OTTAWA – At a ceremony at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the government of Canada signed amendments to an agreement with the Government Spain on cinematographic relations
This document replaces the original 1985 co-production agreement and includes television productions as a new area of co-operation between the two countries. The new agreement will support expanding cultural relations with Spain and provide Canadian and Spanish producers with enhanced opportunities for collaboration in both film and television, says the press release from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
"Canada’s new government is pleased to strengthen the audio-visual industries in both Canada and its partnering countries with co-production agreements," said Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, in the release. "These agreements reinforce international alliances in the cultural sector and, they promote Canadian culture abroad."
For more than 40 years, Canada has participated in co-productions with several countries. It currently has agreements with 53 countries. Spain is a significant co-production partner and the agreement has so far generated four bilateral and four multilateral co-production projects with a value of $61 million.
Over the last 10 years, Canada has been involved in more than 800 co-production projects, resulting in many successful feature films, such as the award-winning Barbarian Invasions (Canada-France), Being Julia (Canada-UK-Hungary) and Kamataki (Canada-Japan).
