As Canadians continue their efforts to support local businesses and national interests in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats against the country’s sovereignty, the local film industry is urging Canucks to extend that patriotism to the big screen.
“Canadian films have struggled to find their audience in Canada, with the numbers being especially low in English Canada,” Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE) director Sonya Yakota William told CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops.
Canadian film and television is an important part of who we are as a country, according to broadcaster George Stromboulopoulos, who’s working on a new series about the local productions that have resonated with people in the country.
“I think we make incredible stuff,” he said during an interview on CBC’s The Early Edition in July. “If you go back and watch some of the old shows from the 70s … they’re very interesting. They’re very weird. It’s a weird country, and you can usually tell how strange a country is in the way they tell their stories and how they allow stories to be told.
“Canada’s done a really good job of being different.”
WATCH | George Stromboulopoulos explores importance of Canadian films and television:
But it can be difficult for cinemas and film societies to get the rights to show Canadian films — especially when it’s not quite clear who they need to ask.
Take the Paramount Theatre, a 70-year-old, two-screen theatre in downtown Kamloops, B.C., operated by the local film society. Colette Abbott, society executive director, said residents often make suggestions for movies they’d like to watch at the theatre. If they think it’s a good fit, they look into theatrical rights.
“Sometimes with older films that can get a little bit tricky,” Abbott said.
In an effort to make it easier for movie theatres to access and show Canadian-made content, NICE has launched a new, easy-to-search online directory, called the Canadian Movie Marketplace.
On the website, users can search up titles, genres and languages to find information about the film and how to get the rights to show it.
For theatres like the Paramount, access to that information is critical.
“As an independent cinema, we don’t have access to all of the blockbusters,” Abbott said. “We try to distinguish ourselves by playing more of those independent films, the Canadian films. We really try to support local filmmakers whenever we can.”
Support local cinemas
And while showing great Canadian films is important, it’s hard to do without local movie theatres.
“Business for independent cinemas, it’s never smooth sailing. I think we really need to work hard to exist and to sustain ourselves,” Abbott said.
Colette Abbott, the executive director of the Kamloops Film Society, says it can be difficult for the Paramount Theatre to get the rights to show Canadian films. (Jenifer Norwell/CBC)
During the Toronto International Film Festival, NICE, along with the International Confederation of Art Cinemas and Art House Convergence, made a global call for support of independent cinemas.
“Today, we call on political decision-makers, our colleagues across the film value chain and communities everywhere to recognize and protect independent cinemas as critical infrastructure, to invest in the cultural and audiovisual ecosystems that create lasting value, and to defend the values of pluralist democracy, equity, and diversity for which they stand,” the group said in a news release.
Gary Shilling, executive director of the qathet Film Society, which operates the Patricia Theatre in Powell River, B.C., said distributors tend to make things difficult for independent theatres.
For example, if a theatre wants to show a film right as it’s being released, distributors often require they hold it for a number of weeks.
“In our small community of 20,000 people, holding a movie for three weeks makes no financial sense,” Shilling said.
Gary Shilling says the Patricia Theatre in Powell River, B.C., is sometimes limited in how quickly it can bring in blockbuster films. (Gary Shilling)
Shilling said his theatre ends up waiting until well after the release date so that they are allowed to show the film for just one week, but by then the buzz around the film has died down and people are less likely to go see it.
That’s not his only issue with film contracts with distributors.
“The way the contracts are written, the distributor effectively owns our screen for the duration of their film release,” Shilling said.
That means that while the Patricia is showing a particular film on its only screen, it can’t show another one on that same screen for, say, a matinee.
“We can’t mix it up on our screen to suit our audience,” he said.
But for his theatre, the only one in town, those big films are their “bread and butter.” They need to show the big films in order to attract customers and stay in business.
In an email to CBC News, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport said it does offer support to independent cinemas through the B.C. Arts Council and Creative B.C.
“Independent cinemas are an important part of B.C.’s cultural fabric — they bring communities together and showcase diverse voices on the big screen,” the ministry said.
“We know how important it is to keep independent cinemas strong, and we will continue to stand with the sector so that people across B.C. can enjoy the unique experiences they provide.”
And while distributors and funding can be a struggling, Shilling said “the real challenge is to get people off their couches” and out to the cinema to see a show.
“The tendency, and I know it for myself even, is to just stay at home, turn on Netflix or whatever else it is you’re using,” he said.
But the cinema offers something more, he said.
“It’s about the communal experience and I like laughing and crying with other people and that’s what a movie theatre brings.”
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