The National Film Board (NFB) has announced the closure of its interactive studios in Vancouver and Montreal in order to reinvest approximately $3.5 million within the institution, particularly in the additional production of documentaries and animated films.
The decision, which will come into force on February 22, means the loss of 14 full-time positions but also the creation of half a dozen new jobs, the ONF said in a press release on Monday.
Founded in 2009, the interactive studios acted as an incubator for immersive and interactive artistic proposals, producing more than 200 innovative works and collaborating with more than 500 artists. The NFB has particularly explored the narrative possibilities of the web, mobile devices, installations, performances, social networks, and virtual, augmented, and mixed realities.
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“This is not a Ceremony” (2022) is a virtual reality cinema experience dreamed up by writer-director niitsitapi Ahnahktsipiitaa (Colin Van Loon).
Photo: NFB
An insult'intelligencesaid director Vali Fugulin
Today, the private sector has taken over and produced a number of significant works. For its part, the ONF fulfilled its mandate and asked the institution to explain its decision.
In 2009 we were pioneers in this field; “Today it is clear that we would have to at least double the studios’ current budget to fully comply with this mandate,” added Commissioner Suzanne Guèvremont.
However, Vali Fugulin, director and creator of interactive experiences who held a two-year residency at the NFB, has difficulty understanding the institution's decision. This press release is an insult to the secret services, she explained at the microphone of Ariane Cipriani, cultural columnist for the program Le 15-18 on ICI Première.
It's like saying, “The NFB has been making documentaries for 75 years, let's stop it because the private sector has taken over,” she says. But no; What is being done in the private sector complements what is being done in the NFB. The two must coexist.
We are losing a model organization that helped the NFB gain new reputation worldwide.
According to the director, content produced by interactive studios has enjoyed significantly greater popularity than documentaries and animated films in recent years.
[Pour le jeu documentaire] For Fort McMoney, which was produced by NFB Interactive and Urbania, we're talking about a million visits. Do Not Track, another project, also has a million visits, she pointed out.
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The NFB assures that the amounts released by the closures, amounting to an additional $1.5 million, will be reinvested in the production of documentaries and animated films, as well as $2 million in innovative initiatives aimed at improving our production and Improve sales methods and increase audience engagement.
Productions that make you think
Notable productions from the NFB's interactive studios include the virtual reality experience CHOM5KY vs CHOMSKY: a curious conversation about artificial intelligence from director and producer Sandra Rodriguez.
Equipped with a virtual reality headset, the public was invited to interact with an artificial creature inspired by famous American linguist Noam Chomsky for an in-depth discussion about how machine learning works.
Also worth highlighting are the Museum of Symmetry, an application that offers a virtual reality adventure game in the world of cartoonist and animator Paloma Dawkins, or Fort McMoney, a real-time documentary game in which the public was invited to take control of Fort McMurray to take over. Alberta, the third largest oil reserve in the world.