Vancouver’s film production community is applauding the recent arrival in town of Cineflix Studios, the scripted TV division of international producer and distributor Cineflix Media.
“I think it’s incredibly positive for Vancouver,” said Liz Shorten, managing vice-president of operations and member services for the B.C. branch of the Canadian Media Production Association, which represents most B.C.-based film producers.
Shorten pointed to Cineflix’s distribution capacity as a key gain for the city’s struggling B.C.-based production community.
“The distribution arm means they can be distribution partners with B.C. producers – and we don’t have many distributors here in B.C.,” she said. “The fact that they can bring finances to bear as a distributor … that’s really, really positive.”
Montreal-based Cineflix Media launched Cineflix Studios in 2010 out of New York to focus on scripted television programming. Its first television series, the crime drama Copper, heads into production in the new year.
Sally Catto, a former CBC production executive, launched Cineflix Studios’ Vancouver office in September. She said her task is to build on the New York operation’s work by building up a slate of “Canadian-led projects that will sell in Canada – and beyond the border.”
Catto said she’s keen to work with writers directly and producers looking for a partner or distributor. She noted, however, that the office will focus on producing and co-producing projects.
“We’re prepared and happy to, for the right project, act solely as a distributor, in which we would distribute another producer’s finished series,” she said. “But it would have to make sense for us on a number of levels to do that.”
Catto said Cineflix’s Vancouver office wants to build up an inventory of one-hour dramatic series and half-hour comedies. That “scripted” market segment has largely run dry for B.C. producers in recent years as cheaper reality and fact-based programming has gained marketplace momentum.
Shorten said the focus on scripted programming adds to the significance of Cineflix’s arrival in town.
“We’ve seen a real decline in the number of dramatic series over the last four years and that has had an impact, not only in terms of production volume but in terms of people working. Those projects really have a larger creative and financial impact in the community, just because they tend to be higher budget and they’re involving B.C. writers, B.C. directors, B.C. actors. So it’s the large footprint.”
Shorten said B.C.’s scripted film segment has been hit by both the economic downturn and, as the broadcast industry has consolidated, the loss of Vancouver-based commissioning agents – key champions for B.C. projects.
She added that Cineflix could become a new champion of B.C. film projects.
While Catto said she’ll be looking across Canada for programming – including to jurisdictions such as Ontario with better tax credits and thus lower production costs than B.C. – she argued that B.C.-based producers and writers can still succeed.
“If you find the right material that really is set in Vancouver or set in B.C. and for location reasons, story reasons it really makes sense to shoot it here – I think there’s a way to do that.”
Catto added that Cineflix chose Vancouver because B.C. has a lot of film industry talent.
“There’s a real reason why we’re here and we’d like to get productions up and running here,” she said. “I think finding properties that are set here and that organically make sense to be shot here will go a long way to that.”
What are Catto’s near-term goals for her two-employee office?
“To get some fantastic series into development with Canadian broadcasters – and ideally get some great series into production in short order.” •
