Seven months after leaving his post as executive director of Film nb, Sam Grana has resurfaced as vp of Toronto-based John N. Smith’s Dunany Productions.

Grana spent almost two years at the young film commission and says he left because it was becoming cumbersome and he became frustrated when the government did not allocate the amount of money Film nb had been promised.

‘They were promising a minimum of $2 million in equity investment per year and gave me only around 51% the first year and more or less the same the next,’ he says. ‘To build a film industry you need some serious up-front money.’

Shortly following his exit, rumors persisted that Grana was employed by Mobius Entertainment, the same company which reportedly received a letter of equity investment for $260,000 from Film nb under Grana’s reign, and that he was associated with Maritime Entertainment Group, a joint venture between CanWest Global’s Fireworks Entertainment and John Hamilton.

In light of all the hearsay, Grana says ‘it was a very ambiguous relationship whatever association there was with Mobius and Maritime Entertainment Group; it was very short-lived and it has been over for a long time.’

Now, together with Smith, Grana is working on a feature film called The Bubble Room, a comedic story about a very particular dysfunctional family. The project is in the process of casting and finalizing financing.

Despite his new position at Dunany Productions, Grana says he still plans to become active in the New Brunswick film industry as an independent producer and is looking for very definite associations with people there.

Grana and Smith worked together at the National Film Board and have collaborated on many films including the 1994 miniseries The Boys of St. Vincent.