Cinema Canada (Sep 1975)

AERTS OE SETA YI TOE I PSE ESTE ERE SO WER Te TE FILIMINEWS Wallace and Wiley Trevor Wallace’s The Ultra Secret is likely to remain that way for this year. The $8,000,000 production about the breaking of Germany’s unbreakable code during World War II has bogged down for lack of funding. How much would have been done in Vancouver, how much in England, depended on where the majority of finance was found. Wallace meanwhile is launching Journey Into Fear in Minneapolis, and cooking up another venture or two for production this year. Regardless of the lack of feature film inducement in British Columbia, awards for documentary film are being chalked up regularly. Among the latest is that for Bill Wiley, producer, director, cameraman with the Provincial Department of Travel-Industry. Bill received first prize from the Industrial Photography Magazine of New York in international competition. The Award was given in the Angenieux Advertizing Sales category in respect to creative cinematography, and Best Film in the festival. The film is titled Because It’s Home, and is a travel-documentary on life in the Queen Charlotte Islands of B.C. The Editor was Peter Van Uun, narrator Bill Barringer,with Bob Buckley composing the score. Jack Ammon New Lab in Vancouver Action Film Services has opened up for business in Vancouver at 535 W. Georgia Street. The lab is the brainchild of the former quality control chemist and the former head processor from Alpha Cine Services Ltd. The lab will process 14/ cinema canada and workprint film only in its initial stage. John Dargel, one of the partners, stresses the importance of accessibility and face to face availability of the lab owners, thereby insuring the customer direct contact with those doing the work. He also feels that Action will only grow if it gives satisfactory performance, so that they are extremely conscious of giving good quality work. The lab is planning an open house for potential customers in the fall. One producer has already commented that the new lab actually gives “dailies” on a daily basis. The two part THE PRAIRIES General News Local filmmaker Leonard Yakir is off to the Locarno film festival, with his film, The Mourning Suit, under his arm. The film was the first in the city to go last fall under the CFDC’s lowbudget program (pp. 38-40) . On the political front, there’s a new film organization that has been formed. The Manitoba Film Producers Association, headed by interim chairman Gunter Henning of Western Films, plans to represent the commercial houses in town as a political/production lobby. The group was necessitated by the Manitoba Government’s schizoid film policy. One government organization will come out with suggestions to improve the filmmakers lot and simultaneously another department will tax the houses out of business. The current point of contention involves the government’s re-evaluation of the sales tax on film productions. The previous assessment was based on a fixed cost per finished foot of film. However, the government plans ners in Action want to make it clear that there is no one “behind” them, and they are the owners and investors in the company, although they have had offers from investors. They also anticipate planning growth according to volume, with a maximum staff of seven. They stressed the importance of keeping things on a personal level, so that a healthy work atmosphere will always be maintained. New employees will also be given shares in the lab as well. Peter Bryant to change that to a 5% tax on the overall production. Another Canadian first. Historically, it’s been very difficult to entice companies to consider film as part of their sales profile. The government had been informed of this and has previously recognized this as fact. But from all indications the problems of coordinating all departments into a unified stand is unlikely as in last year’s amusement tax fiasco. The Winnipeg Film Group, Manitoba Theatre Workshop and the National Film Board are hard at work preparing for a weekend of seminars and workshops on film and theatre. The event will take place from September 19 to 21, 1975. The plan is to familiarize theatre people with the elements of film technique and to get film people in touch with dramatic concepts. Hopefully, it will provide a common ground for both areas to develop contacts for further work together and a continuing workshop program of mutual benefit. Resource people attending the event include John Howe, NFB director of Why Rock the Boat, Vladimir Valenta, actor and writer, Eddie Gilbert, former artistic director of the national Manitoba Theatre Centre and an as-yet unnamed film director. In Production Since the last column a number of films have been shot in and around the city. Perhaps the most curious is a low-budget, non-CFDC feature entitled, The Melting Pot. The film was shot in April and May under the direction of Deke Miles, an American import. The film was totally financed in Winnipeg and apart from two actors and three crew members involved all local people, most of whom had no prior film experience. The story is about the Winnipeg Flood of 1950 and might best be labeled a youth-exploitation film. CKY-TV, the local CTV affiliate wound up production recently on their Famous Canadian Crimes series. The station had previously produced the Canadian West series now in syndication. The new series focuses on interesting cases from fraud to ritual murder. It will run 13 weeks in the fall locally. This locally produced, cast and crewed production was headed by Ian Murray. As part of the NFB’s training program for new directors, their French unit shot a dramatic short in St. Boniface this summer. The new director was Marcel Coulette. The film was crewed from Montreal but involved all local actors. Winnipeg animators are again busy preparing for the upcoming season of Sesame Street. Rich Condie, Nancy Edell, Willie Ahrens, Brad Caslor’s Credo Group and others are all slated to provide segments. The