MONTREAL — Some of Quebec’s best-known film and TV directors were playing Santa on a chilly street corner on Tuesday to protest Canadian copyright law.

Charles Binamé (Maurice Richard) and Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y. ) were among the roughly 200 members of the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec who were handing out free copies of their hit films. The directors — many of whom were wearing Santa hats — gave away their work because they earn too little money once a film is finished, said Binamé.

‘Many of us had to buy these DVDs in order to give them away. We need to be recognized,’ he told Playback Daily.

‘Right now we’re invisible,’ said Jean-Pierre Lefebvre, spokesman for the directors group. ‘We want to be part of the revenue-earning system.’

The directors want to be designated as authors under Canadian copyright law, just as the writers of scripts and musical scores are, says Lefebvre. ‘Because of how powerful the star system is here, it’s often only actors and writers who are the public face of film. It’s rarely the directors. We wanted to show the public that we are also part of the creative process.’

Their complaints echo those of U.S. writers, now in the sixth week of a walkout over pay for new media and DVDs.

In France, directors are recognized as authors, so when their films are broadcast on TV they are compensated, said Philippe Falardeau, holding a placard for his Prix Jutra-winning film Congorama. ‘I’m a writer and a director. As a director I’m just as much the author of a film as the writer. I decide its look. I pick the performers and select the music. I create the vision.

‘At least when my film gets shown on TV in France I get a cheque in the mail. Here, I get nothing. And I don’t even care much about the money, it’s more about recognition,’ said Falardeau.

Lefebvre says they picked this week to protest because copyright issues are again making headlines. Industry Minister Jim Prentice was expected to introduce a controversial bill early this week that seeks to reform Canadian copyright laws. The bill has been delayed amid growing opposition.

Critics have accused the federal government of bowing to pressure from the U.S. government, which has openly pressured Canada to implement copyright rules that mirror its its Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which protects U.S. entertainment companies by outlawing file-sharing of music and video files.

Copyright reform falls under the jurisdiction of both the Heritage and Industry departments. The previous Liberal government tried to pass its own copyright reform bill, C-60, in 2005, but it died when the Opposition brought down the minority government in a no-confidence vote.