30 - Wednesday, December 16, 1992 — North Shore News v4

Fragile film industry
concerns NV producer

ee

Evelyn Jacob
SPOTLIGHT FEATURE

UCCESS SHOULD

have been sweet for

North Vancouver
film producer Richard
Cavis.

It was 1990 and Davis had just
put the final touches on the mo-
tion picture that went on to
become both his biggest selfer and
personal favorite.

Chaindance, which follows the
lives of two men who, by a rather
strange association come to grips
with their emotional and physical
handicaps, won four Genie
Nominations including best pic-
ture.

But just as the $3 million film
was about to be released in
theatres across the country, its
distribution company went belly-
up.
Asa result, Chaindance never

received publicity in its first few
weeks — any film‘s most critical
stage. ;

You could call it bad luck, bad

- timing. Davis, however, sees the

failure to provide distribution as
just one of many obstactes
preventing B.C. from creating a
strong indigenous film industry.

“The prablem with giving a
simple answer to why we don’t
have a strong indigenous industry
is that you give the impression you
have all the answers when no one
does,” says the lanky veteran
producer, who has come in from a
downpour sporting Birkenstocks
and jeans rolled up into make-do
Bermudas.

Contrary to outward imnpres-
sions, B.C.’s film industry is far

‘SGLMO

five a Salmon House Gift Certificate,

NEWS photo Mike Wakeliald

PRODUCER RICHARD Davis says B.C. should be worried about

from thriving.

While it’s true local production
has exploded in the last 10 years
— making Vancouver the third
busiest produciion centre in North
America — that activity has been
almost exclusively Ameri-
can-financed.

Davis blames the problem on a
combination of factors: a lack of
established producers and pro-
duction companies, problems with

een

the fragile state of its indigenous flim industry.

distribution, and lack of access to
major markets have ail combined
to keep the home-grown B.C. in-
dustry small.

And he doesn’t mince words
about the consequences of main-
taining a fragile industry: “Unless
we have an infrastructure to sup-
port an industry we'll be left with
nothing if the Americans leave."

Davis isn’t the only one soun-

See Quebec page 45

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