Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
www.elsevier.com/locate/geoforum
The view from out West: embeddedness, inter-personal relations and
the development of an indigenous �lm industry in Vancouver
1
Neil M. Coe
Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Kent Ridge, 117570, Singapore
Abstract
This paper considers the development of a particular cultural industry, the indigenous �lm and television production sector, in
a speci�c locality, Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada). Vancouver�s �lm and television industry exhibits a high level of de-
pendency on the location shooting of US funded productions, a relatively mobile form of foreign investment capital. As such, the
development of locally developed and funded projects is crucial to the long-term sustainability of the industry. The key facilitators
of growth in the indigenous sector are a small group of independent producers that are attempting to develop their own projects
within a whole series of constraints apparently operating at the local, national and international levels. At the international level,
they are situated within a North American cultural industry where the funding, production, distribution and exhibition of projects
is dominated by US multinationals. At the national level, both government funding schemes and broadcaster purchasing patterns
favour the larger production companies of central Canada. At the local level, producers have to compete with the demands of US
productions for crew, locations and equipment. I frame my analysis within notions of the embeddedness or embodiment of social
and economic relations, and suggest that the material realities of processes operating at the three inter-linked scales, are e�ectively
embodied in a small group of individual producers and their inter-personal networks. Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Flim and television production; Cultural industries; Embeddedness; Canada; Socio-spatial networks
1. Context number of commentators now talk about the notion of a
�cultural economy� or a �cultural mode of production�
The �cultural turn� in geography has provoked a (see for example, Zukin, 1995; du Gay, 1997; Scott,
growing concern with the dialectical relations between 1997).
cultural and economic systems (Crang, 1997). There is Such terms can be seen to have several levels of
increasing recognition that the two spheres are not au- meaning. They recognise the growing aesthetisation of
tonomous and independent, and equally, that there is no many goods and services as they are ascribed with
deterministic relationship between the two. Instead, meanings and associations (Molotch, 1996). They reŻect
culture and economy are mutually constitutive, with the growing interest in the role of organisational cul-
�economic� processes such as production, consumption tures in the contemporary economy (Saxenian, 1994;
and regulation being perhaps best seen as part of a cir- Salaman, 1997; Schoenberger, 1997). Perhaps most ob-
cuit of culture that also includes the �cultural� arenas of viously, though, they connote how the production of
identity and representation (du Gay et al., 1997). Such a culture itself has become of huge importance, with en-
balanced approach avoids the dangers of suggesting that tertainment conglomerates such as Sony, Time Warner
economic logics have become subordinated to culture and Disney emerging as some of the most powerful
(Sayer, 1997), or that culture is completely dominated economic actors globally. The study of cultural indus-
by the economic domain (Harvey, 1990). A growing tries is most concerned with this latter facet of the cul-
tural economy, and it is to this growing body of work
(see for example, Shapiro et al., 1992; Lash and Urry,
1 1994; Scott, 1996; Pratt, 1997) that this paper seeks to
Current address: School of Geography, University of Manchester,
contribute, through a case study of a particular cultural
Mans�eld Cooper Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
E-mail address: [e-mail] (N.M. Coe). sector, namely the indigenous �lm industry, in a speci�c
0016-7185/00/$ - see front matter Ó 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 1 6 - 7 1 8 5 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 005- 1
392 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
place, the city of Vancouver in western Canada.2 My Hence, there is a growing awareness in the Vancouver
aim in this paper is to integrate this cultural industry �lm community that the development of a viable in-
case study with conceptual concerns surrounding the digenous sector is crucial to providing a long-term basis
embeddedness and indeed, embodiment, of processes for employment in the industry.
operating �across� a variety of geographic scales. In these terms, the Vancouver �lm industry as a
Vancouver�s �lm industry3 has expanded phenome- whole can be seen as a contemporary example of the
nally over the last 20 years, with some CDN$631m of traditional Canadian �staples� economy, structurally
spending being recorded in 1997 (BCFC, 1998). The weakened and potentially vulnerable due to its depen-
sector now provides an estimated 8500 full-time jobs, dence on foreign capital and expertise (Watkins, 1963;
and part-time work for a further 17 000 employees in Drache and Gertler, 1991; Barnes, 1996). Such long-
British Columbia. The central dynamic of growth has debated concerns with dependency extend beyond the
been the attractiveness of the city for the location economic realm in the case of the �lm industry, with
shooting of Hollywood-�nanced �lm and television many Canadian commentators expressing disquiet
productions, which have consistently accounted for over about the cultural dependency that accompanies high
80% of revenues since the industry started to emerge in levels of US involvement in the Canadian �lm and
the late 1970s. Since the post-war break-up of the Hol- television sector (Berton, 1975; Knelman, 1987; Pend-
lywood studio system, US producers have increasingly akur, 1990; Magder 1993). There is, then, a double ar-
turned to locations outside of southern California, and gument for encouraging the growth of an indigenous
indeed the USA, as a means of controlling production �lm industry in British Columbia: �rstly, to mitigate
costs (Christopherson and Storper, 1986; Storper and against shifting patterns of US investment, and sec-
Christopherson, 1987). Through a cumulative combi- ondly, to contribute to the broader project of developing
nation of economic, institutional, infrastructural and �Canadian� �lms and programmes for consumption both
locational attributes (see Table 1 for details), Vancouver at home and abroad.
has grown to be the largest centre for Hollywood loca- While isolated, critically acclaimed �lms have been
tion shooting in Canada, and overall, one of the top developed and produced in Vancouver, such as Mina
four �lm and television production centres in North Shum�s Double Happiness and Lynn Stopkewich�s Kis-
America.4 sed, in general the �home grown� industry is small scale
While this investment is seen as desirable by most and under-capitalised in terms of both �lm and televi-
local interest groups due to the well-paid, skilled, tech- sion, with project budgets being miniscule in compari-
nology-based, �clean� jobs that it provides, the level of son to typical US shows (see Table 2). Although the BC
dependency on foreign �nancing is disturbing because of provincial government introduced a tax incentive for
the potential mobility of this form of capital (Aksoy and local productions in April 1998 to support the CDN$4m
Robins, 1992). Due to the short-term project nature of it invests annually through its agency BC Film, and the
�lm production systems (Enright, 1995), Hollywood Vancouver labour unions are generally supportive of
companies are able to move rapidly between di�erent such projects, the main e�orts to alter the orientation of
production locations, depending on a number of factors the industry are emanating from certain leading pro-
such as exchange rate Żuctuations, labour costs and duction companies, and in many cases, individual pro-
stability, and the availability of tax incentives (Gasher, ducers. Producers play a crucial co-ordinating role in the
1995; Coe, 2000). The Żuctuating fortunes of production �lm industry, negotiating contracts for, and bringing
centres such as New York and Toronto illustrate the together, the diverse coalition of directors, actors, crews,
vulnerability of places dependent on location shooting. contractors and subcontractors that is necessary for an
individual production.
My objective in this paper is to consider how certain
producers in the Vancouver industry operate within
2
There has been very little work on the geography of �lm industry
(and in many ways are constrained by) processes ap-
hitherto: what work there has been has tended to focus on the spatial
agglomeration of the elements necessary for �lm production (for parently operating at di�erent scales, namely interna-
example, Christopherson and Storper, 1986; Storper and Christoph-
tionally, nationally and locally, in their e�orts to make
erson, 1987), rather than on longer distance networks between the all-
Canadian-themed and funded projects to o�set the de-
powerful �nanciers (based in Hollywood) and producers in important
pendency on mobile US-funded location shooting. At
production centres (based, in this case, in Vancouver).
3
the international level, producers are operating in a
For the purposes of this paper, the term Ԯlm� industry will be used
to refer not just to feature �lms, but any audio-visual production North American, and more speci�cally Canadian, �lm
produced for television (in all forms - network, pay-TV, cable), video
and television market that is dominated by US-based
or theatrical release. The terms �Vancouver� and �British Columbia� �lm
producers, distributors, exhibitors and broadcasters. At
industry will be used interchangeably: although some shooting does
the national level, producers must contend with broad-
occur outside the broadly de�ned Vancouver metropolitan area, the
caster purchasing and government incentive structures
city dominates production in the province to a huge extent.
4
Along with Los Angeles, the clear leader, New York, and Toronto. that have historically, and continue to favour large
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 393
Table 1
Vancouver�s attractiveness for location shootinga
Details
Economic factors
CDN$-US$ exchange rate The single most important factor. Gives US producers an immediate 30% saving on
costs incurred in Vancouver
Lower basic costs Further savings are gained from the fact that certain inputs, notably labour, would
arguably still be cheaper in Vancouver if the dollars were at parityb
Federal Tax Credit for non-Canadian content Announced in November 1997, this amounts to a potential 11% tax rebate on labour
productions costs incurred in Canada. Estimated average saving on total budget of 5.5% of costs
Provincial Tax Credit Unveiled in October 1997, primarily for indigenous producers, but foreign �nanced
productions can bene�t from a 20% labour costs rebate if they meet strict Canadian
content requirements. All foreign productions are eligible for 12.5% labour rebate if
shot outside Vancouver, a further 3% if provide on-the-job training
Institutional factors
British Columbian Film Commission Highly successful and widely respected Film Commission
Proactive �lm unions Unions have played a major role in shaping the Vancouver industry, in particular
through organising, training, expanding and regulating the workforce. More recently
have signed a series of master agreements with US producers providing long-term
labour stability
Key personalities Industry has bene�ted from the input of a number of key highly successful �gures,
including �lm commissioners Greene and Neufeld, and US producer Cannell
E�ective LA-Vancouver inter-personal networks Di�cult to quantify, but key �gures in Vancouver have been very successful at forging
relationships with decision-makers and producers in Hollywood. Frequent contact and
shuttling of personnel between the two centres
Locational attributes
Close to Los Angeles Only a two and a half-hour Żight
Same time zone Allows easy co-ordination of activities between Vancouver and Los Angeles. A
surprisingly important consideration according to many �gures in the industry
No language or cultural barriers English-speaking, intimately linked (and similar) national cultures
Shared �west coast� lifestyle A quality of life attractive to many people, especially relatively mobile, creative
elements of the workforce
Climate Generally mild. Lack of snow on ground in winter allows all year round �lming.
Ambient light less intense than in California
Locations Large range of �scenic� locations within a one or two hour drive from central
Vancouver: urban, suburban, rural, coastal, mountain, forest, semi-arid
Infrastructural
Studio space Although studio space is often in short supply, the available amount of space has
continually increased in an e�ort to meet burgeoning demand
Support companies A large network of support/service �rms has developed to provide the wide range of
services necessary for �lm production, for example, camera rental, grip and electrical
equipment, vehicle rental, catering, and post-production companies
a
Source: Author�s research.
b
Savings are reduced slightly by some extra costs incurred in Vancouver, most importantly Żights and hotels for American actors/creative personnel.
Table 2
Breakdown of �lm and television spending in BC in 1997a
Genre Canadian No. Foreign No. Total No.
(CDN$m) (CDN$m) (CDN$m)
Features 14.24 16 107.91 8 122.15 24
TV movies/pilots 15.05 11 104.96 42 120.01 53
TV series/mini-series 141.81 11 211.66 9 353.47 20
Animation 19.43 9 ą ą 19.43 9
Documentaries/broadcast singles 15.53 61 ą ą 15.53 61
Totals 206.06 108 424.53 59 630.59 167
a
Source: BCFC (1998).
394 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
production companies in central Canada, i.e. Ontario 1997). As Kelly (1997b) relates, these �constructed�
and Quebec. At the local or provincial level, these pro- scales can be used to metaphorically contain certain
ducers must compete with the insatiable (and inŻation- events (e.g. an �inner city� problem) or to defer expla-
ary) needs of the Hollywood productions for crews, nations of events from one scale to another (e.g.
equipment and studio space. The ability of producers changes at the local level put down to �globalisation�).
and production companies to succeed in this environ- Furthermore, there may be ways to develop strategies
ment appears to depend heavily on the e�ectiveness of of resistance using the politics of scale. For example,
their personal relationships with key decision makers. using a case study of the US east coast longshore in-
dustry, Herod (1991, 1997a,b) has shown how unions
expanded negotiations with employers from the local to
2. Conceptual concerns: the embodiment of multi-scalar the national scale.
economic processes Viewing scale in these terms has implications for
how we conceptualise social processes. Essentially, if
My analysis in this article is framed by two con- scale is viewed as relative and constructed, then events
ceptual debates, the �rst surrounding the embedded- do not occur exclusively at one particular scale, but
ness and embodiment of economic processes in instead at all scales simultaneously. For example, Kelly
networks of inter-personal relations, and the second (1997a,b) recounts how global economic logics, often
focusing on the social construction and �nestedness� of portrayed as being impersonal and disembodied, are in
scale. The concept of �embeddedness�, which has re- reality more embedded in local social relations than
ceived increasing attention from economic geographers many accounts recognise. This localisation, he suggests,
since a seminal paper by Granovetter 1985; (see also occurs simultaneously at multiple scales ranging from
Granovetter, 1992), is central to my argument. This the national to the individual. Swyngedouw (1997) uses
notion suggests that economic action, instead of rep- the terms �nested scales� in this regard, and describes
resenting some kind of free-Żoating logic or rationality, how this overlapping makes it impossible to give causal
is embedded in networks and institutions that are so- priority to one scale over the others. Nested scales,
cially constructed and culturally de�ned, and therefore though, should not be seen in a hierarchical or deter-
is inŻuenced by aspects such as mutuality, trust and co- ministic sense, whereby �larger� spatial scales constrain
operation (Smelser and Swedberg, 1994; Misztal, 1996). events at �smaller� scales. Instead, inŻuences can run in
In other words, economic action is inseparable from both directions, or to use the language of Smith, it is
the social relations through which it is enacted. Bour- possible to �jump scales� in both directions (see also
dieu (1984) uses the term �embodiment� to refer to Cox, 1998). Such an outlook starts to come to terms
similar processes at the organisational level, but I wish with the salient theoretical issue identi�ed by Beaure-
to argue in this article that economic processes are gard (1995, p. 240), which is that ``actors simulta-
embedded in key social actors and their networks (in neously have interests at multiple spatial scales; that is,
this case in certain producers), and in that sense rep- their activities spread out over di�erent geographical
resent embodiment at the level of the individual �elds''.
(McDowell, 1997). By contrast, economic geography My aim here is to use evidence pertaining to inter-
research has thus far tended to focus on how organi- personal networks to illustrate the nestedness and si-
sations and institutions are embedded in socio-spatial multaneity of di�erent scales. Thus, I want to suggest
networks (see for example, Cooke and Morgan, 1993; that Vancouver producers striving to develop projects
Grabher, 1993; Harrison, 1994; Dicken et al., 1994; are simultaneously embedded, through their networks of
Yeung, 1994; although see Saxenian, 1990; Yeung, social relations, in processes operating across the local,
1997, for exceptions). national and international scales. Each project co-ordi-
Such a standpoint can be integrated into debates nated by the Vancouver producer is incontrovertibly
surrounding reworked notions of geographic �scale�. It British Columbian, Canadian and North American at
is increasingly recognised that scales are not simply the same time, or, to put it another way, the producers
rigid, pre-set categories, but instead are socially con- embody the economic (and social, cultural and political)
structed and mobilised for political purposes. In a series realities of making �lms in contemporary Canada. It is
of works, Smith (1992a,b, 1993, 1996) has explored worth noting that it is the producers themselves who
notions surrounding the production and politics of create the scales of analysis I will be using through their
scale. He suggests that the scaling of everyday life op- networks of relationships, for as Beauregard (1995, p.
erates on numerous levels, such as the body, commu- 243) suggests ``actors create social scale and without
nity, urban, regional, national, supernational and actors scale does not exist''.
global. These scales, and the relations between them, Although in practice it is often extremely di�cult to
are not �xed, but instead are Żuid, contested and per- untangle the relationships between social processes and
petually being transgressed (see also Swyngedouw, economic activities (Malecki, 1993), tracing through
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 395
inter-personal networks5 can assist in identifying the The second aspect highlighted by Amin and Hausner
threads that both link and create di�erent �scales� of describes how networks are a reŻection of their broader
activity. As Murdoch (1995, p. 750) suggests, ``the social, cultural, institutional, geographical and histori-
construction of networks, and the ability they give cer- cal contexts (see also Powell, 1990; Powell and Smith-
tain participants to �act at a distance�, is what ties the Doerr, 1994). As Amin and Hausner (p. 11) suggest,
�local� to the �global�... we must trace continuities from ``each network form is the product of forces that have
the �local� to the �global�, or, more strictly speaking, from matured in the course of time and of relationships that
one locale to the next and to the next and so on''. In this are peculiar to particular contextual circumstances''.
sense, it is the social networks within which the actors Thus this paper will show how the informal networks
are embedded that construct the di�erent spatial scales formed by Vancouver producers are reŻective of wider
of interaction. This particular case study will illustrate economic and policy realities. The third aspect recog-
how Vancouver producers are active in networks not nises that networks vary in the strength of their ties of
only within the city, but also with other centres within association (Grabher, 1993). For example, Amin and
Canada (mainly Toronto and Montreal), and key Hausner suggest that while a network characterised by
funding centres outside the country (largely Los Ange- strong ties may be able to secure a unity of purpose and
les, but also New York, London, Paris etc.) which rep- rapid action, over time it may foster relations of de-
resent the connected �locales� identi�ed by Murdoch. As pendency and become unable to adapt. By contrast, a
Cornish (1997) suggests, distance is not necessarily a network of loose alliances may be more di�cult to
barrier to e�ective inter-personal networks, which are a mobilise, but may o�er a broader range of alternative
social rather than spatial phenomena, rather it is the actions (see also Grabher and Stark, 1997 on this point).
presence or absence of social capital in the relations This case study will highlight how Vancouver producers
(Coleman, 1988) that is important.6 are embedded in networks that have relatively strong
However, as Amin and Hausner (1997, p. 10) point ties both locally and to Los Angeles, but weaker within
out, it is not enough to merely recognise the presence of Canada. The �nal aspect draws attention to the fact
networks, it is also important to distinguish between that there are di�erent forms of power relations inherent
their types and qualities. They suggest at least four im- within networks, which need not necessarily be highly
portant aspects of networks that should be considered: egalitarian and reciprocal (see also van Tulder and
behavioural rationality, contextuality, the strength of Ruigrok, 1997). Di�erent social actors have di�erent
ties, and power relations. The �rst aspect alludes to the potential for action, within what Massey (1993) de-
fact that the rationale behind the creation of the net- scribes as the �power-geometry� of (increasingly global-
work will determine its scope and arrangement (see also ized) social relations. Thus I will emphasise how
Orillard, 1997). Powell and Smith-Doerr (1994) identify Vancouver producers are variously constrained (and
three main arenas in which informal social networks are enabled) by the power relations inherent in their inter-
especially important: employment and recruitment, the personal networks.
di�usion of ideas and policies, and the mobilisation of The remainder of the paper will consider in turn the
resources. The latter is extremely important in the �lm three �scales� or arenas of processes which in my opinion
industry, where �nanciers and distributors control the the producers are inevitably both embedded in and
balance of power (Aksoy and Robins, 1992), and the constitutive of; the international, the national and the
success of producers in Vancouver appears to depend local.7 The analysis presented here is drawn from a
heavily on their ability to generate funding from their wider research project investigating the nature and dy-
networks. Formal contracts for �lm productions then namics of the Vancouver �lm industry, for which 36
emerge on a project-by-project basis from the informal unstructured interviews were undertaken with a variety
web of relations, for as Cornish (1997, p. 453) suggests, of agency o�cials, union representatives, casting direc-
``an informal relationship of some sort, with a speci�c tors, studio managers, and local and US producers in
duration and strength, underlies every formal transac- the second half of 1997. Where possible, I attempt to let
tion and agreement'' (see also Freeman, 1991). the individuals producers �speak� for themselves through
the use of quotations, hopefully reŻecting the multi-
vocal spirit of the so-called �new economic geography�,
which sees economic landscapes as contested and open
5
to a variety of interpretations and meanings (Martin,
Such analysis should not (necessarily) be conŻated with a wholesale
shift to network modes of production, put forward by some as the new 1994; Thrift and Olds, 1996).
dominant mode of industrial organisation (Cooke and Morgan, 1993).
6
Social capital can be seen as an intangible, informational asset that
can be accessed by all parties involved in its formation to their mutual
bene�t. While the term is often used to describe the attributes of
7
individual actors, the notion of social capital must not be divorced As I have just argued that these three scales are simultaneous, the
from the relational networks that create it. See Sedaitis (1997). splitting of the analysis into three sections is for the purpose of clarity.
396 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
3. The international level: US dominance of Canadian �lm assistance had marketing budgets of less than
and television culture CDN$150 000, a paltry sum compared to the tens of
millions of dollars invested by the Hollywood studios in
At the broadest level, Vancouver producers must the promotion of their �lms. Another restraint on Ca-
�rstly be situated within a North American �lm, tele- nadian distributors is that North America continues to be
vision and media market that is dominated by US cor- treated as one market in terms of the distribution rights of
porations.8 Canada is uniquely dependent on, or independent �lms, and Canadian companies can seldom
receptive to (depending on your viewpoint) US cultural a�ord to buy the rights for the whole of North America.
products. This dependency is at its most apparent in As a result of the structure of the distribution sector, the
terms of feature �lms. In 1996, only 3% of box o�ce majority of the distribution revenues from Canada Żow
revenues were derived from domestic �lms, considerably south to the US.
lower than in other leading markets. A 1994 report The nature of the exhibition sector also constrains the
suggested that a massive 96% of box o�ce revenues in indigenous industry. The Canadian cinema market is
English-speaking Canada came from US productions, dominated by two chains, Cineplex Odeon and Famous
again a higher level than in other markets, and even in Players, that together receive some two-thirds of Cana-
Quebec the level was 83% (Groupe Secor, 1994). In the dian revenues. Famous Players was historically con-
home video market (sales and rental), now worth over trolled by the Paramount studio, and is now controlled
four times as much as box-o�ce receipts, around 50% of by the US-based entertainment �rm Viacom. Originally
revenues are controlled by US companies (Magder, a wholly Canadian company, Cineplex Odeon has
1996). The low representation of Canadian �lms is in grown to become one of the largest chains in North
part due to the stranglehold foreign-owned distribution America, and in 1987 US entertainment company MCA
and exhibition companies have on the market. (parent of Universal Pictures) purchased a 50% equity
Distributors perform a crucial role in the �lm in- stake in the organisation. Both chains maintain ongoing
dustry (Aksoy and Robins, 1992), not only acting as supplier arrangements with the Hollywood studios,
brokers between producers and exhibitors, but also having exclusive deals with some studios (e.g. Cineplex
functioning as producers and investors as well in many Odeon with Columbia and Universal, Famous Players
cases. Control of distribution can provide a measure of with MGM, Paramount and Warner Bros.) and sharing
long-term stability in an unpredictable industry, with the rights for features from the others. While these ar-
pro�ts from box o�ce successes being used to balance rangements reduce uncertainty for the theatrical chains,
out losses from less successful projects (Magder, 1996). they also all but guarantee the best available screen time
While foreign distributors represent just 15% of the total for feature �lms distributed by the US majors (Magder,
number of �lm distributors operating in Canada, since 1996). Canadian �lms, almost exclusively distributed by
the mid-1980s, they have consistently controlled around non-majors, have extremely restricted access to high-
85% of the revenues from �lm distribution (Department pro�le theatres and attractive play dates such as
of Canadian Heritage, 1998). These foreign-owned dis- Christmas or the summer. Globerman and Vining (1987)
tributors show little interest in distributing Canadian argue, however, that US dominance of the distribution
�lms, which accounted for just 0.4% of their revenues and exhibition of �lms in Canada is not a major con-
between 1986 and 1994. straint on the Canadian �lm industry, rather it is the
On the other hand, although Canadian distributors lack of well-funded �lms with mass appeal that can
now gain approximately half their revenues from Cana- succeed in the market-place on their own merits.
dian �lms, they are struggling to break even on their in- As several commentators have pointed out (see, for
vestments. The Canadian market is just too small to example, Berton, 1975; Knelman, 1987; Pendakur, 1990;
generate signi�cant pro�ts. In 1995, members of the Ca- Magder, 1993, 1996) this pattern of US dominance has
nadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters deep historical roots, and reŻects Hollywood�s involve-
(CAFDE) earned just CDN$22m domestically and ment in the Canadian industry since the beginning of the
CDN$66m abroad from Canadian �lms, having invested century. The excellent analyses of Pendakur (1990) and
a little over CDN$100m (Department of Canadian Her- Magder (1993) illustrate how inŻuential Canadian en-
itage, 1998). As a result, only limited funds are committed trepreneurs in both the distribution and exhibition sec-
to the marketing of Canadian �lms. Over the period tors have consistently courted US corporations and
1989ą95, over two-thirds of the �lms made with Tele�lm9 have pro�ted handsomely from �dancing with Holly-
wood�, thus providing a useful corrective to the as-
sumption that US dominance is a result of aggressive
and unfettered cultural/economic imperialism. Attempts
8
Of the three levels or scales considered in this paper, this is the level
by the Canadian government to introduce quotas for a
that has (understandably) received the most attention from Canadian
minimum level of Canadian �lms have had to back
communications and cultural commentators.
9
The Federal �lm and television production funding agency. down in the face of vociferous lobbying from US
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 397
industry groups and government and, as a result, gov- tween producers, executive producers, talent agents,
ernment policy has largely focused on subsidising and entertainment lawyers and business a�airs executives
stimulating Canadian productions (a topic that will be (from the large studios), who between them negotiate
considered in the next section). Despite these schemes, the multitude of deals that are necessary to initiate each
while per capita production levels are comparable with project (Enright, 1995). One Vancouver producer de-
other countries, the average production budget of scribed the importance of these relationships thus:
CDN$3m falls well below the average investment in
France (CDN$7m), Australia (CDN$8m), the UK Yeh. I think it is very much . . . relationship driven.
(CDN$12m) and the US (CDN$56m) (Michel Houle, in Price is not always the bottom line and di�erent stu-
Department of Canadian Heritage, 1998). dios have di�erent priorities. Some are very much
The picture in the television industry is not quite so price driven, some are very quality driven, but for
bleak. Broadcasters have to conform to basic levels of us we do business with the same people over and
Canadian content programming (60% of daily schedule, over again, that�s really been our pattern. And be-
50% of evening schedule) and are also required to fund cause in a lot of circumstances you sit down and
underdeveloped programme genres such as drama and discuss a deal, you make an arrangement . . . it�s ba-
children�s shows. However, foreign products still domi- sically a handshake and there�s millions of dollars
nate actual viewing levels in Canada. Data for 1993 Żowing and the contracts often don�t get done until
suggest that Anglophone Canadians spend three quar- after the production is complete. Those relation-
ters of their viewing time watching foreign produc- ships are crucial.
tions,10 with foreign dramas and comedies alone
accounting for 45% of total viewing time. As Je�rey Many Vancouver producers who have historically
(1996, p. 207) describes: serviced US business (i.e. performed the role of a
production service company) are now making sustained
attempts to �nance and produce their own projects.
It is, and always has been, cheaper and less-risky
Three leading production companies in Vancouver,
for Canadian broadcasters ą with a market one-
Paci�c Motion Pictures (formed 1989, 25 permanent
tenth the size of the US, two o�cial languages
employees, 3 partners), Crescent Entertainment (1989,
and easy cross-border reception of US stations by
5, 5) and New City Productions (1993, 6, 1), are all
most of the Canadian population ą to import US
pursuing a similar strategy, which is to develop their
dramatic programs and bene�t from American
own projects using pro�ts from servicing US produc-
stars and promotional e�orts.
tions. This approach develops existing inter-personal
networks with US studios and production companies,
As another example, viewer ratings for the top 20 shows
but alters the power balance in the relationship, with
in British Columbia for the period 2ą8th February 1998
the local producers having more creative and �nancial
were dominated by US-made dramas, comedies and
control of projects. As the founder of New City
games shows, with local news and ice hockey being the
describes:
only Canadian programmes represented (Strachan,
1998a).
What we�re going to do with this company, and you
can count on the �ngers on one hand the number of
3.1. The strategies of Vancouver producers
people in town that are doing this, is we�re trying to
become the people we work for. We want to be
What then are the prospects for Vancouver producers
them. We want to be their partners and their com-
looking to develop their own projects within this struc-
petitors, but not their employees.
tural context of US dominance of access to both capital
and markets? Success for independent producers in the
In the long term, owning the creative rights and subse-
�lm industry depends to a large extent on their ability to
quently the distribution rights to a project are of crucial
gain �nancial backing and distribution contracts for
importance to the success of the strategy. She continues:
their projects. Although the �lm industry appears to be
driven by the logics of transnational capital on an ag-
I discovered about �ve years ago, that . . . I was able
gregate scale, on a project by project basis, the nature of
to participate as a partner rather than being high-
the �lm production process is very much determined by
priced help. In doing so, this allowed me to gener-
inter-personal relations.11 The key relationships are be-
ate my own stories for production, rather than just
working on other peoples, which is the ultimate
aim, both from a business perspective, because
10
In Francophone Quebec, the �gure is much lower, at 35% in 1993.
11
ownership of a project is valuable, but for me per-
The supposedly intense nature of these relationships has itself been
explored in �lm satires such as The Player and Swimming with Sharks. sonally creatively and philosophically I was very
398 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
keen on inŻuencing the choice of material in the �nancing is to develop international co-productions
market-place today. with countries other than the US, an important part of
the Canadian �lm industry in general since the mid-
1960s (Pendakur, 1990). One producer describes the
Developing projects through buying story rights,
attractiveness of international co-productions:
employing writers and searching for production partners
is, however, an expensive and time-consuming business.
I�m very keen on international co-productions . . .
A founder at Crescent estimated that the company had
the value of co-productions is that the product then
spent some CDN$250 000 on project development since
becomes national product. In this case in the UK it
its formation. The company is fully committed to
is eligible for �nancing incentives there and also the
changing its orientation, choosing to focus explicitly on
enhanced license fees of being a British product.
developing its slate of some 12 projects in 1997:
And because of the EU relationships it becomes na-
tional product of the EU . . . So, its a great deal if
About a year ago we . . . decided that we would stop
you can make it work, because you can get your
service production actively this year, and concen-
stu� in front of audiences, especially in the EU, that
trate purely on what we�ve developed and we�ve
you wouldn�t be able to if you were just an American
done a little over a year of pitching and attempting
producer. So what I�m saying is we�re working new
to �nance.
angles, that make us competitive with the US ma-
chine that of course has predominance world-wide.
Some remain sceptical about the potential of these
growth strategies. Even when Canadian funds are in-
Canada has over 30 co-production treaties with other
volved, producers often have to turn to US broadcasters
countries, each of which has regulations regarding the
or distributors for some �nancing to make projects vi-
minimum contribution of each country�s representa-
able. In this sense, as the head of a Vancouver TV sta-
tives. Due to obvious colonial connections, France and
tion describes:
the UK are key markets for Canadian co-productions.
A producer at Crescent describes how:
Nobody should fool themselves that this has any-
thing to do with infrastructure. For that, we have
Much of what we�ve developed, particularly in
to control the pro�table exploitation of the prod-
terms of feature work strikes us as being particular-
uct. We need to own the back end and that back
ly attractive to UK-Canadian co-productions . . .
end requires de�cit �nancing (quoted in Edwards
just from the nature of the history of the country.
1997a, p. 25).
So I went over just recently, we�ve gone to four or
�ve trade forums, festivals and so forth in the last
By selling the distribution rights, he contends, producers
year, pitching projects. I�ve just spent about two
forfeit the capital required to build the large integrated
and a half weeks in England, France, and Scotland,
�lm companies found in Toronto and Montreal such as
attempting to put partners to projects . . .
Alliance Atlantis Communications12 and Cinar. Unless
producers control a project from start to �nish, includ-
Such projects often involve the establishment of new
ing distribution, shows will amount to little more than
inter-personal relationships, which as this quotation
service production deals. Thus, in many projects, al-
suggests, requires a considerable amount of travelling
though the power balance in the relations with US
and self-marketing.
companies is changing slightly, there is still an element
Even securing a non-US international partner may
of dependence. To use the language of van Tulder and
not be enough to ensure a project gets made. One pro-
Ruigrok (1997), there is a shift from relations of de-
ducer recounts the di�culty in assembling a CDN$10m
pendence with inŻuence from the core �rm, resulting in
budget thus:
direct control, to relations of dependence without part-
ner inŻuence, resulting in structural control.
If you�re trying to raise CDN$10m, and the most
With many projects needing access to an element of
you know you�re going to raise in Canada is
US-�nancing to make them economically feasible, this
CDN$3m or CDN$3.5m, then you have to go
necessarily impacts on the extent to which a distinctly
and �nd someone else who can put up another
Canadian product can be developed. However, one way
CDN$3.5m and through a joint venture create
to circumvent the dependence on the US market and US
something big enough that you can then try and at-
tract American distribution or promotion interests
. . . if you can get a package together where you�ve
12
Alliance Communications and Atlantis Communications merged
got two thirds to three quarters of your �nancing
in late 1998 to form a huge entertainment conglomerate with annual
revenues of over C$750m. arranged from Canada and the UK, its not so hard
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 399
then to put some level of star casting into it, and go key decision-makers in Los Angeles, which allow their
to an American mini-major, or through one of the reputations to spread by word of mouth. Furthermore,
Canadian distributors, try and make contact and with �lm executives being extremely mobile between
get your last piece as a pre-sale or an advance. companies, Vancouver producers can gain access to new
companies and studios as their key contacts move
Such �nancing arrangements can have the added ad- around. However, there are still barriers to developing
vantage that the advertising campaign can be �piggy- relationships. As one producer describes:
backed� onto the promotional e�orts of the generally
well funded US partner. Hence, one strategy is to try There are some old established relationships that I
and pull together a substantial amount of �nancing can�t touch. For example, Disney have shot up here
from a variety of sources for a project that has general a lot, and they have their guys, that they have 15
appeal, most importantly in the US market. year histories with, so I can�t touch that business,
Another strategy advocated by some producers is to I haven�t been able to in�ltrate.
focus more explicitly on the television market, which
may o�er better potential for stable growth: The historical development of the Vancouver �lm
industry as a US production centre has meant that there
We�ve speci�cally focused on television, because are strong connections between producers and key de-
television was something in Canada that we con- cision-makers in Los Angeles. While is it very di�cult to
trolled, while we never controlled the feature �lm measure or even characterise these connections, the
industry in terms of the screens and stu� like that following quote from a respondent in the research hints
. . . I think that if you�re going to be a creatively at the levels of interaction:
driven producer, and want to own your own
projects, you need to look at all the mediums. A guy was telling me that on some Żights, I think its
the early morning Żight out of LA, and the late
Television projects generally have lower budgets than night one out of Vancouver or something like that,
feature �lms and, while di�cult, it is possible to fund a its like 40% is �lm business. So that�s a lot of Cana-
programme or series completely from Canadian sources. dians going down there trying to prospect for work,
The 1997 Vancouver-based drama series Cold Squad, for and that�s a lot of American�s coming up here.
example, was funded by a license fee from Baton
Broadcasting (which was compelled to �nance a local The relative proximity of the two cities allows frequent
drama series as part of its license agreement for a new visits in both directions, and networks are reinforced by
Vancouver TV station, VTV), the selling of foreign frequent telephone contact easily enabled by the com-
distribution rights to (the then) Atlantis Communica- mon time zone. In addition to the e�orts of individual
tions, and a contribution from the Federal agency producers, Vancouver labour unions and the British
Tele�lm. Columbia Film Commission (a provincial agency) have
On one level then, Vancouver producers seeking to made concerted and sustained e�orts to develop new
develop their own projects are involved in a constant relationships with contacts in Los Angeles (Murphy,
struggle to pull together the requisite funds. The paucity 1997). Hence there is a clear element of path-dependence
of Canadian funds means they often have to attract US in the development of these northąsouth relationships,
capital in exchange for broadcasting or distribution which appear to be of a denser and more e�ective nature
rights, thereby becoming caught in a vicious circle that than links with the main hubs of the Canadian industry.
reinforces the dominance of a US-controlled industry. To summarise this section, Canadian producers in
International inter-personal networks (to America and Vancouver generally have to construct, develop and
elsewhere) are crucial for the raising of this capital. As activate social networks of international extent in order
one producer succinctly phrases it: to leverage the necessary funds and distribution deals
for their own productions to be viable. The structural
I have tried to translate my relationships as a ser- context for these network relationships is a North
vice provider into ``would you look at my projects'', American �lm and television market that is dominated
``would you be my partner''. ``You already trust me by US producers, distributors and exhibitors. However,
and know I can make the things, now will you trust the dynamics of the indigenous �lm industry in Van-
my taste and business acumen''. It�s a building of couver cannot be understood by solely considering the
personal relationships that enables that kind of network relations of producers at this scale. As the next
progress. section will relate, the same producers are also embed-
ded in networks operating within the national arena,
Producers in Vancouver can also bene�t from the tight although these are themselves of course heavily shaped
inter-personal networks that exist between many of the by the international context described above.
400 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
4. The national level: centralist biases in government and tribute their own products. That these companies are
broadcaster funding? almost exclusively located in Toronto reŻects the city�s
historic position as the control centre of the Canadian
Producers can also look to initiate projects within (English-speaking) �lm and television industry. They
their Canadian networks. However, the structure of have used co-production and distribution deals with US
Canadian funding schemes seems to work against Van- studios in combination with steady Żows of government
couver producers, and this is most visible in terms of incentives to stabilise and strengthen their market po-
Federal funding. It is important to bear in mind the sition. In the early 1990s, many of the leading companies
broader context here. There have long been concerns became publicly listed, and are now capitalised enough
that the Federal Government has been orientated to- to start to compete on the international stage. The ef-
wards the interests of central Canada, and in particular, fective subsidisation of publicly listed corporations by
the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and so the dis- BC taxpayers is a source of consternation for many in-
tribution of �lm funds can perhaps be seen as the latest volved in the Vancouver industry. One producer stated
expression of entrenched regional divisions within the that:
Canadian state. In addition to funding public sector
productions through the Canadian Broadcasting Cor- The bulk, almost the entirety of public money that
poration (CBC) and the National Film Board (NFB), goes into the �lm and television industry in Canada
since the formation of the Canadian Film Development for indigenous producers lands in the pockets of
Corporation (CFDC) in 1968 the Canadian government people of Ontario, it does not extend outside the
has constantly been involved in �nancing private-sector boundaries of Ontario, and it is blatantly unfair.
�lm production in Canada (Magder, 1996). The CFDC There are huge structural problems within those
was renamed Tele�lm Canada in 1983, and with the agencies which need to be completely reviewed,
establishment of the Canadian Broadcast Program and politicians need to wake up to the fact that
Fund became an important player in the production of we have a thriving industry in BC.
programming for the television market. A central con-
cern is that independent producers in British Columbia Another describes how, ``There is no question that the
(and other western provinces) have not received histor- �gures show that BC is getting way less than its share of
ically, and still do not today, a �fair share� of Federal government money. That�s not going to change. Eastern
funds in population terms. companies have a lock on the government money''
Since 1968, a wide variety of tax and equity incentives (quoted in Edwards 1996, p. 37).
have been implemented to stimulate production. The For a long time the building up of these core com-
most important contemporary scheme is the Canada panies was a stated aim of Tele�lm, with the regions
Television and Cable Production Fund (CTCPF), a being given the role of supplying services, locales and a
public-private sector partnership formed in 1996 to captive market to these integrated corporations (Mur-
dispense some CDN$200m of funds on an annual basis: phy, 1997). Some Vancouver producers see a certain
CDN$100m from the federal government, CDN$50m sense to this argument:
from Tele�lm, and CDN$50m from the cable television
industry. Over the year 1995ą96, British Columbia, with For Tele�lm, there�s a lot of political issues, �guring
some 12% of the national population received 4.9% of out how to apparently equitably distribute funds
CTCPF funds. In 1996ą97, after incentives were intro- across the country, and I use the word apparently
duced to encourage investments outside of Toronto and as a pretty important quali�er. I�m of the paranoid
Montreal, British Columbia attracted CDN$15m of view that the government has always intended to
funding, or 7.6% of the total. By contrast, 72% of build the major industry in Toronto and Montreal,
CTCPF funds went to the important centres in Ontario and to me its not just some weird eastern conspira-
and Quebec. For the period 1991ą96, the British Co- cy, it makes a certain amount of sense. When you�re
lumbia Motion Picture Association estimates suggest in government you have a certain amount of re-
that only 1% of Tele�lm funding went to BC companies sources to deal with, and you believe that what
(Edwards, 1996). you�re trying to do is build corporations that can
The distribution of such Federal funds reŻects the actually compete in an international market-place-
structure of the Canadian production industry. While against the mega-corporations that have developed,
the sector in Vancouver is characterised by a number of principally out of the United States.
small, independent production companies, in central
Canada, large, vertically-integrated, companies such as Tele�lm policy has been reoriented slightly towards fo-
Alliance Atlantis, Paragon and Cinar have emerged that cusing more on capitalising smaller �rms outside of
attract large amounts of government subsidies due to central Canada. Some are still sceptical about the po-
their volumes of production and their ability to dis- tential success of such initiatives however:
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 401
There appears to be yet another move Federally to In addition to being under-represented in terms of
decentralise the industry from a production point public funding, Vancouver producers also face problems
of view, and they now want to target mid-sized in developing relationships with the key developers and
companies outside Toronto and Montreal . . . cyni- purchasers of programming in Canada, in particular
cally, I think that�s a reaction to the vulnerability to television broadcasters. The distribution of nominations
criticism, you know its somewhere between in the Gemini Awards for Canadian television provides
CDN$200m and CDN$500m has been routed into one indication of the dominance of central Canada in
[the then] Alliance by various methods, and that�s terms of indigenous television production (Strachan,
a lot of money to go into a publicly traded corpora- 1998b). Furthermore, the CBC, still a huge source of
tion. Canadian programming, is scaling down its Vancouver
operations disproportionately in the face of successive
Another producer recognises the di�culty in challenging cutbacks (Strachan, 1997). While in 1975 one-third of
the supremacy of the core companies: CBC drama was being made in BC, made-in-Vancouver
programming has been gradually reduced to very low
Because the bigger companies are still coming and levels.13 One research interviewee characterised the
using those same dollars, I don�t know how that problems as follows:
balance is ever going to change in Canada. I�m real-
ly not sure . . . maybe its wrong to think that you
By virtue of their distance from all of the decision
can have an industry in every centre in Canada.
makers, BC producers have di�culty getting larger
projects o� the ground. Network headquarters,
A representative of Tele�lm Canada�s western o�ce
CTV, CBC. . . they�re all in Toronto or Montreal,
in Vancouver suggests it is wrong to see the distribution
and also all of the large distribution companies
of funds as a regional issue, rather it just reŻects the
are in Toronto and Montreal, so its di�cult for
inherent structure of the Canadian industry:
the BC producers to develop relationships with
these . . . as well the large companies in Canada�s
It�s perceived as kind of like an East versus West
production are also located in Ontario and Que-
and its not. It�s unfortunate that its seen that way,
bec. Alliance, Atlantis . . . they are the big compa-
you get into a whole bunch of geopolitical bullshit
nies because they do production, and they do
with respect to that, and it becomes polarised polit-
distribution, which is good, because whatever they
ically. It�s not that at all. You could be in down-
make from distribution goes back into their pro-
town Toronto and be a block and a half from
duction activity, so they just keep growing. Where-
several of the large publicly-traded companies up
as in BC, none of the companies have really
here and have exactly the same problems as small-
reached that stage for a number of reasons, so if
medium sized companies 3000 miles away.
they want distribution money, they have to go to
the companies located out East, so revenues from
This quotation makes the important point that it is not
BC productions goes out East, instead of coming
simply distance that is isolating Vancouver production
back to the BC producers. So they�re �nding it
companies from public funding networks, rather it is a
harder to grow.
reŻection of the position of relative power from which
the larger corporations operate. The crucial policy issue
Thus, Vancouver producers, �distant� from the
then becomes developing stable production companies
broadcaster-production company networks of Toronto
in regional centres, and he suggests that through its re-
and Montreal are seen to be disadvantaged when it
gional business plan scheme, Tele�lm, although oper-
comes to pitching and promoting projects. However, the
ating with limited resources, has recognised this issue:
�distance� described here is not purely geographical dis-
tance, rather it refers to a relative exclusion from the
In the West, those producers are not vertically inte-
funding networks of central and eastern Canada that
grated . . . none of them are publicly traded for ex-
have developed over time amongst broadcasters, dis-
ample, and most of them are fee dependent, just
tributors and production companies, and have them-
basically going from one project to another earning
selves undoubtedly bene�ted to a degree from spatial
producer fees and corporate overheads in order to
proximity. Furthermore, the networks that have built up
pay the rent. There�s a great risk is staking your fu-
ture on that kind of a business plan, and so compa-
nies that are smart are beginning to see the bene�ts
13
Only DaVinci's Inquest, a CBC drama series airing in September
of preparing a business plan in which they are . . .
1998, seems to o�er any cause for hope, being the corporation�s �rst
establishing a more stable and ongoing base to their
hour-long prime-time drama made on the west coast (Edwards,
companies. 1997b).
402 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
around the concentration of key cultural institutions in to make a project, rather than funding negotiations,
Toronto and Montreal are arguably more oriented on a which are by necessity undertaken on a national or in-
northąsouth basis to US partners than west towards the ternational basis. The work of Cox (1998) is useful in
�lm production complex in British Columbia. The ma- capturing the di�erent nature of network relations
jor di�culties for Western producers surround pene- within Vancouver. He distinguishes between spaces of
trating the relatively closed and large-establishment dependence, which represent ``more-or-less localized so-
dominated networks of Toronto and Montreal, a cial relations . . . for which there are no substitutes
problem that national policy instruments have yet to elsewhere; they de�ne place speci�c conditions for . . .
correct. As a result, the most successful of the Van- material well being'' (p. 2), and spaces of engagement,
couver producers are choosing to focus on actively de- which are networks of associations constructed to fa-
veloping their relationships with US contacts and cilitate events within the space of dependence. In these
international co-producers. terms, Vancouver producers� relations at the interna-
Again, this evidence suggests that patterns of tional and national level can be seen as spaces of en-
inter-personal networks exhibit path-dependence. Geo- gagement, with relationships being used to obtain funds
graphical distance alone is not preventing the estab- and distribution deals. Local relationships within Van-
lishment of more ties from Vancouver to eastern couver, on the other hand, are generally characteristic of
Canada, as the city�s strong links down to California a space of dependence, and pertain to the requirements
show. Neither must the small-�rm nature of the in- of actually producing the �lms made possible by funds
dustry be seen as necessarily being a barrier to gaining leveraged through the broader-scale spaces of engage-
funding. Instead, it reŻects how far more social capital ment.
has developed in international connections between These local networks have to be seen in the context
Vancouver, and another node in the �lm industry, Los of the uniquely high level of US production. Most
Angeles. The gradual growth of Vancouver as a pro- respondents were in agreement that the experience
duction services centre over the last 20 years (initially gained by workers on well-�nanced Hollywood pro-
for reasons of simple economics) has provided a wealth ductions is bene�cial to the development of an indig-
of opportunities for symbiotic inter-personal relation- enous industry:
ships to develop. By contrast, western Canada has
never really been a major centre for Canadian-funded The large number of Hollywood productions that
productions. come to BC are great in the sense that they provide
In this section, I have endeavoured to show how constant work for people, and, as well, that pro-
Vancouver producers must also be situated within vides lots of skills and training because emerging
Canadian funding networks, which are themselves �lm makers that get continual work can develop
shaped by the realities of US dominance in this industry. their skills to be able to do their own projects.
In many cases, the same individuals that are fostering
relationships with US executives are also striving to However, another commentator hints that the ready
develop �national� networks with decision makers in the availability of US work in Vancouver may perhaps be
key nodes of the Canadian �lm and television industry, stiŻing the local industry by absorbing talented indi-
namely Montreal, and in particular, Toronto. That they viduals:
have generally been more successful in the former sug-
gests something both about the regional politics of The problem is if you have a young producer who is
contemporary Canada and the evolution of the Van- doing very well working for an American company,
couver �lm sector as a base for US-funded production. who�s making a good salary . . . its very hard to con-
However, recognising these national and international vince them to work in the indigenous industry
connections again presents an incomplete picture. In the which is grossly under funded, which is very centra-
next section, I move on to suggest that the producers lised within Canada, which really doesn�t provide
also need to establish e�ective local networks to mobilise any opportunity for young �lm makers, which does
the physical and human resources to make �lm and not take risks, which does not reward.
television productions.
A representative of Tele�lm in Vancouver was similarly
concerned about the inŻuence of the service industry:
5. The local level: limited resources in a maturing
industry? Its been di�cult to build an indigenous �lm culture
here in Vancouver, simply because the amount of
Vancouver producers are also embedded in a web of activity, and the lack of a pro�le, the lack of a cul-
locally constituted relations, the majority of which are tural centre that�s distinct from the industrial cen-
concerned with securing the necessary services in order tre, its been di�cult to bring together a chemistry
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 403
of ideas, a chemistry of people working together their own shows. Although the �lm industry in Van-
and sharing ideas and bouncing ideas back and couver is now very large, there is still a relatively small
forth. That�s changing now, there�s a newer genera- group of key decision-makers, many of whom have been
tion of younger �lm makers who have found them- around since the industry took o� in the 1980s. Key
selves . . . and its having an e�ect in terms of putting �gures in these networks, apart from the producers
the West on the map. themselves, include: studio managers (two large studios
and a few minor); equipment company managers (three
As Vancouver�s industry continues to expand rapidly, or four companies dominate); post-production house
a number of problems are emerging related to the in- managers (four or �ve major players); union o�cials
Żationary demands for crew, locations, studio space and (seven or eight labour organisations); casting directors
props. The dreaded �location burnout� where the overuse (20 or so dominate); talent agents (approximately 20
of popular locations results in resistance from residents major agencies), and government agency o�cials
and spiralling demands for reimbursement is becoming a (BCFC and BC Film most important). As one studio
problem in the city. This creates problems for �nancially manager described:
sensitive indigenous projects. As one local journalist
describes, ``for low-budget producers, �nding inexpen-
It�s a really small business because everybody kinda
sive locations and props is becoming more di�cult be-
knows everybody . . . the decision-makers in Van-
cause shows like The X-�les are doling out big bucks to
couver all know each other, and they all talk.
everyone from restaurateurs to thrift shops to shipyard
owners'' (Van Evra, 1997). A local producer expressed
Monitoring the local press with respect to the �lm in-
the same concerns:
dustry, where the same small group of people are re-
peatedly used to discuss the health of the Vancouver
The demand for services here has sort of heated the
industry, provides an indication of how small these
market up . . . and that has created an increase in
networks actually are. These mutually supportive net-
rates and demand on those services that makes it
works between the key drivers of growth in the sector
a little more di�cult to do the strictly Canadian
will be critical if the indigenous sector is to succeed.
projects that might not have quite as nice a budget
While some producers are trying to build stable cor-
as the American ones.
porate structures, there is also a clearly discernible
group of creatively driven directors, producers and
At the busiest times of the year, when between 20 and 30
writers in Vancouver that are developing �lms and col-
productions are being made simultaneously, crews are
laborating on an informal, project-by-project basis. The
being stretched thin and union members are being rap-
success of John Pozer�s 1991 �lm The Grocer's Wife
idly promoted to keep up with the demand for labour
appears to have been something of a catalyst for a new
from US shows. While all the major Vancouver unions
generation of �lmmakers (Van Evra, 1997). Using small
will negotiate concessionary contracts with local pro-
amounts of locally raised �nancing, this emerging
ductions, many of the most skilled personnel are con-
community has had some notable successes such as
stantly working on big-budget US projects. Labour
Kissed and Double Happiness, mentioned earlier.14 The
costs, both technical and creative, constitute a large
making of such projects, often driven by artistic senti-
proportion of the average budget, and thus indigenous
ments rather than a secure end-market, is completely
productions may need considerable concessions just to
dependent on local, informal networks. The ability of
become economically viable. The example of Cold
the producer or director to create interest and enthusi-
Squad, a Vancouver-based crime drama series �lmed in
asm for the project is crucial to its completion. Crew and
1997 is a case in point. The Association of Canadian
cast alike often make huge concessions in terms of
Film Craftspeople�s western branch (ACFC West)
wages, deferring payment until after the �lm�s release in
granted the show�s producers concessions on pension,
some cases. While continued success in this area may
administration and health and welfare costs worth some
launch individual careers (lead actors, directors etc.) it is
CDN$225 000 over the course of the series (Edwards,
1997c).
Many key relationships in the Vancouver �lm in-
dustry are long-standing, and there was a general con-
sensus among union and equipment supplier companies
14
While these �lms have been critically acclaimed, they have
interviewed, that if a local producer came to them with a
generally only had limited releases across North America, and have
project and a limited budget, they would ``�nd some way
not made huge pro�ts at the box o�ce, thus reŻecting the harsh reality
of helping them''. Relationships developed over many
identi�ed by Globerman and Vining (1987, p. 20) that, ``critical
years of servicing US productions stand producers in
acclaim and commercial success are not necessarily coincident char-
good stead when they need to pull resources together for acteristics of feature �lms''.
404 N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407
Table 3
Key characteristics of the inter-personal networks of �indigenous� Vancouver producersa
Scale of relations Rationale Context Relative strength Power relations
(constructed) of ties
International Funding/distribution US domination of Fairly strong Shifting from dependent
(Space of International funding, distribution relationship with US studios to
engagement) co-production deals and exhibition of North more collaborative, joint ventures
American �lm and TV US funding crucial in many
production cases, so power relations still
Long history of US not equal
production in Vancouver True co-productions emerging
with other countries e.g. UK,
France
National (Space Funding/distribution Large involvement of Fairly weak In weak position compared to
of engagement) deals Canadian government in larger corporations in Toronto
funding due to US and Montreal with own
dominance of audio- distribution arms, far greater
visual culture resources
Major proportion of True for both public and
funds claimed by large private funding
integrated corporations
in central Canada,
although agencies trying
to address this
Dense networks of
broadcasters, producers,
distributors in central
Canada
Historically low levels
of Canadian production
in Vancouver
Local (Space of Mobilisation of High demand for Strong Purchase goods and services
dependence) labour/resources to technical labour, through market
make project equipment and premises May gain concessions however
Local fund raising from US productions due to widespread recognition of
Very low levels of local importance of local projects
capital available Local fund providers (BC Film,
Tele�lm West) have limited funds
and large numbers of applicants
a
Source: Author's research. The categories used are derived from Amin and Hausner (1997, pp. 7ą15) and Cox (1998).
hard to see a capitalised infrastructure developing to be combined, however, with funding secured through
through this route.15 the national and international networks described
In summary, Vancouver-based producers also need to above.
mobilise networks within the city in order to make �lm
and television shows. Although these may be related to
funding, generally they are concerned with organising
the necessary resources, in terms of labour, equipment,
6. Conclusion
studio space, services and locations. Such networks need
In this paper I have endeavoured to show how
Vancouver producers are embedded in qualitatively
15
As a �nal footnote to this account, it should be noted that by no
di�erent networks of inter-personal relations operating
means all Vancouver-based producers are looking to develop their own
across di�erent spatial scales. A key argument is that
material, however; some are happy with the high incomes provided by
Hollywood productions and are less involved in the creative side of the economic processes that surround the material
projects. As one observed; ``I don�t really want to be on a project for
realities of making indigenous �lms in British Co-
�ve years raising money, I have absolutely no interest in being poor,
lumbia are actually embodied in a group of key indi-
and raising money for somebody else�s project. If it was my own
viduals and their personal networks. The ability of
project, I might feel di�erently about it . . . a lot of my friends are in
Vancouver producers to make indigenous or high
development, and they�re working four or �ve years on the same
project to get a movie o� the ground, its really tough''. Canadian-content material depends on their ability to
N.M. Coe / Geoforum 31 (2000) 391ą407 405
concurrently mobilise their local, national and inter- mous referees for their insightful comments on earlier
national personal networks. In Table 3, I summarise versions of this article.
some of the key characteristics of these network rela-
tions, using the criteria established by Amin and
Hausner (1997).
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