Montreal: With European coproduction taking on a broader EU profile and producers and distributors looking for more commercially viable product, the market is ripe for Canada to make a concerted effort in Europe, both in terms of public agencies and producers. That was the key message to come out of Immersion 2001: Europe, a five-day feature film networking event held in Paris in late November, and by all accounts the most successful of the Immersion programs organized by Telefilm Canada in the past seven years.

In 2001, Telefilm certified 98 international film and TV coproduction projects with combined budgets of $668.2 million, about 15% less in dollar terms than the 98 projects worth $778.9 million coproduced in 2000. The Canadian share of financing in 2001 is $383.5 million, or 57%, while spending stands at $339.2 million, or 51%.

In calendar 2001, Telefilm’s international relations office certified 22 feature film projects representing combined budgets of $156.2 million, with 55% of financing from Canada, and 76 TV projects with budgets of $512 million, 58% of financing from Canada. In features, 35 projects were certified in 2000 representing budgets of $297 million.

Documentary coproduction in 2001 – 22 projects worth $23.8 million – held steady at 2000 levels, while animation activity increased to 31 projects worth $204.2 million, up from 23 projects worth $169 million in 2000.

Features and investments

In terms of the decline in feature film coproduction, there were four fewer movies coproduced with countries other than the U.K. and France in 2001. Factors contributing to the decline ($130 million less in financing) are presumed to include the uncertain labor climate with performers in both Canada and the U.S. and the tax-related problems with Germany, says Johanne St-Arnauld, Telefilm director, international relations.

In fiscal 2000/01, Telefilm invested $33.6 million in feature films, but only $1.5 million (4.5%) in feature film coproduction, a marked decrease from 1999/00 when the agency spent $22.2 million on features, including $4.3 million (19.5%) on feature film coproductions. The fiscal 2002 equity investment in coproduced features is expected to return to higher levels, says St-Arnauld.

In TV, Telefilm invested $88.7 million in 2000/01, including $13.5 million (15%) in TV coproductions, an increase over 1999/00 when the agency invested $85 million in TV, including $4.3 million in coproduced TV projects.

Leading partners

Coproduction is the object of serious pressure from both the U.K. and German government authorities.

While there’s a relative balance between what the U.K. is investing (35% of $232.7 million in total financing for 38 projects) and what they are receiving (34% of all spending), St-Arnauld says they want more. ‘They say the coproduction treaty calls for equilibrium and so they want to be majority in certain cases. I think the problem is mostly the sale and leaseback.’

The CFTPA and the British producer association PACT met in London in November and are jointly preparing recommendations for Telefilm and the British and Canadian governments.

The other big issue is Germany. It coproduced only two projects with Canada in calendar 2001, with 80% of the $11.6 million in financing from Canada. Telefilm has asked for a meeting with the federal authorities in Germany to discuss entirely counterproductive tax-related changes, perhaps at the Berlin Film Festival, says St-Arnauld.

France was our top partner last year. The two countries coproduced 37 film and TV projects worth $265.5 million, with 50% of financing from Canada.

Another encouraging development, Canada and China coproduced seven projects worth $42 million, 84% financed by Canada.

Immersion 2001: a success

Immersion 2001 was an unprecedented success.

‘There were over 45 European producers. They came all week and they stayed,’ says Sheila de la Varende, director of Telefilm’s European office in Paris. Thirty-four Canadian producers from five provinces attended the five-day event, produced in association with Atelier du Cinema Europeen.

Pan-European organizations such as Media Plus, the European Investment Bank and script development group Equinoxe were present, as were several renowned European guests, including former Polygram executive Michael Kuhn (Kuhn and Co.), Paulo Branco (Gemini Films), Charles Tesson (Cahiers du Cinema), Ido Abram (Cinemart) and Jean-Michel Rey, whose distribution company Rezo Films will release Inuit director Zacharias Kunuk’s multiple Genie-nominated film Atanarjuat in France in February.

Europeans at the Immersion said the industry has to evolve a new paradigm of cooperation to make more commercial films, both within and beyond the official treaty structure.

‘It’s important the Canadian industry understand Europe’s new ambition to become a ‘world player’ in feature films, taking risks and making [greater] investments, whether or not in every case it meets treaty coproduction obligations,’ says de la Varende.

Canada is falling even farther behind in terms of domestic box-office share, especially in view of new gains in the past two years in countries like France, which has 40% of its own box office with hit titles like La Pacte des loups and Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain (Amelie).

The domestic market share for European films is up again in 2001, 18% for U.K. films, 18% for Italian films, 26% for Sweden and 19% for Spain, while audiences for local German films were up 50% in the year.

‘France is finally producing its own high-budget mainstream films and they are working, and what are they doing is toppling the U.S. share,’ says de la Varende. She says developments in Europe are of global significance and Canada has to seize its place, ‘use our strengths and move swiftly’ as foreign markets show signs of opening up to product other than blockbuster U.S. studio releases.

Distributors and programmers at Immersion 2001 pointed to the lack of information on Canadian films in Europe and a need for better marketing and promotion of Canadian films.

A film distrib panel moderated by Cannes International Film Festival executive director Jerome Paillard concluded foreign films, including Canadian films, would fare better if Euro-based sales agents and distribs were involved earlier in the cycle. The message was clear: flogging a completed film at Berlin or Cannes with a snazzy poster just isn’t enough in extremely tough market conditions.

De la Varende attributes Immersion 2001’s success to the timing in the marketplace and the first-time support of public institutions in Europe – Film Council (U.K.), CNC (France) and Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Filmstiftung NRW (Germany).

On the Canadian side, 12 public and private-sector organizations, including the Canadian Embassy in Paris, Alliance Atlantis Communications, The Independent Film Channel Canada, Showcase Television, Radio-Canada and The Completion Guarantors, offered sponsorship support. Active provincial agencies included SaskFilm, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and British Columbia Film.

‘All three [Euro] agencies plus Canada are in a mode right now where we cannot satisfy our coproduction potential with simply treaties. What we need to do is create a network, streams of communications that enable our producers to work together,’ says de la Varende.