Quebec film drunken birds by Ivan Grbovic triumphed at the two galas organized by Québec Cinéma, including the one broadcast by ICI Télé on a Sunday in June. It is this party led by Quebec Cinema that the broadcaster has just abandoned, to the great dismay of the community.
drunken birds won 10 Irises in total, the second highest single-shot harvest in the 24-year gala. The film even represented Canada in the race for the Oscar for best international film.
What was the effect at the box office of this televisual overexposure of the work praised by critics, pampered by the milieu? None, or almost. By force of circumstance, since the film was released in October 2021, eight months before the ceremony and the stacking of the statuettes.
It only stayed in theaters for a few weeks (in the midst of a pandemic, it is true) and it did not appear on the list of the ten most-seen Quebec films in theaters last year. drunken birds grossed around $227,000 at the box office.
There is nothing insulting, or even stupid, in venturing into this terrain of utilitarian accounts of culture. The proof is that Pierre Barrette, director of the School of Media at UQAM, a great connoisseur of cinema and even more impressive television analyst, himself provides this example in an interview.
Producing a gala is expensive. Could this money be used to promote local films in other ways?
“Let’s say 25,000 people paid to see the movie of the year,” he says. It’s probably less, but good. However, 25,000 people is an absolute flop on TV. Even at Télé-Québec. The cinema has enormous prestige, an enormous artistic and cultural aura, for good reason, but its popularity absolutely does not compare with that of television. The smallest series that is a bit boring will attract 15 or 20 times more people. We are in completely different universes,” he said.
Two conclusions and as many options for the broadcaster and its partner Québec Cinéma stem from this annoying comparison of figures, accounting but unstoppable. Let us continue, therefore, in order.
A gala, kossadonne?
The first observation is that Radio-Canada has good reasons for no longer wanting to relay the gala du cinema. Its showcase ultimately helps very little to promote Quebec cinema, one of the primary objectives of the distribution of television prizes. That said, moving the gala to June likely played a part in the ultimately fatal drop in ratings to less than 500,000 viewers in 2021.
“Nobody is going to be happy about this disappearance, but, at the same time, we have to admit that the evening had difficulties and that the ratings were not necessarily there,” summarizes Jason Béliveau, editor-in-chief of Sequences. The film review. It’s unfortunate, it’s sad, but it’s not surprising. »
He goes back to the concrete effect of this evening. “I would like us to try to measure the real effects of the gala. We are talking about radiation. Does winning the Iris for best film have repercussions on the rental or purchase of films? Producing a gala is expensive. Could this money be used to promote local films in other ways? adds Jason Béliveau.
This form of self-promotion seems to be in decline everywhere. “The very concept of the gala, the televised award ceremony with the violins and the glitter, interests people less, he adds. There are too many major issues in the world right now to watch superstars living very well walking down a red carpet and handing out awards. »
We tried to do a gala on the theater in Quebec and it never got off the ground, again because the winning plays were no longer on the bill and, frankly, the show was flat.
If people want less, the major networks here and elsewhere reduce their offer. TVA scuttled the Artis awards. The Oscars, like the Golden Globes or the Césars, capture less and less of the public.
“We tried to do a gala on the theater in Quebec and it never got off the ground, again because the winning plays were no longer on the bill and, frankly, the show was flat, says Professor Barrette. And if the ADISQ evening resists, it’s because the host, Louis-José Houde, always offers one of the best TV moments of the year. The observation holds for the Les Olivier gala, with comedians at the controls of the good show.
Awards celebrating TV on TV hold up the best. Normal. They attract viewers who can still see and re-watch the award-winning shows.
“The primary function of a gala is one of curation: this moment signals what is worth seeing, or reading, or listening to,” explains Mr. Barrette. It’s a kind of compass. Now, at the moment, the cinema is everywhere and nowhere. A film stays in theaters for two weeks, disappears for months, reappears on one of the many platforms. It’s still a huge mess. The gala presents films that are very little seen in theaters and difficult to see afterwards. »
If we add the growing and generalized disaffection of young adults for traditional screens, we find ourselves with an even more worrying situation for both of them. This great mutation makes the star system basis on which Quebec’s cultural industries are partly based is faltering. For beautiful young people, Véronique Cloutier, even with her radio and TV shows, her magazine and her channel on Tou.tv, no longer has the weight against the influencers ofOD…
Radio-Canada, kossadonne?
Is the case then heard? Actually no. A second critical perspective emerges from the crisis. Cultural columnists and tenors from the film industry have been repeating it for a few days: if Radio-Canada really wanted to play its role, it would do more for national culture and cinema in particular. In this second perspective, the death of the gala of Iris (or Masks in theater) becomes the symptom of a much deeper radio-Canadian evil. “We can say to ourselves that, if we made better use of the TV window, the films would be seen more, says Professor Barrette. drunken birds could attract hundreds of thousands of people if broadcast in an appropriate setting. Television would thus fulfill its cultural mandate. I am not far from thinking that it is indeed the function of a public television. This is certainly the function of Télé-Québec. I think that should be to a certain extent the function of Radio-Canada as well. But right now, we’re not there yet. »
The TV specialist talks about the “telemetropolisation” of Radio-Canada. The two major generalist networks in Quebec offer basically the same thing, with a few exceptions. Yes, of course there is Discovery and green weekbut for the rest, it’s ok Ends the week well at Everybody talks about it… Moreover, neither the two public radio channels nor the specialized network ICI Artv offer a magazine devoted to the seventh art.
“It’s Radio-Canada’s mandate to promote local cinema and culture,” says Mylène Cyr, executive director of the Association of Directors and Directors of Quebec (ARRQ). She also sits on the board of directors of Québec Cinéma. “We should all sit down together and find a more innovative formula that could appeal to more audiences. »
Jason Béliveau weakly believes in it. He prefers to say to himself that, if the public media give up, or just like, the cinema will have to question itself on its distribution methods and the means of increasing its visibility and popularity on its own. “Québec Cinéma is doing a great job in regional distribution,” he notes. This practice should be encouraged and the cinema should be brought to the cinephiles where they are, to give them the desire to return to the theatres. »
It also relies on the distribution of films in places conducive to a quality cinematographic experience, such as the Cinéma Moderne or the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal. He himself participates in the development of the Circuit Beaumont, a 70-seat art house that will open this winter in downtown Quebec. drunken birds should be on the program…