FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| NEWS First State of Our City Report to be released Can Calgarians afford to own a home? Do we feel healthy? Is the air we breathe clean? These questions and others are addressed in the city's first-ever State of Our City Report, to be released later this month. The report was created by a group of over 200 citizen volunteers over the past two years. It focuses on Calgary's quality of life and long-term health and vitality. A comprehensive set of 24 indicators was selected by volunteers in a series of meetings. Five report sections address Economy, Health and Education, Community, Natural Environment and Resource Use. More than 200 North American communities have undertaken similar indicator projects, and Calgary's group drew on their experiences. The report's release on April 24 at 7 p.m. at the Uptown Theatre will launch this year's Sustainability Forum, continuing April 25 and 26 at the University of Calgary. Funded by Health and Environment Canada's joint Community Animation Program, the forum is the second annual event. For more information call 270-0777, send e-mail to sustcalg@telusplanet.net, or visit the Web site at http://telusplanet.net/public.sustcalg Bottlescrew Bill's wins local pub contest The Calgary chapeter of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the winner of its annual Pub of the Year contest - Bottlescrew Bill's. CAMRA (an offshoot of the UK-based association) rated pubs according to the variety of draught and bottled beers available for consumption; how the beer is served and cared for; the variety and quality of food served; and knowledgeability, friendliness and efficiency of the staff; and the sometimes indefinable quality called atmosphere. CAMRA is dedicated to the responsible appreciation of of natural, pure, additive-free ales, beers and lagers in al their traditional styles. Bottlescrew Bill's recently raised more than $1,200 for The Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter during its annual Carnival of Beers. The money was raised through a putting contest held during the carnival as well as ticket proceeds from Beerfest 1998. Film and video industry sets sales record Canada's independent film and video industry has set another record for annual sales in the wake of soaring sales to foreign markets. Film and video production revenues reached $867.6 million in 1995/96, up 8.8 per cent from a year earlier and the third straight large annual increase. programming accounts for the majority of foreign sales. Foreign sales, the fastest growing area of the film and video industry, were $82.8 million in 1991/92. They doubled over the following three years before doubling again in 1995/96, and may actually be understated because sales to foreign markets are also made through Canadian distributors. Without the growth in foreign sales, production revenue would have declined by $87.4 million. Despite this activity, industry profits fell for the second straight year in 1995/96. They were down 10.6 per cent to $57.3 million, mainly due to a 10.2 per cent increase in operating expenses. Profit as a percentage of total revenue reached a five-year low of 4.7 per cent. Television production accounted for the largest component of direct foreign revenues. Combined sales for conventional, specialty and pay television reached $189.5 million. Total revenue for the independent film and video industry, including non-production sources, reached $1.2 billion in 1995/96, a significant increase from $1.1 billion the previous year. More than one-quarter of all revenues came from non-production sources including distribution of other companies' productions (and facility rental. Overall, non-production revenues increased by 9.5 per cent, slightly higher than production revenue at 8.8 per cent. Over the last year, the number of producers decreased by 16.3 per cent due to the consolidation of smaller companies. The revenues of the top 50 companies rose from $763.8 million, or 68.8 per cent of total revenues, to $978.7 million or 80.9per cent. Film and video producers reported 6,894 television productions in 1995/96, up 26 per cent from the previous year. The creation of a number of new specialty cable channels in 1995 may help explain the growth in the number of television productions. Pay and specialty services, as a group, reported growth of program acquisition expenses of 30.3 per cent from 1994 to 1995 to $265 million. The number of theatrical features produced reached a four year high of 53. The production of educational videos was up slightly, but this was outweighed by significant declines in the number of television commercials and corporate videos. Television commercials and corporate videos are the major production areas outside of film and television program production. The post-production industry, an important complement to the production industry, performs many activities that are integral to film and television production, including printing, editing, dubbing and the creation of special effects. Given its integral relationship to the production industry, it is not surprising to see a growth pattern in the film and video post-production industry similar to that in the production industry. The number of firms and the employment and revenues of those firms were all up sharply over 1994/95. The number of firms engaged primarily in post-production work was up by 72 to 226. The growth in the number of firms was strong in Quebec (with 9 new firms to total 55) but was even stronger in Ontario, where two-thirds of post-production activity occurs (38 new firms to total 123). Operating revenues grew by 21.1 per cent in the most recent survey year to $483.8 million, with a total growth of 68.6% in the last five years. Expenses also grew from $342.3 to $403 million, and profit as a percentage of revenues was 16.7 per cent for the industry as a whole. An increase in the production of special effects was likely a major factor driving the growth in post-production. Capital expenditures on new machinery and equipment in 1995/96 were almost $52 million, an increase of two and a half times over the capital expentidures 1993/94. This expenditure growth suggests the industry is becoming high tech and more focussed on computer-generated special effects. This release summarizes the 1995/96 results of censuses of 591 film, video and audio-visual production companies and 226 motion picture laboratories and post-production companies in the Canadian film and video industry. Mental health program and funding initiatives The province has announced the development of four province-wide mental health programs establishing a framework for the delivery of specialized services for Albertans with severe or persistent mental illness. The four program areas which will be the responsibility of the Provincial Mental Health Advisory Board are: · Forensic Psychiatry for individuals who are in conflict with the law and have been assessed with a mental disorder; · Brain Injury for individuals requiring long term rehabilitation; · Geriatric Psychiatry for individuals that have a significant disability and/or are difficult to manage in the general mental health or primary care system; and · Adult Tertiary Care for individuals with a complex diagnosis and a life pervasive disability. Each area will have a strong focus on improving service to individuals with a combined diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse. "Provincial programs will provide improved access to specialized services and will tie the critical mass of expertise to clients with the greatest need," says Health Minister Halvar Jonson. Jonson also announced several initiatives offered under the additional $9 million in funding for the 1998/99 fiscal year, including approximately $3 million allocated to enhancing acute mental health care for the Calgary Region. "These initiatives... show our commitment to increase the focus on providing services in the communities where they are needed," adds Jonson. |