The announcement of the $200 million Canadian Television and Cable Production Fund left a lot of shiny, happy people in its wake and finally established the who and what of the long-anticipated new government-sponsored injection into the Canadian film and television industry.

But with everyone from the feature film sector to aboriginal producers, screen institutes and private broadcasters, lobbying for access and envelopes, the new ctcpf board has a packed agenda over the next six months as it sits down to work out the details of how this cohabitation of Telefilm Canada and the Cable Production Fund is going to work.

The money in the offing splits out $100 million from the Ministry of Heritage, $50 million from Telefilm’s broadcast envelope and $50 million from the cpf. It will divide into two streams: a licence fee program kicking in primarily as top-up funding and an equity investment program, administered for this fiscal year according to the current criteria and practices of the cpf and Telefilm.

The Heritage contribution is guaranteed for this year and next, although there is no cap on how long the injection will last, says Heritage Minister Sheila Copps.

cbc-commissioned independent production is eligible for ‘up to’ 50% of the new money, although whether the finances will be reserved for the pubcaster is one of several questions on the table.

The $100 million cheque from Heritage will be split in half, with $50 million each going to the cpf and Telefilm. For the next six months, until the end of the government’s fiscal March 31, 1997, it’ll be business as usual for both funding agencies, albeit with more financing at hand.

Although the $100 million is theoretically available immediately, the question at hand is when the cheque will actually clear due process at the government level and how much will be available for the next six months.

‘We don’t know right now whether if it’s not spent by March 31, we lose it,’ say ctcpf executive Bill Mustos.

‘It’s the most important question we’re trying to get answered right now. It could be difficult to spend in the fall and winter when production is well underway and broadcast slots are full, so there may be some kind of transitional reprieve. But Finance abhors rollover, so if we get it, we’ll simply have to find a way. And we will.’

To do that, several possibilities are being discussed, including increasing cpf’s caps per project and Telefilm looking at funding feature films with only six out of 10 on the cavco point system, for the transition period. Telefilm’s Broadcast Fund’s cap on one-hour drama series, slated to decrease from $4 million to $3 million in 1996/97, may not be cut as scheduled, at least for the interim.

The ctcpf board is gathering for its first meeting Sept. 25 in Halifax mid-Atlantic Film Festival to begin discussing changes to policy. According to Mustos, harmonization will take place only where it makes sense. Equalizing investment floors in coproduction projects wouldn’t be prudent, for example, nor would hindering the cpf’s widely respected quick turnaround process.

Telefilm processes may be more at issue. Word is that Heritage paid attention to the largely ignored Juneau Report and is looking for ways to dilute Telefilm’s subjective selection element.

Executive director Francois Macerola says Telefilm’s goals for the upcoming year include achieving ‘a more dynamic consultation process with public sector,’ and through the 1996/97 Action Plan, has more clearly defined itself as a ‘cultural’ investor.

‘Open’

In terms of policy changes, ‘the only thing that I can say is that we’re open to see what kind of harmonization we can make, keeping in mind that Telefilm Canada will always keep its selective process, always be investment, always be considered as a cultural investor,’ he says, but adds administration guidelines could be cleaner.

‘These guidelines do need some improvement. I’m going to sit with Ottawa and try to define certain points, and present that to the board of trustees. Collaboration between the private and public sector is really important, and I want to play the game perfectly well to be able to find that process.’

With all and sundry after a piece of the new money, including the private broadcasters which are looking to advance their agenda to access Telefilm funds through the process, also on the sked over the next six months will be organizing eligibility requirements.

Whether branch-plant ‘Canadian’ companies like PolyGram and mca will have access to the pool is an issue. ‘In terms of provisions for defining Canadian identity, that will be defined by the board of directors,’ says Copps.

‘On a short-term basis, we are applying the same criteria that currently applies with the existing organizations. The board may be in a position to modify that once they’re looking at new criteria.’

But Mustos says safeguards will need to be put in place. ‘It’s one of those things we’re going to have to talk about in policy discussions with the new board, but I can tell you where I’m coming from on that: we’ve got to make sure that this money is reserved for truly Canadian-owned and controlled independent production companies.’

The feature film industry may be prepping to be particularly vocal on their access to the funds. At a Toronto International Film Festival Symposium 96 session, The New Era in Television: A Prescription for the Support of Canadian Film, Mustos, Peter Grant, senior partner at McCarthy Tetrault, Channel Four’s Colin Leventhal, cftpa president Elizabeth McDonald, Craig Broadcast System’s vp Drew Craig, and Directors Guild of Canada president Allan King discussed how the ctcfp could be ‘a turning point’ for the independent film community.

While the need for drama production incentives has been clearly established with the crtc, panelists said there hasn’t been a co-ordinated strategic effort on the feature film side to get similar considerations in place.

Weighted point system

Grant laid out the limited ability of the specialty channels and pay-per-view broadcasters to contribute substantial licence fees and suggested a weighted point system might be one method of encouraging the mainstream broadcasters to get more involved in features. ‘Pay-television cannot begin to create a Canadian film industry by itself.’

What kinds of feature support mechanisms could be built into the guidelines is still to be determined, says Mustos. In terms of productions qualifying for financing, the only finalized criteria is eight out of 10 on the point system. ‘The rest is still a blank slate.’

Feature films could theoretically trigger the cpf, although the criteria made it difficult and left the cpf participating in only four last year, one drama and three documentaries.

The current cpf model would need to be adjusted in order to increase the number of Canadian feature films produced, says Mustos. It may need a ‘separate and distinct’ program that recognizes the particular needs of that sector.

With the end of festival mayhem on the horizon, a cross-country trip is in the works for Mustos to discuss guidelines with broadcasters and producers. Mid to late October is the tentative scheduled date.

The details aside, reaction to the new fund is naturally widespread and positive.

In discussing the kind of impact the fund would have on production, Alliance Communications president Robert Lantos said it would not increase the volume of strictly Canadian productions on the company’s predominantly international-market slate. However, he added, ‘these funds ensure they (Cancon productions) will remain a part of the mix. It may extend the life of North of 60.’

For the networks, whose Cancon levels also remain fixed, CanWest Global’s Loren Mawhinney believes the fund will mean the budgets can go up. ‘It will have a huge effect,’ he said, explaining the fund has the potential of changing the makeup of Canadian series by enabling production of higher-budget series and spreading the costs of licensing quality Cancon.

Phyllis Platt is also among the majority ‘thrilled’ by the announcement. Platt says the cbc will be looking at all programming areas affected and making decisions, ‘looking at where we can enhance shows, add additional episodes,’ and looking ahead, triggering new production is a happy task on the horizon.

With files from Mary Maddever.