SPOTLIGHT ORTH VAN- COUVER’S John N Taylor has doffed - his producer's hat to become the head of Telefilm Canada’s Vancouver office. A veteran producer, Taylor took up the prestigious position last April after having made approxi- _ mately 100 films since 1972. Telefilm Canada is the federal investment firm organization set up in the late 1960s to help create quality films with a high level of . Canadian content for both televi- “ sion and theatrical features and to make them available to Canadian viewers. , It was established about the same time that Canadian cinema began to.appear on the interna- tional scene. Taylor, who became a producer for the National Film Board (NFB) . in 1970, says he enjoys the challénges of his new post. “1 enjoy my job working in the -- creative field as opposed to pro- ~ ducing the work,” he says. =. “If Ehave something to offer, it ~ is to encourage and provide op- __ portunities for those talented peo- .’ ple who have some good ideas -'» and help them to realize their cre- ative dreams. “1 like to work with creative “.. minds, and | understand the kind ’+- of support they need, not only in terms of financial backing, but also in terms of moral support and : recognition of their inspiration.” ”_ During his years with the NFB, -* Taylor produced several short animated films, including The - Paes | Flash Point and For Land e. He also produced short documentaries, one of which was nominated foran Academy — . ‘Award: The film Nails, which i is about ‘making nails, was released and nominated for an Academy ‘Award in;1979. It was directed and co-produced Phil Borsos..- aA highlight of Taylor’s career is the series Feelirig Yes, Feeling No, which deals with the: ‘Prevention of Caroli Crenna SPOTLIGHT FEATURE sexual abuse of children. Inspired by a Green Thumb Theatre stage program and ~ designed for use in the schools, the series was shot in North Van- couver and released in 1984 when not much was known or being openly discussed about child. abuse. It is the NFB’s best-seller. “This was a ground- breaker...we adopted it to a . documentary film that included interviews with children, and the actors from the theatre acted out situations in a classroom,’’ says Taylor. Since joining Telefim, Taylor i is no longer directly involved in film production. With an office located in the Landing in Gastown, Vancouver is Telefilm’s third largest division, covering films produced across the western provinces. It also has of- fices in Monteal, Toronto and Halifax. According to Taylor, Telefi Im is ~ extensively involved in drafting film scripts and has an extremely . rigorous creative assessment department. - “We are quite careful about : the projects which we invest in because we often become the ma- _ jor investor. We are the major source for financing in:Canada and leaving a project here often -- determines whether it will actually ever go or not. “But it (our involvment) is less hands-on with the individual . players (film companies). We may discuss the weaknesses and , strengths of the production and advise them to seek other help NEWS photo Miko Wakefield ONE OF John Taylor’ 's productions, Nails, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1979. with a script editor or consultant, but otherwise we do not get in- volved.” Telefilm is also concerned about Canadian content ina project’ s cast and crew. Taylor says feature film-makers are allowed to hire one American actor for a secondary role, not for the lead or the highest-paid role, to get maximum Telefilm fi nanc- ing. The organization’s two major funds are the Broadcast Fund, which receives approximately $70 million for investment in television productions, and the Feature Film Fund, which receives about $30 million. Telefilm will invest up to 49% of a production’s total costs depen- ding upon how much of the pro- duction is Canadian. “Using a point system, the highest-rated company would have a 10 for Canadian content. Anything that has less than 8% may or may not gain funding from Telefilm,” explains Taylor. Co-productions, films made by at least two producers from dif- See Telefilm page 34 VAN CITY Wednesday, March 18, 1992 - North Shore News — 23 “To Live ... is to love PASTA.” 15 varieties — 6 different \ sauces: DINNER PASTA ENTREE Monday to Thursday Until March 31st only! NOTICE TO MEMBERS ELECTION FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS The 1992 Board of Directors’ clection will take place from March 20-28; 1992. There will be three vacancies to be filled and information about candidates and the _ balloting Process is available at any VanCity branch. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Vancouver City Savings Credit Union 46th Annual General Meeting = 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, 1992 ‘The Hotel Vancouver, 900 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver Registration: 6:45 p.m. Door Prizes. VanCity souvenir for all attendees. Refreshments and Free Parking. ANNOUNCING A 21% SHARE DIVIDEND FOR VANCITY MEMBERS. ‘ 1991 has been the most successful year in VanCity’s history. ; : ‘to celebrate, we're sharing our success with our members and our community: We're paying each of our 180,000 members a 21% dividend on their membership shares and share savings. THANK YOU MEMBERS. 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