Cinema Canada (Dec 1974-Jan 1975)

I try to avoid strict narrative convention is that I feel that no matter how tightly you shoot, what you shoot is only raw material for the final film. When actually putting the film together, you can change it all completely. John: I’ve read the script and as far as I can see, it has no narrative coherence at all. It’s just not that sort of thing. Instead it has different images — each with its own meaning. There are certain things you shoot just because you do — and they have a meaning but not one that could be literally translated as part of the film script. There are a variety of ways you could arrange these images, and through an arrangement of these symbolic sequences you create a film which is its own entity. It has its own rules and forms. Do you work with a sense of audience? Lionel: Unless you’re making The Great Gatsby you don’t. I Niki, Peter, Lionel, John, and Fred Allen have nobody to please but myself. I think it is important not to pander. John: I’m in two centuries at once on this question, having great simpatico for the Baroque and Renaissance approach, as well as the Romantic, which envisions the artist as a semi-deity revealing his wisdom in order to uplift the rest of us. It would be arrogant on my part to assume that I have anything great to say but I do really want people to like my films. * * * * Interview with Chuck Lapp Where is the Co-op now: where will it be next year? Just now, it’s an organization of people working on their first major efforts in film. In many cases, these are people who would not have had the opportunity to make films without Co-op funding and equipment. With the experience and credibility which they’ve been able to achieve, it’s possible that some will go out and get grants of their own; this doesn’t mean everyone, since I hope the Co-op will maintain its working viability in terms of the Canada Council grant. It also might happen that a group within the Co-op will form to work on a larger, more ambitious project than has yet been attempted. Would the Co-op consider feature film making a possibility for the future? : When you mention features, I get the sense that you're talking about some sort of commercial venture. I’d say no if that is what you mean, basically because the Canada Council is not into funding feature films. Their highest budget grant for an individual film project is about $25,000 — and not too many grants that large are given. Even so, that sort of money 28 Cinema Canada couldn’t approach a commercial feature budget. As I said before, some members might do something ‘bigger’, but not in the commercial sense. How certain are you of future Council funding? You have to realize that we are part of an experimental venture in funding film makers which the Council is not necessarily committed to continuing. However, I do think that the decision to fund organizations like the Co-op has been a very positive move, since we will always be working with people who are new to film making, people who would have had difficulty in obtaining an individual grant. Are there any new areas you might be moving into and how will this affect your forthcoming submission to the Canada Council? As you know, we’re concentrating on production this year, so we haven’t been concerned with matters such as screenings and distribution. In the future, we will have our own films to distribute, and we’d like to set up a distribution centre in the Maritimes for our own work, and for independent films from the rest of Canada. As far as the grant application is concerned; we will be primarily requesting production funding. However, if it becomes apparent that a particular Co-op member is “evolving” towards distribution as a major interest, we would move more rapidly in that direction. Is there sufficient diversity in the type of films being made in the Co-op? Definitely, and that’s a very good thing. Perhaps I could run through a few of the things people are doing just now. You know about Lionel and John’s work. Bill MacGillivray is also John Brett, Peter Elliot, Art McKay and Lionel Simmons