The plight of Canada’s feature film industry is turning heads in Ottawa again as the standing committee on Canadian heritage prepares to review the federal Feature Film Policy.

As early as February, the parliamentary committee will begin public hearings to assess the government’s support of feature films and evaluate the effectiveness of the FFP in the current market.

The FFP, initiated in 2000, also comes up for review by the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2006.

Although two reviews of the same policy within a year of each other may seem like overkill, Durham MP and official opposition heritage critic Bev Oda, who has sat on the heritage committee since December, says the committee’s study may have a more balanced review of the FFP.

‘It’s a chance to have a real objective review of the industry policy,’ says Oda. ‘When you have a committee made up of all parties, you are going to have a more objective review than you would have with a ministry review, which may be seen to be defending steps taken and programs instituted.’

Oda adds that Heritage Minister Liza Frulla encouraged the committee to undertake the independent review.

From Oda’s perspective, the feature industry is in real trouble.

‘This study is well overdue,’ she says.

Oda says she would like to see an increase in the number of homegrown films produced and a stronger industry in Canada overall.

While the FFP is primarily concerned with the $25-million homegrown feature industry, standing committee vice chair Gary Schellenberger says the overall slowdown in the sector over the last few years contributed to the committee’s decision to examine the feature film industry. He cites a precipitous drop in foreign productions, which make up roughly 75% of the $1-billion feature sector in this country.

‘We’ve been getting feedback from individuals and are aware of a general feeling that our film industry has been devastated over the last few years, whether it be because of our dollar or the actions of the governor of California,’ says Schellenberger.

According to Schellenberger, it was primarily problems in major production centers, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax, that led the committee to initiate the review. Public hearings will take place in each of the four cities. He says the aim of the review is to determine if the slowdown in feature production is a result of different issues in each area, or if the problems are similar across the country.

‘If there’s a trend that comes up across the country, then there has to be something serious done here,’ he says.

The review will evaluate the effectiveness of bodies that administer federal support for feature films, including Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board, the Canadian Television Fund and the federal tax-credit system.

The committee wants to know if federal support for feature films has helped retain Canadian talent, produced quality Canadian films, generated audiences and penetrated international markets. The evaluation will include a review of programs and policies, as well as the performance of Canadian features and the feature industry overall.

The committee is in the process of hiring a consultant to work on the review, which was expected to be underway by the end of this month. The committee expects to table the report before parliament breaks for summer.

When the FFP was initiated in 2000, it marked a major shift in the federal government’s support for feature film from industry to audience-building, with an aim to increase earnings from domestic features to 5% of total box-office revenues in the country.

Towards the end of 2004, the box office for Canadian features moved closer to Telefilm’s 5% goal. Domestic productions accounted for 3.6% of the overall theatrical take in 2003 and by Dec. 9, 2004 had jumped to 4.6%. However, final figures from Telefilm for year-end 2004 were unavailable at press time and those figures likely dropped a little as a result of major Hollywood releases over the Christmas season.

-www.pch.gc.ca