Hot on the heels of a very busy Visions du Réel, NFB (National Film Board of Canada) attends its home festival of Hot Docs with six films, five of which are world-premieres.
Opening the festival April 24 was the world prem of Noam Gonick’s Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance, which “captures pivotal moments that sparked Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ movement, told through first-person accounts and rarely seen archival footage.”
Two other features celebrating their global bow are The Nest by Chase Joynt and Julietta Singh – in which co-director Singh returns to say goodbye to her childhood home in Winnipeg, in the process uncovering 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political histories she never knew – and Sinakson Trevor Solway’s s Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man which “intimately portrays the lives of Blackfoot men as they navigate identity, kinship and the complex expectations of manhood.”
Elsewhere, in the Shorts Programme, King’s Court by Serville Poblete promises a “a fast-paced look at friendship, family and the journey to manhood in modern society,” set in Toronto’s diverse Bleecker Street neighbourhood. Another Canadian short doc world-priming at Hot Docs is Night Watches Us by Stefan Verna, which “examines the systemic forces” that lead to the death of a Black man, plagued by mental health issues, at the hands of the local police, all seen through the eyes of a family and community united in grief.
A further NFB feature doc, selected for Canadian Spectrum, is Virginia Tangvald’s lyrical and deeply personal Ghosts of the Sea, in which the director searches for clues about her brother Thomas who was never seen again after setting off solo across the ocean. Virginia and Thomas were the offspring of famed sailor and adventurer Peter Tangvald, who himself perished at sea.
NFB Head of Distribution Nathalie Bourdon may be selling these titles at a somewhat scaled back Hot Docs, during which there is no Forum to entice international guests and buyers, but that does not diminish her enthusiasm to secure local broadcasters and distributors, nor will it detract from the films’ appeal audiences beyond Canadian borders.
“First of all, our stories and our documentaries are always best quality, that’s for sure. Because we take the time to do things well,” Bourdon underlines of NFB’s creative and financial involvement in its films. “Industry and audiences also know that the directors won’t be muzzled. They tell their story the way they want to tell it.”
She further underlines the NFB mandate to create excellent auteur-driven documentaries and animation. “We are provoking discussion. That’s what we are doing. Our documentaries are the kind that you’re going to talk about for a long time after.”
“We let the artist, the director, express themselves and go fully with their vision. And that’s our major point. We have producers that surround the artist with advice, with the budget, with this and that – but we really give them the space to do what they want.”
Given that 25% of NFB product is French-language, Europe is very much in its sights, and to which NFB will sell directly or via strategic European sales partners.
While sales to US broadcasters have never been a shoo-in – “the US appetite for docs has never been thatbig” – Bourdon stresses that US sales have nevertheless remained stable, even with a White House occupant who has shown little other than disdain for his northerly neighbour. Her department recently sold Laurie Townshend’s feature doc A Mother Apart to POV/PBS.
If anything, given Trump’s willingness to cut EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) funding, many future US programming needs can even be met by NFB. “This is content that is related to minorities, such as the Black minorities, the Indigenous minorities, Hispanic minorities, the gay community, the transsexual community,” she stresses. “We have that content…and it’s discoverable by the [US] audience.” This “discovery” can be made via the likes of Criterion and MUBI, as well as Amazon on which NFB has 400 titles.
“There’s a different vibe here than in the US,” Bourdon adds. “We’re very relaxed, we’re very welcoming. And that [is reflected] in what we do and in the films that we’re making.”
NFB will act as a fully-fledged partner on international co-productions that has a Canadian company involved. She cites the recent example of the Canadian/German co-pro The Whale and the Raven, which was picked up for German broadcast by ARTE. NFB handled sales to the rest of the world and Canada.
“When we do a co-production, we’re fully hands-on with the Canadian producer,” Bourdon points out. “We have a producer that is working on the project and we have an executive producer, so we’re really like a production entity. We are bringing good money, but we’re not a silent partner. We really go into the creative – and the project has to resonate with what we’re doing.”
What’s more, for NFB, Impact is a given, the Distribution Director underlines, as she further articulates her determination to see as many titles as possible get a local theatrical release. “Impact campaigns are really important for documentaries, as you know, when the subject matter demands it. And sometimes we’re doing it the hard way, which is arranging screening after screening. We’re very dedicated to that.”
The organisation’s dedication to digital is equally full-on. “We are in 75% of the schools – that’s also our way to be near to the next generation. We have a platform (nfb.ca) with 7,000 films that are free for Canadians, and we have a department dedicated solely to social media. So we’re trying all kinds of strategies.”
“In Canada, we’re the master of Impact,” Bourdon signs off.
