Canadian/Australian trade mission sees payoff in co-production deal

Australia and Canada hope to embark soon on a first trial of an unofficial co-production model that was hammered out by new media producers, funding agencies and other stakeholders from the two countries. The model assumes organizations such as the South Australian Film Commission, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund (Bell Fund), and the Australian Broadcasting Corp. will treat co-productions as eligible for the same funding provided to homegrown initiatives. Producers and industry advocates hope the model will lead to expanded funding opportunities for interactive projects associated with web sites since resources available in both countries will be used. The agreement was proposed at a March 4 meeting in Sydney during a recent trade mission by Canadian new media producers to Australia. The co-production deal capped off two weeks of intense co-production and development talks between individual producers from both countries. Now, some of those discussions could pay off under the proposed co-production model. The agreement template won’t become reality, however, until the various stakeholders at the table are able to alter their official funding guidelines to incorporate the suggested changes that would make international co-production possible. The Bell Fund, for instance, will have to modify its guidelines to incorporate the allowance for a co-production split of at least 70/30 – if not a closer ratio – between companies from the two countries. Bell Fund executive director Andra Sheffer says the change will likely be welcomed by the organization’s board of directors. In Australia, the state and national funding bodies expressed their willingness to change their guidelines to allow the funding of co-productions. At the Bell Fund, for instance, funding would be allowed for up to 75% (to a maximum of $250,000) for co-productions that are split between Australian and Canadian companies, with the money being allowed for the Canadian party’s share of development and production of the project, and with a maximum of 10% allowed for marketing. Eligible spending would be for facilities and services, and producer cash investments, but not on producer deferrals. The agreement will also require that each party use at least 75% of their overall production spending on their own nationals. Copyright ownership has been left to negotiations in all projects between producers from the two countries. The group also determined that projects meeting the model requirements would have to be proposed by independent producers, and not by broadcaster affiliates. The minimum 70/30 split was chosen to ensure that the projects would be true co-productions, and not gussied up service agreements. The group negotiating the proposed deal has agreed to be flexible in determining the final guidelines, with potential changes being discussed on a case-by-case basis, and some areas were left deliberately vague. As discussion about some issues such as certification of projects to meet funding obligations threatened to become bogged down in minutia, Bell Fund head Sheffer told those present that "none of this is engraved in stone for years to come." Her comment was echoed by Xenophile Media head Patrick Crowe, who warned, "We really have to be careful about solidifying policy." While the stakeholders present were able in just a couple of hours to hammer out the working agreement, subject to final approval by their respective boards, two clouds hung over the discussion. A hypothetical co-production was discussed that quickly found most of the funding it needed to be mounted, assuming buy-in by the various funding agencies, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for the content. Dan Fill, VP of interactive at Decode Entertainment, found a large hole in the Canadian funding model, however, that would normally be filled by a recoupable loan from Telefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund. Telefilm was not part of the trade mission, and earlier discussion of its role in the model agreement was cut short. The sentiments of producers was summed up by Collideascope Digital Entertainment president Steve Comeau, who noted, "There’s no point in trying to maneuver around a bureaucracy that didn’t want to participate." Sheffer tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that one of her priorities moving forward from the trade mission will be to undertake discussions with Telefilm about changing its guidelines – which would currently preclude Canadian/Australian co-productions that do not leave full ownership of the projects in Canadian hands. Changing those guidelines, however, could be a lengthy process, and it’s likely a test co-production will be mounted before that can happen. A second potential sticking point might also be the screen performers’ guilds in both countries. A representative of the Australian union expressed concerns that the terms of the proposed agreement can’t provide incentives to produce the majority of the projects in one country or another if they’re to be acceptable to the guilds. Participants in the roundtable agreed that changing government policy to create an official Australia/Canada new media co-production treaty wouldn’t be necessary in the short term to begin mounting projects on a test basis. An official treaty, Sheffer told the audience, would likely be two to three years in the making, and would be "incredibly complex." Furthermore, she said, the administrative overhead of an official treaty would also be too much for small companies such as those that characterize the new media landscape in both countries. However, a successful project using an unofficial agreement will bolster the argument for an official treaty when the industry is ready. Sheffer also raised the co-production agreement with Singapore bureaucrats during a visit to that country during the same trade mission, which concluded March 9. She hopes authorities in that country, who have a strong focus on creating export opportunities for producers there, will also consider funding co-productions mounted on the same terms.

Canadian/Australian trade mission sees payoff in co-production deal

Broadcast | March 14, 2005

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