The National Film Board of Canada announced last week that it’s facing a 10 percent cut in its annual Parliamentary appropriations over the next three years. The publicly funded org, which has supported many Oscar-winning animated shorts over the years—including the 2012 award-winning Wild Life by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby and Sunday by Patrick Doyon, will face job and production cuts as a result of the hefty $6.68 million cut to the taxpaper subsidy. NFB has funded 72 Oscar-nominated shorts in the past 73 years.
NFB chairman Tom Perlmutter told The Hollywood Reporter that this loss will bring production cuts, a closure of cinema screens and reduced support for indie producers. NFB will have to cut 73 full and part-time positions and close cinemas in Toronto and Montreal to absorb the latest cuts.
“There will be an impact such as the loss of the viewing stations and the cinemas, the reduction in scope of our aid to independent filmmakers, and the cuts to festivals and events,” Perlmutter noted.
He added, however, that the NFB will continue to support worthy projects that will be in the running for Oscars.
