Not long ago, Pat Ferns, president and CEO of the Banff Television Foundation, looked into his crystal ball and saw a lot of long, worried faces.

The 24th edition of the annual six-day meet ‘n’ greet (June 8-13) was less than two weeks away and, very soon, some 1,800 people from all corners of the industry and all points of the compass would converge on the Alberta resort town up in the Rockies. Eager young filmmakers were lining up to compete in pitch competitions. Broadcasting legends would teach intimate master classes and the fiery issues of the day would be debated at countless panel discussions and seminars. And, in the background, a lot of business would get done. Deals sealed. Contracts inked. Or maybe not.

‘This year I think there’ll be a fair bit of desperation financing,’ says Ferns. ‘It’s difficult for me to read what’s going on behind closed doors… but because of problems with CTF, I think a number of people are on the march this year, trying to find another way to get their project off the ground. They’re going to be looking for the distributor connection, the international connection, another window in Canada or something that will push the project into reality,’ he says.

There are also, he adds, many unanswered questions about public policy sure to be on everyone’s mind. This year’s Banff fest opens just weeks after the release of several reports from the CRTC and Telefilm Canada, most notably the long-awaited study of Canadian drama by Trina McQueen, whose thoughts on public funding and federal regulations have already caused a stir in the industry. A two-year review of the Canuck TV biz by parliament’s standing committee on Canadian Heritage is also expected within the week.

‘From a policy standpoint, this is really a critical time,’ says Ferns. A timeslot is being saved for committee chair Clifford Lincoln to discuss his group’s findings, and CRTC head Charles Dalfen will deliver his first response to both the McQueen report and to Guy Fournier’s parallel study of French-language drama at a brunch conference on June 9.

Globe and Mail writer Gordon Pitts, author of Kings of Convergence: The Fight for Control of Canada’s Media (see excerpt, p.41), gets the fest rolling with his keynote address about the ups and downs of media convergence. ‘That is the hot topic on all our minds,’ adds Ferns.

The hot-button talks are sure to be big draws, and Ferns is quick to point to the televised debate, by a ‘dream team’ of industry insiders, about the future of Canuck drama. The panel gab with McQueen, Fournier, Laszlo Barna of Barna-Alper Productions, CBC exec director Deborah Bernstein, Doug MacLeod of Alberta Filmworks, Global Television VP Canadian production Loren Mawhinney and two execs from the U.K. and Australia takes over the main room of the Banff Springs Conference Centre on June 10 and will air as a one-hour special on CBC.

It is one of four talks in the ‘State of Television’ series. Also scheduled is a discussion about truth, or lack thereof, in war reporting by assorted newshounds from CNN, Al Jazeera, CBC, BBC and CTV. TV critic John Doyle will moderate a talk about rivalry between doc and reality programming and Telefilm head Richard Stursberg will go over the near-future of the English-language box office with Canadian and European panelists, including CHUM Television’s Paul Gratton and Serge Siritzky, president of Ecran Total in France.

Despite the choppiness of our domestic market, Ferns says many international guests are looking for copro opportunities in Canada, but concedes that many are coming to meet the Americans. Banff 2003 pays special tribute to the TV shows of our southern neighbor and on June 10 will present lifetime achievement awards to legendary producer/director James Burrows (Will & Grace, Cheers), pubcaster Peter McGhee and HBO VP Sheila Nevins. A special Rockie award will also go to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, while Sopranos creator David Chase gets this year’s Award of Excellence.

But some wonder if saluting U.S. television is necessary, given its global dominance, or even appropriate, given its varying quality.

Ferns is quick to defend the tribute. ‘A lot of people think there’s a lot of crap on U.S. TV,’ he says, ‘but there’s also a lot of terrific stuff and part of our role is to celebrate the best… Part of what we’re doing here is providing inspiration. And if you bring in… the absolute top players and give them a platform for big interviews or intimate master classes, I think that is pretty important professional development.’

Several top-ranked Yanks will lead master classes on directing, producing, writing and kids programming throughout the week. Burrows will give a class on comedy writing, producer Peter Casey will talk about the creation of Frasier and Peter Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, is giving a class on the many international coproductions of Sesame Street.

Ferns adds we can ‘always learn from the best’ whether British, French, German, American, Canadian or Japanese. ‘Take someone like Sheila Nevin,’ he says. ‘She works with filmmakers all over the world, is producing absolutely top stuff, and has to compete in the pay-TV market with movies and boxing matches. None of us can spend enough time on how to tell better stories and connect better with our audiences.’

-www.banff2003.com