Reaction to Telefilm Canada’s 1996/97 action plan is coming not with a bang but with a whimper, and the timing may have much to do with it. Telefilm released the document in the wake of $100 million in new monies coming down the pike from the new Canada Television and Cable Production Fund, and the attention of both the production and distribution communities had already been captured.

But the industry still had something to say about the action plan.

Elizabeth McDonald, president of the cftpa, takes issue specifically with how Telefilm has transferred policy in light of the Federal Refundable Tax Credit and companion provincial tax credits, but her primary concern is the lack of consultation between Telefilm and the production community prior to formulating and releasing the plan.

‘The consultation process has been a little better than in the past, but there’s still room to improve,’ says McDonald. ‘I would hope in the future we’d have more opportunity to become aware of changes being made, a little more lead time before being asked to comment. But because of the new fund, I think Telefilm will be learning new ways to consult.’

Producer Linda Schuyler of Toronto’s Epitome Pictures says she was advised of the new cap on one-hour drama (which has been decreased from $4 million to $3 million) only after she submitted a financial proposal using the higher figure. ‘I got a response saying p.s., the amount won’t be $4 million, it’s $3 million,’ she says.

‘Changing the cap is a big change. You can’t just do that without forewarning the industry. I’m not saying Telefilm’s new guidelines are necessarily the wrong ones, but as a producer my concerns are about how they were formed and how I found out about it.’

Both Schuyler and McDonald had praise for the process Bill Mustos embarked upon before changing guidelines for the Cable Production Fund. ‘I think Mustos has done a very good job,’ says McDonald. ‘He met with people and groups, he was transparent with the plans. There was a long lead-up time and opportunity for input.’

Producers have also raised questions about the validity of an action plan formulated before the logistics of the ctcpf have been set in stone. At the Sept. 17 press conference to release the action plan, Telefilm’s executive director Francois Macerola alluded to the fact that the corporation may revisit the changes to the drama series cap in light of the new cash infusion.

Dan Johnson, president and ceo of cafde, agrees that the impact of the new fund has shifted attention away from the action plan: ‘Current events have overtaken it in terms of what people are talking about.’

Johnson, who will soon become a legal member of the ctcpf board, says the cuts across Telefilm’s budget aren’t unreasonable considering the situation.

‘The reality is that there’s less in the way of government resources, resulting in cuts to everyone and everything in terms of feature film production, distribution and export. One of the things we’ll be interested to see is the extent to which new monies are able to assist in the creation of Canadian features, which invariably wind up being available to Canadian citizens on Canadian tv.’

Norstar Entertainment’s Peter Simpson had even fewer sympathetic words. While he says cuts may make it more difficult for standalone producers to maintain cash flow, ‘if you want to use public money to make a movie, then you should be crawling over glass to get it.’

Response from Quebec producers and distributors has been particularly muted, and at press time a number of Quebec companies had not yet received their copies of the plan.

Telefilm’s 1996/97 budget for production and development shows a 10.5% cut to the Broadcast Fund, bringing it to $58.2 million, and an 8.3% cut to the Feature Film Fund, bringing it to $22 million. The Regular Fund, which totaled $250,000 last year, has been eliminated.

The Commercial Production Fund, designed to provide financing for low-risk projects with at least 65% of Telefilm’s investment guaranteed, has been cut 36.8%, leaving it at $12 million. The Production Revenue Sharing Program took a 13% cut, leaving it at $5 million.

Mini-treaties for coproductions did not take a hit, and the corporation committed 33.3% more to the Multimedia Pilot Program. In the coming months, Telefilm plans to propose a new, independent Multimedia Assistance Fund requiring additional funding.

Versioning and subtitling of foreign productions has been eliminated, saving $1.5 million, and funds for versioning and subtitling of Canadian productions have been cut 14.6% to $3.5 million.

Distribution and marketing had cuts in every area except the Distribution Revenue Sharing Program, which increased 6.7% to $1.6 million. The Distribution Fund decreases 16.9% to $10.3 million, the Commercial Distribution Fund decreases 25% to $1.5 million, funds for national marketing are down 11.5% to $1.15 million, and funds for international marketing took a 10% cut to $1.35 million.

Of Telefilm’s complementary activities, $500,000 for closed captioning and $144,000 for missions was eliminated, and funds for industrial and professional development were reduced over 50% to $265,000. Telefilm will be giving 25% less to the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (now $600,000) and will spend 30% less on advertising, promotions and publications (now $400,000).

Companies who have ridden Telefilm’s coattails at Canadian festivals and foreign markets and festivals will notice reductions in budgets for each of those initiatives.

Telefilm will be giving priority to what it calls ‘the four major national events’ – the festivals in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Banff.

Internationally, Telefilm will no longer participate in the Berlin market, and will spend less attending mipcom, mip-tv, Cannes and natpe. Telefilm will contribute to the expenses of an export company sharing its stand on a decreasing annual basis for a maximum of three years. After that, each company must cover its own costs.

Among the nine priorities the corporation set for 1996/97 was a strengthening of its cultural role, maintaining that from now on it will support only projects with at least eight of 10 cavco points. Two exceptions will be allowed this fiscal year only – the acquisition of Canadian projects with six of 10 points from the Feature Film Distribution Fund and the Versioning Assistance Fund.

Among strategies to help the corporation to give priority to production and distribution activities, Telefilm will no longer agree to renew assistance for series automatically. Renewal decisions will be based on audience, critical success, export and recoupment potential. The corporation also vowed to review its policies on licensing requirements.

Ceilings were also placed on the international component of the Production Marketing Assistance Fund ($95,000 per company per year) and the Versioning Assistance Fund ($300,000 per company per year).