Vancouver: Provincial ndp politician Bill Barlee, whose ministerial responsibilities extended to the film industry, was narrowly defeated in the aftermath of the ndp’s slim majority victory in the May 28 b.c. election.

Barlee lost his Okanagan-Boundary riding to Liberal Bill Barisoff by only 33 votes once all the votes were tallied and made official June 10. A judicial recount is imminent.

Premier Glen Clark’s new cabinet was not announced at press time and there were no early front-runners for Barlee’s Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture.

The change in minister is being greeted with mixed reaction by b.c.’s film community. As a longtime minister responsible for production, Barlee was an avid booster of the film industry, but wasn’t widely regarded as effective in furthering film issues such as the now-abandoned B.C. Film Investment Program.

The re-election of the ndp, meanwhile, has some filmmakers breathing a sigh of relief that they don’t have to educate a whole new bureaucracy about the unique qualities of the b.c. industry.

‘Over the past four years, we’ve put in time educating (the politicians) about the industry,’ says Tim Hiltz, business manager of the B.C. Council of Film Unions. ‘Now, they are conscious of its significance. We hope with the re-election of the ndp that they continue to remain responsive to the needs of the industry and recognize the industry as one of growth and opportunity.’

Adds Vancouver producer Harold Tichenor, ‘It takes time to get through to government, and just before the election we were beginning to get somewhere (with lobbying).’ And rather than continuing to cater to the service industry, Tichenor says the ndp needs to focus its next term on the needs of the indigenous producer, meaning a tax credit.

Wayne Sterloff, president of funding agency British Columbia Film, says the industry has not been able to communicate to government the need for a strong anchor of indigenous production.

‘(Politicians) don’t understand our fragile relationship with Hollywood,’ says Sterloff, whose agency falls under b.c.’s Ministry of Small Business, Tourism and Culture. The industry must change the perspective that b.c. is a branch plant of Los Angeles, he explains.

‘Studios like Warner Bros. are attracted to joint ventures,’ says Sterloff. ‘We must have some strong homegrown companies that can enter joint ventures and have the money to attract Hollywood.’

Dale Andrews, executive vp at WIC Western International Communications’ Westcom Entertainment Group, expects no improvement in what he sees as an erosion of incentives for film production in b.c.

‘There has never been the recognition that (film production) is a business,’ he says. It was true of the previous (Social Credit) government. It’s true of the ndp, and I don’t see it changing.’