Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:44:38 -0500
Subject: FW: APTN Media Release 08032005
From: Norman Cohn
To: Zacharias Kunuk
Madeline Adams
John Houston
"Murphy, Reuben"
"Keenainak, Rosemary"
"Campbell, Alex"
Nunavut Film
David Craig
Dave Forget
David Poole
Sandra Macdonald
Lucius Barre
Steph Rituit
Patricia Bell
Odile Nelson
oana spinu
The enclosed APTN press release speaks for itself. They don't seem to
understand their language policy any better than I do.
Like APTN, Isuma is dedicated to promoting wider access and
acceptance of Aboriginal languages in Canada and around the world.
Unlike APTN, Isuma has no guaranteed annual income; as a private
sector independent production company Isuma is obligated to make
films wider audiences really want to watch, and are willing to pay
for.
Our film, Atanarjuat, had the widest audience and acceptance of any
Aboriginal film ever made and was commercially successful for
distributors and broadcasters in 20 countries. This film is entirely
in Inuktitut, with sub-titles, and has not been dubbed into any other
language version anywhere on earth.
APTN's strategy of making FEWER films, but dubbing these into MORE
languages, gets it backwards: it will build neither a 'wider
audience' nor a stronger aboriginal production industry. Twenty
language versions of the same film doesn't help one more filmmaker
get one more film financed; quite the opposite. And if Jean LaRose
dubbed Atanarjuat into English, French, Cree, Mic Mac and Slavey to
get a wider audience, he'd have to sell it to the Comedy Channel. As
Jose Kusugak, President of Inuit Tapirisat Kanatami was quoted
recently, dubbing Atanarjuat into English would sound like 'a bad
kung fu movie.' Is that how to build a future for Aboriginal
languages in the film industry?
----------
From: Producer Inquiries
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 09:34:38 -0600
To: Producer Inquiries
Subject: APTN Media Release 08032005
Hello Everyone,
Please find the attached APTN Media Release: APTN Plans to increase
Aboriginal Language Programming.
If you wish to have your email address removed from APTN's media
release distribution list, please reply
to this email with the word "Remove" in the Subject: line, and we
will remove your name from the list.
Thank you!
For immediate release
APTN PLANS TO INCREASE ABORIGINAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING
TO FURTHER PROMOTE, ENHANCE AND PROTECT
ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES IN CANADA
March 7, 2005 - APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) plays a
significant role in helping to promote, enhance and protect the
Aboriginal languages of Canada. To that end, APTN is moving forward
with plans to increase the amount of Aboriginal language programming
aired on the network through versioning.
"In the last 2 years, the network has been slowly asking its
producers to propose programming concepts that also offer a version
in one of the Aboriginal languages in Canada. APTN's Strategic Plan,
adopted by its Board of Directors, clearly seeks to promote and
protect our languages," explains APTN CEO Jean LaRose. "In a
submission to the Aboriginal Languages Task Force, the network has
clearly shown that the retention of our languages is linked to
exposure and use of the language. Television, as a very powerful
media, is a key component in ensuring the long term strength of our
languages," says LaRose.
In the various Requests for Proposals (RFP'S) put out in the last
year, APTN has been asking for Aboriginal language versions of
various programs. In order to continue to live up to its mandate to
protect Aboriginal languages, APTN will now seek to obtain more
language versions as well as the English or French versions in which
the programs are produced. In the past, sub-titling of programs was
used to version shows into either English or French. This form or
versioning, while acceptable for the English and French languages,
does not promote or enhance Aboriginal languages.
"To date, APTN has not promoted the Aboriginal languages to the
extent that it should. The Aboriginal production sector is still in
its infancy in many regions and we had to give time to our producers
to build the capacity to provide us with programming of high quality.
Now that the capacity is improving, we will move to also obtain
versioning of the programs in Aboriginal languages," states LaRose.
"While we have some constraints in our conditions of licence in the
amount of language programming that we can air, Aboriginal language
versions of shows produced in English or French will allow us to show
repeats of our programming in the Aboriginal languages while
respecting the terms of our licence. Furthermore, in the next few
years, Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) will allow viewers to choose
the language in which they listen to a program. With versioning
already done and part of our programming inventory, APTN will be in a
position to allow the viewer to choose the language in which he or
she listens to the program. We are confident that this will respond
to comments and expectations from our viewers across the country,"
adds LaRose.
Over the course of the last 18 months, the Board and CEO of APTN have
been meeting with producers, viewers and other stakeholders across
the country to seek their comments about the network. While most
viewers strongly support the network, many asked for programming that
is reflective of their region and language. Currently, APTN has
produced programs in more than 15 Aboriginal languages; however, the
greatest part of the language programming on the network has been in
Inuktitut. The network wants to add other languages to respond to the
requests from its audience. The current undertakings by APTN under
the terms of its licence stipulate that 60% of the programming must
be in English, 25% in Aboriginal languages and 15% in French. The
network intends to live up to its conditions of licence. Furthermore,
as it moves to increase advertising revenues to pay the producers for
the versioning and new and innovative programming, the network must
continue to appeal to a wide audience by ensuring that a broad range
of its programming is also available in English and in French. It
will also seek to obtain some of the programming that is produced in
Aboriginal languages versioned in either English or French.
"We are confident that once the producers understand that the premise
behind this policy is to promote all Aboriginal languages and not
marginalize them, the approach will be well received. As a network,
our goal is to broadcast programs in as many Aboriginal languages as
possible while respecting the conditions of licence established by
the CRTC. At the same time, APTN must be financially viable and this
means that it must generate new revenues to meet the obligations that
face it as it moves to increase its programming requirements and
license fees to producers," concludes LaRose.
About APTN:
September 1, 2004 marked the five-year anniversary of the launch of
the first national Aboriginal television network in the world with
programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples to share with all
Canadians as well as viewers around the world. APTN is a mandatory
service available in over 10 million Canadian households and
commercial establishments with basic cable, direct-to-home (DTH) or
wireless service. APTN broadcasts programming with 60% offered in
English, 15% in French and 25% in Aboriginal languages
