While policy and funding issues are hashed out at the bureaucratic level by the mix of broadcaster, producer, and government interests, the changing shades of the Canadian production landscape also have a direct impact on the talent that provide a crucial base for the Canadian film and tv industry.

Playback sought out burgeoning talent ­ an up-and-coming actor, screenwriter and director ­ to discuss how recent trends, funding scenarios and policy decisions are playing out on their turf: gaining insight into the challenges their talent sectors face, the forces determining quantity and quality of work, and where they are setting their sites for expanding opportunities.

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If you’re looking for a nationalistic Canadian born-and-bred director, someone who aches to tell our stories, someone who’d rather throw in the towel than cross the border, then you’d best be looking somewhere else. Graeme Lynch is not your man.

‘I don’t see borders, I don’t necessarily care where I make my films. I don’t know why people in Canada can’t think about making movies to make money.’

That said, there’s no shortage of work for Lynch. Since dropping out of Ryerson Polytechnic University’s film program in 1991 ­ he finished two years before deciding it was ‘lame’ ­ Lynch has parlayed two half-hour dramas and a comedic short into a genuine career in television.

With about $4,000 he picked up as part of the National Screen Institute’s first-ever Drama Prize, Lynch made Lost Innocence, a half-hour drama about teenage runaways. That little ‘drama with a message’ won him gold awards from the Columbus Ohio Film Festival and the International Film and TV Festival in New York City, as well as a silver medal from the Oakland National Educational Film Festival. More importantly, it helped get him that all-important green card.

‘You have to prove that you’re an alien of extraordinary ability, that you’re at the top of your field,’ he says. ‘Awards help.’

Meanwhile, Lynch’s agent was negotiating with e.n.g. to land him an episodic gig, and Lynch found their initial concerns somewhat ironic.

‘They were saying, ‘Yes, we love his half-hours, but how do we know he didn’t take six months to make them? We need directors who can work with tight budgets and tight schedules.’ They didn’t realize that these projects are done with no budget, and sometimes you only have the equipment for five days.’

When the producers finally conceded ­ he did an e.n.g. episode called ‘Payback’ in 1993 ­ Lynch started making his mark on a hefty portion of the Canadian shows on the tube. From 1994 to now he’s directed episodes of Forefront’s Madison (winning a Gemini nomination for best direction), Sullivan’s Road to Avonlea (an episode which garnered a best series nomination at the Banff Television Festival), Alliance’s Taking The Falls, Epitome Pictures’ Liberty Street, Atlantis’ Flash Forward (picking up both Cable Ace and Gemini nominations), and The Rez from Shadow Shows.

In 1995 he did an episode of Beverly Hills 90210 called ‘Turn Back The Clock’ for Spelling and Fox, getting his first taste of the difference between Canadian and American tv from the director’s perspective.

‘They have lots and lots of money to play with. In Canada you might get 100 extras to use for the whole one-hour show. Down there you get 250 to use for one scene, for one day.’

While one might assume that having a notch on your belt from a u.s. net might mean a downpour of work up here, not so. At least not in this instance. Lynch says the Canadian production community is generally much less open to giving an upstart a shot, and more apt to choose from a small, established club.

‘If I wanted to be Mr. Bitter about it, I’d say there are lots of Canadian shows I couldn’t get on. Ready Or Not wouldn’t hire me, North of 60 would never take me. They wouldn’t take a chance, or they said I was too young. There are a lot of directors in Canada like me, even better than me, who can’t do what I’m doing because Canadian producers won’t take a risk.’

mgm/ua, on the other hand, would take a risk and Lynch has done three episodes of Poltergeist for Showtime and Fox. While fully aware that he might be artificially attractive to the show’s producers because they need a Canadian name at the helm, he says it’s not exactly a hardship. In fact, it’s a good gig.

‘I love being able to work in Canada on something that has a decent budget,’ he says. ‘You actually get a second unit, you get to work with actors who are celebrities. My goal is to work on shows I like, and this gave me an opportunity to learn more about working in sci-fi and special effects.’

Which is not to say he’s giving up on indigenous stuff altogether ­ he’s shooting some of The Adventures of Shirley Holmes this summer ­ but he’s got the feature bug and he’s in California developing his own feature script, one which was optioned by l.a.’s Blue Turtle earlier this year.

‘It’s an ensemble drama that I’ve had for awhile. They paid me to take three weeks off in January to finish it. I got lost doing tv for three years, but it’s been a great education. In my mind I’ve got a dream team assembled for when I do my own film.’

As the indigenous film industry continues to sputter within our own borders, Lynch is not looking to join the small group of Canadian filmmakers who reap lots of critical acclaim but draw few paying, popcorn-eating customers.

‘This film is going to be a great, commercial story. It’s what movies should be and that’s that. No Canadian films ever make money, they just don’t. Some of it has to do with marketing, but some are so bad they don’t deserve to see the light of day anyway. Movies these days cost $10, so you’d better make a movie people want to see.’

In the meantime, Lynch is not taking anything too seriously. He’s vegging out in front of his new 61-inch tv, still marveling at the means by which he is permitted to make a living.

‘This is the best job in the world, and I get to meet so many cool people.’ There’s a grin in his voice as he adds, ‘and I get a ridiculous amount of money to do it.’