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1. Q&A; concerning
the Analysis of Canada's Major Film Festivals
2. Q&A on the Call for Proposals for
a Film Event in Montréal
3. Q&A regarding the decision rendered
on October 29, 2004
4. Q&A regarding the decision rendered
on December 17, 2004
| 1.
Q&A; concerning the Analysis of Canada's Major Film
Festivals |
| Why did you choose Secor Consulting
to conduct the study? |
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Secor Consulting is an independent firm with vast experience
and good credibility across the country, notably in the
area of cultural issues.
| Which festivals does the Secor report deal
with? | |
Secor's assignment was to analyze Canada's four major
film festivals: Montréal's World Film Festival,
the Toronto International Film Festival, the Vancouver
International Film Festival and the Atlantic Film Festival.
| Is it unusual for Telefilm to commission
studies of this sort? | |
Telefilm regularly assesses its programs and practices
in terms of its three objectives: to increase audiences
for Canadian cultural products, to build the Canadian
industry's capacity, and to be an impartial, transparent
and accountable agency whose activities build value for
the government and the Canadian public. We commission
studies aimed at ensuring the sound management of public
funds.
| How did Secor conduct the study? | |
The analysis dealt with the festivals' positioning, financial
situation, operational management and governance, and
it situated the events in a broader international context.
Secor conducted some 60 interviews with Quebec, Canadian
and foreign film professionals, including representatives
of the Berlin, Cannes, Rotterdam and Sundance festivals.
The researchers met with and interviewed senior managers
of all the festivals concerned, except the World Film
Festival. They also gathered data by means of a questionnaire.
Industry associations were involved in meetings, and focus
groups were held with members of the general public in
Montréal in regard to the WFF.
| How much did the Secor report on Canada's
major film festivals cost? | |
The total cost was $165,000.
| Were other agencies involved? | |
Yes, the Ministère des Affaires municipales, du
Sport et du Loisir du Québec, the City of Montréal
and Canada Economic Development.
| What were the results of the analysis of
the Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver festivals? | |
The report gives high marks to the Toronto, Vancouver
and Halifax festivals. These events live up to the expectations
of both the public and the industry. They use good organizational
and governance practices, and they demonstrate a capacity
for renewal with a development plan and a vision of the
future. They cooperated in the study openly and actively,
and their contribution has enabled us to better define
the success factors of a festival.
| Were the industry associations consulted
for the Secor report? | |
Secor met with the Association des producteurs de film
et de télévision du Québec (APFTQ),
the Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices
du Québec (ARRQ), the Société des
auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma
(SARTEC), Union des artistes (UDA), the Association des
propriétaires de cinéma et de ciné-parcs
du Québec (APCCQ), the Quebec Chapter of the Directors
Guild of Canada (DGC) and the Syndicat des techniciens
et techniciennes du cinéma et de la vidéo
du Québec (STCVQ). Their input is reflected in
the Secor report.
| Why did you release the Secor report just
before the World Film Festival? | |
The report was scheduled for release in March 2004, but
discussions with the WFF delayed the process. The Festival
originally agreed to participate in the study, then posed
numerous conditions and finally refused to cooperate.
The situation became clear only in July.
| 2.
Q&A on the Call for Proposals for a Film Event
in Montréal |
| Why are you issuing a call for proposals
now? |
The outcome of the Secor report and our measurable, results-oriented
approach led to this decision. The timing also reflects
Telefilm and SODEC's desire to give the proposers ample
lead time to stage a general public film event in Montréal
in 2005.
| Do Telefilm and SODEC plan to get into organizing
festivals? | |
Telefilm Canada and SODEC are cultural investors. Organizing
the festival is a matter for the private sector.
| What do you expect from the proposers? | |
Just what is defined in the call for proposals: in addition
to diverse, international calibre programming, we expect
new ideas and innovative, rallying concepts that reflect
the vitality of our industry and of the City of Montréal.
We are looking for a constructive partnership with the
industry and the public funding agencies, and modern notions
of governance and management.
| Why do you need a point system
to judge the proposals? | |
To make the process objective and transparent, and to
ensure fair treatment for all proposals. We posted the
evaluation criteria on our website at the same time as
the call for proposals.
| What aspects will the proposals be judged
on? | |
There are three criteria:
· The event's cultural, professional and
community impact (40 points)
· The quality of the organization (30 points),
i.e. organizational and governance structure, management
quality and financial performance
· The overall merit of the proposal (30
points), which concerns the project's originality and
uniqueness, its complementarity with other events, its
innovative nature, its positioning and its overall consistency
| Why are you asking the proposers for a three-year
plan? | |
Because Telefilm and SODEC want to commit to a serious
project with long-term promise. Any good manager has a
growth strategy.
| What sort of company can submit a proposal? | |
As it says in the call for proposals, the proposing corporation
must have solid expertise in managing and organizing cultural
events. It is not a requirement that the company be specialized
in film, but the call for proposals states that the proposal
must guarantee excellent programming and specialized resources.
| Why have you given the proposers just one
month to put a plan together? | |
Telefilm Canada and SODEC feel that this is a reasonable
timeframe for a well-organized, professional firm that
is used to staging major international events. Also, putting
together a festival takes time (film selection, financing,
sponsorship solicitation, logistics, and so forth), and
we want the process to get under way as quickly as possible.
| Is it true that you want to clone the Toronto
Festival in Montréal? | |
No. The call for proposals emphasizes the project's unique
nature and its complementarity with other film events
held in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. The more the event
resembles Montréal - with its linguistic characteristics,
its cultural diversity, its openness to the international
French-speaking community, and its innate sense of hospitality
and celebration - the greater its chances for success.
| Could we end up with more than one major
festival? | |
This is possible, but Telefilm and SODEC will fund only
one event.
| Why is the WFF saying that Telefilm
confiscated $125,000 from the Festival? | |
The WFF owed that amount to Telefilm and has paid it back.
| Why do Telefilm and SODEC ask the WFF for
free tickets and passes? | |
This is normal practice for sponsors and financial partners,
and it applies to all festivals and events supported by
Telefilm and SODEC. In the case of cultural agencies,
the tickets and passes are not for personal use. The managers
and staff who use them are actively involved in funding
and developing the film industry. Meeting filmmakers and
industry members and observing trends and the moviegoing
public is part of the job for the people given tickets
and passes. This also allows them to host visiting foreign
production partners and to evaluate events on an ongoing
basis.
| Is it possible that the proposal selected
by Telefilm and SODEC not be held next year? | |
Telefilm and SODEC would prefer that there be no hiatus,
but the important thing is that the event have every chance
to succeed.
| 3.
Q&A regarding the decision rendered
on October 29, 2004 |
| Who submitted proposals in response to the
Call for Proposals for a Film Event in Montréal? |
We received four proposals. They were submitted by the
Just for Laughs Festival; by Vision Globale; by a group
of industry professionals led by Spectra; and by Daniel
Langlois and Sheila de La Varende (Festival du Nouveau
Cinéma)
| Why have you rejected the four proposals? | |
The assessment committee reviewed the four proposals and
met with the four groups. The committee was impressed
with the quality and diversity of the submissions, but
none of them fully met the requirements of the Call for
Proposals.
| Was this due to a lack of time? | |
No. The timeframe was reasonable since it speeded up the
thinking process. We received four interesting proposals,
and all of them demonstrate great enthusiasm.
| Why have you decided to extend the process
to December? | |
The decision we have to make will have long-term consequences.
We feel it is best to give the proposers an extra month
to consolidate and enhance their projects. This is in
everyone's best interest.
| What type of relationship will you have with
the proposers from here on in? | |
We will meet with each of them to re-discuss their projects
and the assessment process.
| What do you expect from the reworked proposals?
| |
We expect them to reflect the spirit in which Telefilm
and SODEC initiated this process - in other words, a determination
to give Montréal a major international public festival
- and we expect them to meet all of our criteria.
| How can you "close" the Call for
Proposals when you are asking the proposers to refine
their projects? | |
Telefilm and SODEC received four proposals, all of which
were very interesting but did not fully meet the requirements.
Since none of them met the requirements, the Call for
Proposals is closed.
| How was your decision made? | |
The proposals were judged according to the criteria
that we published along with the Call for Proposals.
The assessment committee's recommendation - to close
the Call for Proposals, to reject all of the proposals
in their current form and to give the proposers one
month to rework their projects - was accepted by the
Telefilm Board and by the SODEC Board on Friday morning,
October 29.
| Who was on the assessment committee? | |
The committee had six members.
Telefilm Canada was represented by Jean-Claude Mahé,
Director of Communications and Public Affairs; Michel
Pradier, Director of French-language Operations and the
Quebec Office; and Julie St-Pierre, Financial Analyst.
SODEC was represented by Joëlle Levie, Director
General for Film and Television Production; Bernard
Boucher, Director General for Policy, Communications
and International Relations; and Valeria Moro, Project
Manager, Promotion and Distribution Support Program.
| Why were only Telefilm and SODEC represented
on the committee? | |
Because they are the two funding agencies that issued
the call for proposals.
| Did any one of the proposals stand out? What
were the scores? | |
As already stated, none of the proposals fully met the
Call for Proposals requirements.
| Has the process been transparent? | |
We have strictly followed the course of action set out
when we released the Secor report in July. We posted the
report on our website, we officially issued the call for
proposals and the evaluation criteria, we have created
a new Current Events page on our website, we have been
open with the media and we have met our deadlines. We
also met with each of the proposers so that they could
explain their projects in person.
We said that the decision would be announced on October
29 and that has been done. The proposers were informed
of the decision individually, and the chairs of the
Telefilm and SODEC boards held a media conference call
the same day. And as promised, the names of the assessment
committee members were made public on October 29.
| Will you be supporting the current
version of the World Film Festival in 2005?
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No.
| What will you do if the WFF authorities
decide to hold an event anyway? | |
We have no responsibility in that regard.
| 4.
Q&A regarding the decision rendered
on December 17, 2004 |
| Which proposal has been chosen? |
Telefilm and SODEC have chosen the proposal submitted
by the Regroupement pour un festival de cinéma
à Montréal.
| Is it true that the SODEC Board refused the
assessment committee's recommendation at the meeting
on Tuesday, December 14? |
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.The SODEC Board refused the assessment committee's initial
recommendation. An amended proposal taking into account
some of the Board's concerns was submitted on December
17. This new proposal stressed the importance of diverse
programming and the means taken to ensure it. It also
included a greater role for creators in the Regroupement
organization.
| Have the Boards of both agencies agreed on
this choice? |
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Yes.
| What motivated the assessment committee's
recommendation? |
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This proposal meets all of Telefilm Canada and SODEC's
expectations for an innovative, high-quality event that
will rally the film industry.
| Could this new event jeopardize the Festival
du nouveau cinéma? |
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Telefilm and SODEC are satisfied with the way the two
organizations are collaborating. The Festival du nouveau
cinéma's willingness to work with the Regroupement
makes it clear that the proposed event is in everyone's
interest. The first year will be a transition year during
which the Regroupement plans to hold a smaller event simultaneously
and in cooperation with the Festival du nouveau cinéma.
| What's happening with the World Film Festival's
injunction against Telefilm Canada? |
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Telefilm intends to defend its approach and procedures,
because it considers the entire process to be legitimate
and valid. Bear in mind that this is a motion to institute
proceedings for damages and interests, for declaratory
judgement and for a permanent injunction. It may take
quite a while before we see a final outcome to this lawsuit.
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