Okay, but I'm still digesting my supper. I got the call that you were racing through this.
We—and I say “we”—were invited and, on behalf of the St. John's International Women's Film Festival, submitted a short brief. You should have a copy.
Some of you know this--probably quite well--but others might not know, so of course I need to disclose that I am also chair of the steering committee of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. I'm not wearing that hat officially today, but the issues overlap considerably. I'm also president of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. So I represent, in some ways, some 50,000 academics of the social sciences and humanities. I feel as if I'm speaking on behalf of a very large constituency across this country of academics, filmmakers, producers, scholars, and listeners.
I don't think I need to rehearse this whole brief for you, but it's really focused on two key issues. One has to do with our festival's reliance on, if you will, local product, local filmmaking. I'm sure, or I would assume, that you've just heard from the panellists about the need for CBC engagement in every way and about our history of dependence on CBC's contribution to film production and television production in this region.
We are going into our eighteenth year. Amazingly enough, we have a sizeably healthy budget, largely subsidized by public funding. But the big draw of our festival in this region--it's called an international film festival, but there's no secret that the real appeal is our exhibition and display of product to local audiences--is local product. Much of our programming has depended upon CBC investment in documentaries and in drama.
So we are concerned, I suppose understandably, and we have been over the last few years, not so much about the health of our festival, which I think has established itself as an important event for the region for all kinds of reasons, but about our mandate being undermined by the lack of available drama and comedy production in the region.
We've had a very healthy partnership with CBC television here in particular, but radio as well has helped to advertise our material over the years. We hope to continue to do so, but we would feel better if CBC national, if you will, were more attentive to the need to honour the kinds of events we have—not directly necessarily, but certainly indirectly through financing and providing resources for the region.
So that's one key point in our submission. I'd be happy to supply, if you want, our programs so that you can really see the range of Canadian content and significant local content that has highlighted our festival. A few years ago, for instance, we opened in the Arts and Culture Centre here with a locally produced series, heavily invested in by CBC, called Random Passage, based on a well-known novel by a local writer. We sold out 1,200 seats very quickly. It helped to keep us afloat for that year and subsequent years, and gave us a good foundation. That's evidence, of course, of how hungry local audiences are for local stories.
If you go to our website, you will see all of that. I've included the address in the brief. That's the easiest thing to do if you're interested in browsing. There are some good video downloads in there too.
I'm not here officially wearing the hat of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, of course, but part of the brief speaks to the lack of general support for regional programming, particularly supper hour news and current events. Today I did quite a few interviews with the press across this country because Friends released a statement and four tables based on the history of the ratings over the last several years in Atlantic Canada, including, of course, New Brunswick. The tables detail quite graphically the decline in ratings since the initial cut of the 60-minute news show to 30 minutes, and then the subsequent halting attempts to restore that hour with virtually no significant input or increase of resources. Those ratings continue, if not to slide, then to hold at very low rates.
A big challenge, of course, for supper hour news, which has really been a staple of CBC programming and production here, is to reclaim the audiences that went to other stations. That's a story, I would think, that every Newfoundlander, not just a townie, can tell you, and knows quite well. That's the other key observation of this briefing.
If you like, I have those four tables with me, and I'd be happy to submit them to the committee. They are also widely available, but I'm happy to give them to you. They tell a significant story.