Telefilm Canada granted French-language productions a smaller share of funding this year than in the previous two. The federal institution, which is one of the largest funders in the film industry, is however making significant progress in terms of diversity and parity.
For the past two years, 39% of the budget envelope has been devoted to films in French, essentially Quebec productions. But during the year 2021-2022, this proportion dropped to 33%, while 67% of the funds were allocated to English-language productions.
That said, this two-thirds to one-third ratio does not in itself represent a setback, but rather corresponds to Telefilm Canada’s objective for several years. “It’s not a setback, because a few years ago, we didn’t even reach the 33% target. We were lucky for two years to be above a third. This was probably explained by the fact that filming resumed much more quickly during the pandemic in Quebec than in the rest of Canada, ”says the president and CEO of the Quebec Association of Media Production (AQPM), Hélène Messier. .
Mme Messier, however, believes that the current target of 33% for cinema in French is largely insufficient, and instead pleads for an increase in the threshold to 40%. She does not fail to point out that the federal Liberals made a promise during the last election campaign. Reached by email, the office of the Minister of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, reiterated its commitment to “increase the reserved share of French-language production”, but did not give a timetable.
“I hope the minister will keep his promise. Because the threshold of 33% is not at all adequate for Quebec”, continues Hélène Messier, who underlines that the situation of the industry in Quebec has nothing to do with that of cinema in English Canada.
More than representative
Because even with a larger budget and a larger market, films produced elsewhere in the country are struggling to find their audience. In 2021, eight Quebec films exceeded $500,000 at the box office. A feat that barely two feature films produced in English Canada can claim credit for, including the Paw Patrol youth film.
Moreover, Telefilm Canada’s annual report shows impressive numbers in terms of diversity. Of the 96 productions subsidized by the institution over the past year, 26 had a person from a diversity background as their director. This is even more in proportion than the share of members of the Canadian population who say they are part of a visible minority (approximately 22%). Another piece of data that Telefilm welcomes: the parity zone between men and women has been reached for several indicators. Indeed, 40% of the funding was granted to films directed by female directors. Five years ago, it was 26%.
“We realized that we may have systemic barriers in our programs, so we changed the criteria to be more inclusive. […] We are beginning to see the fruit of these efforts, but there are still blind spots. There is still work to be done,” cautions René Bourdages, vice-president of cultural portfolio management at Telefilm Canada.
The institution denies being obsessed with issues of diversity and parity. For Telefilm, these objectives in no way harm French-language productions, even if it is true that the number of creators from visible minorities in Quebec is lower than in Ontario.
“It is true that the demographic reality is not the same. This is true not only in Quebec, but also in the West and in the Atlantic. We therefore adapt to the realities of each market. […] But you don’t always have to use logic either. [démographique]. Otherwise, the allocation reserved for Francophone production would not be one-third, because the Francophone population in the country is less than one-third”, illustrates Mr. Bourdages.
According to him, the decline in the share of Francophone funding from 39% to 33% is above all circumstantial, and is in no way deliberate.