Can a handful of industry heavies undo the damage brought on by the rising loonie, funding cuts and a shifting market? That is the question that will, eventually, be answered by the Ontario Film and Television Consortium, a collection of high-ranked industry pros who last month unveiled their plans to revive foreign and domestic production in Ontario.

The OFTC brings together more than 30 companies, unions and guilds representing studios, post houses and some 25,000 actors, directors and technicians, all of whom have been bruised by the three-year province-wide drop in production and, more recently, the SARS crisis.

The group introduced itself at a Toronto press conference. ‘This consortium gives our entire industry and everyone working in it a chance to pool their efforts,’ said Patrick Whitley, OFTC co-chair and head of Dufferin Gate Productions.

The OFTC has also formed a public-private partnership with the Ontario Media Development Corporation. ‘We are working together towards a common goal,’ to anchor production in the province, added OMDC chair Marcelle Lean. ‘Ontario has the best faces, places, best value and best shot at delivering a high-quality product in all stages from pre- to post-production.’

Production has been slipping in Ontario since the record year of 2000 for many reasons. The lack of adequate studio space in Toronto has sent many big-dollar productions to Vancouver and Montreal, say stakeholders, just as the province’s modest film and TV tax credit sent more business to Manitoba and the Atlantic region. The OMDC has long been calling for bigger studios so that the province can keep up with national and international competitors.

More recent developments – SARS, the strong Canadian dollar, cuts to the Canadian Television Fund, the rise of low-cost reality and magazine-style shows, and lower revenues for U.S. broadcasters, to name a few – have made matters worse.

There were 22 productions shooting in Toronto last month, compared to 31 in June of 2002. Total production spending is down 10% and location permits and shoot days have dropped 13% and 22%, respectively, according to the Toronto Film and Television Office.

In a later interview, Whitley said Ontario got lazy after the film boom of the ’90s. ‘We’re all guilty of this, all of us, of becoming a little complacent and assuming this was going to go on forever, and not planning or looking ahead.’

He says Ontarians need to adapt to a changed market. ‘You have to fill the gap by being smart,’ he says, turning out in-demand product rather than clinging to fading formats like, say, MOWs. ‘You’ve got to look at what people want… What are some of the smaller networks doing, the Oxygens and Lifes in the States? Can we hook up with them, see what their needs are?’

The group has a two-pronged plan. Before fall, the OMDC’s office in Los Angeles will be expanded to the tune of $400,000 – both groups will split the bill, and OMDC will contribute staff – paving the way for more vigorous marketing of the province to Hollywood studios. Marketing campaigns are also planned for New York City and Europe. OFTC will then ask for more cooperation from the federal and provincial governments and from the City of Toronto.

Canadian and foreign dollars are both important, says co-chair Brian Topp, but bringing more shoots north is OFTC’s first priority ‘because that’s where we’re most vulnerable.’ Ontario has lost much of its service work to other provinces and international locations such as Australia and the Czech Republic.

Lobby efforts at home will take advantage of coming changes at all three levels of government. Topp, as exec director of ACTRA Toronto Performers, has already met with Liberal leadership hopeful Paul Martin and the OFTC is pleading its case to all of Toronto’s would-be mayors. A provincial election is also expected before too long.

The OFTC is critical of the extent of Ottawa’s regional production bonus, a 5% break available to shoots outside Toronto, and of Ontario’s modest film and TV tax credit. The province’s 20% credit is driving business to Manitoba (35%) and New Brunswick (40%).

‘The nicest way we can put it is that they’re confusing the industry,’ Topp says. ‘We’ve got a fair bit of water between us and provinces like Manitoba.’

Toronto, he adds, needs to rethink many policies and fees if it really wants to be a ‘film-friendly’ city.

The OFTC board includes reps from ACTRA, the DGC, IATSE and NABET as well as Command Post, Pebblehut Too, Seventh Man Films and Bulloch Entertainment.