Telefilm fund renewal met with approval, but recipients say more money is needed

The Telefilm Canada Canada New Media Fund (CNMF) will be renewed for one more year at the same funding level as last, Canadian NEW MEDIA has learned. Though contracts have yet to be signed, both Ted Bairstow, head of the Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP), and Earl Hong Tai, Telefilm’s new media sector chief, confirm the extension. While both government officials and new media producers are pleased with the renewal, work has already begun to convince government to extend the fund even further. Bairstow tells CNM that the extra money was available to put the fund on another year’s footing as Ottawa extends the CCOP with $30-$35 million in additional cash. "Much of it will be allocated as it was last year, but we’re still having some internal discussions around final amounts for everything." The 2004-05 extension to the government’s digital culture efforts is in addition to a roughly matching amount in ongoing A-base funding. The final breakdown for the additional funds will be decided after a final review of the program’s first three years, Bairstow says. "We’ve had a lot of positive outcomes. We’re just in the process of finalizing what’s called a formative evaluation of the program. Once we’ve got that finalized, we’ll be doing what’s known as a management response to that to make some recommendations about how to make the programs work better, and we will be paying attention to those recommendations…We spent a reasonable chunk of money on it and got good advice on all the different elements of the program." Recommendations to come out of the evaluation will have a direct impact on how the department uses the funds in 2004-05, he adds. Hong Tai says that while Telefilm doesn’t yet have an agreement in writing, he expects that the CNMF will be funded at the same level as last year, with $9 million flowing into the agency’s kitty. He notes that there will likely be a single deadline for funding projects on April 29, since funds will have to be cashed out during the fiscal year. He expects little change in how the program operates. "The changes for the guidelines for this year will be largely minor, kind of cosmetic," he says. "I have to say, though, since this fund was created three-and-a-half years ago, now, the industry’s changed a lot. I think when we go back to Canadian Heritage and make a proposal for a long-term extension, the business plan has to reflect current reality." Asked what changes he sees in the landscape, Hong Tai notes that fewer funds for interactive projects are now available from other sources. "There’s the TELUS (Canada Learning Fund), the Bell (Broadcast and New Media) Fund - all used to be there. It’s a much smaller contribution to the sector (now). We also know that a lot of companies that were around four years ago are no longer in business. We have to recognize the financial challenges. We also have David Ellis’ pretty good report. We haven’t really addressed his recommendations, yet. "There’s all those things and then, of course, there’s the CCOP advisory board report that came out three months ago. There are some recommendations there that I think we need to put back on the table - stuff that needs to be looked at. I’m sure there’s more. I hear from a lot of players in the industry who think, ‘you know, what about console games?’ That’s an area we should be looking at. I don’t have all the answers, but certainly I know that there’s questions that need to be addressed." New media producers welcome the development, but say more needs to be done. Dan Fill, VP of interactive at DECODE Entertainment, reacted strongly to news when informed of it. "It’s good news that it’s happening, but I think you’ll find most people would be very disappointed," he says. "I think it’s a massive mistake that they’re not investing in original, new production. I think that, at the very least, they should be re-allocating the TELUS-Canada fund to Telefilm this year. The reality is that Telefilm, as an organization, has done an incredible job at responding to the needs of the community… They’re doing a very good job of managing the fund. But, if we’re ever going to compete on an international stage, we simply - with $9 million on a yearly basis - cannot compete. The notion that money is being spent on archiving other materials or on creating portals to find new content, as a precedent over new creation of content, is an enormous mistake." Mark Bishop, a partner in Marblemedia, echoes Fill’s comments. "We’re still optimistic. Extending it by a year is still a great thing for the industry because even four or five months ago, it was uncertain of whether the fund would even be renewed… I think what’s unfortunate about it, of course, is they commissioned (the David Ellis report), and their own report made recommendations to them that they should be increasing the amount for the Canada New Media Fund. The unfortunate part is that they’re not heeding their own recommendations to try to at least make an increase in their funding… "I’m not trying to be a cheerleader here, but we can’t forget the fact that it’s not being cut back. They’re not saying ‘reduction’, which could have been a very different side of the coin. We already know that it’s grossly undersubscribed, and we already know that’s a concern. But, this is a great starting point." Raja Khanna, president of SNAP Media, also finds reason for cheer. "I think that’s a sigh of relief for people. Certainly, not the goal we were looking for, but it’s a whole lot better than, say, a few years ago when they were redoing their guidelines. They disappeared for a year. That was a big fear that I think a lot of people had, that the fund would just go into limbo. It’s great to see that it’s still there, great to see that it hasn’t been cut, and we’re going to continue to fight for an increase."

Telefilm fund renewal met with approval, but recipients say more money is needed

News | 03/17/2004 5:00 am EST

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us