Cinema Canada (Feb-Mar 1974)

FICHTIMAKERS CO-OP The first 1974 activity of the Co-op was the coming together of the troops for the 1973 annual meeting. But anyway... Our new space at 406 Jarvis is large enough for most Co-op activities but the big meeting of the year strained its seams. The 50 odd members who attended spilled over into the offices of our house mates — Cinema Canada and the Canadian Filmmakers’ Distribution Centre — and explored the new screening and editing rooms, the supergraphic walls, the six foot Canadian flag, and generally gave the house a seal of approval. Thanks to the Canada Council, the Co-op budget discussed at the meeting was considerably larger than we’ve been used to. But still the running debate on Co-op priorities continued. Rick Hancox led the side voting for focusing money and energy on equipment and workshops rather than spreading it to include RUSHES, the long established if erratic Co-op newsletter, public screenings and political activities. Because of the diversity of interests represented in the Co-op, this seems destined to be a perennial issue in our ranks. Through mailings, publications, and screenings the Co-op serves a wide constituency primarily interested in information. It also serves a smaller, more active, constituency primarily interested in making films — Co-op members produced 30 films last year. This group naturally favors the production services, equipment, discounts and training which the Co-op offers. There is an old frustration with lack of equipment and the Co-op’s failure to produce its own films. Last year this resulted in a direction from the annual meeting to undertake Co-op production. The Co-op script competition for an entry in the CFDC’s $100,000 category, and the Co-op application for a Canada Council grant to produce a series of educational films based on the workshop program, were the result of that directive. To date both projects have failed to get to the production stage — not that the Co-op is alone with that problem — and both are still being pursued. The issue was not resolved at the meeting but the Executive Committee has subsequently decided to maintain RUSHES and screenings, while putting 58 Cinema Canada emphasis on workshops and equipment. Suzanne DePoe, a newly elected member of the Co-op’s Executive Committee, reported to the meeting on the work of the Committee on Television (see OPINION elsewhere in this issue) which has prepared a definitive critique of the CBC to be put forward as an intervention to the CBC’s license renewal application when it comes up before the CRTC. The meeting voted to prepare a Co-op submission outlining specific effects of CBC programming policy on independent filmmakers, and Executive Committee member George Csaba Koller offered to edit this submission for the February 4 deadline of the CRTC. Election of a new ten member Executive Committee was last on the agenda. And the winners were: Patrick Lee — founding member of the Co-op and independent filmmaker Jock Brandeis — filmmaker of many talents and many credits including D.O.P. on Diary of a Sinner Rick Hancox — filmmaker and educator par excellence Keith Lock — independent filmmaker and part of the Co-op bedrock Raphael Bendahan — filmmaker and photographer and a member of last year’s Executive Committee George Csaba Koller — filmmaker as well as editor and publisher of this very magazine Suzanne DePoe — political organizer and member of Memo From Turner and the Committee on Television Frederik Manter — director of the Canadian Filmmaker’s Distribution Centre and a Co-op neighbour Agi Ibranyi-Kiss — managing editor of Cinema Canada, plant lover, and long involved Co-op member Kirwan Cox — none of the above but well known anyway. Because the Co-op has, at long last, been incorporated, it was necessary for the Executive Committee to elect a slate of officers with titles appropriate only to Bay Street. They are too tedious to go into but as a result Keith Lock can now tell census takers he is ‘““Chairman of the Board of Directors’’ of the TFC, instead of an unemployed filmmaker. The winter workshop program began January 15 with camera and editing taught by Richard Leiterman and John Marshall respectively. The enrollment in these two workshops totalled 30 and left almost as many on the waiting list. Other workshops in sound, animation, lighting, basic filmmaking, and a women’s workshop in camera and sound follow and are heavily booked. The workshops run 5-10 weeks at a cost of $1 a session to Co-op members and this series will have well over 100 participants. Co-op members have supplied the program with equipment, facilities, teaching talents, raw stock and, with help from Sheridan College, the means to record some of the sessions on videotape. These tapes will be available to Co-op members and will also be included in a closed circuit distribution system for films produced by film students across the country which is being