The controversy surrounding the August exit of Film nb exec director Sam Grana persists as the province’s fledgling film industry’s producers association has splintered into two groups. The recently formed Professional Producers Association of New Brunswick has broken away from the established New Brunswick Producers Association to support the policies and initiatives begun under Grana.

The crux of the debate appears to be what kind of productions Film nb – the province’s film development corporation – should be supporting.

The old producers association, headed by president Cecil Chevrier of Phare Est Productions, feels that indigenous productions created and produced by local producers should be the top funding priority for Film nb, while the new faction believes that well-financed, bigger projects with backing from non-New Brunswick companies should be used to kick start a film industry.

Bob Miller, vp of the new association and president of Atlantic Media Works, says the nbpa was not accurately representing all its members.

‘The Professional Producers Association that we founded simply believes that what Film nb has been doing and the direction they have been going in is the right direction,’ says Miller, whose company recently produced At The End of the Day: The Sue Rodriguez Story with Ontario’s Barna-Alper and Alliance as well as the Harlequin romance This Matter of Marriage – also for Alliance.

But Chevrier, a veteran producer who has lived and worked in New Brunswick for years, says that under Grana’s reign at Film nb indigenous projects suffered from lack of funding because bigger-budget foreign productions ate up most of Film nb’s limited funds.

‘Projects that are New Brunswick-based should not suffer. . . and should get funding,’ says Chevrier.

Dick and Tracy, a light-spirited children’s detective series for cbc, stands at the center of the current debate.

Developed and created by Toronto’s Microtainment Plus International (which will distribute the series), 13 episodes of Dick and Tracy are slated to shoot in New Brunswick this December as a production of Roman Bittman’s Mobius Entertainment. Bittman will serve as both producer and exec producer on the series.

Bittman says he bought the copyright for the 13 episodes from Microtainment.

In April, the production received a letter of equity investment from Film nb for $260,000, reportedly 38% of the Film nb budget for the year.

While the series will create jobs and skills training for those in the local industry, some New Brunswick producers are crying foul because Mobius had not been a registered company in the province for a year as per Film nb guidelines when its funding was approved.

Bittman says that because he – the 100% owner of Mobius – had been in the province for over a year, Mobius was entitled to apply for funding. He says because he moved to New Brunswick from Nova Scotia in October ’96, ‘the Economic Renewal Department who makes these decisions decided to give me an exemption.’

Where’s Sam?

Grana’s current employment situation remains unclear, but after being registered at this year’s Atlantic Film Festival as the executive vice-president of Mobius, a chorus of producers claimed that a conflict of interest had occurred because of the questionable Dick and Tracy equity investment.

Bittman, former ceo of the Nova Scotia Film Development Corporation, says Grana doesn’t work for Mobius and offers a simple explanation for the incident.

‘He got a spare ticket I had because I’d known the guy for 20 years and he showed up without a ticket,’ says Bittman.

When asked who Grana is currently working for, Bittman said, ‘He works for a related friend of mine but I don’t know what that relationship is,’ and would not elaborate further.

Some have said that Grana is in fact working for Maritime Entertainment Group, a 50/50 joint venture between CanWest Global’s Fireworks Entertainment and John Hamilton. Those same sources say that Hamilton (who had been partnered in an as yet unbuilt New Brunswick animation and soundstage studio with Toronto’s Cambium Entertainment Group and Fireworks) is linked to Mobius and producer Bill Vince, who recently shot two features in New Brunswick.

Bittman and Vince both deny a business relationship with either Hamilton or meg, and Hamilton, who has no listed phone or office in New Brunswick, could not be reached for comment despite attempts through his lawyer’s office and Fireworks.

Grana made himself unavailable for comment.

Ray Wilson, senior financial management advisor for culture and tourism who is reportedly the acting executive director of Film nb, also did not return Playback’s phone calls.

With files from Pamela Swedko.