Cinema Canada (Dec 1981)

© CINE MAG @ IATSE on the offensive with charter TORONTO — Two autonomous camera technicians’ unions will continue to exist within the same Canadian jurisdiction in the immediate future, as talks of a possible merger between IATSE International local 667 and the Canadian Association of Motion Picture and Electronic Recording Artists (CAMERA) fell through in October. A proposed meeting between the executives of IATSE 667, CAMERA, and the Canadian Labour Congress at the CLC’s offices in Ottawa, October 20, was cancelled at the last minute when the IATSE delegation, to be headed by international president Walter Diehl, telephoned to say they would not be coming. According to Henri Fiks, a member of CAMERA’s executive board, CAMERA had presented six demands that had to be met before the union would consider merging collectively with IATSE 667. CAMERA demanded that the new union which would result from the merger havea national charter with full autonomy as required in the CLC. constitution; that all CAMERA members be automatically accepted as members in the new local; that new elections be carried out under the direction of the CLC for the new local; that no disciplinary action of any kind be taken against any present or former IATSE members _involved with CAMERA; that Jim Keating and Lynn Kelly, former IATSE employees currently with CAMERA, be employed by the new union as _ business administrator and_ booking agent respectively; and that the new local recognize the established jurisdictions of all unions including the Association des professionnels du cinema du Quebec (APCQ), SNC, and the Association of Canadian Film Craftspeople (ACFC). After the Ottawa _ rebuff, CAMERA held a membership meeting October 22 at which they decided to remain an au tonomous organization. “CAMERA had looked into the possibility of a merger (with IATSE), not the necessity of one,” said Henri Fiks. “We decided the existence of a Canadian union was more important than joining an international one that invariably must answer to their main body.” CAMERA was granted a charter from the CLC on April 4, 1981, giving full autonomy to represent Canadian cameramen in labour negotiations. The union was formed in reaction to the refusal of IATSE, at the time under the jurisdiction of local 644 in New York, to grant the Canadian camera technicians a certain measure of autonomy. After IATSE International granted an autonomous charter for the jurisdiction of Canada to its Canadian members on October 1, 1981, creating local 667, many CAMERA members considered rejoining IATSE, as the rationale for CAMERA’s creation, autonomy, had apparently been achieved. IATSE 667 business representative Ken Leslie-Smith maintains that not a single member of IATSE resigned to join CAMERA, but sources close to CAMERA claim that LeslieSmith's assertion is “a technicality, a mere quibble”, and that nearly all of CAMERA’s 80 members, including executive board members Richard Leiterman, Marc Champion, Miklos Lente, and Mark Irwin, have effectively left IATSE. LeslieSmith claims 200 local 667 members, a figure undoubtedly including the ‘“unresigned” CAMERA members. The membership dispute arises from the difficulty of officially resigning from JATSE. Leslie-smith says that the procedure for resignation is simply to sign a withdrawal card and to sendin a letter for an honourable resignation. Henri Fiks maintains that when he resigned from IATSE five years ago it took six registered letters over the course of two years to drop out of the Toronto IATSE chapter and that he never received official recognition of his resignation from IATSE’s New York office. Fiks points out that members cannot resign from IATSE unless they are in good standing, and_ disgruntled members who leave soon lapse into not paying their quarterly dues and are suspended. Another issue that left many CAMERA members uncertain about the possible merger was the actual strength of IATSE 667's newly-granted autonomy. A clause in the IATSE constitution holds any charter revocable for infraction, which CAMERA members view suspiciously in its possible application to the Canadian local. Ken LeslieSmith maintains this clause is no different for local 667 than for any other IATSE local. ‘We are a local of IATSE International of the United States and Canada. We are an international union whose jurisdiction is Canada,” said Leslie-Smith. Also at issue was IATSE’s ‘single ticket policy’. IATSE will not permit its members to work the same shoot as members of other unions, (i.e, CAMERA or the ACFC). In the IATSE constitution, any other union operating in the same jurisdiction is an inimicable union. "The most important demand of our six for a possible merger was that local 667 recognize the jurisdictions of the other Canadian unions,” said Henri Fiks. Ken Leslie-Smith said the newlycreated autonomous local will stay with the single ticket policy. However, Mother Lode, a Canadian production directed by and starring Charlton Heston, which Leslie-Smith said signed a contract with IATSE locals 667 and 891, featured CAMERA executive board member Richard Leiterman as director of photography. West coast art directors to JATSE, not DGC, says Labour Board VANCOUVER — Art directors working in British Columbia will now come under the jurisdiction of IATSE 891 according to the October 7 decision made by the Labour Relations Board of B.C. (LRBBC). Jurisdiction had been contested by the Directors’ Guild of Canada and the Guild's B.C, District Council. In Eastern Canada, art directors have belonged to the DGC for several years. The question was resolved when the LRBBC ruled that the DGC was not fulfilling “the definition of a trade union within the Code” in the prov ince. Lack of provincial autonomy for the Council was cited, limiting its “authority to conclude a binding collective agreement.” Recognizing the East-West. split which exists in union membership in the States concerning art directors, the LRBBC found that the same split existed in Canada. Summing up the attitude among Vancouver art directors, IATSE’s p.r. man told Cinema Canada : “All ofIATSE's work comes from Los Angeles. Some from New York but none from Toronto. The industry in the West is Hollywood-based.”’ In Hollywood, art directors are represented by IATSE 876 whereas’ Eastern-based art directors are represented by United Scenic Artists which broke from IATSE long ago. Recognizing, nevertheless, the “significant professional benefit’ which art directors derive from membership in the DGC, the LRBBC advised that “it could also be to the advantage of B.C. IATSE art department members to hold dual memberships in the Guild and TATSE..” It urged the unions to settle their differences and to allow the art directors of both groups to move treely across the country, Television The NFB and CBC dominate first Bijoux Awards in Toronto TORONTO —War Brides, a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation production, won four Bijou awards, including best television drama over 30 minutes, at the first annual Canadian Short Film and Television Awards October 28 at the Harbour Castle Convention Centre in Toronto. Besides the top TV drama prize, War Brides collected three Bijous in the crafts categories: Barbara McLean for best art direction, Vic Sarin for best cinematography in a dramatic production, and Myrtle Virgo for best editing in a dramatic production. The CBC dominated the awards, winning a total of ten, including three craft awards for Running Man: best actor (Chuck Shamata), best direction of a dramatic production (Donald Brittain), and best sound (Ed Chong). Other CBC winners include Lally Cadeau as best actress for You’ve Come a Long Way, Katie, Michel Gerard for best non-dramiatic script (the “10 Toronto Street’ episode of The Canadian Establishment, and Air Farce as best television musical-variety. The Atlantis Films production of The Olden Days Coat, based on a Margaret Lawrence short story, was selected best television drama under 30 minutes. Lauron Productions’ The Breakthrough won the best independent production award for producers Ira Levy and Peter Williamson. As expected, the National Film Board dominated the documentary awards. Producer Wolf Koenig's Nose & Tina won the best documentary under 30 minutes award, with director Norma Bailey earning the prize for best documentary direction under 30 minutes. Challenger: An Industrial Romance won producer Stephen Low the Grierson Award for best documentary over 30 minutes. Two other NFB winners were Estuary for best industrial film and Getting Started for best animation. Larry Crosley won the outstanding musical score award for his work on the NFB's The Lost Pharoah. Snow, produced by the Ontario Provincial Parks, was selected best sales promotion public relations film. Energs Efficient — Imperial Oil, produced by Patti Grech for Rabko Productions, won best commercial. Chosen best audio-visual non-portable pro Kram using 1-7 projectors was Modulating, produced by Mul tiple Images Inc., while Nor tan Natrass'’s The Green Network won in the 8-18 projector Category Other cratt award winners include Robert Fresco for Steady As She Goes ‘best documentary cinematography); Harvey Zlaterits for The Hawk ‘best documentary editing); Roger Lemelin and Gilles Carle for Les Plouffe ‘best screenplay); Colin Chilvers for Innertube — R.C. Cola ‘best visual effects). Exposure, produced — by Wayne Arron, won the NeilsenFerns International First Production Award. PFA Labs and its president, Fred Lemmin, were presented the Chetwynd Award for technical achievement. Atlantic filmmakers make first festival ST. JOHN'S — The first Atlantic Film Festival was held Nov. 2-8 here, with participants coming from the four Atlantic provinces. Run on a shoe-string budget of $5,000, festival director Mike Riggio told Cinema Canada that he hopes in the future the festival itself might move from province to province, and plans to hold the 1982 event in Halifax. There has been a proliferation of tilm groups in the East, including the three co-ops based in Frederickton, St. John's and Halifax. The festival provided a ‘first ever opportunity to screen the mass of independent productions. Financial support came from the National Film Board of Canada and the CBCSt. John’s. Screenings were held in the Longshoreman’s. Protective Union, a downtown’ theatre equipped to run 16mm and video. Three workshops were held in conjunction with the festival. The subjects were : pilot-testing film and_television, the film industry in Atlantic Canada and children’s animation, a Dansereau vcont from p oi a sense of ‘spectacle’ to the audience. That they will come to laugh and ery and be entertained. Its certainly not an in tellectual filra.” Editing has begun. and soon Dansereau plains to approach distributors, hoping to tind theatrical distribution. “Regardless of what happens inthe cinema, | reahve that, in Quebec. we have always been shooting for television, All of vay films save one have been screened on TV, and when you consider the quantity of people you can peach through television in relation to the reduced number who come to the theatres, that’s not so bad. Cinema Canada/December 81-January 82/7