If you work in an office, have social media, or are a client on virtually any corporate mailing list, you have likely heard the words “strange” and “uncertain” used to describe the “times” we are currently living through. These terms are vague and can come across as an abstract or verbosely euphemistic way to identify the sea of grief and intimidation that is characterizing COVID-19’s influence on the globe.
The reality of COVID-19’s impact on our industry has likely set in differently for each of us. As I work with documentaries, the magnitude of the corona virus’s effect in Canada became tangible for me when I learned that the Hot Docs festival would be postponed. For those who spend their days on set, this distinct moment likely occurred sometime during the past weeks, when a range of shoots were indefinitely put on hold. Many in our industry depend on events and productions to make a living through contract and freelance work that has become effectively unavailable at this time – forcing professional isolation alongside our experience of social distancing.
In addition to being a health crisis of international proportions, the situation has wrought significant financial stress on workers in the Canadian film and television industry. When the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television cancelled Canadian Screen Week, Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail mourned with the industry, stating “at a moment when Canadian artists need all the recognition they can get – when their existence is threatened by an increasingly over-saturated global marketplace, aided by easier and cheaper ways to access that content – the impact is crushing.” During this time we also learned that Hot Docs would be on moratorium and that the TIFF Bell LightBox was pressing pause on programming and events that would interfere with social distancing. A range of other art house theatres in Toronto such as Paradise Theatre, Revue Cinema, and the Fox Theatre also closed their doors with the intention of reopening as soon as we arrive on the other side of the pandemic.
Yet, while moments of solace during this unprecedented time may feel ephemeral, our industry remains strong and vibrant as it continues to move forward with the work it can do. Hot Docs is refusing to let the connections it offers filmmakers fall by the wayside and announced that this year, their industry market will be presented online. In turn, the festival’s industry passes are being converted into a new All-Access Online Pass. The organization has also rolled out Hot Docs at Home, which prescribes a collection of documentaries and podcasts in an effort to spark feelings of togetherness amid physical distance. In a similar spirit, TIFF has introduced its Stay-at-Home Cinema, which – in collaboration with Crave – electronically delivers talks, interviews, and carefully curated film to its audiences.
To continue nurturing our industry throughout the crisis, the Academy is also working towards a range of virtual programming, including ScreenShare, their Virtual Screen Club and digital announcements to celebrate the Canadian Screen Award winners, continuing to champion the creatives who connect and inspire us. The quick-thinking and innovation by our industry is a promising signal that we are fighting tooth and nail to maintain, re-invent, and expand our resources amid the current strain. Production is following suit: focusing on what can be done to develop, edit, and continue to pursue new projects during isolation.
According to Matt Code, President of Wilding Pictures, this crisis may provide an opportunity to reconsider and refine popular financing models in Canada. While COVID-19 will momentarily hurt our industry, Code is hopeful that it will kickstart new ideological approaches to funding so that Canadians can create work without turning to international bodies to close financing gaps. While production companies will continue to rely on the credit and cuts that they have become accustomed to in the short term, Code is optimistic that our current circumstances may create an environment where economic recovery depends on comprehensively domestically funded projects that can be competitive internationally in the post-pandemic world. This new financing arrangement would theoretically respond to an altered market and mean focused projects, larger budgets, and ultimately greater control for creatives.
If there are any positive receipts from our encounter with this fate, it will be from our comrades, who will, without question, share remarkable courage and art in a time of dim seclusion. Perhaps this creativity will inspire new stories and new empathy that will help us to confront systemic issues in our society and in our industry, such as the wage insecurity and inequality that will determine the well being of our friends during the crisis. Despite the doom and gloom, our industry retains the same exceptional creatives who would have stepped on stage to roaring applause during the Canadian Screen Awards or ignited a stimulating Hot Docs Q&A. For them, and for all of us, I am optimistic that this will be another opportunity for Canadians to demonstrate their resourcefulness, strength, ingenuity, and humour in the face of discomfort. In this isolation, the importance of reflection and storytelling will become even more essential than before. Assuredly, our narratives will continue to find a way to endure and to unite us. That is to say: we’re going to keep fighting and we’re going to keep hustling.
Written for the Academy by Genevieve Citron – thefilmatlas.com
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