CUPE Quebec congratulates the National Film Board of Canada, NFB, on winning the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film on Sunday. Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski were in Los Angeles to accept the Oscar for The Girl Who Cried Pearls.
“Congratulations to everyone at the NFB! This isn’t the first Oscar for the NFB and all its artists, but we fear it could be one of the last. The government keeps cutting the NFB’s budget. This is a good time to remind them that we need adequate, stable, indexed, and ongoing funding if we want to keep shining internationally,” said Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE Quebec.
This is the NFB’s 12th Oscar and the first for the two Montreal animators, although it is their second time on the red carpet. They had already drawn international attention in 2007 with the short film Madame Tutli-Putli, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
“We are extremely proud to see how our members’ work helps Canada shine by supporting creators. However, the NFB is constantly struggling to keep up with its budgetary needs. Since 2002, the NFB’s budget has not been indexed to keep pace with inflation. We calculate that there is a $16.6 million shortfall in its budget. Without a sufficient and recurring increase to its funding, the NFB’s internal expertise, which is a fundamental part of its ability to support creators, innovate, and engage with the audiovisual industry, will be jeopardized. This is a serious existential threat to Canada’s cultural and political sovereignty,” said Olivier Lamothe, president of the Syndicat général du cinéma et de la télévision (SGCT-CUPE).