.’

The nfb’s plans have been drafted and approved by the board of trustees. The studio system will be dismantled and program streams will be implemented in its place over the next six months. Staff layoffs amount to about 180 overall. In English program, Macdonald anticipates a cut in staff producers from about 36 to 18 (including executives), a reduction in crafts personnel, and ‘over the next few years,’ she says, ‘I presume some of the remaining staff directors will retire.’

Macdonald’s approach is clear: ‘If we continue to make 85 titles, we will have 85 directors, 85 cinematographers, 85 editors and so on. They just won’t be civil servants.’ Macdonald says of the remaining staff producers, ‘We think a producer who doesn’t have to go out and raise the money should be able to release four or five films a year.’

The animation budget will remain intact, she says, even if the department is amalgamated with children’s and multimedia.

As to the fuss about closing Studio d, Macdonald points to figures that show over the last five years, in English program, 280 original titles were produced at the nfb, of which 139 titles were made by women and 30 came out of Studio d.

‘I think it’s fair to say the notion of access to opportunities for women at the nfb has been accomplished,’ she says. ‘In fact, there are places in this organization where you could go to a producer and have the entire decision-making chain female, right up to and including the minister (of Heritage).’

In response to protests that claim Macdonald is tearing the place apart, she says: ‘If you have $20 million less you have to have some sense of priority. I’m perfectly confident our priority is the right one, and that is to preserve the production capacity.’

The 1996 budget cuts were anticipated in last year’s federal budget, and although the agencies have been examining ways of handling the cuts, the establishment of the Juneau triumvirate generated some hope at the time.

Although some say the Juneau report was effectively deflated in the March budget, Macerola and Beatty are not of the opinion it is dead in the water. ‘I have some hope that at a certain point the government will analyze the Juneau report,’ says Macerola. ‘The minister is very keen on finding some money to establish a production fund and we’re going to collaborate. We will be imaginative and find new ways to finance the overall film and tv industry.’