Camelia Frieberg is the Genie Award-winning producer of The Five Senses, The Sweet Hereafter, Eclipse, Exotica and Masala.

When Atom Egoyan and I were talking last year about the performance-based envelope that we are each receiving from Telefilm Canada, I remember him saying, ‘You have to be careful what you wish for…you just might get it.’

For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, I’ll go back two steps. A portion of the new Canada Feature Film Fund is allocated directly to producers or production companies with a box-office track record allowing them to bypass the selective process of Telefilm in the financing of their films.

If only it was that easy!

The logic behind this portion of the fund was the idea of rewarding excellence: if you managed to create a successful film in the past, then maybe you could do it again, and here’s the money to help you do it.

Given that the fund’s goal is to increase Canadian box office (hopefully to the target amount of 5% of total box office), the first task was to determine the definition of success. Should it be based entirely on Canadian box-office results? How accurate are they and who has access to that information? What value should be placed on festivals, awards and critical acclaim? How does foreign revenue figure in the definition of success? What about the films that returned $1 million at the box office but only after spending $1 million in P+A.?

And then there was the rather loaded issue of who exactly these funds should be allocated to – the production company, the copyright holders, the producers who worked in the trenches or the cats with the executive producer credits who never step onto a film set?

There is also the rather impossible notion that the money should be allocated and spent within the same fiscal year, and the threat of ‘penalizing’ those who don’t spend their envelopes.

That said, there is a tremendous responsibility for those awarded these funds. We each work with the knowledge that for the fund to be self-perpetuating we must invest the money wisely. Meanwhile, I admit to feeling a bit like the kid who rubs an ancient bottle hoping against hope…only to be surprised when a genie actually does appear.

With the genie out of the bottle, I find myself re-evaluating my intentions as a producer. I have always wanted to work with more women directors, writers and producers, and I felt that, as much as I possibly could, I would use this money towards achieving that goal. I also wanted to feel that this envelope would allow me to take calculated risks on projects that might be difficult choices for financiers.

My first opportunity came along almost immediately. I have always admired the talent and tenacity of Deepa Mehta, who had written a rather daring comedy called Bollywood/Hollywood around the same time I was looking for the perfect project in which to invest my allotment. While I recognize that nothing is riskier than comedy, I read the script, met with Deepa and her partner/producer, David Hamilton, and was convinced this was a great project to support.

Telefilm was a wholehearted supporter, as was Mongrel Media and The Harold Greenberg Fund. The TV prelicences were lined up and it looked like everything was in order for the LFP money, but there was still a financing shortfall…in steps the genie.

There are a few other projects that I am developing, including one to be shot in Newfoundland. You’ve guessed right, the story is written by a woman and hopefully will be directed by a woman. At the same time, Atom and I are putting together a slate of projects in conjunction with Mongrel Media that would allow emerging talent from across Canada to make their mark in a low-budget feature film.

The genie marches on. I’m no longer looking this gift horse in the mouth, though, I’m just riding it into the horizon.