Montreal: The long-awaited nominations came through Dec. 6 as Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps named Richard Stursberg the new executive director of Telefilm Canada and Charles Belanger as its chair. The appointments are for a five-year term. Former Canadian Television Fund chair Stursberg starts Jan. 1, 2002. Belanger takes over in February.

Stursberg was present at a Telefilm seminar on future orientations held Dec. 9-11 in Mont Tremblant, QC. More than 100 participants representing all sectors of the industry attended the timely confab. ‘It was great,’ he says. ‘I got a chance to meet a lot of people and hear their views.’

The new executive director says he’ll need a month or two to settle in. And while he hopes there’s some room to effect change at the federal funding agency, at this point he’s only being introduced to staff. He lives in Toronto but will establish a new residence in Montreal.

Copp’s short list for the top Telefilm post was believed to consist of ‘the two Richards,’ Stursberg and CAFDE president Richard Paradis. Industry sources told Playback the minister discussed the appointment with various players, some of whom expressed reservations about Stursberg’s commitment to independent production, lack of experience in feature films and unknown commitment to regional industrial development, issues raised in the controversial May 2000 Silcox-Colbert governance study commissioned by the CTF’s board.

Stursberg replaces outgoing chair Francois Macerola, who completed an extended tenure as Telefilm executive director this past summer. International relations director Johanne St-Arnauld has served as interim executive director since July. Telefilm’s current annual budget is in the $225-million to $230-million range.

‘Chairing the [CTF] was good because it gave me a chance to learn a lot about television production and relationships between producers and broadcasters and the EIP and LFP, and as you know, we spent a lot to time in the past few years making sure the programs were synched up. I think the relationship now between EIP and LFP is very good,’ says Stursberg.

Janet Yale, CTF vice-chair and CCTA president and CEO, becomes CTF interim chair with Stursberg’s appointment.

Reputation for frankness

Telefilm’s new executive director has a reputation for frankness.

He fought hard on behalf of the overall CTF board, which he chaired over four successive mandates since 1998. And he was a most scrappy battler against the telecos during an extended tenure as president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association. He has held executive positions with Cancom (Canadian Satellite Communications), StarChoice, Vision.com and Unitel (now AT&T Canada). From 1985 to 1990, he was assistant deputy minister, culture and broadcasting, and assistant deputy minister, telecommunications research and technology in the Department of Communications. He is a member of the Banff Television Festival board of governors and the Government of Canada’s Sectoral Advisory Group on International Trade in Cultural Products.

Since 1997, Belanger has been president of a firm specializing in electronic media management. He was senior VP, programming services, at BCE Media, and vice-chair, broadcasting with the CRTC. From 1987 to 1997, he held various positions with CFCF in Montreal, most notably president and CEO of CFCF Broadcasting Group. More recently, he was vice-chair and chair of the television board of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

‘I am very pleased that both Richard Stursberg and Charles Belanger have agreed to join Telefilm,’ says Copps. ‘Their wealth of knowledge and experience will play an important role in helping Telefilm fulfill its mission to assist the industry in producing high-quality works that reflect Canadian society, both at home and abroad.’

-www.telefilm.gc.ca