Industry

Banff Festival Takeaways

This year the Banff World Media Festival really leaned into being virtual again and has given attendees the opportunity to hear from leaders across the globe – including Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA and even Greenland which has been very insightful and engaging. 

There were two main topics that kept showing up in the sessions that I attended:  How the disruption of Covid impacted their businesses and what efforts are being made (or were needed) to make sure diverse voices were being heard as part of a movement towards actual change and not just a moment in time. 

Announcements

There were announcements, like CBC stating that 30% of key creatives for scripted or unscripted must be Indigenous, Black, People of Colour or Persons with Disabilities and Netflix sharing that they are looking for a new head of content in Canada. I heard from showrunners about the realities of making a show under all the covid restrictions (Andie Harries, Chief Executive of Left Bank Pictures said it cost 4 million for The Crown to test 600 people 3 times a week during production!) and how the cost of that, while obviously important and necessary, means less money for what happens on screen or even where they can film. One person mentioned that trying to move cast and crew to a location when only 2 people can be in the vehicles at a time often meant staying in the studio instead. 

Insights

One of the most surprising things that I heard was that American producers, writers and showrunners are envious of the system we have in Canada (and in other countries), as I often think of it as the other way around. The reason, I heard, is that other countries allow creatives to maintain control of the content they develop when going out to the global marketplace. Deniese Davis, President of Reform Media Group, spoke about international producers getting to retain ownership and control while recognizing that the pond they play in is often smaller than the US. In another session Christina Jennings, Chairman & CEO of Shaftesbury described it as having to decide between being a producer for hire with streamers or cobbling together financing as an Independent producer. Valerie Creighton, the President and CEO of Canadian Media Fund (CMF) acknowledged that the system and structure for funding in Canada needs to be changed. 

Where does that leave an independent producer? Story is still queen and characters that stand out are what gatekeepers are looking for. Sylvia Bugg the Chief Programming Executive & General Manager at PBS encouraged producers to think about who the next generation of creators are and not just be safe with ideas. Maramena Roderick, Director of Content for Maori TV said instead of trying to be everything to everyone they have to focus on their purpose which is growing the Maori language. Poppy Hanks, SVP of Development and production at Marco felt that now is the best time to be a ‘delightful disrupter’. Not in an irresponsible way but encouraged people to take risks without the weight of the entire black culture on their shoulders. I think that could be extended to other groups as well. 

Banff is not over yet, there are more sessions to attend and opportunities to gain more insights because as Ted Sarandos Co-CEO & Chief Content Officer at Netflix stated the gatekeepers are looking for the best in class of everything.