We haven't written much about Bill C-10 before now because there is a lot we don't know about the efforts to update the Broadcast Act in Canada. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has been pushing for the House of Commons to pass the bill, even when protections were taken out that could subject individual online posts to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Guilbeault's attempts to clarify the concerns have been awkward and incomplete.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is certainly in favour of Bill C-10. As part of Making the Case for Canadian Film | Plaider la Cause du Cinéma Canadien, the academy has 3 panel discussions.
The first discussion is in the above video. The second discussion launches online this morning at 11 am Eastern with the final discussion on June 10.
The first panel was focused on passing Bill C-10 to give more funding to Canadian films that struggle to qualify for funding because of limited budgets and Telefilm Canada's requirement to fund films in English, French, or Indigenous languages. Even with increased funding aka Netflix tax, priorities will still need to be made.
Filmmaker and professor Ali Kazimi runs each of the panels. Kazimi was on the first panel with Cameron Bailey with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Jeff Chan (Code Eight), legendary filmmaker Deepa Mehta, and Monique Simard, director of the French Program at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB | ONF). (Go about 10 minutes into the video for when the event actually starts.)
Chan says Bill C-10 will open opportunity for young filmmakers to find a path.
Bailey says we need to protect independent cinema houses. South Korea is the model for how they do it. Take percentage of revenues to reinvest. Mehta applauded the India film industry as a good example.
Simard explained that the concern over Bill C-10 isn't a concern because only professionals will be subject to any CRTC scrutiny. The problem is how to identify professionals; Canadians and others around the world use YouTube and other online platforms to make money. If Simard is arguing that a person who makes hundreds of dollars isn't a professional, is there a threshold for what is considered professional. The consensus of the panel was that concern was irrational but the explanations aren't answering legitimate questions.
Mehta has been fighting to get funding for films regardless of language. She implied that Bill C-10 would change that limitation but didn't say how that would happen. Mehta told the story of shooting Water in English as well as Hindi to get funding from Telefilm Canada. She didn't say specifically if she got funding from Telefilm Canada for Funny Boy, but that was implied. If so, Telefilm Canada would have given funding with a majority of dialogue in English (63%) yet submitting the film for the Academy Awards, knowing that too much English would get the film removed from the Oscars category.
Mehta says the language changes have to be in the legislation. She says Telefilm Canada hands are tied.
While we agree with Mehta on language, she wants to use the changes to make films to get taxpayer funding that are not in Canada with a majority of non-Canadians. We argue that funding priorities should be given to filmmakers who want to shoot in Canada with a majority of Canadians. We fear that a deluge of requests will deprive filmmakers who want to make films in Canada.
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The second panel deals with the international marketplace and how Canadian films are distributed abroad. The discussion will also cover how other countries create a space for domestic culture. The third panel deals with how one decides to stay in Canada or leaves for pastures south of the border and elsewhere.
Each panel will then have a moderated Reddit discussion to freely voice opinions and vote on proposals. The panel conversations are in English with French subtitles.
The necessity of Canadian films that don't seem Canadian
Telefilm Canada shouldn't limit funding by language but reward films shot in Canada with Canadians
'Visibly Canadian' is a reasonable goal for Canadian film
Canadian films should tell more stories about Canada
Liberals want to revamp Canadian Content rules
The conversation was about Canadian filmmakers who feel that have to flee to the United States. Bailey mentioned Stella Meghie specifically. We should note that some Canadians would rather make films in the United States. That exodus will happen regardless of what happens with Bill C-10.
The conversation was also about getting Canadian filmmakers to stay in Canada, especially BIPOC and definitely Indigenous. The conversation was also about taking funding for filmmakers who want as little to do with Canada as they can and put those projects on equal footing. This feels a bit contradictory.
video and photos credit: Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
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