An Artists Citizen's Coalition defends Canadian content needs

Compiled by Entertainment Research Staff

Canadian Film News Love, Sex and Eating the Bones Canadian-Italian Comedy: Mambo Italiano Owning Mahowny: Gambling gone reckless Cultural Infrastructure to Benefit Greater Toronto Area Crumbs from Our Table: Direct Action for Third World Misery

The Citizen's Coalition for the Protection of Canadian Films is a network of filmmakers, film viewers, film lovers and film advocates - a group of people from all walks of Canadian life who believe strongly in the importance of Canadian Film in the Canadian cultural landscape.

This Coalition thanked the Chair and the Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for the opportunity to share our views with regard to the influence and effectiveness of the Canadian Feature Film Policy that was announced by the Government of Canada almost five years ago.

The Citizen's Coalition for the Protection of Canadian Films is presenting this brief to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in order to make a clear case for the creation of a SCREEN QUOTA SYSTEM as a part of a new Canadian Feature Film Policy. Definition:

SCREEN QUOTA SYSTEM: A LEGISLATED POLICY WHICH STRICTLY ENFORCES A MINIMUM NUMBER OF SCREENING DAYS FOR CANADIAN FEATURE FILMS AT EVERY CANADIAN THEATRICAL EXHIBITION VENUE.

Using contemporary examples of Global film exhibition policy in leading countries such as Korea, Spain and France in combination with examples of our own success through the CRTC in the promotion of Canadian Content on Radio and Television, this document will give evidence to the Standing Committee that the SCREEN QUOTA SYSTEM is a viable way for us to build a domestic film industry and protect the investments our government has been continuing to make in this industry, through current Canadian Feature Film Policy. Not only does the SCREEN QUOTA SYSTEM tackle the difficulty we face with the U.S. Studio monopoly of exhibition space in Canada (currently 96% of existing exhibition market share), it is a policy which will help improve production and distribution infrastructures and provide greater and more long sustaining employment opportunities in the film industry. Currently our industry is subsidized in all sectors of development, production, distribution and marketing, and yet when our films reach exhibitors they are expected to compete against the unstoppable barrage of U.S. Studio product that monopolizes our screen space. It is our right as a sovereign nation, and our duty as a sovereign culture to legislate a policy which will enable the Canadian Feature Film to compete in the domestic exhibition market.