There’ll be no more sneaking around for actors working under the table on low-budget productions or for small-scale producers trying to access unionized talent, now that actra has launched the Canadian Low-budget Incentive for Performers and Producers.

The new initiative will allow low-budget filmmakers to work with Canada’s best professional performers and, ultimately, help boost the volume of high-quality, low-budget films made in Canada.

A recent Angus Reid survey conducted for actra found that 82% – or four out of five – of people in English-speaking Canada could not name a Canadian film they had seen in a movie theatre in the past year. However, 60% of respondents said they would be more likely to see a Canadian film if it were available in their local theatre.

‘It’s shocking that The Sweet Hereafter never played in Edmonton, but did in France,’ says Norma Dell’Agnese, head of the clipp initiative and a working actor. ‘The smaller communities just crave Canadian.’

Under the new initiative, which is being tried out for an experimental year in Toronto before going national, performers’ wages are predicated on a project’s labor budget. The financial paradigm, developed by producer Robert Bregman (Hurt Penguins) has principal actors earning 10% more than the average wage on a production.

‘We’re equalizing ourselves with the rest of the labor pool,’ says Dell’Agnese.

Until now, filmmakers working on low-budget projects have often been unable to afford the rates for professional performers, which were set figures based on total budget levels.

‘This way allows more flexibility in terms of what kinds of projects you can do,’ says Dell’Agnese.

Also, as part of the clipp initiative, producers will be required to take workshops that will help familiarize them with the new system and provide a refresher on the tax-credit process. *