‘It’s a success for Canada’: Oscar winner urges Ottawa to maintain support for National Film Board

It’s been a whirlwind week for Chris Lavis. On March 15, his short film The Girl Who Cried Pearls won an Academy Award for best animated short film. Alongside his co-creator Maciek Szczerbowski, he took the stage at the Dolby Theatre to give an acceptance speech in front of, among others, Emma Stone, Timothée Chalamet, and Leonardo Dicaprio. Later, he received congratulatory messages from Prime Minister Mark Carney (Nepean, Ont.) and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Battle River-Crowfoot, Alta.), among other high-profile individuals. But, according to Lavis, none of it would have happened without the National Film Board (NFB). “I think a specific level of commitment to not just the vision of the story, but also the budget required to create this kind of film,” Lavis told The Wire Report. “And it’s not just the budget. It’s the producers access to technical services…, and you have access to all of that.” “The National Film Board is such a unique institution and so important and has such an incredible history. We would not have made this film without it, and Canada would not have had this moment culturally.” The NFB was established as a Crown corporation in 1939 under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, who tasked the agency with supporting and distributing Canadian productions like The Girl Who Cried Pearls, which was entirely produced in Montreal. Lavis credited the NFB with bringing attention to their 17-minute stop motion puppet film, which picked up the organization’s seventy-ninth Oscar nominee and twelfth victory. “It is a success for Canada,” he said. “And it's a success for the ongoing support of the National Film Board.” But, recently, that support has been slipping — at least, financially. In the government’s latest spending estimates, funding for NFB is projected to fall for five-consecutive fiscal years from 2024-25 ($82.4 million) through 2028-29 ($70.9 million), equivalent to a nearly 15 per cent cut to the agency’s budget. The NFB’s annual departmental plan, released on March 13, said the changes will result in a “reduction and realignment of core programs.” The film board did not provide additional details when asked by The Wire Report. “Yes, our budgets have not been increased in many years, but... we have stability for the next three years,” said Suzanne Guèvremont, the NFB’s chairperson, in an interview. “We understand that budgets are tight everywhere.” “Eventually, if we manage to secure a little bit more funding, we can at least continue to maintain the cost of living that is increasing and make sure we develop more projects and have a better impact in reaching audiences.” The budgetary reduction was attributed to Ottawa’s ongoing expenditure review, a cross-government exercise that seeks to reduce operational spending by 15 per cent over the next three years. Combining funding agencies ‘would be a disaster’: Lavis Guèvremont, who attended the Academy Awards alongside Lavis and Szczerbowski, said the need to share Canadian productions with a domestic and global audience has only become more important in recent years. “We are here to tell Canadian stories, promote and foster talent, and engage in storytelling,” she said. “We are really here to serve the Canadian public, and it’s a wonderful organization that we absolutely need to continue to support.” In the departmental plan, Canadian Identity Minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, Que.) wrote that “in a complex, changing media landscape, the NFB’s role is more essential than ever.” But Lavis said rumours are circling within the cultural sector that Ottawa is considering bundling public arts agencies, which could combine the NFB with other Crown corporations like Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts, both of which also support creative initiatives across the country. “I think that would be a disaster,” he said. “Right now, you can go to Telefilm for a certain kind of feature film, and you have a system like the CMF (Canada Media Fund) for streaming and television projects.” “The system can always be improved, but it’s we have different ways of funding different projects. A one-stop shop for everything, I think, would be a mistake.” Canadian animators celebrate amidst uncertainty Concerns regarding future public support for Canadian creative endeavours extends to the educational field, as various animation professors are worried about the domestic industry’s long-term prospects without government funding. “As far as I can tell, institutions like the NFB and all the various arts funding institutions across the country are alive and they are sustained,” said Luigi Allemano, a film animation professor at Concordia University (which counts Lavis and Szczerbowski among its alumni). “But I do get worried when I see funding drop.” “I hope don’t just seize the moment and bask in the glory…, but see as a vote of confidence that this is money well spent, and that continuing to sustain and support artistic endeavours in all categories is essential.” Allemano called on the government to place a greater emphasis on funding projects that are “not designed to make money.” “This is an artistic expression of something that’s presumed not to make money, and that’s really important,” he said. “I hope that all of them will continue to support it.” “Maybe realize this might be a worthwhile investment moving forward.” It should be noted that The Girl Who Cried Pearls was not the only Canadian connection to this weekend’s Academy Award recipients. For example, Maggie Kang, who co-wrote and directed the global sensation KPop Demon Hunters (which won best animated feature) grew up in Toronto and studied animation at Sheridan College. “In general, Canada punches way above its weight in animation success,” said Mark Jones, dean of Sheridan’s arts and animation faculty. “Both between what is produced in the country itself, and the animators going to big studios in the U.S. primarily for international success.” But why is Canada’s animation industry so strong? Jones offered a theory. “Canada was one of the early pioneers in animation before it was a commercial industry,” he said. “Primarily through the work of the National Film Board.” “This was when there was actually no commercial industry in the country. Most of the work was happening through the ..., so this $3.8 billion industry started with Canadian experimentation and chance-taking.” Other Canadian Oscar winners included Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey, who comprised the team for Frankenstein, winner of best makeup and hairstyling. dlegree@thewirereport.ca

‘It’s a success for Canada’: Oscar winner urges Ottawa to maintain support for National Film Board

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By Davis Legree
|March 19, 2026

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‘It’s a success for Canada’: Oscar winner urges Ottawa to maintain support for National Film Board

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