| ||
| From November 12, 2012 |
Media Release, Telefilm Canada is investing more than $100-million in Canada’s film industry, but are the right people getting the money?
For immediate release November 14, 2012: Attention Business Editors
(Toronto) Producers Roundtable of Ontario (PRO), a group of film, TV and digital media producers, is concerned about Telefilm Canada’s proposed new funding-evaluation system. After meeting with Telefilm yesterday, many questions remain unanswered.
“The largest issue is the lack of clarity,” says PRO spokesman Wyeth Clarkson. “Telefilm’s proposed system is very specific about allocation by language and region. But they’re not revealing how they plan to share money among the diverse group of players within those fields.”
Types of businesses in the sector range from makers of multi-million dollar movies to young and emerging talent, all of which are important to supporting and maintaining Ontario’s film industry. When Telefilm was asked how the new system would address these various needs, they could only point to historic data provided in their annual report.
As a first step the Producers Roundtable of Ontario is making the following requests.
1. Companies that secured development financing this year should be moved to the end of the line for next year.
2. PRO Ontario and PRO Atlantic Canada should both be given a permanent seat on Telefilm’s Working Group.
3. Before it is implemented, Telefilm’s proposed funding-evaluation system should undergo an independent audit examining assumptions, data, methodology, industry input from PRO and PRO Atlantic Canada and existing barriers to entering the filmmaking business in Canada. This audit should be funded by Telefilm or Heritage Canada and results shared with the industry.
Telefilm Canada is holding its public Annual Meeting Thursday, November 15, in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
-30-
Wyeth Clarkson
Producers Roundtable of Ontario
(416) 388-0250
J. Goss + Associates
(416) 534-4008
pres@jgoss.com
cep-591-g
Background
http://www.telefilm.ca/rapport-annuel/2010-2011/pdf/en/Telefilm_2011_AnnualReport.pdf
Recent media mentions : Quebec's $20-million dubbing ind, Andrew Coyne, Daniel Radcliffe, Richard Dreyfuss and Cory Monteith and funding boost.
Hill Times: Public Accounts of Canada: The only agency that had no increase or decrease in spending was Telefilm Canada, which spent $105,667,000 in both the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years.
Telefilm 30-day notice of Annual Public Meeting
An Overview Of Canadian Tax Credits For Non-Indigenous Film And Television Production - August 2012
Maxime Demers