The cold war between Montreal’s World Film Festival and its financial backers got even colder on Sept. 7 when Telefilm Canada and SODEC invited other, competing fests to apply for the $1 million that is currently earmarked for the WFF.

The call for proposals came one day after the WFF wrapped and just a few weeks after a damning report from both organizations slammed the fest for, among other things, its financial secrecy and poor relations with filmmakers.

The move makes good on a pledge by Telefilm chairman Charles Belanger to consider proposals from other festivals, as reported previously in Playback. Both funding groups have become increasingly frustrated with WFF and its president, Serge Losique.

‘We don’t know much about the internal workings of the [WFF],’ says Belanger, likening the lack of cooperation from the festival to a ‘black hole.’

‘Mr. Losique is of the belief that he is the owner of the festival – that it is a private company and he is not obligated to participate in public inquiry,’ says Belanger. ‘As public funders we believe, rightly so, taxpayers should have an idea how the organization works.’

WFF would not comment on the call for proposals, and has not yet commented on the July 27 report. Losique has said he will respond to the report later this month.

The call for proposals does not preclude WFF or Losique from participating, but the successful applicant will have to follow a series of management and financial rules to keep its funding. For the just-wrapped WFF, Telefilm’s grant was $525,000 and SODEC gave $425,000.

‘The selected proposal will be innovative, representing a new way of thinking and doing,’ according to the announcement. ‘It will guarantee effective management and be based on a solid vision of the future that will contribute to growing both the industry and audiences. The event must be conducted in a spirit of transparency and held to rigorous control as regards both the cost and the quality of the organization and the event.’

The winning proposal – which earns the most on a 100-point assessment grid that evaluates cultural, professional and community impact, quality of the organization and overall merit – will be announced within weeks of the Oct. 8 application deadline.

Likely candidates include L’Equipe Spectra, Daniel Langlois Investments, Just for Laughs and other Quebec-based organizations that would qualify for SODEC funding.

With files from Sean Davidson