Ottawa: Following weeks of presentations here, the Heritage standing committee is now assessing many hours’ worth of advice – some ‘same old same old,’ some hits of fresh-faced optimism – about Canada’s feature film policy.

The 12-member committee is holding public talks in several cities as it reviews the 2000 film policy and Canada Feature Film Fund with a view to shaping a new policy. Some presenters brought new ideas or passionately advocated old ones.

Telefilm Canada executive director Wayne Clarkson, for instance, suggested doubling the target for Canadian films’ box-office receipts from 5% to 10% of the total. A 10% solution seems bold, considering reciepts have yet to consistenly hit 5%, but Clarkson told the committee that, while Canadian films accounted for 1.7% of the 2001 box office, they’re now above 4.5%. (English films are only 1.6% of that total – but much higher than the 0.3% of 2001.) He says 10% is modest.

‘It’s interesting when we look at where comparable countries to Canada are in terms of their successes in their own countries,’ said Clarkson. ‘Germany at 24%, Italy at 20%, Spain at 13%, United Kingdom at 17%, and Sweden, with a population of less than 10 million, achieving a 22% penetration.’

Telefilm outlined five main supports critical for the English feature industry to thrive: significant assistance from broadcasters; a star system; strengthened production and distribution companies; strengthened corporate capacity; and increased participation of exhibitors.

Telefilm also outlined steps it’s taking, such as increasing financial resources for development activities to lengthen the development cycle, allocating distribution funds to marketing costs to foster competitive P&A campaigns, and improving partnerships with exhibitors to encourage increased access to screens.

Other presenters echoed Telefilm’s themes. Actor Wendy Crewson, appearing with ACTRA, said film policy should ‘open the broadcast window to Canadian film’ and afford greater exposure via the CBC, private broadcasters and specialty channels.

‘In the U.K., a recent report… made the case for a substantial increase in BBC funding for both feature films and short films,’ she said.

ACTRA national president Thor Bishopric, among other presenters, noted the importance of supporting the development process, especially screenwriting, with more money and training programs.

In an interview, he said actors should workshop scripts at the draft stage. ‘The theory is akin to the scenario of playwrights working with actors in the script development process. Their voices inform the development of the script. This is not a new idea. [It hasn’t] been heard because we haven’t been at the table [of the feature film advisory committee].’

Other proposals on how to strengthen producers and distributors included increasing federal tax credits, building the number of funders offering equity investments, or reinstating tax shelters.

Doug Frith, president of the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, which represents U.S. majors, suggested the federal government could work to return tax credits faster – the turnaround is often 18 months, he says – to domestic and service producers. ‘It’s what the Hollywood producers call the time value of money. That’s a tremendous incentive in other jurisdictions.’

Many speakers implored the committee to address movie piracy. According to Susan Peacock, CMPDA vice-president, ‘Organized crime is the biggest threat to… every film industry in the world. The counterfeit film business is more profitable than heroin trafficking and conviction carries trivial penalties.’

Peacock wants the government to ratify the WIPO Copyright Treaty, to amend the Copyright Act and to amend the Criminal Code to make unauthorized camcording in theaters a crime. ‘It’s very, very difficult to get the attention of law enforcement officials for this kind of activity,’ she says.

-www.pch.gc.ca