Montreal: TVA and Television Quatre Saisons are once again boycotting the Gemeaux Awards, echoing a controversy that threatened the Quebec French-language TV awards in 2002.

Both broadcasters have announced that they will not enter their programs for consideration for the 20th Gemeaux. Several high-profile Quebec producers have also joined the boycott.

The announcement first came from TVA, the province’s leading private broadcaster, late last month.

Luc Lavoie, executive vice-president of Quebecor, the corporation that owns TVA, is blunt about the broadcaster’s decision not to submit any of its programs for Gemeaux consideration.

‘We’re not here to say whether or not the Gemeaux Awards live or die. It is up to us whether or not we enter. And we’ve decided not to bother. This is no big deal as far as we’re concerned,’ he says.

When Playback went to press, the industry was still awaiting an official response from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the organizers of the Gemeaux Awards. On April 4 and 5, members of the Academy were meeting to discuss the situation.

Lavoie, who insists that TVA’s move is not a boycott, points out that individual producers can still enter their programs for the competition if they so choose.

But Lavoie also argues that public broadcaster Radio-Canada has the clear advantage in the history of Gemeaux winners. It has become well known that many private producers and broadcasters consistently feel slighted by the Gemeaux Awards and who is picked to win.

‘The reality of the Gemeaux structure is that members vote for the winners,’ says Lavoie. ‘We would have to invest $100,000 or even $200,000 [to boost TVA’s membership] in order to vote for our own shows and win… We don’t feel the need to invest in this manner.’

Both TVA and TQS skipped the 2002 Gemeaux, but were brought back into the fold in 2003 after ACCT-Quebec president Guy Fournier delivered some reforms.

These included changes to the nomination process whereby selection votes now make up 60% of the final vote, with 40% from the general membership. TV managers and programmers are excluded from jury committees. Also, artists and programs with three wins are now permanently retired from competition.

At the same time, 12 categories were abolished in 2003 and new categories, including best format program, were added. The Academy also said it was reducing membership fees.

Lavoie says the reforms have not done enough to correct the perceived slant in favor of SRC.

Lavoie points out that of the top 10 most highly rated programs in Quebec, two are broadcast on SRC. And SRC only accounts for four of the top 30. ‘Most of the rest are TVA’s programs. And yet, at Gemeaux time, SRC usually picks up most of the awards.’

The Gemeaux Awards’ woes are made even worse by the fact that TQS has passed on its turn to broadcast the awards. That means the show is still looking for a broadcast home.

The decision by both TVA and TQS throws this fall’s Gemeaux Awards ceremony into jeopardy. Some individual producers have joined the chorus of dissent, saying they will not bother to enter the competition.

Aetios Productions’ Fabienne Larouche (Les Bougon – C’est aussi ca la vie) announced her intention not to pay the $10,000 fee required by the Academy and instead to donate it to a Quebec film school. Productions J, producers of Star Académie, are also staying out.

-www.academy.ca

-tva.canoe.com

-www.tqs.ca