first look at Dupuy

ottawa: The political winds have shifted and as a result Canada’s exhibitors may once again be confronted by a cultural force that wants more screen time for Canadian product.

Canada’s largest theater chains – Cineplex Odeon, Famous Players, Landmark and Empire – have been able to rest easy since the Tory government put film distribution legislation on the back burner. But in his maiden speech as minister, given to the Canadian Film and Television Production Association’s conference in Ottawa Dec. 2-4, new Heritage Canada Minister Michel Dupuy made it clear he is not impressed with the fact Canadian films make up less than 6% of total screen time in the theaters, and hinted that the government may once again explore a new film distribution policy.

‘There are not nearly enough Canadian productions in our cinemas. Despite the slow improvement in the overall market share of Canadian distributors, the level of Canadian screen time is only at 6%. I cannot rest in peace when I see these figures. I feel that something has to be done,’ said Dupuy.

For the National Association of Canadian Film and Video Distributors, Dupuy’s speech was ‘encouraging.’ Members of the association have long been advocating a quota system and point to the growth of Canadian tv shows that resulted when the crtc forced Canadian content rules on broadcasters.

Current regulations

Association executive director Dan Johnson says, however, that any new rule has to respect current regulations outside the country: ‘Canadian distributors would like to see a solution that would still comply to international law. There’s no point offering something that gets the industry standing on their chairs and later finding out it contravenes our international obligations and winds up being voided by an international court.’

‘I think we have a new government, new minister and it’s an issue we will have to come to grips with,’ says Millard Roth, president of the Canadian Motion Pictures Distributors Association. But Roth does not think implementing a quota will improve the status of indigenous product. ‘A quota by itself doesn’t cause anyone to go buy a ticket. All it does is put a picture on the screen,’ says Roth. He adds: ‘There is not a Canadian picture that has commercial potential that has not found a screen.’

Joe Peixoto, president of Famous Players, agrees: ‘Our position, which is consistent with our past position, is that we believe that the public really decides what they should see.’ If an appetite for Canadian film is to be developed, it should be done by increasing the quality of the films and marketing campaigns.

Peixoto says small independent theaters might not be able to withstand the economic impact of legislation and would be forced to close. He suggests that perhaps the government should investigate some sort of subsidy to play these films instead.

In addition to addressing film distribution policy, Dupuy also indicated his government would work on various programs dealing with the infrastructure of the industry: ‘I am very much aware, in the era of globalization and the forming of the multichannel universe, that through regulations alone we cannot guarantee the future distribution of our Canadian products. We need more and better Canadian programs that will not only ensure a Canadian presence on our screens but present choices that Canadians want to watch. Our success will depend on our ability to use all the mechanisms at our disposal and to examine new ones to increase production capacity,’ he said.

Support program

Dupuy said his government would support the loan guarantee program announced earlier by Telefilm Canada, and will proceed with revised copyright legislation and investigate tax incentives for production.

Dupuy also stated that ‘the appointment of a new president of cbc is one of our more important assignments.’ He added: ‘We applaud the cbc’s recent trend of relying more and more on independent producers.’

Dupuy’s speech went over well with producers attending the conference. ‘I was surprised he was prepared to cover so much ground in so much detail. He’s obviously doing his homework,’ says cftpa president Sandra Macdonald.