Crosscurrents : How film policy developed in Quebec 1960-1983

Constance Dilley

Description

Crosscurrents: How Film Policy Developed in Quebec 1960-1983 documents the fight by filmmakers in Quebec for a film policy that would support their ambition to create commercial feature films. In the process, it explores the history of Quebec cinema, charting how the government supports that exist today came into existence through an intense lobbying effort on the part of filmmakers. Further, the author describes how cultural bureaucrats colluded with filmmakers to force the government’s hand, and outlines the effects of this legislative process on Quebec’s English-speaking filmmakers.
This volume arises from the author’s analysis of voluminous provincial, federal, association, and personal archival sources and also draws on interviews with key figures. The archival sources describe the development over 23 years of provincial structures and policies that try to accommodate the cultural and economic needs of a young, emerging film industry. The result is a book that casts new light on the early events in the cultural life of modern Quebec.

Sujets

• Filmmaking
• Quiet Revolution
• Culture

Informations

• Publié par: Presses de l'Université du Québec
• Date de parution: 11 octobre 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 6
• EAN13: 9782760549401
• Langue: English

Extrait

Edited by Anik Meunier and Jason Luckerhoff
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CROSSCURRENTS
How film policy developed in Quebec 1960-1983
Foreword by Claude Martin
Constance Dilley
Biblioth que et Archives nationales du Qu bec and Library and Archives Canada cataloguing in publication
Dilley, Constance, 1941-, author
Crosscurrents: how film policy developed in Quebec, 1960-1983 / Constance Dilley.
(Culture et publics)
Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-2-7605-4938-8 ISBN 978-2-7605-4939-5 (PDF) ISBN 978-2-7605-4940-1 (EPUB)
1. Motion pictures - Qu bec (Province) - History - 20th century. 2. Motion picture industry - Qu bec (Province) - History - 20th century. 3. Motion pictures -Political aspects - Qu bec (Province) - History - 20th century. I. Title. II. Series: Collection Culture et publics.
PN1993.5.C3D54 2018
791.4309714
C2018-940442-6 C2018-940443-4

Revision
Aim e LeBreton and Lynn Cunningham
Copy Editing
Luba Markovskaia
Graphic Design
Mich le Blondeau
Layout
Interscript
Index
Mary Newberry
Cover Photos
iStock and Cin ma Qu bec
Legal Deposit: 4th quarter 2018
Biblioth que et Archives nationales du Qu bec
Biblioth que et Archives Canada
2018 - Presses de l Universit du Qu bec
Tous droits de reproduction, de traduction et d adaptation r serv s
Printed in Canada
D4938-1 [01]
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Preface Claude Martin
1. How it all began
2. Starting from scratch: 1960-1962
3. Gu rin stirs the provincial pot: 1962-1964
4. Enter the young Turks: 1963-1966
5. Laporte and L ger signal a fresh approach: 1964-1966
6. Frustration begets innovation: 1966-1968
7. First federal fruits: 1968-1970
8. Provincial solidarity undone: 1970-1971
9. Rapid growth, sudden struggle: 1970-1972
10. The pain of collaboration: 1972-1973
11. So much effort, such a meagre yield: 1974-1975
12. The aftermath of legislation: 1976-1979
13. Final battles, final touches: 1980-1983
14. Ramifications
Appendix A Canadian Film Development Corporation investments, 1968-1980
Appendix B Comparison of investments, 1968-1980
Appendix C List of abbreviations
Appendix D List of key players
Bibliography
Notes
Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University twice came to my aid during initial research. Grants allowed me, first, to travel to Quebec City and Ottawa to search through archives and, second, to have the French quotes in this manuscript translated.
Archivists, especially Pierre-Louis Lapointe of the provincial Centre d archives de Qu bec in Quebec City, have my special gratitude. In the long, isolated task of combing through archives in search of buried treasure, it was important to have watchful guidance from others who were also passionate about what the documents might reveal.
I am also grateful to the citizens of Ontario, who, perhaps unwittingly, contribute their tax dollars so that York University can waive school fees for truly mature students. I think of it as preventive medicine.
A huge thank-you goes to Professor Joy Cohnstaedt, the supervisor of the dissertation from which this book is derived. She was meticulous about details and shared my fascination with policy development. She always reminded me of the larger Canadian context in which culture within the province of Quebec evolved. Moreover, she was patient, kind, and answered her emails promptly. In all, she was the perfect adviser.
This book had a special set of problems, due to the bilingual nature of the research and writing. Thanks go to Joan Irving for her patient translations, made more valuable because of her deep knowledge of the film and television industry in Canada. Our conversations were always a source of stimulation, sometimes leading to larger debates about culture and language.
Lynne Massey was the first editor to read over my dissertation and suggest ways to make it more interesting and readable to a public outside of academia. She helped greatly by noting that I had written history rather than a policy paper, helping me to reorient the original text; our dinners together were bright spots in the year. As for Rosemary Shipton, I had to mount a veritable seduction campaign to get her to take me on, busy as she always is with restructuring manuscripts for authors who are now well-known and esteemed. This book is her effort to make a silk purse, reflecting her personal sense of elegance.
David Silcox became an early booster and worked hard to open doors to potential publishers. He felt strongly that this story should be told and was always ready with an invitation to lunch when the going got rough.
Telefilm Canada has all my thanks for the initial grant that allowed me to hire Ms. Shipton and, again, for the final grant that allowed me to find an academic publisher. When I was about to relinquish that search, Professor Claude Martin of the Universit de Montr al came to my rescue. He believed in the importance of my research and put me in touch with Jason Luckerhoff of the Universit du Qu bec Trois-Rivi res and Presses de l Universit du Qu bec. I owe a great debt to both men, who were so encouraging and steadfast. At the end, editor extraordinaire and dear friend Lynn Cunningham polished the final manuscript, weaving her way through the labyrinth of French and English to bring harmony.
Finally, my grateful thanks go to Jean-Pierre Tadros, former film critic at Le Devoir and Le Jour and my life partner for twenty-three years. He initiated Cin ma Qu bec magazine, and its prestige later brought Cinema Canada magazine to Montreal. To fellow observers of that earlier cinema scene who worked on the magazines-especially Delphina Mehes and Gary Lamphier and, later, Michael Dorland, Jamie Gaetz and Tom Perlmutter-goes a special thanks for your company on the journey. It was frustrating, exciting, ground-breaking and, usually, a lot of fun. I realize now how important it was to capture those early events and to preserve them in Cin ma Qu bec and Cinema Canada. This book is an extension of that work. Without it and the magazines, Crosscurrents would have been nearly impossible to write.
PREFACE
Claude Martin
Universit de Montr al and Universit du Qu bec Trois-Rivi res
Constance Dilley s book may surprise many a reader, because it explores the history of Quebec cinema in relation to the creation of a film industry in Quebec, especially in Montreal. It also analyzes the many influences underlying various laws and their consequences on cinematographic production and further outlines the effects of this legislative process on Quebec s English-speaking filmmakers. Her research thus stands apart from other treatises on cinema history focusing on artistic expression, which is an approach also unquestionably valid. Her work could likely revive debate on the direction that provincial and federal policy should have taken regarding film and other cultural industries. Given the impact of digitalization on cultural products, these issues a