Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Symbol of the Government of Canada

ARCHIVED - National Film Board


Warning This page has been archived.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats on the "Contact Us" page.

Section II — Analysis Of Program Activities By Strategic Outcome

2.1 Analysis by Program Activity

Strategic Outcome: The reflection of Canadian values and perspectives through the production of innovative Canadian audiovisual works accessible in relevant media of the day.

 

2.2 Program Activity: Production of Audiovisual Works

Financial Resources ($ thousands)


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
51,060 51,060 51,060

Human Resources


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
342 342 342

NFB's audiovisual works provide a uniquely Canadian perspective, including diverse cultural and regional perspectives, recognized across Canada and around the world, thereby playing a pivotal role in the Canadian film and television industry.

Its programming fosters diverse voices and content in both official languages by encouraging participation from Aboriginal groups, regional, linguistic and ethnocultural communities.

The NFB's use of the innovative production methods and technologies to provide quality works to be accessible on new distribution platforms and in new media.

Production activities include the conceptualization, research, development, production and marketing of documentaries, animation films, new media content, as well as other emerging forms.

To support the above outcomes, the NFB has established the following priorities for the three-year planning period.

1. Maintain an environment dedicated to excellence and innovation that is conducive to nurturing new avenues for creativity in the audiovisual form.

2. Maintain and strengthen the NFB's ability to identify, develop and mentor the talent and creative skills from emerging filmmakers and aboriginal, regional, linguistic and ethnocultural communities.

Plan

1. Maintain an environment dedicated to excellence and innovation that is conducive to nurturing new avenues for creativity in the audiovisual form.

The NFB is a unique centre for creative excellence and innovation that promotes and values community engagement, and encourages communities to make their voices heard. With its focus on auteur documentary, alternative drama and auteur animation, the NFB turns the lens on major contemporary social issues and supports strong, diversified point-of-view films. For almost seventy years, the NFB remains home to the same spirit of innovation and the avant-garde as in the time of its pioneers; key to its continued success relies in its ability to continuously challenge itself to innovate in new genres and formats.

The organization provides a uniquely Canadian perspective recognized across Canada and around the world, thereby playing a pivotal role in the Canadian film and television industry.

Two up-coming NFB feature documentaries, co-produced with the private sector, have been selected by the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film and are testament to the organization's creative excellence. Patrick Reed's Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma (White Pine Pictures/NFB) and Yung Chang's award-winning Up the Yangtze (EyeSteelFilm/NFB) were screened in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, and were part of 16 selected films from a pool of 620 submissions. Both films look at the human spirit during times of massive changes and crises.

Another example includes Le peuple invisible, a hard-hitting documentary that chronicles filmmakers Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie's visit the last parcels of Algonquin land to give its people a voice and to reveal the unspoken and hidden despair bring to light the greatness and the misery of this Algonquin nation. This film is provoking a debate about Quebec's relations with its Aboriginal community.

The NFB can connect to communities at grass roots level and innovate new forms of media. Projects like award-winning Filmmaker in Residence in collaboration with St. Michael's Hospital is breaking new ground by creating new forms of expression and by empowering new kinds of creators. The innovation is happening in the organization's engagement with community and ability to adapt in new, creative ways the ever blossoming opportunities of the digital realm.

For the upcoming year the NFB will ensure that programming continues to tackle the social issues that will lend to public debate. The organization will publish updated criteria for its programming decisions with a clearly articulated, timely and transparent programming process. The guiding values for each of the programming areas will be talent, social relevance, authenticity, innovativeness and audacity. The diversity of voices will underscore all of NFB activities.

In 2008-2009, NFB will be present in the activities marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, and has responded to the Government of Canada's call for projects highlighting this important event. Among these is the Champlain project, an animation and fiction short on the founder of this city. Its spectacular stereoscopic presentation shows a larger-than-life Champlain. This production will use both a combination of archival and original material. The launch of the film is scheduled for May 2008 at a space dedicated to the founder of the City of Quebec, in the Museum of Civilization.

As well, ongoing planning and discussions for an Olympics project will be at the centre of the NFB priorities for the upcoming year. The organization will develop a multiplatform strategy at this important event, to maximize the opportunities of new technologies to reflect Canada and Canadians to the world.

The Cross Media Challenge co-production competitions offer further proof of the NFB's key role in the creation of innovative and interactive content for the new platforms in Canada as well as internationally. Created in partnership with domestic and international partners to develop globally engaged media projects on issues such as the environment, health care, human rights, poverty and violence against women, this initiative is now in its third offering with a recent call for submissions. Initiatives such as the Cross Media Challenge clearly demonstrate the NFB's commitment to make the NFB a model for the creative organization of the 21st century, one that is a crucible for creative innovation.

The NFB has maintained its level of co-production partnership with domestic and international producers throughout its 2002-2006 Strategic Plan. Co-productions create opportunities to merge creative expertise and develop promotional strategies with domestic and marketing plans designed to ensure maximum visibility of each project in its target market. The NFB has a specialized team that works closely with partner producers to bring unique NFB expertise to the projects and ensure that the critical launch phase of a project is successful. In the planning period, the NFB will continue to work with its co-production partners both domestically and internationally as a full creative partner on projects that answer to the NFB mandate.

2. Maintain and strengthen the NFB's ability to identify, develop and mentor the talent and creative skills from emerging filmmakers and aboriginal, regional, linguistic and ethnocultural communities.

The NFB's mission is to reflect Canada (and matters of interest to Canadians) to Canadians and the rest of the world through the creation and distribution of unique and innovative and distinctive audiovisual works based on Canadian point of view and Canadian values.

The content of NFB films is a representative reflection of Canadian society, while diversity in all its varied forms is an integral part of the organization's culture. Itself a model of linguistic, ethnic and regional diversity, the NFB has succeeded in representing Canadian cultural diversity in its varied aspects, and through its programs, will continue to do so during the upcoming planning period.

Through its production facilities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Moncton and Halifax, and a production office in Quebec City, the NFB is committed to working with filmmakers across the country, in both official languages. The NFB will continue to offer particular support to filmmakers in minority-language regions and work with the Department of Canadian Heritage to maintain the Interdepartmental Partnership with the Official Language Communities. In conjunction with Canadian Heritage, the NFB will continue developing programs that meet IPOLC initiative objectives.

One such program is the implementation of an e-cinema pilot project in five francophone Acadian communities. The project is being carried out to foster the dissemination of French-language works in minority French-speaking communities.

Through the Aboriginal Filmmaking Program (AFP) and its membership efforts, career development programs, as well as through the encouragement and development of talent and stories from specific culturally diverse communities and Aboriginal groups, the NFB will maintain and enhance its commitment to producing audiovisual works made by Canadians of all communities and reflecting issues important to us. The organization will add continued support for initiatives designed for Aboriginal communities across the country.

The NFB will maintain its commitment to reflect Canada's diversity both on and behind the screen. The organization provides an excellent learning environment that fosters skills acquisition and nurtures talent in communities across Canada. The cultural diversity working group will continue to focus its efforts in establishing an accountability framework setting out the cultural diversity responsibilities of NFB branches and sectors. This framework will serve to formulate an action plan and strategies for the NFB's cultural diversity policy in the next strategic plan.

The NFB is an incubator of talent and innovation for young filmmakers in Canada. NFB programs foster a fertile learning environment in which mentoring plays an important role. In the last five years, the NFB has developed a range of low-cost, highly effective programs that fill the gap between film and training schools and a first professional production experience. Short film programs like Momentum (documentary) and Hothouse (animation) have pioneered an integration of master classes and full professional production to train the next generation of creators. They have allowed for innovative ways of involving underserved communities like aboriginal ones (First Stories soon to be followed by Second Stories and Nunavut Animation Lab). And they have been done in partnership with a range of other institutions including provincial agencies, broadcasters and independent production companies. Other examples of such programs include Reel Diversity, Inspired, Doc Shop, Film Pop and the Calling Card program.

The Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP) and the Aide au cinema indépendant Canadien (ACIC) nurture talent by providing financial assistance for technical services to documentary, animation and short drama filmmakers, many of whom are emerging. During the planning period, the NFB will undertake a formal review of these two programs to ensure their continued effectiveness and efficiency.

These programs are key instruments of the NFB's commitment as a laboratory for emerging filmmakers, helping the organization connect and identify the next generation of outstanding documentary and animation filmmakers and providing the training and mentorship to help them realize their potential.

Through these programs the NFB is also discovering and encouraging new talent, strengthening filmmaking in Canada and promoting experimentation, creativity and innovation.

 

The NFB seeks the following outcomes:

  • Programming involving social issues
  • Programming with the focus on point-of-view documentaries, animation, alternative fiction and new media
  • Programming exploring Canadian diversity
  • Ongoing promotion and development of new talent
  • Audiovisual works produced by emerging filmmakers
  • Audiovisual works created by culturally, regionally & linguistically diverse, aboriginal and disabled filmmakers
  • Projects innovative in content, form and broadcasting mode, with flexibility for experimentation

Performance Measurement Strategies and Indicators

The NFB will assess progress by tracking the following

  • Number of audiovisual works produced by culturally, regionally and linguistically diverse, Aboriginal and people with disabilities
  • Awards, mentions, nominations and tributes earned at Canadian and International festivals
  • Number of research and development projects related to innovation
  • Number of participants in talent-nurturing initiatives, including competitions

 

2.3 Program Activity Name: Distribution, Accessibility, Outreach

Financial Resources ($ thousands)


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
13,982 13,982 13,982

Ressources humaines


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
156 156 156

As well as making films, the NFB's mandate includes distributing and selling its products as widely as possible to Canadian and foreign audiences. The distribution of audiovisual work includes commercializing its audiovisual catalogues and well established stock shot library and developing and diversifying markets (Theatrical, TV, Consumer and Institutional) for NFB products in Canada and abroad.

It is one of NFB's essential goals to make its works accessible to as many people as possible and set up a close dialogue with the Canadian population. Distribution activities will make works available in communities across Canada, especially those in underserved communities in remote, rural areas, and provide access to Native groups and official language minority groups.

To support the above outcomes, the NFB has established the following priority for the three-year planning period ahead:

3. Create a digital strategy that will serve as a foundation to enable the NFB to deliver on its mandate into the future in distribution, new business development, outreach and preservation of its audio-visual heritage.

4. To make the works of the NFB readily and widely accessible to Canadian and international audiences.

5. Maintain, promote and enhance research and development initiatives to ensure increased accessibility of NFB audiovisual works.

 

Plan

3. Create a digital strategy that will serve as a foundation to enable the NFB to deliver on its mandate into the future in distribution, new business development, outreach and preservation of its audio-visual heritage.

New technologies offer abundant ways of making films available, regardless of the mode of reception or type of screen. Countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have made the digital transition a national priority and are devoting considerable resources to it. For several years now, the NFB has been investing in the digitization equipment indispensable to this and has been acquiring considerable internal expertise. The NFB's limited resources have allowed the institution to digitize barely 20% of its collection, which has priceless heritage value both for Canada and the world. To match the expectations of its citizens and remain a cultural leader, the NFB will dedicate resources throughout the next few years to develop a digital strategy aimed to safeguard Canadian's heritage. Through the digitization, rights clearances and rights management systems, the institution will explore new business models that will be beneficial to the Canadian industry and maximize accessibility and revenue potential of NFB audiovisual works.

An integrated digitization strategy is intended to maximize revenues and increase accessibility of products on digital format to make them accessible to Canadians and the world, offering the maximum number of titles from its collection, to the maximum of viewers. It will also allow an enhanced control of the organization's standard of quality in the creation, information, retrieval and conservation of its digital assets, and to maintain its leadership role in the digital universe.

The development of new business models is inevitably linked to a creative, financial and technological risk that the private sector in Canada is unable to take, but that must be taken for Canada to remain at the forefront of the cultural industry. The NFB will dedicate time and effort to developing these models that will be beneficial to the Canadian industry.

A key priority within NFB's emerging Digital Strategy, the Streaming project is intended to deliver free (and advertising-free) streamed NFB content to the Canadian general public. Once the basic service is established in 2008-2009, the NFB intends to leverage its streaming capability, to support the development of new business models in both consumer and non-theatrical markets, in Canada and internationally.

The digitization of Stockshots library will be instrumental in the development of new business models. The NFB's stock footage collection contains over 4,000 hours of material and consists of more than 40,000 shots. Putting the collection online gives accessibility to clients in Canada and abroad who can view, select, share and buy stock footage as well as have it delivered through the Internet. Along with various internal and external partners, the NFB has been working to put the NFB stock footage online. By making it easier for local and international clients to access one of the most prestigious image banks in Canada, the NFB can improve customer service, maximize its revenues and improve its efficiency. The NFB's Stockshots online initiative is meant to reduce costs, increase revenue from the sales of stock footage and to position the NFB as a technological leader in this field in Canada. The fast track digitization of the NFB's stockshot library may lead to increased sales in 2008-2009.

In order to maximize accessibility of NFB audiovisual works to Canadians and international audiences, the organization must ensure over the next few years the exercise of a rights regime that is fair and flexible. A Minimum Rights institutional policy regarding the acquisition of minimum rights for NFB productions and co-productions has been articulated and will be implemented starting in 2008-2009. As well, NFB has begun the process of renewal of rights of the collection for the programming of the Streaming initiative, and will continue to do so throughout 2008-2009.

4. To make the works of the NFB readily and widely accessible to Canadian and international audiences.

One of the NFB's essential goals is to make its productions accessible to as many people and engage Canadians in an intimate dialogue, a goal it achieves by setting up leading edge media centres like the Montreal CineRobothèque and the Toronto Mediatheque, and by organizing public screenings and workshops in communities across Canada.

The new digital environment allows for a wide variety of partnerships, such as online film libraries, online learning centres for schools, and digital viewing centres. These help the organization forge a direct bond with Canadians and thus create communities of interest. The NFB seeks to share its wealth of state-of-the-art expertise with film industry professionals, university students and interested members of the public.

The upcoming strategic plan will particularly look to strengthen NFB's role in the educational sector. The organization has for generations been the most trusted provider of Canadian content to Canada's educational system, generating 44% of its revenues from this sector. In addition to offering relevant programming, NFB invests time and effort in providing access to educational materials in various forms, such as workshops and teaching guides. The organization intends to ensure that Canadians in an educational institution have a number of significant NFB experiences in each academic year and recognize it as such. The NFB will focus on establishing a network of partners in schools and adapting its productions to the school curriculum. The support in providing teaching guides and organizing workshops at many regional and provincial teachers' conferences fosters the use of Canadian audiovisual materials.

The NFB will look to increase its international sales, particularly in the US educational sector and will develop market opportunities in public libraries and museums. It will focus its marketing efforts and reduce the number of sub-distributors in the US.

The NFB will work in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Quebec, and other domestic and international partners in the MuREA project, which involves the indexation of NFB web content in French so it can accessible by teachers and students in Quebec, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Morocco. Other countries and content might be added as the project evolves.

An NFB-Partnership agreement with the Haitian Ministry of Culture and Communications was signed to allow for the donation of 212 NFB films to be shown on the Haitian State television network, private channels and in the Haitian school system. The films selected are among the leading titles in the NFB collection and reflect the diversity of its output and a range of viewpoints on social and cultural life in Canada and the world. During the 2008-2009 year there will be ongoing discussions with the Canadian Embassy at Port au Prince for future collaborations.

The agreements signed with the Haitian ministry and the State television network call for the submission of annual reports that will enable the NFB to measure the impact of this initiative.

The NFB has put in place a cross departmental committee to develop and implement a coherent and strategic approach to its successful education related activities happening in different sectors of the NFB (eg. Mediatheque, distribution, outreach, programming).

One of the means by which NFB titles are distributed to Canadians is through public libraries. To facilitate access to NFB productions, the Film Board has contractual relationships with library partners. The NFB will review these partnerships and propose new strategic initiatives to reinvigorate these relationships.

The NFB will continue to build on its strong community partnerships. The NFB's community marketing will be aligned within the organization's overall marketing and accessibility strategies to ensure greater coherence for dollar invested. Over the next year new funding sources will be developed for such community outreach.

The NFB will maintain its efforts in its traditional distribution business (including pre-sales), and focus on new areas of revenue generation by better exploiting its substantial assets.

5. Maintain, promote and enhance research and development initiatives to ensure increased accessibility of NFB audiovisual works.

The digital revolution is altering in fundamental ways that audiences are consuming and interacting with audio-visual media. The characteristics of the digital era are interactability, mobility, control of time, user generated material and a general democratization of media.

The NFB's research and development initiatives carry out a rigorous analysis of available technologies before modifying its processes, acquiring new tools and concentrating on infrastructures that offer unprecedented potential, allowing both production and distribution to increase accessibility of NFB audiovisual works.

Fundamental to working in the digital future is the conversion of analogue programming and other assets to digital formats. The NFB will maintain a close watch on industry trends and where audiences are going. The research and development initiatives will ensure that NFB programming can migrate easily to such platforms as mobile, iPod, and such others as become available and popular.

In the upcoming planning period, the NFB will begin formulating a consistent, across-the-board multiplatform distribution strategy and an E-cinema strategy to enhance the efficiency of distribution operations and ensure the collection remains accessible to Canadians at low cost.

The implementation of an e-cinema pilot project in five francophone Acadian communities will serve as a reference for the development of a national community e-cinema network, to establish an experimental e-cinema network and enable the partner centre to offer free NFB programming to the community.

The pilot project will providing a testing ground to further the NFB's R&D efforts, testing the technological possibilities and challenges and the feasibility of implementing a national e-cinema network. It will also provide the framework to assess the parties needs for enhance tools to consult the catalogue of NFB audiovisual productions available on the server provided in conjunction with the pilot project, download the programming as well and marketing support for the initiative. Once established, this project would be expanded and made available to the Canadian audiovisual community, enabling the private sector to also reach remote underserved communities with its programming.

The development of a digital distribution network, which would complement the current distribution and film projection infrastructure, would make it possible to increase to Canadian productions and enlarge the geographic scope of their broadcast. Digital cinema and the NFB initiatives in e-cinema offer tremendous opportunities in the area of public access and production diversity.

 

The NFB seeks the following outcomes:

  • Completed audiovisual works accessible on new distribution platforms
  • On-going digitization of the NFB collection
  • Increased number of audiovisual works available online
  • Increased sales generated by NFB's collection
  • Improved access to the NFB collection through its various activities and offerings, particularly the mediatheques and other resources
  • Increasing number of initiatives targeted for the educational sector
  • Appreciable research and development efforts on techniques and technology in the audiovisual field

Performance Measurement Strategies and Indicators

The NFB will assess progress by tracking the following

  • Percentage of audiovisual works accessible on new distribution platforms
  • Number of audiovisual works available online
  • Quarterly sales, pre-sales and revenue
  • Audience indicators for NFB productions
  • Level of audience reach and interest in films (television and non-television audiences, and Web site traffic)
  • Attendance at NFB screenings and retrospectives
  • Percentage of NFB audience who used, accessed, viewed NFB audiovisual works through new distribution platforms
  • Number of hours of digitized stock footage

 

2.4 Program Activity: Revolving Fund

Financial Resources ($ thousands)


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
0 0 0

Human Resources


2008–09 2009–10 2010–11
0 0 0

The NFB Revolving Fund is used to provide the working capital required for business operations, for interim financing of operating expenses and capital acquisitions and for recording the change in the net book value of capital assets. The Revolving Fund is also used for interim financing of operational shortfalls, though it should be noted that the NFB's operating expenses are funded by annually voted parliamentary appropriations.