News
October 19, 2022
October 19 FilmOntario Updates
Save the Date – AGM November 30!
We are pleased to be returning to an in-person Annual General Meeting this year, to be held on Wednesday, November 30 at 6 pm at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The AGM is open to all FilmOntario members in good standing. Stay tuned for registration and guest speaker information, coming soon!
Board of Director Nominations
We are currently seeking nominations from private sector (i.e. Class A) members in good standing for the FilmOntario Board of Directors.
Board members are expected to be senior decision-makers from member organizations who are knowledgeable about and experienced in the industry. We attempt to ensure there is representation from across private sector members - large and small companies, domestic and service producers, studio owners, equipment suppliers, post-production, legal and financial services, etc.
FilmOntario is committed to ensuring that the Board includes representation from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented, and we strongly encourage nominations from these communities. For the purposes of this nomination, "underrepresented" means an individual who self-identifies as belonging to one or more categories that include, but are not limited to: women, transgender, gender non-conforming, LGBTQ+, Indigenous peoples, racialized and ethno-cultural groups, and persons with disabilities. This definition should be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with the evolving nature of equity issues.
Members may nominate themselves or a colleague for a Board position. While multiple nominees from the same organization may be submitted, there can only be one Director from each member organization on the Board. If you are nominating a colleague, please ensure you have their permission to submit their name for consideration.
If you are interested in submitting a nomination, please complete this form by no later than 5 pm on Wednesday November 2. After consideration by the Board's Nomination Committee, final nominations will be presented at the 2022 AGM on Wednesday, November 30.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Cynthia or call (416) 642-6704.
Municipal Elections – October 24
Municipal Elections are happening across the province on Monday, October 24.
In the City of Toronto, filming is big business – 7,800 shooting days in 2021 contributed to $2.5 billion in production spending. We have put together a summary of the various mayoral candidates’ platforms on film and television on our website.
For those of you who aren’t voting in the City of Toronto, there is also a list of questions you can ask your local candidates. Filming is good business all across Ontario!
Make sure you get out and vote on Monday!
Cabinet Appeal – CBC Licence Renewal
In September, the federal Cabinet issued an Order-in-Council sending the CBC’s licence renewal back to the CRTC for reconsideration. As a result, the CRTC will re-evaluate its June 22 decision, which, among other things, removed a key licence condition requiring Canada’s national public broadcaster to work with independent media producers in the development and creation of Canadian programming.
Ontario is home to most of the country’s English-language independent producers, and the CBC, as the public broadcaster, plays a crucial role in licensing original Canadian content. As such, FilmOntario was pleased to provide a letter of support to the CMPA’s Cabinet appeal, one of many appeals from industry groups.
We would also like to thank the FilmOntario members who took the time to send letters to the government about this issue.
You can read FilmOntario’s letter of support here.
Important Dates
November 17 – Final deadline this fiscal year for the Ontario Creates Film Fund – Production streams (Drama and Documentary). The Film Fund provides support to Ontario producers for a range of feature film projects across genres in the final stages of production financing.
November 30 – Applications for the Ontario Creates Film Fund – Development will be accepted on a continuous basis until this date. This program is intended to support development activities that lead to the increase of domestic feature film production in Ontario, for all stages of development activities.
November 30 – FilmOntario AGM at the Shangri-La. Registration and guest speaker information to come.
December 7 – FilmOntario day at Queen’s Park. Sign up here.
January 31 – Deadline for the next round of the Skills Development Fund, which began accepting applications on September 29. This Fund supports ground-breaking programs that connect jobseekers with the skills and training they need to find well-paying careers close to home. It is open to employers, unions, industry associations and municipalities. Decisions are made on an ongoing basis.
Reminders for Members
Don’t forget to send Cynthia a copy of your logo or photo that represents your company to be featured in our member directory on the website.
News to Share?
If there are any updates or announcements you would like to share with your fellow FilmOntario members, please don’t hesitate to let me know at clynch@filmontario.ca and I will include them in the next member update.