Montreal: Arden Ryshpan, liaison officer with the STCVQ/ACTRA and a key figure in Quebec location promotion efforts over the past three years, will join the Directors Guild of Canada as its new manager of national directors affairs, effective July 1. Ryshpan will be based in Toronto.

With Ryshpan’s departure, ACTRA and the STCVQ film technicians union are expressing concern over Quebec’s ongoing promotional efforts.

‘Who is left to promote Quebec as a place to shoot?’ asks Raymond Guardia, ACTRA’s eastern regional director. ‘When you look at what our competition in Ontario and B.C. are doing, our approach is amateurish at best.’

Both STCVQ executive director Brian Baker and Guardia want the new Quebec government to act quickly in providing additional funding credits for location promotion. The Liberal government is expected to table a new budget in mid-June.