State of Canada’s film industry a ‘heated’ topic at Yorkton Film Festival

Day two of the Yorkton Film Festival saw a panel discussion on the state of Canada's film and television industry. (Fruzsina De Cloedt/CTV News)

Canadian content continues to make a strong impact both at home and abroad. It’s because of this that industry leaders are calling for changes in order to keep up the momentum.

Speaking at the 79th Yorkton Film Festival, the president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund provided her insight into the country’s film and television industry.

Valerie Creighton pointed to a growing global appetite for Canadian stories and the success of recent productions.

“Canada is having a bloody moment. I mean, we really are. If you look at what’s happening out of our content community, you look at North of North. Anybody here heard of Heated Rivalry?” Creighton asked rhetorically.

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North of North is an Indigenous production, which tells the story of a young Inuk mother in Canada’s arctic. The series dominated Netflix, ranking in the top 10 most watched series in 27 countries.

Heated Rivalry tells the story of two male pro-hockey players who have a secret relationship while maintaining a public rivalry on the ice. The series originally aired on Crave in Canada but quickly crossed the border and took the rest of the world by storm.

Shortly after it aired, its fifth episode is listed among the highest rated episodes of all time on IMDB, currently ranking #21.

Creighton says those successes are being driven by authenticity, something she believes audiences are increasingly seeking out.

“Why they are successful is they’re totally unapologetic and authentic. People are looking for authenticity and people are looking for things that are real. And audiences are smart, they can smell something that isn’t all that authentic a mile away,” she said.

However, she notes that existing industry structures may sometimes limit creativity. Creighton is calling for changes to better support creators and allow for more organic storytelling.

“We’ve had that kind of tick all the boxes [system], and then a show gets made. [Instead] let the creators create, get out of the way and let them do what they do. And then you’ll get authenticity,” Creighton told CTV News on Friday.

Another challenge facing the industry is adapting to changing viewing habits, particularly among younger audiences.

Montreal-based filmmaker Daniel Cross says traditional television is no longer the primary platform for many viewers.

“Make Canadian stories for Canadians to consume and make them available. And that’s all done by television. But the younger people, they don’t even watch television,” Cross said, echoing Creighton’s views that some systems and policies need to change.

Despite these challenges, both Creighton and Cross agree the industry is evolving.

They say adapting to new platforms while continuing to support authentic storytelling will be key if Canada wants to produce more globally recognized hits.