MONTREAL – Telefilm Canada is launching its 2006-2007 annual report this week as part of its 40th anniversary.
“Telefilm has played an important role in the growth and success of the film, television and new media industries,” said Wayne Clarkson, executive director, in a press release.
“We continue to support Canadian talent who create Canadian content that engages Canadian audiences and the world. The 2006-2007 annual report identifies the major issues we face today: adapt to the multiplatform environment and encourage the industry to build on new business opportunities, increase the leverage of our investments and activities, identify, train and foster new talent, represent an asset for Canadians and demonstrate vision. We are doing this by working closely with our partners and clients across the country.”
Telefilm’s 2006-2007 annual report presents the corporation’s achievements with respects to its three strategic objectives: building audiences, building capacity and its performance as administrator of public funds. Below is the telefilm release touting its accomplishments:
Building audiences
Feature film – Despite a decline of box-office receipts in 2006, which went from 5.3% to 4.1%, Canadian cinema turned out its greatest hit, Bon Cop Bad Cop, which beat all the Canadian movie theatre records and also enjoyed incredible success from DVD sales. Films receiving production funding from Telefilm took home 85% of the total box-office receipts of Canadian films. Moreover, among the 20 most profitable Canadian films, 18 were supported by Telefilm.
New media – Convergent web sites are the most popular among users. In 2006-2007, the new media projects supported by Telefilm inspired 140 million page views and nearly 4 million unique visitors.
Diversification of genres – Telefilm is targeting a range of diversified projects that have the potential to reach large audiences. The portfolio of projects supported by Telefilm saw an increase in the number of genres compared to the previous fiscal year, going from four to seven, even though the drama genre still largely dominates Canadian cinema.
Partnerships with industry – Telefilm kept its promise to work more closely with the industry, in particular as part of The Great Canadian Video Game Competition, a successful public-private initiative of the Canada New Media Fund, and the French and English Working Groups of the Canada Feature Film Fund. The Corporation published asymmetrical guidelines responding to the needs of the two markets, namely the development of more complete projects and better marketing for the anglophone market, and a greater diversification of funding sources for the francophone market, especially on the international scene. The working groups enabled the creation of target programs that allow Telefilm to make the most of its resources.
Building capacity
International markets – The 2006-2007 fiscal year was very rewarding for Canadian production in the markets. Telefilm notably launched a visibility program, Perspective Canada, of screenings of Canadian films that were very popular. For each Telefilm dollar, Canadian professionals enjoyed five-fold the amount in sales and commercial spinoffs.
Training and development programs – A survey on the training and development programs supported or organized by Telefilm showed that the majority of the scriptwriters and directors who responded believe that these activities had a positive impact on their career path.
Regional, linguistic and cultural diversity – More than 30% of Telefilm’s financed projects were from the regions. During the fiscal year, Telefilm created several programs to foster production in linguistic minority situations and production outside the major centres. These programs finance the production of French feature films outside Montreal and Quebec, as well as the development of English comedies in Quebec.
Being a modern, solid and effective administrator
Canadian Television Fund – 2006-2007 marked the first year of a service agreement of Telefilm with the CTF for the administration of its funding programs. This agreement includes high standards with respect to the levels of services, the processes and the reports, which has generated improvements in other activity sectors at Telefilm.
CFFF – review of business practices – Telefilm reviewed its structure and its business processes to work better with the English-language industry and enable it to build audiences. A new management unit for national business processes will allow the regional directors and their feature film teams to focus on identifying and supporting promising English-language projects.
Development of the industry – In 2006-2007, Telefilm embarked on reviewing the range of its programs and its service standards that contribute to the development of the industry. Our activities in this sector will be aligned with our first objective, building audiences.
A culture of accountability and service
Overall, Telefilm improved the gathering and sharing of financial information, the control points and the accountability of its funds and programs. A modern technological infrastructure contributes to the quality of the organization’s results. Telefilm is working toward the development of a green code of conduct that will position the organization as a responsible citizen.
The online business tool eTelefilm enjoyed much success in 2006-2007 as the number of companies signed up increased by 77% and the online applications by 42%. Today, over 400 companies are signed up for eTelefilm and nearly 20% of the funding applications are submitted online. This portal simplifies and improves Telefilm’s quality of services, enabling the industry and the Corporation to focus on creation and innovation.
