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Hi it's the beginning of July which means another fresh Telefilm Canada rejection is in and I can stop biting my tongue. Gather 'round, pals! This one is long but I think, necessary, even if I am blacklisted (in Canada, at least).
I will share with you today's email exchange with Dan Lyon, the Feature Film Executive for Ontario. If you don't know Dan, he is *the* guy, who basically makes or breaks you if you want to make a film between $250,000 and $2.5 million in Ontario.
Every filmmaker has stories about Dan they trade over beers. His taste is totally unpredictable and disconnected from any knowledge of the (indie) film scene outside Canada (ie: the time we referenced Frances Ha and had to send him a copy because he somehow hadn't heard of it)
It's an inordinate amount of power to give one person, especially for a gov't controlled corporation *owned by the people*. I don't know exactly how long he's even been in that role, but it's been long enough to shape entire generations and what we perceive as a "Canadian film".
Anyway, after last year's rejection for a female-led film which motivated me into creating @FilmInColour_CA , I foolishly submitted again - this time for an edgy Xmas dark comedy infused with racial commentary.
Anyway, here's the rejection email from Dan - no surprise, really - and my responses in chron order.
Continued...
And his response which doesn't really address anything I'm saying and refuses to tell me who the (almost certainly white) 'trusted outside reader' is.
One point I want to make for those not aware of who N*cole A*bour is - is how incredibly fucked up it is that we are expected to trust someone in his position to do right by diversity - when he is 'close friends' with someone who espouses hate speech & ignorance online like this.
There's a million more. But scratch that, forget "close friends", she's a "hero" to him that he utters in the same breath as Malala (!). What the fuck
I'd like to make another film again one day, and the people calling the shots at Telefilm have not earned our trust that they will do anything of value about diversity. If it takes you nearly four years to 'define diversity' then you do not deserve our trust. Let's see a team of
decision makers at Telefilm Canada that actually reflect the diversity of this country. So we don't have to hope that a 60-something year old white man and his anonymous trusted readers will 'get' the films we're trying to make and understand what we're trying to say.
Oh and if you took the "Producers Pledge", I sure as hell want to see you sharing this. As well as: #StepDownDan. I'm done waiting patiently only to endure a stream of half measures and PR speak.
Last thing before somebody brings it up: Talent to Watch is a trick. It is intended to give breadcrumbs to diverse filmmakers and act like our next generation of filmmakers will be more diverse.
It's not new. It existed before as the Microbudget Production Program. The diverse filmmakers in that boat often go broke making their films at miniscule budgets and get abandoned by the system once they want to make films where they can actually be paid a living wage.
Happy belated Canada Day im gonna go for a walk 
btw his reference to an 'All Male' creative team is me (writer/producer/director) and a more experienced male producing partner who I have worked with numerous times. It's not referring to the crew, in case that's unclear. #StepDownDan
