Overview
- The Government of Canada signed updated audiovisual co-production treaties with the United Kingdom and Spain at TIFF on Monday, replacing accords from 1975 and 1985 and reflecting modern production practices.
- The treaties let qualifying UK and Spanish co-productions access each country’s public funding, tax incentives and the same treatment as domestic productions to ease financing and distribution for joint projects.
- Ottawa has pledged an annual support envelope of about $600 million for the audio and audiovisual sector but has not yet set a timeline or spelled out which companies or programs will receive the funds.
- Canada pushed the treaties as a way to diversify international partnerships after strained trade talks with the United States that included disputes over Bill C-11 and demands for streamer ‘discoverability’ and U.S. measures to keep production domestic.
- The deals must still be ratified in both countries before they take effect and build on Canada’s long history of treaties with nearly 60 partners, a network that officials say will help protect jobs, expand market access and lower project risk for filmmakers.