There have been many ideas put forward to help the English-Canadian film industry overcome its woeful lack of box-office success.

Here’s another one that is so obvious not many people seem to want to utter it out loud, let alone try it: independent producers need to truly think independently. The one-studio system we have in place – i.e. Telefilm Canada – needs producers to think beyond the public funder to find compelling stories, get them made and have them seen by large audiences.

”Find an original voice. Come with original material. Be bold. And we will back you.’ That could be Telefilm’s motto.’

Wayne Clarkson spoke these words in a speech at CFPTA’s Prime Time in Ottawa two years ago, shortly after he took over as executive director of Telefilm.

He went on to say that he couldn’t take credit for the mantra. It actually belonged to James Schamus, co-president of Focus Features, which produced or picked up films as varied as Lost in Translation, Brick, Jet Li’s Fearless, current hit comedy Hot Fuzz (now closing in on US$41 million in the U.K. alone), and David Cronenberg’s upcoming Eastern Promises.

Clarkson is bang on. The public funder is akin to a Hollywood mini-major in this country and essential to the success of Canadian feature film. But it cannot be our only hit-maker or arbiter of story. Fido, Trailer Park Boys and Away from Her do not number enough quality at bats in one season to guarantee a winning record. And Telefilm is a private/public hybrid not driven by the almighty buck, nor should it be.

Schamus’ mission statement could also be Bill Vince’s at Vancouver’s Infinity Features. The exec producer developed strong relationships with MGM and has turned out some very Focus-like projects, including Saved!, The Snow Walker, Just Friends and Capote. It has 30 to 40 projects in development at any one time and recently produced Butterfly on a Wheel, a $20-million thriller with Pierce Brosnan and Gerard Butler (300).

And filmmakers need to take a page out of David Cronenberg’s book and make films in their own country, but strive for larger commercial projects that attract international funding or the participation of an American studio.

Above all, while it may court controversy, we need to revisit the tax shelter to bring more mid-level independent film producers into the industry from the private sector. Especially those who love movies the way Clarkson does, or think independently like Vince. One of the ways we can do this is by making the general Canadian public want to see Canadian films and be a part of what should be a glamorous industry. How? By changing the perception that our films are banal and badly made – and worse, not as hip as Hollywood fare. Right now the power to do that lies in Telefilm’s hands in terms of project selection and marketing.

The word on Clarkson is that his dispensation at Telefilm is open to ‘commercial’ genre projects. There is no reason that something like Korean horror hit The Host (budget US$10 million, South Korean box office US$90 million) could not have come from Canada.

But since we’ll never emulate the Hollywood film factory in volume, we must better connect producers with writers and directors, and Sundance-like labs could serve as the venue in which they all come together to find good stories. Quentin Tarantino was able to polish his Reservoir Dogs feature script at Sundance before making his directorial debut, and he met longtime producer Lawrence Bender through industry contacts at Sundance.

Kiwi auteur Peter Jackson ultimately managed to build a Lucas-like empire in New Zealand not only because of his association with New Line Cinema on the Lord of the Rings films, but also because the NZ Film Commission believed in him after a series of low-budget splatter films, and helped finance his breakout Heavenly Creatures.

Lightning can strike in this country the same way with Telefilm at the helm. There’s more than enough filmmaking talent.

But think of all the movie magic we could create if only we had a few homegrown mid-scale ‘studios’ of vision, and clout beyond our own public mini-major.