National Film Board of Canada ANNUAL REPORT 1994- 1995 O 1995 National Film Board of Canada Published by Communications and Distribution Çervices (A-1 51 PO. Box 61W. Station Centreuille Montreal. Quebec H3C 3H5 Telephone: (514) 283-9246 Fax: [514] 2838971 ISBN: D77220606-6 4O quarter, 1995 Coordination. Nicole Chicoine, Jean Paré Graphic Design. Studio Andrée Robillard Printed in Canada @recycieci paper NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA OFFICE NATIONAL DU FILM DU CANADA Ottawa, October 1995 The Honourable Michel Dupuy Minister of Canadian Heritage Ottawa, Ontario Minister l have the honour of subrnitting to you, in accordance with the provisions of Section 20[1) of the National Film Act, 1950, the Annual Report of the National Film Board of Canada for its fifty-sixth fiscal year, ended March 31, 1995. The report also provides highlights of the major events of this fiscal period. Respectfully, Sandra Macdonald Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board of Canada TABLE OF CONTENTS NFB's Profile - Management Cornrnittee 6 Mernbers of the Board of Trustees 7 Chairperson's Message 9 1994-1995 Highlights 10 Productions 13 Summary of Activities - Production 24 Surnmary of Activities - Canadian Distribution 25 Surnrnary of Activities - International Distribution 26 Sumrnary of Activities - Services and Technological Developrnent 27 Awards 29 Financial Staternents 35 NFB Offices and Partners 46 NFB'S PROFILE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE The National Film Board of Canada is a Sandra Macdonald unique centre for the creation of motion Government Film Commissioner pictures. Its mandate is to produce and and Chairperson distribute films and other audiovisual works intended for Canadian audiences and for- Gilles Roy eign markets, in order increase viewers' Senior Director General to Administration knowledge and understanding of the social and cultural realities of Canada. Barbara Janes Director General Its films are produced in both official lac- English Program guages through its French and English pro- grams, by in-house filmmakers and with Claude Bonin independents across the country. The NFB Director General maintains production facilities in Vancouver, French Program Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Moncton and Halifax. Robert Forget Director General The NFB operates audiovisual centres in Services and Technological three Canadian cities and has established Development agreements with 36 partners, the maiority Laurie Jones of which are public libraries, to provide Director General access to NFB films and videos, thus Communications ensuring the NFB's presence in ail and Distribution Services provinces and territories. The public film and video lending and sales system can Guy Gauthier also be accessed by calling a toll-free tele- Director phone number. Internationally, the NFB has Human Resources offices in London, Paris and New York. Joanne Leduc The NFB is an integrated production and Director distribution house, with laboratories, post- International Program production, and research and development Claude Parent facilities located at its operational head- Director quarters in Montreal. While its Planning, Program Evaluation and Communications, Human Resources and Audit Administrative services are also located in Montreal, iîs Corporate Affairs service JeanClaude Mahé operates from Ottawa. Secretary to the Board of Trustees 6 MEMSERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES he Board of Trusteeç of the National Film Board consists of eight mernbers. Three of thern, including the Governrnent Çandra Macdonald Marc Dorion Film Cornrnissioner Government Film Vice-president Commissioner and Lawyer Chairperson McCarthy, Tétrauit. üarnsteffi (Who is alço Chairperson Quebec. Quebec of the Board), are from the Public Service, and five are prorninent citizenç repreçenting the major geographic regions Michèle S. Jean Carolyn Fouriezos Patricia O'Brien of the country. Deputy Minister Coiumnist Adjunct Professor Health Canada Sudbury Star Memorial University of During the period covered Sudburv. Ontario Newfoundland Board Member Provincial Advisory Council by this Annual Report, on the Status of Wornen St John's, Newfoundland there were two vacancieç on the Board of Trustees. John Douglas Kenny Krishan C. Joshee Photographer Retired Teacher Vancouver, British Columbia President Wild Rose Foundation Edmonton, Alberta 7 ANNUAL REPORT 1994-1995 C H A I RPER SON'S 111 E S S ri G E lthough I was not in charge of the al market and the general public. And A National Film Board of Canada dur- NFB productions are being snapped up ing the 1994-1995 fiscal year, having by the new specialty services, which are arrived here at the beginning of April ideally suited to the kinds of films the 1995, I am nevertheless pleased, as the NFB produces and the subjects it new Government Film Commissioner and addresses, especially documentaries Chairperson of the NFB, to present the designed to stimulate discussion and 19941995 Annual Report. debate. The following pages contain a list of NFB The NFB may be a 56-year-old institution English Program and French Program but it is constantly evolving. Its strong productions, the many awards won dur- determination to remain at the leading ing the year, highlights of the year's activi- edge of ideas and technology makes it a ties, and the financial statements. vital contributor to the cultural life of this country. The NFB in the year 2000 will In this period of change and restructuring be a major partner in film activity and an in which the NFB has been engaged for essential part of Canadians' audiovisual some time now, you will be pleased to viewing habits. note that the institution is as active and dynamic as ever, and that its productions NFB management and staff will do their are still achieving recognition at home utmost in the coming years to ensure and abroad. that the National Film Board continues to provide the Canadian public with the Given the rapid advances in audiovisual excellence, relevance and innovation that production, the advent of the information will guarantee its place at the forefront of highway and the multiplication of broad- communications. cast outlets, the NFB is adapting how it produces and distributes its films and other audiovisual products to take advan- tage of the new technologies. It has recently launched the CineRoute pilot pro- ject which permits remote, on-demand distribution of the CineRobotheque hold- ings to two Montreal universities, with plans to include other universities across Canada in the near future. New media, Sandra Macdonald such as CO-ROM, are also being used to Government Film Commissioner produce rnaterials for both the education- and Chairperson HIGHLIGHTS 1994-1995 b David Adkin's Out: Stories of Lesbian and b The 1994-1997 Action Plan and NFB b As part of the Canadian Heritage Gay Youth played to enthusiastic audi- Preview 1994-1995 were unveiled before Standing Cornmittee's çtudy on the conver- ences at national and international festi- numerous journalists and film industry gence of satellite, cable and telephone vals, including Berlin and the San representatives in Montreal on May 2, the technologies, technological developments Francisco International Lesbian and Gay 55th anniversary of the creation of the and the information highway, the NFE Film Festival. NFE, and in Toronto on May 3. appeared before the Comrnittee to describe how it views the information high- b The Cinéaste recherché[e] competition b The Glass Ark, Bernard Gosselin's record way and the impact these new technolo- was a huge success, with Nathalie of the creation of the Montreal Biodorne, gies will have on the institution, the Prévost's On the Beach selected as the screened al1 summer long at NFE Canadian audiovisual industry and the cul- winning script. Montreal. It was launched at a benefit tural sector in general. screening Co-hosted by the Commissioner b The CineRobotheque received a great deal and Jean-Paul Gourdeau, Chair of the b At INPUT 94, a conference bringing of coverage in the newspapers and on Société des musées de sciences together over 1 MK3 film and television television. SRC's science show Découverte naturelles de Montréal. professionals from around the globe, the aired a 1Ominute segment on this new screening of Alanis Obomsawin's technology developed at the NFB. Director Tahani Rached received the Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance 1994 OCS Award for Cinema from the was the hit of the day, triggering a discus- b Cynthia Scott's The Company of Strangers Office des communications sociales for sion on the importance of maintaining had a two-rnonth return engagement at Medecins de coeur, her documentary public institutions like the NFB which pro- the prestigious lwanami Hall Theatre in exploring the rnany social, political, philo- vide a space for such films to be made. Tokyo, after being seen by over 20 O00 sophical and rnedical dilernmas associated spectators during its first run. The film with AIDS. b Major increases in revenues irorn the U.S. was also licensed to the Japaneçe were experienced in 1994-1995. Broadcasting Corporation, NHK, for the b To mark the 20th anniversary of the Significant sales accounting for this increase largest fee yet earned by an NFB produc- Acadia Centre, 26 programs cornprising include a sale tn the home video market of tion in Japan. Gross revenue outside 40 films produced over the past two 37 M30 uni& of The Northern Lights to Canada exceeded $4 million. decades were carried on most of the Reader's Digest, and close to 60 hours of community television stations in New programrning to the TRIO Network, the new b The Boys of St. Vincent, by John N. Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova CBC/Power Corporation operated Smith, was launched on home video Scotia. The festivities coincided with the satellite-cable station. throughout Australia and New Zealand, first Acadian World Congres, which took and was televised on the national com- place in nine cities and towns in New b To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the mercial networks, Channel Ten in Australia Brunswick and included a mini-festival of Prairie Centre, an outdoor public screen- and TVNZ in New Zealand.