As insider politics at the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation continue to concern the production sector, chair of the board of directors, Marie Comeau, says the corporation will be refocusing its attention on small and medium-sized producers.

The decision comes two weeks after former president Roman Bittman and the nsfdc parted ways over irreconcilable differences after a two-month suspension.

Bittman, who has been criticized by some smaller producers for investing too heavily in an elite group of large Halifax companies, says he always acted under the guidelines of the corporation. If indeed the corporation is refocusing on the smaller producers, Bittman says there is cause for concern.

‘The industry has grown to a point where choices have to be made between projects for funding. The nsfdc is not an art council. Nova Scotia has an arts council now. We have an economic mandate to spur the industry and create jobs. You do that by investing in projects that hire a lot of people.’

Bittman also points out that if the board is looking to change the nsfdc’s mandate from what it was given when the corporation was established, that would be a policy decision which would have to be discussed with government.

Officially a free man for a fortnight, offers of executive-level work and to co-ordinate international coventures are already flowing furious for Bittman, the man many producers credit with pumping the Nova Scotia production industry to this year’s projected $21.5 million, more than three times the tally three years ago.

Looking back, Bittman says the insubordination charge is not sustainable. ‘I was asked to change my employment contract so that the executive board would hold no financial power or funding decision control. Zero. That would be damaging to the industry here – decisions need to be made when they need to be made, not when the board meets again. It’s wieldiness versus unwieldiness, and if that decision-making power is eroded, it’s not good for the industry. This isn’t an exercise in arts: it’s an exercise in economics.’

Within the production community, particularly among players like Citadel, Cochran Entertainment, Salter Street and Imagex, support for Bittman is still strong.

‘Roman did a fantastic job speeding up the growth and profile of the industry here,’ says Cochran president Andrew Cochran. ‘He was for building, economic growth and job creation at a time when the mood of the day for the board was to not be as aggressive. There was pressure from smaller companies.’

Among most producers – even those who hope new blood might mean more money for them – the primary concern is that the politics may overshadow work being done in the province. ‘It’s important to get across that it’s still business as usual,’ says Don Duchein, head of the Nova Scotia Producers Association.

Despite the upheaval, Comeau says the board of directors is still very much intact. The current members, whose terms end in August, are Allison Bishop, Terry Brown, Kenzie MacNeil, Carol Sherman, Carol Spurr, Corina Ulescu and John Yogis.

The board’s choice for interim replacement for Bittman has been selected and at Playback press time, the appointment was working its way through government processes with a yea potentially yielding an announcement within the next two weeks.

On the slate at the board’s next meeting, July 19, is a budget for new training initiatives intended to piggyback on the province’s labor tax credit, says Comeau.

‘In combination with the tax credit, we’ll be making training more prominent in our mandate,’ says Comeau.