The list

Every year, Playback solicits data from the industry on the volume of independent Canadian producers’ production spending in the previous annum. The surveys are voluntary, and reflect data compiled by each individual company. The exception is public companies which were tallied by Playback based on publicly available quarterly reports. Certain fields may have been left blank as they are not applicable to the production company listed. Minimum spend set at $1 million.

by the traditional financing models,” says Lynas. That often results in the need to secure multiple commissioners or presales for content, which Lynas says can slow down the greenlight process, or producers covering the deficit themselves if they’re unable to secure other sources of equity.

“Inflation for crewing costs has been very real,” says Toronto-based Collective Pictures founder Jeff Chan, speaking with Playback near the end of postproduction on the sequel to the 2019 film Code 8. “We were surprised at how quickly there was a shift between the first and second Code 8… my first project was around $3 million and even then it felt tight. I couldn’t imagine trying to make a movie at that range [now] in the same way.” cmpa.ca

Chan also points to the spike in interest rates as a point of difficulty when it comes to interim financing. The Bank of Canada has steadily increased the interest rate since March 2022, coming to 4.5% in January, compared to 0.25% just 12 months prior.

He says higher interest rates make it more difficult for indie producers to own their IP, as more rights control means taking on more financial responsibility and risk in production. “When the value of money changes and interest rates change that quickly, it’s going to have an impact on any independently financed production,” he says.

All that is compounded with the end of the Short-Term Compensation Fund on March 31, which helped cover the cost of a production shutdown due to COVID-19. As a result, producers are facing the additional hurdle of covering the cost of future shutdowns. Telefilm Canada, which administered the fund, estimated that 22 production companies received a total of $4.1 million in compensation as of March 31, 2022, in its annual report.

Insurance broker Kevin A. Hutchison says there is no incentive for an insurance company to provide coverage in case of a shutdown, even three years into the pandemic. “The risk of loss is high and insurers want to be compensated for the risk they take,” he says.

From development, to production, to IP monetization — all while running a business — the action never stops for Canada’s independent media producers. How does the CMPA support producers and promote the success of the Canadian production sector? With action.

Chan says larger-budget movies will likely have a support system in place from partners, but smaller, independently-owned films may face hardship without that safety net.

“On a case-by-case basis, when circumstances warrant and to the extent that funds are available, Telefilm may agree to increase its participation to share the increased and unforeseen burden with producers,” a spokesperson for Telefilm tells Playback, stating that COVID “represents a small portion of the exclusions in standard insurance policies.”