The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) outlines a new strategic plan that aims solidify its place as Canada’s storyteller for another 85 years. The plan, released today, emphasizes a “country of contrasts” that is “united through stories.” It’s a very Canadian outlook as the current political climate marks a somewhat fragmented landscape drawn together by existential threats from down south.
“We positioned ourselves with a dual purpose to promote and preserve and reflect the Canadian sense of self,” Government Film Commissioner and NFB Chairperson Suzanne Guèvremont tells POV in an interview. “At the same time, we need to continue to be a galvanizing force for Canada’s creative community.”
In the plan, the outlook for national unity emphasizes a “clearer and more cohesive NFB identity.” That effort continues the Board’s mandate to address the diversity of Canadian experiences through regions, languages, and identities.
“The films that we decide to produce are a reflection of the Canadian landscape,” explains Guèvremont. “It would be very presumptuous if I can say that each and every story that we make at the NFB will reach each and every Canadian across the country, of course.” But considerations like impact and shelf life will help determine which stories the Board produces moving forward.
When asked how staffing changes and recent restructuring at the NFB could challenge the idea of cohesion, Guèvremont gently pushes against the perception of a centralized NFB. She notes that while the main office is in Montreal, which houses much of the Board’s post-production and technical and legal services, the organization still reaches across the country. “Our mandate is to be boots on the ground and to make sure that we get in touch with creators across the country, so the centralization is not really in terms of decision-making for stories,” says Guèvremont. “We do need to have a hub where most of the services are concentrated. But we’re in fact reaching out to creators and making the films, and being out there across the country.”
The plan builds upon a year of conversations between the Board, stakeholders, and industry organizations like the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), the Black Screen Office (BSO), and the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO). Guèvremont says that those conversations make the NFB mindful of making films that are timely, but also timeless so that Canadians can enjoy them for years to come. In this sense, the Board’s plan outlines four strategic priorities, the first of which is to shape the NFB for the next generations. This includes tapping into the ever-elusive youth market and exploring new modes for storytelling.
“They don’t consume as we used to,” Guèvremont says of younger audiences. “They’re not in front of their TV, watching television at a specific time, so the challenge for us is to make sure that we reach these younger audiences and that we test different formats.” This includes everything from exploring vertical storytelling to reflect the modes for expression and consumption that young people use on platforms like Instagram Stories and TikTok—something the NFB dabbled in previously with the 2021 Instagram series Otherly. “With our Innovation lab, we will want to test and evaluate and see how we can engage with these younger audiences.”
“That’s part of our DNA: to be innovative and to be bold and take risks.” – Suzanne Guèvremont
Guèvremont, who began her position with the NFB in November 2022, brings extensive experience working in the digital space, including as the executive director of SYNTHÈSE – Pôle Image Québec, a hub for innovation in computer graphics, and NAD-UQAC, the college of digital arts, animation and design. Guèvremont says that experience means she’s not afraid of new technologies, but she also understands the tools at the Board’s disposal to serve creators and audiences alike. “I can see where we’re going in that direction and I can challenge it. I think the NFB is in a position to be very forward-looking,” says Guèvremont. “That’s part of our DNA: to be innovative and to be bold and take risks.”
On the technology front, Guèvremont is pragmatic when asked about how the NFB will navigate the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in production. “We can’t say AI doesn’t exist and we can’t say ‘no’ at the Film Board,” she notes, adding that AI is already present in many tools and programs used by creators. “We are definitely working on a clear protocol on the use of AI within our creative works. For me, it’s pretty clear that AI needs to be in support of the creators’ artistic process. It’s not replacing anything. We will need to make sure that if we use AI in the creation process, we need to disclose it. We need to be fully transparent on where have we used AI and what was its purpose.”
While the plan entails exploring new forms, tools, and platforms, Guèvremont notes that some staples of NFB production and programming will continue to serve Canadian storytellers and audiences. “The NFB will continue to focus on documentary; any type of format: long, short, series,” she says. Animation will also continue to be a hub for creativity.
Guèvremont notes that the Board sees documentary series performing very well online. (Another pillar of the strategic plan emphasizes understanding audience habits to develop programming and engagement.) The trend reflects audience interests in doc series across different platforms. On the NFB front, Guèvremont cites the reggae serial Sounds & Pressure as one title that has performed especially well. Others include North Star and True North: Inside the Rise of Toronto Basketball.
While the emphasis on series marks a trend of concern with DOC’s 2023 Getting Real report noting a production shift across Canada favouring series over features, Guèvremont notes that feature docs will continue to play a healthy role at the Board. In fact, she cites Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story as a recent success story. The doc about the late transgender soul singer brings together an emerging filmmaker (Lucah Rosenberg-Lee) and a veteran (Michael Mabbott)), which illustrates the Board’s efforts to bolster the next generation of filmmakers while continuing to support veterans. Moreover, Guèvremont says the film’s design reflects the innovative approach to storytelling that the NFB provides in the Canadian space.
“We had to readjust ourselves during the production because unfortunately, Jackie died. We had all of these telephone conversations, which were absolutely amazing and beautiful, but we had no images, so we turned around and we brought in animation and things like that,” says Guèvremont. “That gave us the opportunity to actually bring this story to life in an original way that serves the story so much. It’s beautiful and it’s engaging.” Any Other Way also serves as a success story for the NFB over the last year with a Peabody Award under its belt, along with a win for the Rogers Best Canadian Documentary Award from the Toronto Film Critics Association.
Guèvremont also presented Jackie Shane’s story in her testimony at the CRTC hearings earlier in May about Canadian content. (This interview preceded the May 16 hearings.) During her testimony, Guèvremont used the film as an example of the kinds of stories that may be at risk under a redefinition of Canadian content, even though the tale about Shane, who spent most of her life in the USA, was made by Canadians, with Canadian money, and reflects a pivotal chapter of Shane’s life that played out in Canada.
“If we remove all the regulations, remove all the criteria and say, ‘Let’s just be an open market,’ for us, this is probably the worst idea because we are close to one neighbour that has a market that is much larger than ours,’” says Guèvremont. “We certainly cannot be shy of our distinctiveness and who we are and the stories that we are capable of telling across the country and to say that these stories won’t interest international communities.”
Other countries, Guèvremont notes, have a cultural test in place that can help guide which stories the NFB supports. “If that story is supported by Canadian public money, then we have to make sure that we see ourselves on the screen. Seeing ourselves on the screen is through stories is through landscapes, through [stars], through artists.”
Guèvremont also cites the NFB’s role in the conversation about preserving documentary among Programs of National Interest (PNI). “The NFB is the biggest documentary producer in Canada, but we don’t want to be the only ones. If we remove documentary from the Programs of National Interest, we are putting at risk this format of engaging and telling Canadian stories, which is very different from reporting or journalism,” says Guèvremont. “It’s part of our Canadian identity to do documentaries, and it has to stay there.”
When asked about how the Board will define documentary and if it will perhaps echo broadcasters like CBC, where staples like The Nature of Things are arguably slipping closer to lifestyle non-fiction, Guèvremont is adamant that protecting the integrity of documentary is part of the Board’s plan. “We don’t do these types of documentaries,” she says. “We will not go there.”
However, Guèvremont says the Board can’t shy away from what’s popular, either, if it wants to connect with audiences. “There’s nothing wrong about being popular because that means that a lot of people will see our documentaries. It’s audience engagement to the top,” she says. Recent NFB successes on that front include the Oscar nomination for To Kill a Tiger, which scored Canada’s first nomination in the feature documentary category in over 30 years. The success brought a Netflix deal and a new set of eyes to the NFB co-production about women’s rights in India.
“When we say high profile, high impact, the role of the NFB is absolutely fundamental to who we are and to make Canadian citizens well informed and educated,” says Guèvremont.
The subject of Canadian content inevitably brings the conversation to Donald Trump’s recent announcement to (somehow) enforce 100% tariffs on movies produced outside the United States. Guèvremont says the NFB will have to be vigilant because the move would affect the industry overall. But how that actually could come to pass is a different story. “It doesn’t make sense, actually, so for now, we’re not pressing the panic button,” she admits.
But Trump-related tumult also provides a good moment to release a plan that seeks to unify Canadians through film. “It’s an opportunity to reiterate the importance of our mandate and the role that we have in the preservation of our Canadian cultural identity,” observes Guèvremont.
Looking ahead, Guèvremont says she has two clear goals for the Board during her term. “I would love for the NFB to have elevated its awareness and esteem for the younger audiences,” she notes. The Board’s current Stream Canadian campaign, she says, helps on that front, as does the strategic plan’s emphasis on innovation and audience engagement.
The other goal, of course, entails getting the government to recognize the NFB’s role in Canadian culture by increasing its budget.
“I like to remind Canadians, creators, our stakeholders, or even our government that we cost less than one coffee per year per Canadian citizen,” says Guèvremont. “If you go to Tim Hortons and you buy one coffee per year, that’s the NFB. Of course, we would like to perhaps add a croissant or a muffin on top of that for the impact and for the value and for the heritage that we bring.”
Read the NFB’s new strategic plan here.
