NFB and Brazil sign 3-year deal to create joint productions for multiple platforms

The National Film Board (NFB) has signed a three-year agreement with Brazil’s ministry of culture that sets the stage for cooperation on new models of joint productions on digital and traditional platforms. Tom Perlmutter, government film commissioner and chair of the NFB, says a key aspect of the agreement is to create a multi-platform prototype project on which Canadian and Brazilian producers will work and adopt. The agreement provides for the sharing of information and best practices as well as training and technological exchanges. In a statement, Perlmutter said the agreement was necessitated by “the many challenges of the digital age” that demand the creation of international partnerships as avenues for testing new ways of doing things. “We will focus on strengths, which are in terms of documentary . But right from the start we will focus on a multi-platform aspect and not simply say, well, we will do a traditional documentary approach and then add on other aspects.,” he said in an interview with Tech Media Reports. The agreement builds on a foundation of cooperation between Brazil and the NFB dating back 30 years. Brazil, Latin America’s biggest entertainment market, has also been identified by the Canadian government as a key trading partner. How Canadian producers will benefit financially from the partnership still isn’t clear as details have yet to be ironed out. Perlmutter says the process could take at least a year to complete. The agreement also stipulates the hosting of a Canada-Brazil summit in 2010—possibly in the summer—on international co-production in the digital age. Key players in the industry and government are expected to attend the summit. Perlmutter says the agreement does not negate any co-production treaty signed with Brazil in the past. “Ours is looking at a different side of things and the spin-off benefits in terms of, exploring new ways and making them available to the industry.” The agreement’s focus on exploring new digital platforms comes amidst frustration in the film and television industry that Canada’s co-production treaties need updating to conform to the digital age. In February, Wayne Clarkson, executive director of Telefilm Canada told a panel discussion at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) in Ottawa that’s there’s need to incorporate digital aspects into the 53 co-production agreements Canada has signed.

NFB and Brazil sign 3-year deal to create joint productions for multiple platforms

Broadcast | October 14, 2009

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