What is a documentary? As the Canadian non-fiction market grows, so does confusion surrounding the definition of documentary. The evolving genre has come to encompass a wide variety of non-fiction formats that compete for funding, but it’s the traditional doc that is struggling.

‘John Grierson would roll over in his grave if he saw what is being broadcast in this country and called documentary,’ says Peter Raymont, president of Toronto’s White Pine Pictures, who is addressing this critical question at a Hot Docs Industry Panel on April 30. He also helped both Rogers and the Canadian Television Fund develop their definitions of the documentary genre and produced a series about National Film Board founder John Grierson, who defined the genre as ‘the creative treatment of reality.’

In fall 2000, the CTF created a special envelope (minimum $1.5 million) specifically for POV documentaries as part of its documentary fund. In January 2002, it announced that ‘Productions which, in the CTF’s estimation, encompass the ‘lifestyle’ or ‘human interest’ end of the factual programming spectrum will not be considered eligible in the documentary envelope in 2002-2003.’

CTF director of communications Phil Serruya acknowledges that now the fund needs to re-enter into conversations with documentary producers, distributors and broadcasters to work on establishing a more pragmatic definition for the genre.

However, Raymont says Canadian auteur, or traditional documentaries are still in trouble because funding is being misdirected at high-volume, low-budget projects like ‘reality TV’ series, which Raymont calls ‘game shows masquerading as documentary film.’

As it stands, Canadian broadcasters can afford to pay sufficient licence fees for less expensive fact-based programs, but not for more expensive and often riskier creative documentaries. A doc that costs $100,000 must secure 10% of its funding in the form of a licence fee to be immediately eligible for additional funding from the CTF. But a doc that costs $400,000 or more requires 15% investment from the broadcaster.

Kirwan Cox, project director, Documentary Research Network, says making the definition of documentary more stringent is one way funders are attempting to reduce an overwhelming volume of non-fiction applications created by market fragmentation and demand for non-fiction.

-www.canadiantelevisionfund.ca

-www.whitepinepictures.com