Playback Winter 2023 by Brunico Communications

Celebrating the year's success stories

best best best best best of the best of the best of the best of the best of the year best of the year best of the year f best the year f best the est year f 2023 the year f 2023 the year 2023 the year 2023 the year p 2023 year 2023 year 2023 l ear 2023 ear 2023 u 2023 2023 023 s 023 ® WINTER 2023

Canadian producers look to M&A moves to compete on a global scale

A fond farewell to the Bell Fund's Nancy Chapelle

C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S

EXEC U T IVE O F T H E YEAR

Supinder Wraich stars in the Vancouver-shot CBC original Allegiance, produced by Playback’s 2023 Production Company of the Year, Lark Productions. Photo: Darko Sikman.

CONTENTS

WINTER 2023

M&A moves

Best of the Year

A mentor and a maverick

Canada’s foremost producers are scaling up to compete globally

See who made Playback’s list for 2023

Paying tribute to Nancy Chapelle’s multifaceted career

Year in review 6

7 CMPA turns 75

Major milestone 10

12 Distributor profile

Playback’s most-read stories of 2023 CBC’s Heartland hits its 250th episode

Remembering the Maestro 42

Playback inducts Jean-Marc Vallée to the Hall of Fame

A Q&A with CEO and president Reynolds Mastin How Fremantle is building on its work in Canada

46 Take a bow

Parting words from the minds behind departing Canadian series

EDITOR’S NOTE

vp, publisher - playback executive director, banff world media festival

Jenn Kuzmyk jkuzmyk@brunico.com editor

Kelly Townsend ktownsend@brunico.com senior reporter

Celebrating the industry’s best IN THE LEAD-UP TO OUR ANNUAL BEST OF THE YEAR ISSUE, I put forward a question to a handful of screen industry members: “Who would you consider ‘Best of’ for 2023?” Many struggled to answer, while others argued the case for their own organizations, and rightly so. (I hope those individuals forgive me if this list isn’t what they were hoping for!). Needless to say, the question of who is the “Best of” the industry is a difficult task we at Playback painstakingly attempt to answer once a year, the details of which I won’t get into here. The people and companies recognized as Best of the Year in this issue (see page 19) are all incredibly deserving of praise, and it’s such a pleasure each year to write and read their stories of perseverance, triumph and passion. It’s impossible, however, to concretely capture the best of what the industry has to offer. I see it all around – in every new program launched to support emerging voices, every film festival bow and TV or streaming series premiere, and all the risky moves and big swings (see page 14 for a deep dive on Blue Ant Media and marblemedia’s big merger, for one) that come with working in such a fast-paced industry. I see it in the Bell Fund’s outgoing executive director Nancy Chapelle (page 38), who’s retiring from her post after decades of steadfast work as a producer, programmer, funder and – most importantly – mentor. I see it in the legacy of late filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée, who left us far too soon, and is the newest inductee to Playback’s Film and Television Hall of Fame (page 42). The possibility of new opportunity seems greater than ever. At the time of writing this we’re deep into the CRTC’s Path Forward hearings in Gatineau, Que., which will help determine how to modernize Canada’s broadcasting system. It’s been a remarkable opportunity to hear from so many voices about how the sector can adapt and thrive in the ever-changing market. While not everyone has the same vision of how to move forward, there seems to be a consensus that supporting Canadian creators and talent of every background and culture is at the heart of what truly matters. I can’t think of anything else that exemplifies the best of this industry than that. Cheers to a hard-earned rest and to all the Best to come in 2024.

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Mary Maddever mmaddever@brunico.com Playback is published by Brunico Communications Ltd., 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 1R9 (416) 408-2300; FAX: (416) 408-0870 Web address: www.playbackonline.ca Editorial e-mail: ktownsend@brunico.com Sales e-mail: sales@brunico.com Sales FAX: (416) 408-0870 © 2023 Brunico Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Canadian Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: 8799 Highway 89 Alliston, ON L9R 1V1 U.S. Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: 8799 Highway 89 Alliston, ON L9R 1V1 playbackcustomercare@brunico.com

Kelly Townsend Editor, Playback

WINTER 2023

Canada Post Agreement No. 40050265. ISSN: 0836-2114 Printed in Canada.

Hey, CMPA. Congrats on 75 years! Inspiring. Essential. Undeniably indie. We could go on and on— instead, we’ll just say THANK YOU.

The year that was

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times... But mostly that second one, at least based on Playback’s most-read stories of 2023. BY BRENDAN CHRISTIE

Their end was nigh

Audiences were surprised by news that CBC’s The Porter (Inferno Pictures, Sphere Media), the most-nominated project at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards, wouldn’t return for a second season. (Although CBC was keen, it stated that without a coproduction partner, financing couldn’t come together.) Another surprise loss for readers was Pretty Hard Cases (Cameron Pictures) – its run ending after just three seasons. TV can be a tough, unpredictable gig sometimes.

Cuts, cuts and more cuts

This year saw BCE eliminate 1,300 positions, close six radio stations and revamp its news coverage approach due to economic challenges, with the company saying it needed to align costs with revenue potential in this changing media landscape. Meanwhile, Entertainment One laid off approximately 20% of its film and TV staff ahead of Hasbro’s sale of its film and TV assets to Lionsgate. Corus Entertainment also flagged a restructure of its original programming and executive teams as part of an enterprise-wide cost review.

Two strikes and a balk

Strikes in the U.S. caused havoc north of the border this year, with the production community grinding to a halt. Happily, the SAG-AFTRA strike ended on Nov. 9 after a gruelling 118 days with a tentative agreement valued at approximately US$1 billion; the Writers Guild of America and AMPTP reached a tentative agreement in September, ending their 148-day strike. Rumours suggest that the conflicts were only resolved when lawyers from both sides were replaced by an AI chatbot, but Playback could not confirm that at press time.

Don’t cross the streams

Bill C-11, known to some as the Online Streaming Act, received royal assent in April, having made a long and tortuous journey through the House and Senate. The bill caused controversy due to a clause that industry stakeholders argued would create a two-tiered system for Canadian creatives, with the Writers Guild of Canada warning the legislation would lead to different standards for Canadian and foreign streamers. Readers were fascinated by the stories… except on Facebook and Google, where they were replaced by cat videos.

WINTER 2023

CMPA hits a milestone year B Y K E L LY T O W N S E N D

President and CEO Reynolds Mastin reflects on the association’s 75 years of advocacy work, and how it’s evolving alongside the industry.

THE URGENT NEED FOR MODERNIZATION AND ADAPTABILITY AFFECTS EVERY PART OF THE CANADIAN FILM AND TV INDUSTRY, even for an organization as established as the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). The national advocate for Canadian independent producers hit its 75th anniversary in 2023. Yet, while reflecting on the milestone, CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin tells Playback that one of its proudest achievements is perhaps its most recent: a policy that requires a minimum of 35% of its board of directors come from Indigenous and equity-seeking communities. “Implementing that policy has hugely strengthened the board and made for even richer discussions at the table,” says Mastin, adding that it’s also led to “more inclusive positions that we’ve taken on the issues of the day.” Newly elected chair Damon D’Oliveira was among the CMPA representatives at the CRTC hearings in Gatineau, Que., advocating for initial base contributions to be partially funneled into funds from equity-seeking organizations. Mastin says a key priority for the CMPA is to continue to ensure Canadian-owned IP remains critical in the CRTC’s modernized regulatory framework following the passage of Bill C-11, a.k.a. the Online Streaming Act. Calling it a “success-focused” approach, Mastin says the CMPA is looking at how partnerships between independent producers and either Canadian broadcasters or foreign-owned streaming services, or both, can mutually benefit the sector. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Have you had a chance to look back on the CMPA’s key moments over the last 75 years? I wish we had a lot more archival material for the first half of our existence because I’m sure there are many things that I should know, but I don’t. But, going to the more semi-recent past, we were key stakeholders in the putting together of the 1991 Broadcasting Act. There’s an objective in the Act that says that the Canadian broadcasting system must include a significant contribution from the independent production sector.

We were key in ensuring that that objective was included in the Act. It remains in the Act post-C-11, and that one objective has played a central role in building the Canadian independent production industry. Fast forward to Bill C-11 and there are two key provisions that producers care a great deal about. The CRTC will be required to consider whether Canadians, including independent producers, meaningfully share in the exploitation of their own IP, and will also have to consider the extent to which streaming services and Canadian broadcasters are collaborating with Canadian independent producers. So, maybe inspired a little bit by the CMPA members and staff who succeeded in getting that objective in the Broadcasting Act in 1991, we felt we had to do our part to lay the foundation for hopefully the next 25 to 30 years.

How has some of the CMPA’s past work inspired how you’re moving forward? I’ve been a little bit awed by not only the longevity of this organization, but the reasons for its longevity. We’ve been endlessly adaptable to the changing market, to changing governments, to changing policies. And we’ve done that because we’ve always endeavoured to mirror our members, and core to their DNA is adaptability, innovation and being leaders. At the same time, looking at our most recent past, one of the things that needed to change, and has fundamentally changed, is making sure that the CMPA reflects the full spectrum of our membership and of the producer community in Canada. Three or four years ago, we could not legitimately say that, or at least we certainly couldn’t say it to the degree that we can today. That was a key and fundamental change that we needed to make, and it’s actually one of the reasons why I feel very optimistic. I think the roots of the organization are now stronger and deeper than ever, that we are more reflective of the producer community in Canada than we’ve ever been before, and that having all of those voices within our tent has made us so much stronger. WINTER 2023

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How e-generators can power a shift towards sustainability B Y TA I M U R SIKANDER MIRZA

Insight from CBC and albert has emphasized how cutting the cord on dieselpowered generators can greatly reduce a production’s carbon footprint.

REDUCING A PRODUCTION’S CARBON FOOTPRINT NO LONGER HAS TO BE A SHOT IN THE DARK FOR THE SCREEN INDUSTRY. CBC released the “biggest report of its kind” on Canada’s carbon emissions on Nov. 7, titled the Preliminary Industry Report on Production Carbon Emissions, using data from 64 of its original productions to provide a snapshot of the Canadian screen industry’s carbon footprint. The report shows that travel and transport account for nearly half of a production’s carbon emissions, followed by filming spaces at 22%. That data aligns with insights from the 2021 Sustainable Production Alliance (SPA) report, and 2020’s Screen New Deal by albert, the British Film Institute and advisory group Arup, which suggests that reducing fossil fuel inputs on productions should be a top priority for the industry. Zena Harris, president of the Green Spark Group and founder of the Sustainable Production Forum (SPF), says fuel consumption is a top contributor to the carbon footprint of Canadian productions. And, according to albert, switching to electric generators (e-generators) – which is among CBC’s recommendations in the report – can potentially help reduce a production’s impact by 15%. “When we didn’t have this data [from the reports], we were focusing on things that we could see, like waste and water bottles,” Harris tells Playback. “But once we started collecting data and aggregating data and seeing clear industry trends, we know more specifically where to focus attention.” E-generators are a space where companies like Vancouver-based Portable Electric have been quietly leading the charge.

The Voltstack 5k on set for Guy Ritchie’s Wrath of Man. Photo: Jason Fitzgerald (Hollywood Portable Power)

Portable Electric makes e-generators called Voltstack, which the company says provide silent, emissions-free power, cut costs and time around cabling, and also allow for greater maneuverability on set. Crucially, they help in reducing the film industry’s reliance on diesel-powered generators. The company’s CEO Keith Marett says for an industry “accustomed to the rumble” of traditional, fuel-powered generators, these alternatives were initially a “challenging sell.” However, the numbers speak for themselves. In a case study cited by the company, a Voltstack 30k was deployed to replace 20kW diesel generator on an unnamed set in L.A. The generator avoided 9,000 lbs of CO2 emissions and led to US$8,750 in fuel savings. Productions powered by Voltstack to date include X-Files, No Time to Die, The Matrix Resurrections, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Last of Us, The Mandalorian, Deadpool and Jurassic World, among others. Its Voltstack 5ks can be deployed on small sets and difficult locations like elevators and heritage buildings, according to the company. It can be charged via a power grid or the company’s solar panels. There are also tools such as the emissions and generator usage calculator developed by Directors Guild of Canada to give productions a predictive analysis of what their impact would look in the planning stage. Melanie Windle, executive producer of the SPF and executive director of the Sustainable Entertainment Society, says the tool – spearheaded by producer and SPF advisor, Clara George – “really helps production managers, gaffers and lighting directors come forward with a strong understanding when they are developing their package, and developing their power plan.” WINTER 2023

Heartland’s 250th episode premiered on CBC on Oct. 1.

Tales from the Heartland BY BRENDAN CHRISTIE

Canada’s longestrunning one-hour drama celebrates its 250th episode.

NEAR THE QUIET TOWN OF HUDSON, NESTLED IN THE PICTURESQUE ALBERTA LANDSCAPE, Heartland continues to build on its impressive legacy. The heartwarming drama, produced by Dynamo Films and SEVEN24 Films for CBC and CBC Gem, has etched its place in television history as Canada’s longest-running one-hour drama – though the series has also found a home in more than 120 countries. Fans and TV industry members alike gathered to celebrate the world debut of its 250th episode – the season 17 premiere – at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) this fall. While attending the premiere, Canada Media Fund president and CEO Valerie Creighton described Heartland as a “reflection of Alberta’s thriving audiovisual production industry.” And with good reason. The series has injected vitality into the Alberta production scene, adding an estimated $350 million to the local economy as of the end of this season, the national contribution topping out at $450 million. Heartland has employed more than 200 people over its nearly two decades. Heartland’s influence also goes beyond Canada’s borders. In 2022, the show accumulated more than 18

billion minutes of viewing across streaming platforms in the U.S. alone, making it one of the top-five mostwatched series on Netflix, behind only Stranger Things, Ozark and Wednesday, according to data from Nielsen. Heartland is the first Canadian-made series to breach Nielsen’s overall top-15 series list across all U.S. streaming platforms. Entertainment One is the international distributor of the series. “We’ve all known for decades that [Alberta] has a long-standing tradition of excellence in production,” said Creighton. “Now, the world has taken notice.” Series lead Amber Marshall (Amy Fleming) added some personal context about what the series has meant to her: “I’ve spent over 1,700 days on set, roughly 20,400 hours. I really can’t imagine a better group of people to create something so special. We are all so proud of this show.” Heartland is based on the bestselling series of books by Lauren Brooke. The executive producers are Michael Weinberg, Tom Cox, Jordy Randall and Mark Haroun, who also serves as showrunner for the 17th season. Dean Bennett is co-executive producer, and the series is produced by Jess Maldaner.

Heartland has injected more than $350 million into the Alberta economy and employed more than 200 people over nearly two decades.

WINTER 2023

Crazy/ Brilliant

BY BRENDAN CHRISTIE

Five big ideas from the media business

A new recipe for funding

Honouring a tech icon

Giving users a big platform

The new transmedia

A sweet partnership

New sources for series funding can be found anywhere – even in the fridge. Case in point: the Dairy Farmers of Ontario partnered with Bell Media, Broken Heart Love Affair and Starcom to create Milk Masters, a three-part branded content series showcasing the role of dairy in Ontario’s culinary scene. Launched on Nov. 6 on CTV.ca, the series features chefs competing to create dairy-centric dishes, with a $25,000 prize donated to charity.

CBC tapped into consumer nostalgia to pump up awareness for its three-part series BlackBerry (Rhombus Media, Zapruder Films) with a pop-up BlackBerry Museum at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. The museum showcased the cellphone’s history, featuring a giant phone, a “BBM type-off challenge” and displays detailing the phone’s creation and life journey. The series, highlighting the rise and fall of the tech giant, streams on CBC Gem.

We’ve yet to exhaust all the possible uses of usergenerated content. Consider TikTok and DIVE Billboards’ recent launch of “Out Of Phone” during New York’s Advertising Week. The collab allowed advertisers to expand TikTok campaigns to digital out-of-home by integrating UG social media elements into global digital billboard campaigns. Netflix’s Your Place or Mine was the first to test it, orchestrating a live TikTok billboard takeover in Times Square.

Bell Media recently demonstrated how tech and data can merge to create a seamless media experience... that’s virtually unavoidable. Its Streets-toScreens campaign leveraged the company’s exclusive ad-synching Radio-to-Road program to allow select roadside digital boards to synchronize with ads on radio stations. Then, using Bell First Party Data, it extended the experience with virtual product placement through TV at home.

WildBrain’s Strawberry Shortcake and doughnut chain Duck Donuts recently joined forces for a sweet partnership – offering fans a chance to become the Duck Donuts Sweetest Fan and win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Duck Donuts headquarters, including a private screening of Strawberry Shortcake’s Perfect Holiday. Duck Donuts even introduced a delectable Strawberry Shortcakethemed doughnut to celebrate the collaboration. 11

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Fremantle is on the hunt for shows like Sullivan’s Crossing (Reel World Management) that will resonate outside of Canada, too.

Fremantle DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE BY AMBER DOWLING

Creativity on all fronts will be a key ask for potential partners as global distributor Fremantle continues to expand and diversify in Canada. The Canadian branch has adapted a number of its formats locally with the 2021 return of Citytv’s Canada’s Got Talent (McGillivray Entertainment Media [MEM]) and CBC’s 2019 debut of Family Feud Canada (Zone3), while partnering on two of 2023’s uniquely homegrown scripted series, including Crave’s Little Bird (Rezolution Pictures, OP Little Bird) and CTV’s Sullivan’s Crossing (Reel World Management). Michela Di Mondo, EVP of Fremantle’s Canadian office, tells Playback they’re focusing on strong IP that makes sense in Canada, but still appeals to an international audience. From there, they’re delving into new ways to grow – like partnering with Bell Media on a book about French Canada’s L’Amour est dans le pre (the French version of format Farmer Wants a Wife, produced by Montreal’s Attraction), or the Family Feud Canada board game. For the exec, a significant part of a pitch needs to be about how the project can be uniquely Canadian, or if it has global appeal to bring in distribution deals. Fremantle debuted its first original Canadian format with CTV, The Take Back (MEM), on Nov. 24. The hourlong special gives deserving Canadians a second chance at a milestone celebration, which Di Mondo says is a good Michela Di Mondo Executive Vice President, Fremantle example of the type of programming Fremantle wants to take to market.

When you took on your current role in 2021, Fremantle had nine productions on air or in development across English and French-speaking regions. Where is that number now? I can’t really give a full number because we’re in development on a few right now. A significant amount, to be honest. I’m proud of the shows still on-air and going into their next seasons. We’re not just a flash in the pan; we follow our formats continually, we look at it as a three-way partnership with Canadian producers and the broadcasters. We try to vary producers we work with as much as possible.

WINTER 2023

Do you estimate it at more than nine? More than a dozen? I always hate to put real numbers on it because it’s much more about the shows themselves. Anytime you start chasing a number it brings the wrong [message]. It’s not about how many shows we have, it’s about how those shows are doing and how do we feel about what we’re working on. And for producers, [the message is] this is what we do and how can we work with you.

On the scripted side, what do you look for in a distribution title? Little Bird and Sullivan’s Crossing could not be more different, yet they were exactly what we’re looking for. The stories resonate with an international audience. They live outside of Canada, and are stories that everyone around the world relates to. We came in for both at the script stage, even before casting. We saw that immediate “of course” moment. We have sales and production offices across 27 territories, so we really are mindful of that global voice.

At what point in a show’s life cycle should someone reach out to Fremantle about becoming a distribution partner? Earlier is always better, if you have a formulated idea or undeniable IP, because we provide that international viewpoint. We can help you across all the talent we have in our shop, provide guidance on how it makes sense for an international territory, or potential coproduction partners, or financing. All of those pieces are usually done quite early. We also look to acquire unscripted formats in the territory. We are a diversified place. It’s about having a place where creatives can call home and being that megaphone.

Do you have advice for Canadian producers looking to partner with you?

The Take Back (McGillivray Entertainment Media) was Fremantle’s first original Canadian format.

Do not pitch me the same version of a format I already have. What are the points that make it different? That will be the first thing on my mind. It’s really important that they do their homework, and we do ours to make sure it’s the right fit for the producers. It’s also really the most important time to be your most creative. And, by the way, creativity is not just in the content, but in the deal-making as well.

How so? Not every deal is set up the same way. You have to be creative around dealing with budgets that have changed dramatically and look at what’s going on in the market. Where are funds coming from? Who are the partners you can work with? Before, you wouldn’t see distributors coming together for deals. Now, people are trying to de-risk. More than ever, there’s an opportunity to fundamentally look at a deal structure. Those who can do that in the most creative way will score a win for all involved partners. That’s going to be an interesting thing to watch. 13

WINTER 2023

Crave original Canada’s Drag Race is among the unscripted series under the merged Blue Ant Studios and marblemedia.

SCALING

Some of Canada’s largest content producers are looking at mergers and acquisitions to unlock their global market potential, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. B Y K E L LY T O W N S E N D 14

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Pictured (L-R): Matthew Hornburg, Michael MacMillan and Mark Bishop. Photo: Steve Craft.

IF YOU ASK BLUE ANT MEDIA CO-FOUNDER AND CEO MICHAEL MACMILLAN WHAT THE VALUE OF HIS COMPANY’S RECENT ACQUISITION of Toronto’s marblemedia is, he’ll put it simply: “Priceless.” While the company isn’t disclosing the financial details of the deal, that answer does speak to the sky’s the limit thinking that compelled MacMillan and marblemedia co-founders Matthew Hornburg and Mark Bishop to begin talks in 2022 to merge the companies. “It really is about coming at this from a place of strength,” Bishop tells Playback, adding that the company witnessed “genuine enthusiasm and excitement” from key streaming partners during MIPCOM in October. “Our global partners really see this as an opportunity for taking bigger swings; for creating bigger, noisy, really meaningful opportunities to tell great stories in the marketplace and to work in different ways.” The deal, announced on Aug. 10, sees marblemedia and Blue Ant Media’s production and distribution business merge into what will be a single studio, which operates under Blue Ant Media as the parent company, with Hornburg and Bishop as co-presidents. Hornburg says the brand name is expected to be announced in early 2024. The new team structure includes separate scripted and unscripted development teams (Bishop leads scripted, while Hornburg heads up unscripted), as well as a distinct Kids, Family and Young Adult division based in L.A., and plans to expand its animation studio, led by Josh Bowen. The company also maintains its global sales hubs, combining marblemedia’s Distribution360 with Blue Ant International. MacMillan says there have been “a few” job losses as a result of the merged business, with some more cuts to come as they continue to examine the overlap. “But at the same time, we’re filling gaps, we’re hiring, and we’ve got pretty clear and immediate ambitions for adding roles,” he says. The deal represents the kind of scaling up that Blink49 Studios co-founder and CEO John Morayniss argues will be necessary for Canada to compete globally. “There’s got to be a pivot to more of a bigger studio [and] global content build, leveraging the channel business in Canada, but not relying on it to the extent that they have to generate revenue and growth,” he says. Toronto and L.A.-based Blink49 made its first

“OUR GLOBAL PARTNERS REALLY SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TAKING BIGGER SWINGS; FOR CREATING BIGGER, NOISY, REALLY MEANINGFUL OPPORTUNITIES TO TELL GREAT STORIES IN THE MARKETPLACE AND TO WORK IN DIFFERENT WAYS.” – Mark Bishop

corporate acquisition in late 2023, buying a majority stake in Vancouver-headquartered prodco Front Street Pictures, which is best known for its work as a service producer in the MoW business. Morayniss says the acquisition was the perfect fit for both companies. Blink49 wanted its first acquisition to be a Canadian company, and Front Street served as a way to expand into MoW and service production – offsetting the more risk-taking IP business Blink49 has operated in so far – and extend its reach geographically, with locations in B.C. and Alberta. On the flip side, Front Street – led by president Charles Cooper – is now able to tap into Blink49’s resources to expand into original production. With the support of its anchor investor Fifth Season, Morayniss says Blink49 is looking beyond Canada’s borders for its next opportunity to scale, although he says they’re ideally looking for a company with ties to the Canadian market. Similar to the Front Street deal, he W I N T E R 2 02 3

“THERE’S GOT TO BE A PIVOT TO MORE OF A BIGGER STUDIO [AND] GLOBAL CONTENT BUILD, LEVERAGING THE CHANNEL BUSINESS IN CANADA.” – John Morayniss

says Blink49 is looking at avenues they’re not currently invested in, including short-form content and social media (which he says opens more opportunities to connect with emerging voices), and companies that are “more on the monetization side of the business.” Scaling up isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, however. Entertainment law expert Stephen Selznick, a partner at Toronto’s Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, says most companies operating in Canada’s screen sector should be focused on remaining adaptable in the face of looming regulatory changes at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) following the passage of Bill C-11. “My sense is, over the next year to 18 months, that being nimble is the important thing,” says Selznick. One aspect he’s carefully looking at is the federal government’s policy direction to the CRTC to modernize the definition of Canadian content. Selznick says he doesn’t expect the definition to “change dramatically,” but that the CRTC may “be more realistic about what the ownership requirements are for Canadian content, so that Canadians can produce internationally with foreign money, because we don’t have the money in Canada to necessarily do all this work.” 16

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Carolyn Taylor (left) and Mae Martin (right) appear in the docu-comedy I Have Nothing (Catalyst, Blue Ant Studios), created by Taylor for Crave.

Selznick also predicts that the Department of Canadian Heritage will explore a “transition from project-based financing” to provide prodcos with “their own internal capital resources to do development.” An increase in business sector development is already in the works at the funder level. The Canada Media Fund announced on Sept. 18 that Canadian Heritage had unlocked new authorities for the funder to modernize its model, including “expanded sector development.” The changes also include the end of its Convergent and Experimental streams, and the potential for distributors to trigger production funding. “I’d rather be nimble than a big infrastructure,” suggests Selznick, pointing to companies such as Entertainment One (eOne), which scaled up with a number of acquisitions, before eventually selling to Hasbro in 2019 for US$3.8 billion. (Since then, Hasbro has sold eOne’s film and TV assets, and its share of the Canadian business, to Lionsgate for US$500 million.) “You would think that building all these sources of revenue into one location gives you economy of scale; it gives you economies of costs more than anything,” he says. “I do agree that getting bigger can be better,” adds Selznick, “but I think that should be looked at very carefully, and [companies need to] identify your market.” For Blue Ant Media, the Canadian market is a very small piece of the pie in terms of their overall focus. “Our market is the world,” says MacMillan. “We’re very much aiming at the American, European and international market, and we think that bringing production and distribution together and growing our size is important because our competitors internationally are also growing and are very able and very well-connected. We need to be equally able and equally well-connected.” As an example, one area of focus for the newly formed divisions is to have the distribution and sales side work more closely with the development teams to “think about the needs of the international market from day one,” says Bishop. “It’s really looking at that commercial strategy as early as possible and picking that up across all genres,” he adds, noting that the reach of the merged studio

Davey & Jonesie’s Locker is produced by marblemedia and stars Veronika Slowikowska and Jaelynn Thora Brooks. Photo: Ian Watson.

expands the opportunities to sell projects, whether it’s to a global streamer, through several buyers in multiterritory deals, or just down the hall at Blue Ant’s existing channels. Hornburg adds that the merger allows the company to not only build on marblemedia and Blue Ant Studios’ previous success, but “elevate it” through creating a larger “brain trust” within the company, pointing to 2024 as the time when they’ll unveil more of the creative deals and partnerships to come. Bishop argues that a homegrown, globally competitive studio is ultimately good for Canada. “We’re going to continue to invest in Canadian content with producers, coast to coast, and we’re selling that content all around the world,” he says. “I think it’s a really good news story for the Canadian industry in a time when there are challenges out there, this regulatory uncertainty and all of those things that we have no control over. What we can do is be great partners and great investors.” 17

We would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to our partners, the CMPA, on your 75th anniversary!

BROTHER

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JEAN-MARC VALLÉE PLAYBACK FILM AND TELEVISION HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE (POSTHUMOUS) RT THORNE

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR SINKING SHIP ENTERTAINMENT

BROTHER

LE TEMPS D'UN ÉTÉ

KIDS PRODCO OF THE YEAR

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

FRENCH-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

LITTLE BIRD

PAW PATROL

FRANCHISE OF THE YEAR

A SPOTLIGHT ON HEARTLAND’S 250 EPISODE MILESTONE

SHOW OF THE YEAR

And what a year it’s been. Canada's film and TV industry faced incredible challenges in 2023, but it also found new ways to rise to the occasion – and then some. Read on to see who led the way in the past year.

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Lark Productions How the Vancouver-based prodco has stayed true to its roots as a talent-driven business, while leveraging the strategic strength of its partners. B Y K E L LY T O W N S E N D

VANCOUVER-BASED LARK PRODUCTIONS HIT A UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENT THIS YEAR: it has television productions at four of Canada’s major broadcasters. Newly commissioned this year are CBC procedural Allegiance, created by Anar Ali, and Citytv original Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, which Lark is producing with Toronto’s Cameron Pictures. Meanwhile, the company is producing a second season of CTV’s reality series Farming for Love, based on the Fremantle format Farmer Wants a Wife, and has a third season of Family Law, created by Susin Nielsen and produced with Calgary’s SEVEN24 Films, in the can for Global. “We’ve spent years building network trust with our broadcast partners and our format holder partners,” Lark Productions president Erin Haskett – who also concluded a three-year tenure as chair of the

board at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) this fall – tells Playback, noting that finding and supporting creative talent is in the “DNA” of the company. “When Louise [Clark] first started Lark [in 2010], so much of it was about being talent-driven, creating a space for people to have a voice within what we do,” she says. “Our job as producers is to match the vision and the commerce and bring the best group of people together to tell the most interesting stories.” Lark also has a strong ally in the global market with minority shareholder Universal International Studios (the studio bought the minority stake in 2014). “That team helps us understand the expectations of the international and the U.S. marketplace so that we’re constantly raising our own game and trying to elevate the shows and the projects that we’re working on,” says Haskett, adding that they have ongoing conversations with the stakeholder on opportunities in the market. In the case of Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Universal Television is the distributor, with Universal and Wolf Entertainment partnered on the rights to the Law & Order franchise. Haskett says Hayden Mindell, SVP of television at Rogers Sports & Media, was the brainchild behind the series, with early talks at Wolf Entertainment beginning about two years before it was announced during Citytv’s June upfront. It was Lark that brought on Tassie Cameron as showrunner, and Haskett says “it all moved quickly after that.”

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The Lark Productions crew currently has television productions placed at four of Canada’s major broadcasters. Photo: Darko Sikman.

Universal International Studios was less involved in the development of Allegiance, which was brought to the prodco by VP, scripted development Nicole Mendes, who joined the company in 2020. The former CBC production executive had developed a separate project with Allegiance creator Ali at the pubcaster. When Mendes made the move to Lark Productions, Ali had been preparing to pitch her a procedural based in Surrey, B.C., about a rookie cop who tries to follow the letter of the law while fighting treason charges against her father, and it was a “perfect marriage” with the B.C.-based prodco. Mendes says Lark did shop the series to other buyers, but CBC “was the right fit” and a good partner with Universal International Studios, with Flashpoint duo Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern coming on board as co-showrunners. The series is being distributed by NBCUniversal Global Distribution. Haskett says the timing was perfect for Allegiance, which went to camera in Vancouver and B.C.’s lower mainland this fall. The commission of three major Canadian dramas out of Vancouver – including CBC’s Wild Cards (Piller/Segan, Blink49 Studios, Front Street Pictures) and CTV’s Sight Unseen (Blink49, Front Street) – has been a boon for crew members in the region, which was hit hard by the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike. Projects like Allegiance have also allowed producers to tap into local talent, which has been steadily rising thanks to initiatives like the Pacific Screenwriting Program, of which Haskett is a member of the board. “There’s great talent coming out of that program, but there has to be shows in B.C. for people to actually have jobs, especially for writers,” she says. Dave Valleau, Lark’s head of production, says one of the draws for crew members to work on their productions is the ability to “shoot Toronto for Toronto” in the new Law & Order series, as well as “Surrey for Surrey” in Allegiance and “Vancouver for Vancouver” in Family Law. “I think we underestimate how important that is to the crew working on the shows, and how much they appreciate being able to shoot the cities for what they are… [and] get to show the rest of the world,” he

says. (Haskett says Family Law has developed a fan base in the U.S. since being acquired by the CW Network). Lark was also able to showcase B.C. in their latest unscripted series, CTV’s Farming for Love. Tex Antonucci, Lark’s VP, business affairs, says the company worked closely with distributor and format rights holder Fremantle, as well as co-showrunners Ruth Nanda and Grant Greschuk, to create a local version that included “farmers from a wide variety of backgrounds and orientations who are genuinely looking for love.” Haskett’s work to ensure a wider representation of Canada in all its forms goes her work at Lark. CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin says she was “instrumental” in the introduction of a policy that requires at least 35% of the association’s board of directors to come from Indigenous and equity-seeking communities. “She made it very clear from day one that it was priority number one for the organization, and, through her leadership, we worked incredibly hard over the past few years to achieve that goal,” he says. Haskett remains on the CMPA board, but handed over the chair seat to Conquering Lion Pictures co-founder Damon D’Oliveira, who she says has been a big part of the association’s advocacy work around Bill C-11 in the lead-up to his election. Looking back on her time as chair, she says she came on at a “stressful” time in the midst of the COVD-19 crisis in 2020, but she departs the role feeling optimistic for its future. “I feel the [current] board represents the kind of leadership… and the kind of aspirations for what we can be as an industry.” As for what’s to come for Lark, Haskett says the team is “entrenched in production,” adding that they’re taking the time to observe audience trends and buyer interest before building up their development slate again. “[The reason] we’ve been so successful in the last year is we always try to be as targeted as possible in terms of the market,” says Mendes. “But we do projects that we’re passionate about and we love, and I don’t think those two things will go away.”

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Sinking Ship launched live-action environmental series Jane on Apple TV+ on April 14.

Sinking Ship Entertainment The Toronto-based prodco has stayed competitive by looking beyond North America for sales and partnerships. BY ALEXANDRA WHYTE

BETWEEN A LACK OF FUNDING AND LIMITED COMMISSIONS, IT’S BEEN A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR KIDS CONTENT IN CANADA. But you’d never know it from the success that Sinking Ship Entertainment has enjoyed throughout 2023. In the last year, the Toronto-based production company launched its live-action environmental series Jane on Apple TV+, announced that it’s making a new British version of Odd Squad, and is expanding the flagship Dino franchise into Dino Dex on Prime Video – not to mention a raft of TV deals for both its own and third-party distribution series. “We’re really challenging every level of production and design to make our shows as innovative as possible to give them the best opportunity to stand out,” partner and executive producer J.J. Johnson

tells Playback. “We’ve gotten to the point where we can really flex all that we’ve learned about storytelling and VFX. The shows that are coming out now have benefited from 20 years of what’s come before.” Despite all of this success, Johnson has a hard time sitting back and enjoying what he and partners Blair Powers and Matt Bishop have created. Instead, they are always thinking about the next thing they can build, or how can they push the envelope creatively and visually. To do that, Sinking Ship has increasingly had to look outside of Canada for financial support and is now working with, and looking for, more coproduction partners to get shows made. Odd Squad UK, for example, is a coproduction with BBC Studios Kids & Family and Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Productions. And Beyond Black Beauty, is a copro between Amazon Studios and Toronto’s Leif Films. But the challenge has become even greater as commissions have all but dried up stateside. So the production company is increasingly focusing on Europe and Asia, both for coproductions and sales, according to Powers. He particularly has his eye on working with partners in France, Australia, Japan and China. “We have largely worked within the North American model, but as overall costs continue to rise

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and broadcast dollars are disappearing, we have to be more creative to get a show funded and made,” says Powers. Kate Sanagan, Sinking Ship’s head of sales and distribution, capped off 2023 by going to Japan after Dino Dana (which was first released in North America in 2017) launched on national broadcaster NHK to great success, leading to additional season pickups. Now, there’s higher interest in Sinking Ship’s content both in China and Japan, notoriously difficult markets for live-action kids content to break in to. Sanagan has also been focused on supporting Sinking Ship’s shows with more live activations, such as an endangered animal museum exhibit to promote the Apple TV+ series Jane and an Odd Squad-themed playground in partnership with Falcon’s Beyond. She plans to do more of these partnerships for the company’s other properties. Her next mission is to look at how to best exploit FAST (free, ad-supported streaming TV) rights for the production company’s existing and third-party distribution catalogue.

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Sinking Ship plans to keep pushing boundaries and looking at big themes, like it did with the environmental focus in Endlings and Jane. Johnson is now focused on finding ways to talk to kids about the importance of togetherness and how to disagree with others while coming together for a common goal. These are all themes he plans to dive into in the new series Spaceships, currently in development with Bill Nye’s Pasadena-based The Planetary Society. It’s also looking at literacy for the first time with mystery series Wordsville, which will start production next year to launch on TVOKids and New Jersey-based PBS affiliate WNET. “We’re not going to rest on our laurels; we want to be seen as the best, not the biggest,” says Johnson. “To do that we need to continue to be progressive and talk about issues that kids care about – push that line, story-wise and visually. That’s what’s made us competitive. We are always thinking of how to compete on an international level.”

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Call for applications: 100 spots available SUPPORTING PARTNE R S

The 2024 edition of the market access program for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour creators and producers is open for applications. Receive a full BANFF registration package, access to industry intel, career development, and more!

Apply by January 4, 2024 dov.banffmediafestival.com

Congratulations to our partners on a groundbreaking year of original storytelling and your dedication to reflecting more people and perspectives in Canada.

Happy 75th anniversary to the CMPA Production Company of the Year: Lark Productions Kids Prodco of the Year: Sinking Ship Entertainment English-Language Film of the Year: Brother Franchise of the Year: Paw Patrol Director of the Year: RT Thorne Showrunner of the Year: Leslie Norville, Black Life: Untold Stories Changemaker of the Year: Joy Loewen, NSI

Celebrating Heartland’s 250-episode milestone

Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre star in Brother, which landed on Crave on Sept. 15.

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Clement Virgo’s drama feature went from a creative risk to breaking records at the Canadian Screen Awards. BY SABINA WEX

THE 2023 DRAMA FILM BROTHER “WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF A HUGE RISK,” explains Damon D’Oliveira of the award-winning project he produced with director Clement Virgo under their shared banner Conquering Lion Pictures. How was it a risk? Well, for starters, D’Oliveira says the duo hadn’t made a feature film together since they teamed up for Poor Boy’s Game (2007). Plus, Brother required provincial consent to film inside an out-ofuse hydro field for the movie’s ambitious opening shot of two brothers – played by Emmy-nominated Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre – climbing a hydro tower. All while filming during a global pandemic. But, despite all this risk (or maybe because of it), Brother – also produced by Aeschylus Poulos and Sonya Di Rienzo of Hawkeye Pictures – took home 12 trophies at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards (CSAs), a historic sweep that includes Best Motion Picture and Achievement in Direction for Virgo. “It felt like the risk we took was paid off with the recognition,” says D’Oliveira. Both D’Oliveira and Virgo say the largest risk was telling the story in the first place, which was based on David Chariandy’s book of the same name. They weren’t sure how the public would respond to a tale that centred on the lives of two Black brothers living with their strict Jamaican mother while they explore their identity and masculinity in Scarborough, Ont. in the ’90s.

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But Virgo says he felt too connected to the story not to make it. He also has a Jamaican mother and grew up in Toronto. He even feels that Brother is a companion piece to his 1995 film, Rude, which follows three Torontonians navigating life over the course of an Easter weekend. Though he had focused on directing and producing television for over a decade (including The Wire and Book of Negroes), he wanted to return to filmmaking. “I thought: if this was going to be my last movie, I’m going to make a film that I want to make,” Virgo explains. He wrote the movie with Chariandy’s blessing, and the story drew in the cast, many of whom came from similar backgrounds to the characters, according to Virgo. The actors – Johnson, Pierre, Marsha Stephanie Blake and Kiana Madeira – became the “A-team” when it came to promoting Brother, says D’Oliveira. The cast, as well as Chariandy, attended the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of the film. They also did press junkets across Canada and internationally. Johnson, who is nominated for an Emmy for his supporting role in The Last of Us, even flew in from London, U.K. to be at the CSAs with everyone. “Part of the major success of the film is the magnificent performances,” says Virgo. “It’s great to see young, Canadian, Black actors get their due.” Thanks to the promotion push, D’Oliveira says Brother saw good turnouts for both the Canadian theatrical release via distributor Elevation Pictures on March 17 (which occurred during the initial postpandemic cinema openings), and the U.S. theatrical release via Vertical on Aug. 4 (which occurred during the actors’ strike). The film has also been sold to Netflix in the U.S. and the BBC in the U.K., and is currently streaming on Crave in Canada. Clement and Virgo are currently working on their new film, Steal Away Home, which D’Oliveira describes as “a mashup of Rosemary’s Baby meets Get Out.” Their accolades have given them “wind in their sails” for this new project, not to mention a pre-buy from Crave and CBC, and financing from Telefilm Canada. But even with their Brother wins, D’Oliveira and Virgo are far from slowing down. They have a combined 15 project in the works, all of which need financing, casting, sales and distribution. “The independent film world is a really challenging one at the moment,” says D’Oliveira. “Don’t let the money stuff interfere with the vision.”

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Le temps d’un été grossed $2.3 million at the Canadian box office in 2023.

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Le temps d’un été How Louise Archambault’s ensemble film led a string of box office hits for Patrick Roy’s Immina Films. BY SIMONA RABINOVITCH

DIRECTOR LOUISE ARCHAMBAULT’S LE TEMPS D’UN ÉTÉ (ONE SUMMER) BECAME A SURPRISE HIT when it earned $2.3 million at the box office this summer. The film is produced by Antonello Cozzolino and Brigitte Léveillé of Montreal’s Attraction and tackles the taboo topic of homelessness in an uplifting tale. Patrick Roy, president and founder of distributor Immina Films, says Le temps d’un été’s box office success is attributed to the combined strength of its creative elements. “It’s a project I love, brilliantly written, brilliantly directed, and on top of being entertaining, there’s also a message,” he tells Playback, adding that this “perfect combination” helped the film do well in cities big and small. The two-hour comic drama resonated with audiences thanks to “the humanity of the film,” suggests Archambault, whose previous films include Gabrielle (micro_scope), Il pleuvait des oiseaux (And the Birds Rained Down from Les Films Outsiders) and the upcoming English-language film Irena’s Vow (Darius Films, Entract Studios). Among Le temps d’un été’s strengths is its ensemble cast, aged between 18 and 78, including first-time actors and Quebec stars (Patrice Robitaille, Guy Nadon, Élise Guilbault, Josée Deschênes and Sébastien Ricard, to name a few). The story centres on a priest, played by Robitaille, who helps people experiencing homelessness. When he

suddenly inherits a rural property, he brings some parishioners there for the summer and they become a family of sorts. “I wanted to get everything out of them,” says Archambault about working with the actors. “These little moments, each time they are seen, how can we magnify their presence, tell more of who they are?” Scriptwriter Marie Vien, who also wrote 14 jours 12 nuits (14 Days, 12 Nights from Attraction) and La passion d’Augustine (The Passion of Augustine from Lyla Films), had some experience with the subject matter, having been a volunteer at La Maison du Père, a Montreal-based organization that “helps homeless men” – Archambault joining her there for a time. “For five years she was inspired by some of them, so that became a script,” says Archambault, who recently completed directing a dozen episodes of the Radio-Canada television series À cœur battant, starring Roy Dupuis. The film is one part of a string of successes for Roy’s Immina Films, which includes 23 décembre ($2.2 million) and Les hommes de ma mère ($1.7 million). The first five films the distributor has released since launching in October 2022 have all topped $1 million at the box office, says Roy, crediting his hard-working team and the trust of the Quebec industry. He launched Immina Films in late 2022, having previously served as president of Les Films Séville, the now-closed Quebec distribution division of Entertainment One, striking a deal to acquire the film catalogue. While the company is new, it’s composed of industry pros. “I think we have over 100 years of distribution experience in Quebec and we’re only eight people,” said Roy. Looking forward, Immina’s 2024 release schedule includes its first foreign acquisition, Italian director Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano (Me Captain), on Feb. 16, as well as Quebec films such as Ricardo Trogi’s 1995 (July 31) and Yan Lanouette Turgeon’s Mlle Bottine (Nov. 29).

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The PAW Patrol brand has sparked more than $14 billion in worldwide retail sales.

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PAW Patrol A decade after its launch, PAW Patrol is bigger than ever thanks to a steady stream of fresh movies, spinoffs and toys. BY ALEXANDRA WHYTE

ON A SMALL PLANE TO A TINY ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN, SHORTLY AFTER PAW PATROL LAUNCHED IN 2013 on TVOKids and Nickelodeon, creator Keith Chapman ran into a preschooler wearing a backpack covered in the pups. “I thought, ‘We’re thousands of miles from home and here it is.’ That’s when I knew this was going to be a hit,” he tells Playback. Since that flight, the show – about a group of rescue dogs that work together to help their community – has run for 260 episodes across 180 countries, spawned two feature films and more than $14 billion in worldwide retail sales. But, while creating a hit show is not a perfect science, the key to success for this behemoth preschool show is actually quite simple, according to Laura Clunie, SVP of development, current series and feature film at Toronto-based Spin Master Entertainment. “Kids love puppies,” she says. “And it’s empowering for kids to watch the characters have jobs they can understand, be super competent and have agency in their world.” The core elements that Clunie is referencing have remained the same in the past 10 years. However, there’s a drive at Spin Master to push the envelope thematically and create new locations, she says.

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This keeps kids engaged, even as other toddlers age out, and leads to new toys for parents to buy. For example, in season four they head to the ocean for Sea Patrol and in season 10 there’s a Jungle Pups storyline. Then there are the movies where the stakes and budget are higher. The first feature, PAW Patrol: The Movie had a $26 million budget according to Forbes, and raked in $151 million at the box office. The second movie, PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, has grossed more than $182 million – proving that audiences are hungry for more content. Bringing those storylines to life with an intriguing visual look is the job of Toronto-based Guru Studio, which took a distinct departure from the typical preschool series. In the early 2010s, kids shows commonly used a technique where all of the characters were visible at the same time with minimal variation. “Instead, we used camera cuts, distance and reaction shots, the general film language for theatrical releases,” says Guru’s CEO Frank Falcone. “We didn’t talk down to kids, and I think that engaged them even more because they felt respected. It also loosened up storytelling for preschoolers.” Guru and Spin Master work simultaneously to make sure that if kids see a new underwater headquarters on the screen, they can buy one that looks identical in stores. When the show first launched, Spin Master had toys on the shelves within six months, much quicker than most preschool shows, according to James Martin, Spin Master’s SVP of marketing and global business unit for preschool. The toys also always need to be interactive and exciting: Spin Master isn’t just releasing Marshall’s fire truck, for instance: it’s a fire truck with a ladder that launches directly up in the air so kids can stage their own rescues. To keep the ravenous audience satiated, there’s a lot more PAW Patrol coming. The main show has two more seasons in the works, the spinoff series Rubble & Crew has been renewed after it aired its first season this year, a third movie is underway and, of course, there are tons of toys to represent it all. “We stay abreast of trends; we make sure that the content is what kids want to watch, we make sure the messaging is what parents want to see, and we try to stay exciting to preschoolers,” says Martin. “Will it continue for 20 more years? We’re going to do everything possible to make that happen.”

R.T. Thorne went to camera on 40 Acres in Sudbury, Ont. in mid-September.

R.T. Thorne The director has grown from a creative to watch to a bold leader. BY JESSICA GEDGE

WITH HIS SIGNATURE BOLD AND VISIONARY STYLE, R.T. Thorne is a unique talent who has come into his own of late. He started his career by being one of the most soughtafter music video directors in Canada, transitioned to directing and producing television series, and is now on the brink of presenting his first feature film. Hailed as one of 5 to Watch by Playback in 2016, Thorne has substantially added to his resume since, becoming chair of the Directors Guild of Canada BIPOC members committee, driving The Porter (Inferno Pictures, Sphere Media) as director and executive producer, and creating Utopia Falls (Sonar Entertainment). CBC original The Porter became one of the Canadian Screen Awards’ (CSAs) most-awarded shows in the ceremony’s history, receiving 12 trophies. It’s a true rebellion story about “...the people that lived in those communities, how driven they were to change their lives, and the lives of all of us who stand on their shoulders today,” Thorne tells Playback about the critically-acclaimed series from co-creators Arnold Pinnock and Bruce Ramsay. “It’s not a history lesson, it’s a story of ambition.” Despite the honours and ambition, The Porter ended after only a single season, which CBC credited to a lack of a coproduction partner. But, with an award-winning series now under his belt, Thorne has set his sights on film next. “I love TV,” he admits, “but, like almost every director, I have a huge appreciation for cinema.” Cue the post-apocalyptic thriller 40 Acres. Thorne wrote, developed and worked with producers Lora Campbell and Taj Critchlow, as well as writer Glenn Taylor to realize the project. “We financed it entirely out of Canada, which took a few years, and some great early support from Telefilm, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Ontario Creates, and Mongrel Media, among others,” he says. “I’m a big believer in finding the right version of the story to tell. I’d rather put the work in script-wise to get it to the film I want to see rather than the film we could scrape together.” The origins of 40 Acres, a project approaching its sixth year, were inspired by our turbulent times. “At the time,” he recalls, “I felt the world moving into a darker space – it felt like we were seeing a Black person being murdered by police every week. It made me question the world my kids would grow up in and whether I was equipped to provide for and protect them.” He also found inspiration in his Alberta childhood, recalling how critical it was for communities to have a symbiotic relationship with the land. Family is central to the 40 Acres story, and Thorne was intent on featuring a blended one he had never seen on film before, citing the shared history of cooperation, kinship and shared trauma between Indigenous and Black communities. In 2019, Thorne and Critchlow approached writer-producer Jennifer Holness about producing the project. “I sought out Jennifer for her decades of experience in the Canadian film market and she really helped to usher the project into a new era. The Canadian film system hasn’t supported a lot of Black filmmakers over the years and even less so outside of micro-budget levels. Jen is a veteran at getting people to see a vision and tapping into system money,” says Thorne. “The script needed a lot of development, but I was immediately attracted to the story,” says Holness. She saw her role as being to “manage that vision because it is expensive and big – [which was both] a blessing and a challenge.” As for Thorne’s journey, “He’s fulfilling the potential of one to watch from back in 2016. Think about where he’s come from since then – producer of a giant series and an incredible feature film that I can’t wait to bring to the world with him.” A changemaker in the industry, Thorne also led the DGC’s first BIPOC member survey, released last year. He says he believes that most of the membership is supportive of equity and representation, and the survey is a good starting point that “gave us a snapshot so we can see where we need to do more work – whether that’s training, outreach or support.” When asked for his highlights for the year, Thorne says “the birth of my baby boy and presenting The Porter to the world. To have the incredible reception, an Emmy nomination and 12 CSAs, I couldn’t be more proud of the cast, crew and family that worked so hard to bring that dream to life.” Not one to shy away from his music video roots, he also worked with Drake, DJ Khaled and Lil Baby, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award. As for the coming year? “I’ve been developing a couple of TV series,” he says, “but I’m looking forward to living in 40 Acres for the next while and embracing the process. I’ve been waiting to share this story for over half a decade, I want to spend as much time in this world as I can.”

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Bell Media’s Justin Stockman presented the broadcaster’s content slate at the June upfronts in Toronto.

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Bell Media’s content head shares how key deals have helped expand the broadcaster’s commissioning strategy. B Y K E L LY T O W N S E N D

JUSTIN STOCKMAN IS KEEPING HIS SIGHTS ON THE HORIZON as Bell Media navigates a turbulent time in the broadcasting sector. The Bell Media content head, who assumed his current role as VP, content development and programming in 2021 after previously overseeing the broadcaster’s SVOD and OTT strategy, tells Playback that a contraction in the U.S. content-buying market and reduced ad spend has led to the “perfect storm” of trouble for traditional broadcasters this year, resulting in some deep cuts to the business. Parentco BCE laid off 6% of Bell Media’s workforce in June, closing six radio stations, but Stockman says assets such as TSN and Crave have helped the company weather the worst of it. Crave subscribers hit 3.1 million as of BCE’s Q3 2023, with subscriber revenue up 2.9% year-overyear between Crave and TSN+. As a result, the content team has leaned into opportunities to grow Crave’s originals strategy, which Stockman says is “still in a ramp up phase.”

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The broadcaster announced its originals slate had grown to 1,037 hours (up from 973 from the year prior) during the June upfronts, which has since expanded with additional greenlights and renewals, including Made for TV with Boman Martinez-Reid (Alibi Entertainment) and season five of Canada’s Drag Race (Blue Ant Studios). Bell Media has also been able to grow its international partnerships. On top of securing a multi-year agreement to keep HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery content on its platforms, the broadcaster has a first-look deal with Lionsgate and an original content pact with Fox Entertainment. “We’ve never really been able to get to this final step where we’re going to commit to doing simulcast content together, and Fox is willing to try it,” he says. As to what’s to come in 2024, he highlights the Jasmeet Raina-led Late Bloomer (Pier 21 Films) as among some of the most promising upcoming Crave originals, and hinted that renewals on a number of its new series are on the way.

It’s been a tough year for broadcasters, but Bell Media has still managed to ramp up its commissioning slate. How have you been able to achieve that? A lot of the activity you’re seeing is on Crave, which is a growing business. And there’s not a lot of growing businesses with legacy Canadian media right now. Because we’re growing, we’re able to invest. I think also, honestly, we’ve got a lot of great partners we’re working with. The ancient history of Cancon was that people sort of viewed it as this obligation, and that would mean sometimes they would overpay because they’re like, ‘oh, I’ll just put my money here because I have to do it.’ We’re treating this as an actual asset. We’re working with partners

Karine Vanasse hosts both the English- and French-language Canadian versions of The Traitors (Entourage).

who know that a concept will travel, so we’re getting international money into these productions, they’re distributing them in the U.S., and all these things mean we can do more.

How significant was this year’s long-term licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to Bell Media’s overall content strategy? That was the big deal. We were all waiting to figure out when it would get extended because it’s proven itself to be pretty core to Crave. I can’t tell you how long it’s for, but it’s for a good, long time. The originals on Crave drive a lot [of viewership], as do the films, but one of the tentpoles is clearly the HBO originals, and it’s a relief to go to bed at night knowing we’re going to have those HBO originals for the foreseeable future.

You’ve spoken in the past about how the revenue from those U.S. acquisitions help drive your ability to commission Cancon. Is that still the case? Yes, and it’s a key message we thought had maybe gotten a bit lost in a lot of the regulatory conversation. But with the [federal government’s Bill C-11] policy direction, it looked like someone was listening, because it encourages [foreign] partnership with Canadian entities. One of the issues with what’s happened with the broadcasting system in Canada is that some streamers or studios are not actually selling content to Canadians anymore, and it is a fact that Canadian content is funded by the high viewership of people watching those American programs. English Canadians like their original content, they want to watch Canadian stories and we are happy to serve them, but

they also like American stuff, and if you starve us of American shows, we have less money to spend on Canadian.

A good marriage of the global and Canadian sides of the equation seems to be The Traitors, with Bell Media acquiring the international versions and commissioning two Canadian originals from the format in quick succession. How impactful has that format been for Bell Media this year? The Traitors is one we were watching, because it was one of the first Peacock shows that seemed to be getting some real buzz out of the U.S., and so we were able to do an international deal with All3Media where we could get all the English-language versions, and with that came the format rights. We would usually wait for it to be a massive hit before we pull the trigger on doing a Canadian version, but it was sort of right place, right time because of the writers’ strike. The production company Entourage were convinced they could get us a show for the fall, so literally, on the day we bought the American shows at the L.A. screenings in May, we decided in the room – the French and English team were there together – that let’s just go for it and greenlight it. The next day we were casting the show at the airport on our way to fly back to Toronto. And we couldn’t be happier with how well it’s doing. We are sometimes risk averse, and it showed us we could take an occasional swing. That franchise has not yet realized, I think, how big it could be. We have season two of the U.S. show coming to Crave early next year and it has done some major stunt casting. We think season two or three is where the international formats are going to really take off.

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Leslie Norville

The “quiet force” behind the CBC docuseries Black Life: Untold Stories. B Y TA I M U R S I K A N D E R M I R Z A

FOR LESLIE NORVILLE, THE IDEA FOR BLACK LIFE: UNTOLD STORIES WAS BORN OUT OF A NEED TO UNDERSTAND HER OWN HISTORY AS A BLACK PERSON IN CANADA. “I think that’s because that history was missing,” Norville, the showrunner and executive producer of the CBC docuseries, tells Playback. “It came from this desire to feel connected to the country of my birth,” the Toronto filmmaker adds. The eight-part series, which premiered on CBC Gem on Oct. 18 and CBC on Oct. 25, looks at the horrors of slavery and racism in Canada, and also the perseverance and triumphs of Black Canadians. It is produced by Norville’s Studio 112 in London, Ont., in association with Northwood Entertainment and Ugly Duck Productions (both of Toronto). Norville says the idea had been in her head “for years.” In 2019, she connected with Miranda de Pencier, who would become an executive producer on the series, and pitched it to CBC. Initially, the series was imagined as “a definitive Black history doc.” But, during the early research, it was clear that it was impossible to capture the “rich history, stories and experiences in any meaningful way in eight television hours.” So the biggest challenge for the team was deciding which story made it, and which didn’t. The research spanned more than six months, and it was during that process that the series would take its shape as an anthology, with eight directors directing one episode each, bringing their unique vision to a subject or theme that resonated with them. Assembling the directing team required going through an extensive list of African Canadian filmmakers and their work, according to Norville, who said she wanted to set up a process similar to how she would produce a feature doc, where “collaboration is so important.” “I was looking for people who meshed with the style of producing that I do,” she says. Norville’s production credits include The First Wave for Neon/National Geographic, A Ballerina’s Tale, and Disdain the Mundane, which was part of ESPN’s Emmy Award-winning 30 for 30 Shorts series, among others. Alicia K. Harris, who directed the first episode of series, “Haven, But No Heaven,” about slavery in Canada, says even though each director brought their vision and style to the episode, Norville was “meaningfully challenging your ideas” and taking them to the next level. “It was like making eight separate movies at the same time. And the fact that she was able to make a series with such a large scope and be so involved and present in everyone’s episodes, is just a testament to her,” she says. The presence of a large number of established and emerging Black creatives, historians and experts during production also stood out to Harris. “I have never been on a set with so many Black people at one time, ever, especially in key creative roles,” she says. “It was important to her [Norville] to have Black people involved in the making and give people that experience that could help them get their next job.” The series tapped into interviews and research of some 125 historians, archivists, advisors, consultants, experts and story producers, and was filmed across 16 cities. Michèle Stephenson, the director of the second episode “Revolution Remix,” describes Norville as a “quiet force” who is able to get things done while making everyone feel respected. Stephenson’s episode explores the civil rights movement in Canada. Michelle McCree, executive in charge of production at CBC Docs, adds: “Leslie’s strength as a showrunner was her steadfast commitment to supporting creative exploration while also setting a high bar for excavating truth and reframing narratives that have historically decentred and skewed the lived experiences of Black folks in Canada.” Norville says it was very important for the team to have the project live beyond the series and be accessible to all Canadians. That effort is being pushed through an impact campaign that’s bringing the series to small communities and rural areas, and partnering with the Canadian Museum of History to create educational resources accessible to teachers. Norville also wants the series to “travel beyond Canada, to places like the U.S. and the U.K.” She says she’s seeing an interest in funding support for Black stories, but hopes that it is “sustained, because we’ve seen these ebbs and flows in the past where Black people are cool and interesting for a couple of years and then funding dries up. “So hopefully this is not just a flash in the pan.”

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Photo: Luz Gallardo

changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker changemaker Joy Loewen The National Screen Institute CEO has been a key collaborator on initiatives providing career-changing opportunities for screen industry members. B Y K E L LY T O W N S E N D

DESPITE BEING MONTHS AWAY FROM DEPARTING HER ROLE, National Screen Institute (NSI) CEO Joy Loewen has been stepping on the gas when it comes to the 37-year-old not-for-profit’s work to support and train up-and-coming screen industry members. Part of that is due to Loewen’s tendency to rely on her instincts and say “yes” to new opportunities; as was the case for the Access BIPOC Producers program – presented by the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) and NSI in partnership with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) – and the PACT (Pledge, Activate, Cultivate, Thrive) cultural competency course created in partnership with the Shine Network Institute. “I think she is the embodiment of her name,” Marcia Douglas, CMF’s VP, growth and inclusion, tells Playback. “She takes her commitment to her work incredibly seriously, but she also has a deep personal commitment to the people, both to her staff and the participants, of these programs.” Douglas and Loewen are collaborators on Access BIPOC Producers (formerly known as the EAVE On Demand Access Program), which Loewen says was initially started with a phone call by Douglas’ predecessor at CMF, Tamara Dawit, who remains involved with the program as an advisor. The program, which announced its second cohort this year, is designed to train producers from underrepresented communities on how to access opportunities in the international market, whether through content exports or coproductions. It is “intensely customized,” says Loewen, with careful consideration made from the application and selection stages to ensure it’s meeting the needs of participants. What has enabled that customization is the increased use of data – both anecdotal and statistical – to see where the greatest needs are, with

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Loewen noting that participants are seeking more direct support for their businesses, rather than on a project-by-project basis. Douglas says the program enables producers to “globalize their company.” For example, she says two participants attended the Marché du Film Spotlight Asia program this year in Cannes following their participation in 2022. “Each of them have come away with multiple projects now in development from both features and TV,” she says. “It really is building those bridges for them.” In the case of PACT, Loewen says she received a “life-changing” email from Shine Network Institute founder Jennifer Podemski (Little Bird) in 2021, asking if she’d be interested in collaborating on the project. What resulted was “one of the most meaningful partnerships and work that I’ve done in my career,” says Loewen. The 40-minute online certificate course, billed as the first free online Indigenous cultural competency course for the screen sector, is designed for non-Indigenous industry members who are or will be working on Indigenous productions, in order to provide safer and more culturallyinclusive working environments for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. The project received a three-year grant from the federal government’s Department for Women and Gender Equality, and Loewen says the Shine Network played an integral part in securing the grant. “[The NSI] has the nuts and bolts, but we need our community to work with us to help shine a light on areas of growth and development,” she says. “The Shine Network Institute brought that in spades.” Loewen announced in May that she’ll be departing NSI in June 2024 after more than three years as CEO, leaving plenty of runway for the organization to find her replacement. Her departure will end an accumulated 12 years at the not-for-profit, punctuated with programming and producing roles at organizations such as On Screen Manitoba and CBC. She hasn’t slowed down in the meantime, with the NSI announcing the Elevate program with Paramount+ Canada and BIPOC TV & Film to provide business development mentorship to BIPOC-owned prodcos. The organization – which has eight other active programs this year, including an accelerator for TikTok creators – is also beginning to formulate its next three-year strategic plan. While she isn’t ready to announce where she’s off to next, she does have some advice for her successor: “Keep the machine in drive… there’s a lot of road ahead, and you’re catching us at 80 clicks per hour. Let’s take it to 90.”

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Blue Ant’s president, global channels and media, Jamie Schouela, has overseen the launch of eight FAST channels in 36 countries. Photo: Steve Craft.

Jamie Schouela

The executive has helped Blue Ant Media become a global leader in the FAST sector. BY ANDY FRY

OVER THE YEARS, TORONTO-BASED BLUE ANT MEDIA HAS PROVEN HIGHLY ADEPT AT EXPANDING ITS GLOBAL FOOTPRINT across production, distribution and channel ownership. So it comes as no real surprise that the company has emerged as a front-runner in the rapidly-growing FAST (free, ad-supported streaming TV) channel business. Spearheaded by Blue Ant’s president, global channels and media, Jamie Schouela, the company has now launched eight FAST channels in 36 countries – and is generating around one billion minutes of viewing a month. It is poised to make its first foray in drama, with a new Love Drama channel, and sees further opportunities following the acquisition of marblemedia. “We’re all about monetizing content,” Schouela tells Playback in regards to Blue Ant’s business model. “What FAST has brought us is a new window to generate revenue for both our owned IP and our partner IP. The fact we own library content and have experience as a channel operator means we have been able to scale quickly.” Blue Ant’s FAST channels are mostly genre-based with Love Nature, Love Pets, Total Crime and Homeful among key brands. “Love Nature

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started out as a pay TV channel and has been one of our key drivers in FAST. Right now, it’s on 18 platforms in the U.S. alone. But 2023 was also a great year for our home and renovation channel Homeful. We acquired a 200-hour library from Mike Holmes, all of which has come into the Homeful schedule and helped grow the channel.” Homeful is part of a strong alliance that Schouela has established with Vizio’s WatchFree+ platform in the U.S. Vizio director, content acquisition Greg Barnard has signed up several Blue Ant’s channels and is full of praise for Schouela: “His level-headedness, passion for Blue Ant content, and finding the right audience encouraged us to look beyond the typical partnership.” Barnard says Schouela’s “collaborative nature, coupled with his leadership” encouraged the platform to sanction “an expanded partnership.” After initially signing up three channels, May saw Vizio come back for two more – Homeful and Love Pets. In parallel, says Barnard, the partners have explored various revenue-driving business models to great effect: “We’ve worked with Blue Ant on some co-branded content stunts on our curated channels (Vizio’s own genre-based channels). We also worked with Blue Ant on exclusive premieres for key tent-poles like Fall Premieres and Spring Showcase in exchange for on-platform marketing.” This year also saw Schouela and Blue Ant launch their first single franchise channel, Drag Race Universe, in partnership with World of Wonder, based on the growing RuPaul’s Drag Race universe. “There are so many fantastic versions of the Drag Race brand around the world that it was perfect for FAST. It’s been a great success,” he says. Schouela has also accelerated Blue Ant’s international FAST rollout in the last year. Highlights include an expanded partnership with Samsung TV Plus – bringing channels such as Homeful, HauntTV and Love Pets to new territories. “Every forecast suggests dollars will keep

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moving into FAST globally,” he says. “The job right now is to build dial position and audience engagement.” Blue Ant, of course, is not the only company targeting FAST. With many of the world’s major IP owners joining the gold rush, and platforms becoming more selective about channels, how can the company sustain its edge? “Exclusivity has been a big part of our growth,” says Schouela. “We pride ourselves on making sure at least 75% of the content on any channel is exclusive.” The fact that Blue Ant is a pay TV operator in Canada also provides a strong content creation engine. This year, for example, the firm greenlit three series that will air on both its Canadian specialty TV networks and global free streaming platforms. “In addition,” adds Schouela, “it’s about staying laser-focused on areas like scheduling, marketing and how you package shows.” Expanding on this point, Schouela says “it’s kind of old-school TV. Part of our strategy in FAST is delivering regular events for every channel, supported by marketing collateral to empower our platform partners to drive audiences to our channels. Great examples are the month-long Love Earth event on Love Nature that aligns with Earth Month and the month-long Spooktober event on HauntTV in October to celebrate Halloween.” As for creative content packaging, “a great example is the Homes-giving marathon we

created around Thanksgiving for our Homeful channel, with Mike Holmes content air all weekend.” Initiatives like these are supported with organic marketing and paid marketing for marquee signature stunts, says Schouela. “The organic marketing includes a toolkit of assets for platform partners to use on-air and across social accounts. Paid marketing can include digital campaigns and also prime positioning on the platforms to maximize exposure and discoverability.” Its new foray, getting into scripted with Love Drama – a partnership with Muse Entertainment – shows that the sky’s the limit for growth. “[Muse] own a ton of great IP in areas like romance and crime… movies of the week,” says Schouela. “FAST is getting more competitive, but there is still white space.”

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Little Bird lead Darla Contois (left), plays opposite former House star Lisa Edelstein. Photo: Steve Ackerman.

Little Bird

How Rezolution and Original told the story of Little Bird “the right way.” B Y TA I M U R S I K A N D E R M I R Z A

COMING ON BOARD AS THE GLOBAL DISTRIBUTOR for Little Bird was both an emotional and business decision for Fremantle. Kim Todd, Original Pictures founder and executive producer of the series, tells Playback that Dante Di Loreto, Fremantle’s North American president of scripted entertainment was “moved” by the story and how co-creator and showrunner Jennifer Podemski intended to tell it when he met with the series’ creative team in 2021. “The fact that Fremantle came in and made an advance against sales meant that they believed they were going to make sales all over the world,” adds Todd. “And, that’s what they’re doing.” The six-part Crave and APTN lumi limited series, co-created by Podemski and head writer Hannah Moscovitch, has been sold in the U.S. (PBS), Croatia (HRT), Israel (Hot) and Portugal (RTP), with deals in other territories currently under discussion, according to the distributor. Little Bird is produced by Rezolution Pictures, which brought the concept to Podemski in 2016 to develop, and Original Pictures, with

Fremantle handling global sales. It is co-written by Zoe Hopkins, and directed by Hopkins and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. The series, which premiered in Canada on May 26, has picked up several accolades, including Representation of Race and Ethnicity – Scripted at MIPCOM’s Diversify TV Awards, the audience award at the 2023 Series Mania festival, and Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and the directing team of the episode “Love is all Around” at the DGC Awards. Little Bird centres on an Indigenous woman (played by Darla Contois) who is removed from her childhood home on a Saskatchewan reserve during the Sixties Scoop and adopted into a Montreal Jewish family. The series follows her quest to find her birth family. The series had one of the top five Canadian scripted series debuts in Crave history for first week streams season average, according to Bell Media, which cited Adobe Analytics as the source. It was the mostwatched show on APTN lumi when it premiered in May. “And since its main network premiere this fall, Little Bird has been in APTN’s top three most-watched programs week by week,” says Adam Garnet Jones, APTN’s director of TV content and special events, who lauded the series for its “masterful” storytelling. The series made its U.S. debut in October, with the L.A. Times calling it a “powerful exploration of the ‘Sixties Scoop’ and Indigenous assimilation.” Podemski says the production team wanted to take the “concept of a premium show to a very new place with every aspect” of the series. It benefited from the “large chunk” of financing via provincial incentives in Manitoba (where it was shot), the Fremantle advance, and the efforts of all the funding partners, says Todd – all of it adding up to an approximate budget of $21 million. The provincial incentives amounted to more

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than 25% of the budget, while Fremantle’s advance was a “significant commitment,” according to the producers. When it came to the action on-screen, the team was just as considerate. There was a 10-day gap between shoots for each episode to ensure cast and crew had time to process the subject matter. These “kinds of stories are very hard to tell, harder to make, and harder to sell,” says Podemski, who is of Indigenous and Jewish descent. Former Rezolution Pictures exec Christina Fon, who is now with Shaftesbury and is in development on a dramatic comedy for Crave with Podemski and her banner Redcloud Studios, was an executive producer on Little Bird. She says, as a Jewish woman and daughter of Holocaust survivors, it was personally important to be able put a spotlight on “this unknown truth and story” where the Indigenous and Jewish “cultures meet within the frameworks of genocide.” Rezolutions Pictures also produced a companion documentary, Coming Home, directed by Cree/Ojibway filmmaker Erica Daniels, that dives deeper into the history of the Sixties Scoop, and the impact of the child welfare system on the series’ Indigenous creatives, crew and Sixties Scoop advisors. The doc was released day and date with the series finale on June 30. It was important to be “able to go back to the community with your head held high because you were able to tell that story in the right way,” says Rezolution Pictures’ Ernest Webb, who also served as an executive producer on the show. The series has also opened conversations around the Sixties Scoop, which Podemski says was the intent.

Little Bird is a heartbreaking view into the Sixties Scoop. Pictured (L-R): Jeannie (Janet Kidder), Police Officer (Darren Ross), Police Constable (Kristian Jordan), Young Bezhig (Keris Hope Hill) and Patti (Ellyn Jade). Photo: Steve Ackerman.

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Playback Tribute The indispensable champion Nancy Chapelle leaves behind a lasting legacy as she prepares to depart the Bell Fund – just as she did at TVO and Catalyst before. BY AMBER DOWLING

WHEN NANCY CHAPELLE STEPS DOWN AS THE BELL FUND’S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR at the end of the year, her contributions to the Canadian screen sector will stretch far beyond her nine years navigating what seemed like impossible changes. As she retires, following a four-decade career, she does so as a producer, programmer and funder, whose foresight, creativity and ability to embrace change has helped to shape and transform the Canadian media landscape. “Every industry needs champions and that has been Nancy for the audiovisual industry in Canada,” Christina Jennings, chairman and president of Toronto-based Shaftesbury, tells Playback. “She is a trailblazer who thought about how we can help Canadian content to perform – and outperform – on the global stage.” Michelle Melanson, president of Toronto-based prodco Headspinner Productions, is one of many producers whose careers were directly influenced by Chapelle. Her first gig in the industry was on the children’s series Shining

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Time Station, produced by Chapelle’s former production banner Catalyst Entertainment. “In the early 1990s, you often wouldn’t see a woman in charge,” recalls Melanson. “She was so kind, open and in control. Her door was always open, and no question went unanswered. As my career grew, I would always remember her as a kind mentor and someone who really cared about our industry, and for people to succeed.” Chapelle, however, looks back on her decades-long career with humility and gratitude. “When you’re starting your career, you always think you need to be indispensable,” she says. “It took a while, but I’ve learned that if you want to grow and become a leader, you need to surround yourself with the best there is, the brightest and the smartest. Your role in life is to ensure their success.” When Chapelle co-founded Toronto-based Catalyst Entertainment with Charles Falzon in 1990, she handled the production side while he oversaw distribution. Looking back at their partnership, Falzon recalls being “the rainmaker” while Chapelle was “the person with the buckets holding onto the rain and collecting it all.” Under the duo’s leadership, the company created strategic alliances with clients like NBCUniversal, CBC, BBC Worldwide Americas and Thames Television, while crafting a broad-range library of more than 4,000 hours of scripted content — roughly 60% of which was produced in-house. Catalyst became known for family hits like Shining Time Station, while taking major creative risks in other areas – such as producing the soap opera Foreign Affairs in South America or opening a theme park in Malta after taking over a studio there. “These opportunities were so out of the norm,” recalls Chapelle. “When I was working with Charles we would look at ourselves and go, ‘Wow. Okay. We’re really going to do this.’ You never think you’re going to wake up one day and be operating the Mediterranean film studios in Malta.” “Nancy made things happen,” recalls Falzon, now the dean at Toronto Metropolitan University’s The Creative School. “She was a solid person in a tricky industry. We were pioneers in independent production and distribution in this country. We were making it up as we went along. And she was very good at pulling teams together. People really respected working for her.” In 1994, Gullane Entertainment (previously known as The Britt Allcroft Company) purchased a significant share of Catalyst Entertainment. Falzon and Chapelle stayed on in progressive key roles until 2002, when U.K.-based HIT Entertainment’s hostile takeover of the company prompted the pair to move on. Chapelle shifted gears to programming the following year when she became managing director of content and programming at TVO. There, she oversaw the evolution of the public broadcaster from a single TV channel to a digital multiplatform educational media organization. “She had the backs of all the creative people who worked there because she understood how scary and exciting it is to be creative,” recalls former TVO CEO Lisa

“ I’ve learned that if you de Wilde, now Bell Media professor in media management want to grow at York University’s Schulich School of Business. De Wilde recalls having to reinvent how TVO did and become current affairs by finding a high-impact, lower-cost way of delivering quality journalism. She says Chapelle was a leader, integral in creating an in-studio program and worked to increase the number of women guests. you need to From a digital standpoint, de Wilde remembers Chapelle for her steadfast commitment to growing her surround team in the rapidly changing industry. She says the programmer forged a partnership with Waterloo, Ont.’s yourself Communitech as a way of catalyzing the team’s interest with the best in digital and the promise it held. “We’re talking about VHS tapes that were moved there is, the around the building on carts,” recalls de Wilde. “She knew where we had to go and she focused on bringing brightest the promise to light – smaller cameras, things that had been less possible suddenly becoming super possible. and the She was good at demystifying what technology change meant to producers in their day-to-day jobs.” smartest.” Chapelle recalls the challenge and how she developed Top: I Was A Rat is honoured at the Banff Television Festival. Bottom: TVO’s Bear in the Big Blue House. Photos courtesy of Nancy Chapelle.

a curriculum to teach programming teams how to create digital content to meet the needs of emerging audiences. “It was uncomfortable when we wanted to go digital,” she says. “Everybody was used to that linear broadcast model. But we had to widen our audience; we had to deliver content wherever that audience wanted to consume it. We had to learn those skills.”

– Nancy Chapelle

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Left to right: Dino Dana, Brother, Paw Patrol Paw Patrol image courtesy of Spin Master Entertainment

CELEBRATING ONTARIO’S AWARD-WINNING TALENT

Congratulations to Playback’s ‘Best of 2023’ winners! Ontario Creates is proud to play a supporting role through our programs, film commission and tax incentives. Learn more about how we can assist your next project!

ontariocreates.ca

Chapelle was an executive producer on the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Photo courtesy of Nancy Chapelle.

For 11 years at TVO, Chapelle also worked with regulatory requirements and corporate policies. That experience proved invaluable in 2015, when she took over from founding executive director Andra Sheffer at the Bell Fund. There, Chapelle oversaw the biggest overhaul in the fund’s 26-year history. In framing policy for Certified Independent Production Funds (CIPFs) in 2016, the CRTC restricted the Bell Fund and other financing bodies of its kind from spending more than 10% on nonprogramming digital content. As a result, the Bell Fund had to close its programs, reimagine its impact and launch new programs that aligned with the updated regulations. “Nancy led a deep dive into the value proposition of the programs at the time,” says Naveen Prasad, chair of the Bell Fund’s board of directors. “It was pretty bold, but it was the right decision that essentially led to pilot programs that have become the substance of all our current funds.” According to Prasad, the Short Form Digital Series, Slate Development, and the TV program – which includes the TV Selective program and the Major Production Funder (MPF) performance envelope – were all developed from the perspective of a producer,

and contain key components producers need to succeed, despite “limited funding.” “I led through, I think, nine of the most consequential years of the Fund,” Chapelle now recalls. “Today, where we are in this moment, we are again reminding the CRTC about the important role the CIPFs play in the industry.” Chapelle says she empathizes with producers because she knows what it takes to do the job and remembers knocking on those doors. It’s why, in her role with the Bell Fund, she has encouraged team members to take time to communicate with the production community, putting on webinars, application clinics and hosting one-on-ones. The goal is to help producers deliver successful applications. “The producer’s role has changed,” she says. “These days you have to think about online platforms, where your audience is, how to build relationships with them. That’s a big learning curve in terms of the discoverability of Canadian content. There has to be a role for producers in that, and it’s one we have to encourage and help develop the skillsets for.” Looking ahead, Chapelle believes the new executive director should embrace the “small but mighty team” and allow them to be the best versions of themselves. Meanwhile, the new person will have to lead through important changes such as the CRTC’s work to modernize its regulatory framework and the continued efforts toward meaningful representation of emerging racialized and underrepresented communities on and off screen. “It’s not just reading the tea leaves, but you always have to be thinking about where the industry is going,” she adds. “For me, it was always: how can we help the industry grow and where are the opportunities to grow the industry?” “Nancy leaves a fund that is now well-managed, well-focused, and has a continued game plan to support producers in the future,” says Prasad. “As far as what her retirement means for the industry? It’s immeasurable, but it will be felt.” 41

Nancy Chapelle Executive Director

Nancy

Thank you, for your stewardship and unwavering devotion to our industry.

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CANADIAN FILM & TELEVISION HALL OF FAME

Cut Print Thank You Bye Visionary filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée left a brilliant legacy in cinema and TV in Hollywood and at home. BY MARK DILLON Jean-Marc Vallée directs the 2011 feature Café de Flore. Photo: Sébastien Raymond, courtesy Productions Café de Flore. 42

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JEAN-MARC VALLÉE WAS ON A CREATIVE ROLL WHEN HE PREMATURELY LEFT US. The filmmaker from Montreal’s Rosemont neighbourhood, fresh off conquering American television with the HBO miniseries Big Little Lies (2017) and Sharp Objects (2018), was moving forward on an ambitious feature about the love story of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (working title John&Yoko). But it ground to a halt when Vallée died on Dec. 25, 2021. Marc Côté, CEO of Montreal post house Real by Fake, who served as Vallée’s long-time VFX supervisor and coproduced the HBO series, believes Vallée will be remembered for his rhythmic filmmaking style that served stories of human relationships – and he will remain an inspiration. “He was a guy who, through perseverance and hard work, was able to propel himself to where he wanted to be,” Côté tells Playback. “He showed that if you are a true artist who is able to have the right people around you, everything is possible.” That included helming Oscar-winning feature films. Nathan Ross, Vallée’s former rep at ICM who became a producing partner, starting with Dallas Buyers Club (2013), says, “He’s missed very much by his casts and crews, but just talking about him and saying his name keeps his memory alive. He was a brilliant filmmaker. He thought it was tongue in cheek, but I used to call him ‘The Maestro.’” John&Yoko was a natural for Vallée, a pop music connoisseur and former DJ. C.R.A.Z.Y. – his 2005 breakthrough Quebec feature starring Marc-André Grondin as a young man coming to grips with his homosexuality – received plaudits for its soundtrack, featuring songs by The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and David Bowie. Vallée and producer Pierre Even spent $600,000 of C.R.A.Z.Y.’s $7 million budget on licensing that music. Pop songs continued to play a major role in the director’s projects, and he often made characters audiophiles like himself. C.R.A.Z.Y. took a decade to come to fruition, after Vallée was already established in his home province. Having studied cinema at l’Université du Québec à Montréal, he cut his teeth directing music videos in the mid ’80s. He ventured into narrative filmmaking with

shorts, picking up a Genie Award for Magical Flowers (1995) and a Jutra for its sequel Magical Words (1998). His feature debut was Liste noire (1995), a thriller starring Michel Côté as a judge who is endangered after acquiring a prostitute’s clientele list. It was the year’s top-grossing Quebec film with a $1 million box office haul and garnered nine Genie nominations, including direction and editing nods for Vallée. This led to his being hired on a couple of American films: the Western Los Locos (1997) written by and starring Mario Van Peebles, and the revenge thriller Loser Love (1999) starring Laurel Holloman. After neither made much noise, he came home and turned his attention to a project on which he was the driving creative force. C.R.A.Z.Y. became one of Canadian cinema’s biggest hits, reaping some 50 international awards (including best picture and director, and nine other Genies) and $6 million at the domestic box office. It also attracted producers Martin Scorsese and Graham King, who wanted Vallée to direct their period piece The Young Victoria (2009), starring Emily Blunt as the popular queen and Rupert Friend as her consort Prince Albert. It may have seemed an unlikely project for the French-Canadian filmmaker but, as he told Playback at the time: “I’m looking for different challenges from one film to the other. It was just good timing.” It was also a somewhat frustrating experience: the bigger budget meant more input from above; he was vetoed on his music choices and felt encumbered by the large crew. He reunited with producer Even on Canada/ France copro Café de Flore (2011), shooting his script that tells parallel stories of Antoine (Kevin Parent), a fortysomething Montreal DJ switching partners, and

At TIFF to promote Demolition (2015). From left: EPs Thad Luckinbill, Ellen H. Schwartz and Carla Hacken, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts, Vallée, EP Nathan Ross, producers Molly Smith and Trent Luckinbill. Photo: Nathan Ross.

“ He showed that if you are a true artist who is able to have the right people around you, everything is possible.” – Marc Côté, CEO, Real by Fake

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Left: Vallée with son Émile on the set of C.R.A.Z.Y. Photo: Sébastien Raymond, courtesy Productions Zac.

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single mother Jacqueline (Vanessa Paradis), raising her son Laurent (Marin Gerrier), who has Down syndrome, in 1960s Paris. This time, whenever possible, he shot with a crew as small as five people. The approach yielded creative dividends and the film won three Genies out of a total 13 nominations. He took another shot at Hollywood with Dallas Buyers Club, based on the life of Ron Woodroof, a heterosexual Texas cowboy who contracted AIDS in the 1980s and smuggled unapproved drugs to treat himself and others afflicted with the disease. Vallée made the film for just US$5.5 million, applying his stripped-down methods that also included handheld digital photography and little to no movie lights. He was aided by Montreal-based director of photography Yves Bélanger, with whom he had shot commercials and episodes of The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (2000) and who became his closest on-set collaborator. Dallas Buyers Club made more than US$55 million theatrically worldwide and earned Oscars for Matthew McConaughey for lead actor, Jared Leto for supporting and a Best Picture nomination. It made Vallée much sought after by other top Hollywood talent. He worked with Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern (both Oscar nominated) on Wild (2014) and Jake Gyllenhaal on Demolition (2015). He then collaborated

Pictured (L-R): Producer Nathan Ross, Laura Dern, Vallée, Reese Witherspoon and producer Bruna Papandrea on the 2013 set of Wild. Photo: courtesy Nathan Ross.

with a golden ensemble on season one of Big Little Lies, bringing Emmy statuettes to lead Nicole Kidman and supporting players Dern and Alexander Skårsgard. Big Little Lies follows mothers in Monterey, California, whose outwardly perfect lives hide infidelities and abuse. It averaged a reported 8.5 million viewers per episode, according to HBO, and also won Emmys for best limited series and Vallée’s direction. Then came Southern Gothic murder mystery series Sharp Objects. Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, it stars Amy Adams as Camille, an alcoholic, self-harming reporter who returns to her hometown to cover a young girl’s murder, restarting her troubled relationship with her mother Adora (Patricia Clarkson) and triggering memories of her dead half sister. The series, Adams and Clarkson received Emmy noms. Vallée constantly pushed his collaborators to reach a high bar.

(L-R): Vallée and Ross with award winner Jared Leto at the 2014 Golden Globe Awards for Dallas Buyers Club. Photo: courtesy Nathan Ross.

“I was exhausted after shooting with him because he asked so much physically and emotionally,” says Bélanger, who was nominated for an Emmy for his cinematography on Big Little Lies. “He was so intense and a lot of concentration was needed. But I’ve never had so much pride looking at rushes as when I was shooting with him. And the editing made me look even better. He made me a better DOP.” Following his gruelling TV schedule, Vallée bought a lakeside cabin near Quebec City where he could work and spend time with his sons Alex, an actor and former Real by Fake employee, and Émile, a Concordia University film grad who appeared in C.R.A.Z.Y. and Café de Flore. But that dream was cut short. Just hours after leaving producing partner Ross a happy holiday message, Vallée was found dead at his cabin, having suffered from what the coroner deemed “a fatal cardiac arrhythmia secondary to severe coronary atherosclerosis.” He was 58. A year later, many of his Hollywood collaborators gathered to celebrate his life on a rainy Sunday in Santa Monica. And the Canadian industry is also paying tribute. The DGC renamed its up-and-comers prize the Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award; he was also posthumously fêted with the Canadian Award of Distinction at the 2022 Banff World Media Festival, where a bursary was launched for professional development of a Quebec director. And Concordia announced an award in his name providing financial assistance to students. Meanwhile, Even is producing a documentary about him directed by Marie-Julie Dallaire and titled Cut Print Thank You Bye, which was an expression Vallée liked to use. They hope to begin shooting in the spring. Playback’s Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame was founded in 2007 to recognize extraordinary achievements in the Canadian entertainment industry. Inductees are selected by a jury of their peers. W I N T E R 2 02 3

THE BACK PAGE

The 2023-24 broadcast season will mark the end of some of Canada’s most acclaimed and lauded TV series in recent years: CBC’s Sort Of and CTV’s Transplant – both produced by Sphere Media – and Crave original Letterkenny (New Metric Media). All three announced their final seasons this fall. To date, the shows have amassed a combined 37 Canadian Screen Awards, distribution deals on multiple continents, and one line of premium lager (cheers, Puppers). As the year winds down, we’re raising a glass to celebrate the shows that made us laugh – and cry – by asking the creatives and producers behind the series to reflect on the magic-making process.

Photo: Michael Gibson

AT WHAT POINT DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE ON TO SOMETHING SPECIAL?

Bilal Baig, star, co-creator, executive producer and co-showrunner, Sort Of: Around season one, while we were filming… It felt like we were doing something different when it came to the representation of trans people, because I had consumed so much media with us getting killed in it. Just to present multiple trans and non-binary people as alive, moving through their life and having different feelings and actual [character] arcs. Fab Filippo, director, co-creator, executive producer and co-showrunner, Sort Of: I had two moments, and one was before we were even greenlit. We made this four-minute sizzle reel, and that’s how we were pitching the show. It had been shared around CBC, so by the time we went to pitch, the executive assistant who came out to greet us was starstruck by Bilal. That’s when I was like, “Wow, if we get to make this show, this is something.” The second one is more cheesy. I was in a restaurant and I got a notification that Mindy Kaling had tweeted about our show and I was like, “Oh my God!”

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Photo courtesy of Bell Media

Joseph Kay, creator, executive producer and showrunner, Transplant: I sensed it even at the pitch stage, but I could tell from people’s reactions to my pilot script that we had a good chance of connecting. Particularly by how readers responded to Bashir’s (Hamza Haq) relationship with his younger sister (Sirena Gulamgaus) – our show was never about flashy action, it was only ever about emotional heart. WHO WOULD YOU SAY IS AN UNSUNG HERO OF THE SHOW?

Mark Montefiore, executive producer, Letterkenny: Our producer, Kara Haflidson, and our network executives at Crave. [Creator and star] Jared Keeso is the soul and Kara is the beating heart of Letterkenny. Kay: Editors never get enough credit. Although all of Transplant’s editors are tremendous, I’m going to name two – Annie Ilkow and Sylvain Lebel – who’ve been with the show our entire run and played such a huge role in shaping performances and helping construct a narrative. Baig: Jennifer Kawaja from Sphere Media. The show would feel different, and wouldn’t be

Photo courtesy of Bell Media

what it is [without her]. She’s such a huge part of how this show comes together… I feel like producers don’t always get the credit they deserve, so Jennifer feels like an unsung hero to me. WHY DO YOU THINK THE SHOW RESONATED WITH AUDIENCES?

Trish Williams, executive director, scripted content, CBC: Sort Of is able to connect with audiences because it tells stories about our deepest desire to be seen and loved for who we really are. It shows that this is a struggle for everyone. It playfully uses humour and wit to remind us that the kindest, most heartexpanding thing we can do is to simply understand and accept each other. Kay: There is a universality in Transplant’s themes of new beginnings and starting over. Fundamentally, each of us needs to believe we can do it, and so we root for people who try. Also, we’ve been answering this question the same way all along, which is another reason it connected – the show always knew what it was. Montefiore: It’s f*cking funny.

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