Firstly, I cannot believe that Cannes was 4 months ago and that TIFF is weeks away. I am happy to announce that Oliva Talks MIC (Made in Canada) will be continuing at TIFF! I cannot wait to get started and give an inside look of the Canadian content and what Canadian’s think about Canadian filmmaking content during TIFF. It is important to understand the knowledge I have already gained by being at Cannes and apply this to my conversations and interviews that will happen at TIFF.
Let’s get real……
Cannes was a market that targeted filmmakers and not the larger audience of the public. I was lucky enough to be invited to these events and socials, but for the public moviegoer Cannes had limitations to what experience they would offer. With that said my opinion is based on these professionals in the market which excludes the publics presence at Cannes.
- PARTNERSHIP. Canada is connected to many different countries making our content not solely “Canadian”. This targets the ultimate question of “What does it mean to be Canadian?” Through my time in Cannes Canadian content was either deliberate and bold, (being set in the winter, the landscapes of Northern Ontario, involving famous Canadian filmmakers celebrity to the promotional standpoint of the film), or simply a creative idea. Partnering with other countries gives not only a spotlight for Canada content but for a personal stand on a story. In my opinion, it makes our content more relatable because it targets the individual moviegoer and not the Canadian audience.
- QUEBEC vs. CANADA. It was hard not to notice separation of Quebec content to the rest of Canada. The most obvious division is the language of french, which automatically makes the film “foreign” in many categories. It is one identity of Canada and must be shown in its own spotlight, naturally away from the english language films, but for me it joined the category of foreign and European filmmaking. Does this mean that Canadian content from Quebec involves a European identity to Canadian films? That is a question I raised during the screening of french “foreign” content from Quebec. Lastly, not only is their a division in foreign vs. Canadian but also a physical one during the festival. Quebec and Canada had separate pavilions to better showcase content, and of course the festival being set in France there is a significance to french projects. Why this division? Is one more “Canadian” than the other?
- WHERE’S HOLLYWOOD?. The presence of Hollywood took over the red carpet and many of the Lumiere Theatre movie premieres, like Naomi Watts for Sea of Trees, Woody Allen for Irrational Man and The Disney Corporation for Inside Out. When the stars took the red carpet it was very much about the American movie stars. During the events and social I took part in there was not a significant presence of Hollywood, which was very refreshing to me. I learned that you do not need the Hollywood budget or stars to create great content in this business.
This year I cannot wait to ask the hard questions and discover what Canadians think of their very own Film Festival and the content that compliments Canada.
Be sure to visit back for more insights before the festival. Can’t wait to discover more.
Danica Oliva
MIC Views 