Montreal: Not surprisingly, the SODEC 2004/05 annual report reflects the growth and mostly good news that surrounds the Quebec film and TV industry.

The report, released last month, carries the statistic that is the envy of the rest of the country: in 2004/05, 13.8% of Quebec’s cinema screens were showing homegrown product. Eleven of the province’s theatrical feature releases were seen by more than 100,000 moviegoers each, a figure that continues to rise. And this increase has been achieved even though Quebec film and TV funder SODEC’s annual allocation from the provincial government was down more than 10% in 2004/05 ($23.3 million, as compared to $26 million in 2003/04).

SODEC spokesperson Nancy Bélanger notes that the recent cycle brought other changes – mainly that Jean Chaput took over as president of the organization, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

‘There was a period of observation for Mr. Chaput, and a time of transition,’ Bélanger says.

A main point of change for the industry came when, in November 2004, members from all sectors of Quebec’s production business gathered in Montreal for the Forum métropolitain de l’industrie cinématographique. More than 200 industry officials, including distributors, producers and representatives of government organizations, agreed that Quebec needed one central umbrella organization to unite the industry and help bolster the sagging service production sector. That entity, dubbed the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec, will be funded by the private sector as well as all three levels of government, and is set to be operational in the first quarter of 2006.

‘This was an extremely important move,’ says Bélanger. ‘It’s imperative that Quebec remain a production center.’

Though Quebec’s industry has flourished – in large part thanks to SODEC funding decisions – the organization has taken criticism from some producers for the way it distributes its cash.

Back in November, Pierre Even, producer of the smash feature C.R.A.Z.Y., told Playback that SODEC often spreads itself too thin.

‘If they do give [a producer] money, they usually give them 25 to 30 percent less than [what the producer] budgeted for,’ Even stated. ‘Basically, it’s about volume for SODEC. They will give the nod to eight projects, whereas Telefilm would only finance four properly… It’s almost like they haven’t given you the green light – they’ve given you the yellow light instead.’

Bélanger acknowledges the criticism, but says SODEC has had to consider a growing number of applications.

‘We have to consider the questions: What are the projects on the table? And what’s the money available?’ she says, adding that SODEC is asking for additional money from the Quebec government to help with the analysis of applications.

‘In the period from 2001 to 2006, independent feature production pitches rose by 88%, while documentary film applications grew by 93%,’ Bélanger points out. ‘Quebec is going through a period of strong growth in the film and TV industry. That’s a good thing, but it means that we have more and more projects submitted to us for consideration.’

www.sodec.gouv.qc.ca