[Armageddon]

[QUOTE BY= cathou79] actually, the last canadian movie i remember to have seen (except for quebec ones) was... screamers (us/can collaboration)[/QUOTE]<br /> With the guy from Robocop? Peter Weller?

[Marcarc]

We should make a distinction here. The CBC is paid for by us, should that stop? As far as film goes, there is virtually no funding there, they are mostly tax credits. The only way to get government to actually put money in your pocket is to go through the National Film Board. Usually then you need experimental theatre or documentaries. If anybody is worried about us pouring money into film and television they need not worry-plus, Quebec film is largely subsidized by the provincial government. If you watch most canadian film and television shows you'll see a veritable menu of canadian departments listed, most of those are tax credits. If you consider the tax breaks that american corporations get (which means they are subsidized) we are extremely cheap. And of course OUR complicity with signing on as a partner in theatre development (which dates back to the seventies I believe) means its impossible to develop a genuine canadian film industry.<br /> <br /> Of course you know what's coming...as a direct democracy supporter I think attention should be paid to the CBC as well the National Film Board. While the NFB is instrumental in getting documentaries made, they are also instrumental-along with the CBC, in ensuring they are never seen. Compare the advertising for a world renowned documentary on CBC with a 'saturday night movie' (usually american). There are numerous books on the bureaucracies that rage in both these organizations. Even training by most organizations features 35 mm film training! Basically guaranteeing the user a ticket to unemployment or Los Angeles. CBC has consistently cancelled the most popular shows because they are not 'modern enough'. From Don Messer to Rita MacNeil they get embarassed by the popularity of 'folk music'. You can't change the film industry, but you can change government (not by yourself obviously so just sign up at the direct democracy website).

[michou]

Following this week’s Genie Awards, one must ask, « Where has the English-Canadian movie industry gone to? » Has it moved (integrated) to the U.S, is it suffering from Canadians’ general disinterest or both ? It certainly can’t be from a lack of talent. <br /> The grand winners from this year line-up went to Québec films and actors. Les Triplettes de Belleville, Mémoires Affectives, Ma Vie en Cinémascope to name a few. <br /> The Québec movie industry is making a profit from these movies and they are exported. So it can’t just be a matter of government funding or language differences either. As for visibility for these movies in the ROC ? Zip. Distributors and theater owners decide what will be shown but the public must show up. If Canadians are just interested in American movies, that’s what they will see. What a shame.<br /> <br /> From <b><a href="http://www.cyberpresse.ca/arts/article/article_complet.php?path=/arts/article/23/2,333,0,032005,966703.php">Cyberpresse / Le Soleil </a></b> :<br /> Comme la plupart des films québécois primés à Toronto lundi soir – donc la majorité des gagnants –, Mémoires affectives n'a pas été diffusé à l'ouest d'Ottawa, à l'exception de festivals (il a connu son baptême à Vancouver).<br /> Rien de neuf sous le soleil du pays aux deux solitudes. Patrick Roy d'Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, qui distribue Mémoires affectives, résume : <b>« Le sort du cinéma québécois au Canada anglais n'est pas différent de celui du cinéma canadien tout court. » Lire : le public du ROC ne s'y intéresse pas.</b><br /> <br /> Translation :<br /> <b> « The future of Québec’s movie industry in English Canada is no different than for the Canadian movie industry in general. » Read : the ROC’s public is not interested.</b><br /> <br /> Quote from the Genie Award show hostess, Andrea Martin : « You didn’t see Mémoires Affectives yet you spent $13.50 to see Hitch ? »<br /> What a crying shame.<br />

[Marcarc]

This is where it is obvious that Quebec is a different culture, of course having a distinctive language helps. I download most of my movies and televisions shows from peer to peer networks, as do most kids. The next generation is watching AND creating flash and low budget 'film'. That is where the future is, and it would take relatively little incentive by government to foster such an industry. Adults have these dumb ideas that film somehow 'defines us'. How much time do any of us spend watching films? <br /> <br /> Television is far more pervasive, and the best route to getting a show on television is to already have a following, ie. through the internet. There are already quite a few websites out there, I'd advise everyone here to check out the talent. You can't change what movies are playing, but you can at least change what you watch.

[sthompson]

I just wanted to point out an interesting case here in Peace River, Alberta where we have an example of an alternative way of getting a Canadian movie made and seen. The writer/director used money from local investors to make the movie Hank Williams First Nation, which was filmed on a local reserve etc and stars well-known actor Gordon Tootoosis (Legends of the Fall, etc). He then held the premier in Peace River, at our two-screen local movie theatre, and has been showing it at small local theatres across the province (and I believe the country), trying to create grassroots support for it first rather than having it show at a large theatre and then basically disappear. So the film could be taken as a test case for this way of doing things, and whether or not it works.<br /> <br /> Here's the website for the film:<br /> <a href="http://www.hwfn.com/">http://www.hwfn.com</a><br><br /> And here's an older article where the director explains why he prefers private investment to government funding (not my own opinion, but I respect his):<br /> <a href="http://www.prrecordgazette.com/story.php?id=86952">Local director wants to put Peace Country on the big screen</a>