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May 01, 2009

Hot Docs launches with docs in crisis

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 10:27 AM ET

Last night marked the opening of the 16th annual Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, the largest documentary film festival in North America, and an important industry event for independent film makers world wide. As an independent Toronto based producer, I've been involved with Hot Docs for the last four years. This year I'll be covering the event for This Magazine, bringing you news and reviews from the front lines of the festival.

This years festival is the largest in the history of Hot Docs. It's also arguably the most important. The global economic down turn, combined with the restructuring of Canadian government funding for film and television has created unprecedented challenges for documentary filmmakers. Recently, the Conservative government elected to abolish both the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and the Canadian New Media Fund (CNMF). While these funds have been replaced by the Canadian Media Fund (CMF), the CMF is controlled by the cable industry, with no commitment to educational or documentary programming. Moreover, private broadcasters will have access to the CMF to produce their in-house productions. The result? Less financing for independent Canadian producers, more of tax payers money in the hands of private broadcasters and cable companies, and less quality Canadian content on our airwaves.

Independent Canadian documentary production is a $170 million dollar industry in Canada. It represents some of the best in educational Canadian content. While Hot Docs is a time of celebration for an industry with international recognition, it's also a time to pause and reflect on what kind of content we as Canadians want to see on our airwaves. Like it or not, television matters. And in my mind, television without Canadian content in no television worth having at all.

More entries on: Film | Hot Docs festival

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