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\u00a0to the big screen.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Canadian film and television is an important part of who we are as a country, according to\u00a0broadcaster George Stromboulopoulos, who’s working on a new series about the local productions\u00a0that have resonated with people in the country.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Canada’s done a really good job of being different.”<\/p>\n
WATCH | George Stromboulopoulos explores importance of Canadian films and television:<\/strong><\/p>\n But it can be difficult for cinemas and film societies to get the rights to show Canadian films\u00a0\u2014 especially when it’s not quite clear who they need to ask.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “Sometimes with older films that can get a little bit tricky,” Abbott said.<\/p>\n 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<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n For theatres like the Paramount, access to that information is critical.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n And while showing great Canadian films is important, it’s hard to do without local movie theatres.<\/p>\n “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.<\/p>\nSupport local cinemas<\/h2>\n