Canada

[MT-CA] Agreement on Audiovisual Co-productions

IRIS 1997-9:1/30

Esther Harlow

Institute of European Media Law (EMR), Saarbrücken/Brussels

On 23 September 1997 representatives of the Government of Canada and the Republic of Malta signed an agreement on audiovisual co-productions.

The agreement applies to all films produced by independent producers for exploitation in cinemas, on television, videocassette or by any other form of distribution, whether now known or to become known and irrespective of the film genre (feature film, animation or documentary), the length and the format.

Under Article 3(1) of the agreement, the proportion of the co-producers’ respective contributions to a co-produced film may vary between 20 % and 80 % of the final costs of the film. The technical and creative contributions should be in proportion to the investment.

The producers, scriptwriters and film directors, as well as the technicians and other participating production personnel must be Canadian or Maltese citizens or persons permanently residing in either of the Contracting States. Any departure from this principle is subject to the joint approval of the competent authorities of both countries, namely the Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Maltese Minister of Education and National Culture.

Article 7 of the agreement stipulates that the original soundtrack of the film must be produced in English, French or Maltese. Dubbing or subtitling must be carried out either in Malta or Canada. Here, too, any exceptions are subject to the approval of the competent authorities of both countries.