B.C.-based film and television producers are bracing themselves for reduced funding channels and shrinking markets after the federal budget cut back key government support to Canada's film industry.
The recent federal budget included graduated cuts to Telefilm Canada, the National Film Board and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC), which are slated to rise to 10% by 2014-15. The CBC has since announced plans to slash 650 jobs over three years.
The budget also announced cuts to the Department of Canadian Heritage over the next three years. That could affect the Canada Media Fund (CMF), which supports the television industry.
Vancouver producer Trish Dolman is president of Screen Siren Pictures Inc. and a member of a feature film fund working group with Telefilm.
She said cuts at Telefilm will mean that most B.C. producers who haven't had a feature film in theatres in the past five years will no longer be eligible to apply for development funding.
"Producers who have had projects in development that they haven't been able to get off the ground – I think those are the people that are going to be the most impacted."
Dolman added that after administration and development cuts are made, Telefilm's smaller budget would have less production funding available for Canadian feature films. "You'll probably see fewer feature films being made, and that's not good for anyone in this country. So, yes, it's going to affect B.C."
She added that cuts at the CBC will likely shrink a key market for television producers.
"I don't want to see the CBC buying more hours of Jeopardy! as a solution to [a need for cheaper] programming – to me, that's not fulfilling the mandate of a public broadcaster," she said. "They should be filling their air time with Canadian shows – but they need the money to do that."
Liz Shorten, spokeswoman for the B.C. branch of the Canadian Media Production Association, said any reduction in federal funding for film and TV programming will hurt B.C. producers.
She pointed out that B.C. is already struggling to tap into that funding.
"Over the past few years, we have not received B.C.'s fair share of federal dollars from Telefilm, CBC and CMF, mostly due to a lack of trigger funding at the provincial level through BC Film + Media," she said.
"Further cuts would make the situation worse."
Shorten said federal budget cuts will hurt B.C. more than rival domestic film jurisdiction Ontario.
"Both provinces will be impacted, but I would say cuts will have more of an impact in B.C. given that we are already at a competitive disadvantage," she said, alluding to Ontario's more generous taxpayer-supported film incentives and its concentration of industry decision makers.
"Even less money in the system will make producing content in B.C. more difficult," Shorten said.
Dolman added that even without the federal budget cuts, B.C.'s domestic film and TV industry has declined steadily over the past five years.
"I see a major creative brain drain out of British Columbia into Ontario," she said. "I can't tell you the number of people who work in film and television who have left B.C. to live in Ontario."
This year, Ontario surpassed B.C. as Canada's largest film jurisdiction. (See "Ontario film industry outperforming B.C.'s" – issue 1169, March 20-26.) •
