Departmental Results Report 2020-2021

Results at a glance and operating context

The year 2020–2021 was marked both by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the important demands of Indigenous Peoples and underrepresented groups. The NFB adapted to this new reality by successfully implementing new approaches that allowed creators throughout the country to produce new works, while ensuring Canadians and the entire world could enjoy them.

In the course of this year, the NFB presented its 2020–2023 Strategic Plan, entitled New Ways of Storytelling for New Ways of Seeing, which will serve as our roadmap for telling Canada’s stories and reaching audiences everywhere in Canada and around the world. In creating new works, the NFB wants to enable as many voices as possible to be heard, and as many viewpoints as possible to be expressed. In distribution, we want to emphasize getting closer to our audiences, and improve their ability to connect with our works.

In addition to continuing to pursue its gender-parity objectives, in February 2021 the NFB presented its commitments to foster greater diversity and better inclusion of underrepresented communities, both in its productions and on its staff.

Results at a glance

Creation and innovation: Despite the pandemic, the NFB continued to produce audiovisual works and meet its responsibilities toward Indigenous, minority-language, racialized and underrepresented communities.

In 2020–2021, the NFB produced a total of 84 works: 48 documentaries, 24 animated films and 12 interactive works. NFB productions received 108 awards this year, 40% of which went to works created by women.

Reaching and engaging audiences: In terms of the accessibility of NFB works, 2020–2021 was a banner year. Views of NFB works surpassed 72 million worldwide and 36 million in Canada alone. In addition, 4.1 million students had access to CAMPUS, the NFB’s online education portal.

The vast majority of the NFB’s overall audience is online, with nearly 49 million views worldwide in 2020–2021, including over 12 million in Canada (up 53% from 2019–2020).

The NFB.ca/ONF.ca screening room now offers close to 5,400 titles to audiences in Canada and other countries. Indigenous Cinema, the NFB’s rich online collection of Indigenous-made films, now offers 415 titles for free and received over 480,000 views in 2020–2021.

An institution that reflects Canada’s richness and diversity: In 2020–2021, the NFB again met its main commitments to gender parity, Indigenous production and support for minority-language communities:

• of the 84 works produced, 40% (34) were created by women, 48% by men and 11% by mixed teams, with 1% undetermined;
• 14% of total production budgets were allocated to works by Indigenous artists, and 8% of the works completed (7 out of 84) were created by Indigenous filmmakers;
• 29 titles (35% of all works completed) dealt with subjects related to the lives and experiences of Indigenous people or presented diverse perspectives on numerous topics, including race, ethnicity, religion, culture, disability, gender and sexuality;
• 14 works were created by filmmakers from official-language minority communities.

A future-facing organization: In 2020–2021, the NFB finished moving its headquarters and its conservation rooms in Montreal, marking a major milestone in the organization’s history. The NFB also began discussions and consultations about its 2021–2025 Technology Plan, which will enable the organization to develop tools for remote collaboration on production and post-production and to update its information-management technologies.

In addition, the NFB worked on promoting diversity and inclusion within the organization, in particular by creating two new management positions: one of the incumbents will be responsible for equity and anti-racist practices and the other for Indigenous relations and community engagement. This year the NFB also published its Official Languages Guide 2020–2023, which is intended for all NFB employees.

For more information on the National Film Board of Canada’s plans, priorities and results achieved, see the “Results: what we achieved” section of this report. 

Operating context

The key factors influencing the audiovisual industry have been documented for a number of years. The most recent findings for Canada¹ show that Canadians are increasingly likely to turn to online platforms and connected devices to access the video and audio content that interests them. The ongoing evolution of technology, proliferation of distribution channels and availability of a near-infinite array of content are some of the challenges that affect the NFB’s ability to fulfil its mandate. In consequence, the NFB needs to adapt and innovate in terms of how it produces, promotes and makes content accessible to different audiences.

Beyond these major challenges, the relocations of the NFB’s headquarters and conservation room were the two events that had the greatest impact on the NFB’s operations over the last few years. The NFB’s employees devoted a tremendous amount of time and energy to carrying out these moves successfully. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the official opening of the new headquarters building, its public space and its screening room has been postponed until further notice.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the key external factors affecting the NFB’s ability to meet its projected targets for 2020–2021. The temporary closure of cinemas and the shuttering of public community spaces had immediate repercussions on the organization’s ability to reach audiences in public spaces.

Over the course of the last year, the NFB launched its 2020–2023 Strategic Plan, which lays out how the organization will renew its programming approach, enhance the experience of creation, and reinvent its marketing, broadcast and distribution methods, in addition to outlining the organization’s strategic commitments. Furthermore, the NFB presented its objectives with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion, aiming to usher in significant, lasting changes that will make the NFB an egalitarian, open and diverse organization.

Further affecting NFB operations are ongoing government priorities and various initiatives to modernize the federal public service. The NFB’s contribution to the policy framework “Creative Canada” (the latest government vision for the creative industries), diversity and inclusion, and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, along with the implementation of various government policies and guidelines (e.g., the management action plans in the wake of the NFB’s core control audit, the Directive on the Stewardship of Financial Management Systems and the Directive on Departmental Security Management), have all required additional resources.

Results: what we achieved

Audiovisual Programming and Production

Description:
The National Film Board’s mandate is to create relevant and innovative audiovisual content that interprets Canada and its diversity to Canadians and people around the world. The National Film Board works with filmmakers and artists from every region of Canada to produce exceptional documentaries, animated films, and interactive/immersive works rooted in Canadian experiences and realities. The National Film Board has long been a champion of technological and film innovation, both nationally and internationally. The National Film Board seeks to reflect the perspectives and experiences of communities that are systematically under-represented in the media and to develop innovative new storytelling forms and approaches.

 

Results:

After wreaking havoc with the Creation and Innovation Division’s activities during the first few months of 2020–2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had the effect of speeding up production for the remainder of the year. The year ended up being highly productive, with 84 original works completed, 45% of them directed by emerging filmmakers. The NFB again demonstrated its excellence in audiovisual production by receiving 108 awards, 40% of them going to female creators and their works.

The following paragraphs describe the NFB’s main achievements with regard to its core responsibility—audiovisual programming and production—in 2020–2021.

 

Diversity and inclusion behind the camera and on the screen

The NFB continued its efforts to achieve gender parity in its creations: 40% of the works completed in 2020–2021 (34 out of 84) were directed by women, along with 48% by men, 11% by mixed teams and 1% undetermined. In addition, 42% of these works were written by women, 49% by men, 8% by mixed teams and 1% undetermined, and 47% were edited by women, along with 50% by men and 3% by mixed teams.

Of the 84 titles produced in 2020–2021, 29 (35%) dealt with subjects related to the lives and experiences of Indigenous people or presented diverse perspectives on topics such as race, ethnicity, religion, culture, disability, gender and sexuality. Creators from official-language minority communities directed 14 of these works—four from the French Program’s Canadian Francophonie Studio and 10 from the English Animation and English Documentary studios in Montreal.

It should also be noted that in 2020–2021, 14% of the NFB’s total production budget was allocated to works by Indigenous artists, and 8% of the works completed (7 out of 84) were created by Indigenous filmmakers.

 

Reorganization of the Creation and Innovation Division

The Creation and Innovation Division continued its reorganization in 2020–2021 under the leadership of its new director general, Julie Roy. In order to implement one of the key pillars of the NFB’s 2020–2023 Strategic Plan—to offer programming that is cohesive, integrated and responsive—the Strategic Programming Forum was established. This body is composed of the Director of Production, the Director of Operations and the executive producers, and its objectives are to improve the process of deciding whether projects go into production and to build better knowledge within and synergy among the teams with regard to the division’s programming as a whole.

The pandemic also compelled the division’s teams to adapt their production methods to working at home, in isolation, and under constantly changing public-health restrictions. After a few months, by using lighter equipment to capture pictures and sound and by developing tools for collaborating on audiovisual production remotely, the teams brought their productivity back up to near-normal levels. This highly unusual situation also led to the emergence of The Curve, a new initiative to tell stories about the realities of people’s lives during the pandemic.

 

The Curve

The Creation and Innovation Division’s teams quickly launched projects in order to bear witness to the unprecedented realities created by COVID-19. The Curve: Social Distancing Stories That Bring Us Closer Together is a mosaic of some 30 stories told in animation, documentary and digital formats, through which over 40 creators attempted to give voice to people affected by the pandemic in every part of Canada, from the Pacific to the Atlantic and up into the Far North. This collection arose out of the public-health emergency. Its production was made possible by a flexible, dynamic creative environment, and it kept a large number of artists and creative partners employed. The Curve thus reaffirmed the NFB’s role as a storytelling witness to Canada’s collective memory, and underscored the relevance of its mandate as a public producer.

 

Producing works that offer original perspectives on Canadian experiences while building a strong bond of engagement with Canadian audiences

The NFB’s creators have produced a myriad of works representing the various cultures and voices that make Canada what it is. In 2020–2021, the NFB released the following major projects.

• The Magnitude of All Things, by Jennifer Abbott, addresses the themes of mourning and hope in a time of individual and planetary upheaval. It had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in September 2020.
• Inconvenient Indian, a documentary directed by Michelle Latimer, was launched in 2020 at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). However, questions were raised about Ms. Latimer’s Indigenous identity and background and, after obtaining the opinions of the film’s Indigenous protagonists, the NFB’s Indigenous Advisory Committee and its industry partners, the NFB, 90th Parallel Productions and producer Jesse Wente decided to suspend the work from the NFB’s active distribution list. The NFB is determined to follow the on-screen protocols and pathways established by imagineNATIVE, as well as the guidelines of the Indigenous Screen Office, and to respect the principle that Indigenous stories must be told by Indigenous artists.

Some NFB projects had to be delayed or postponed this year because of COVID-related lockdowns and public-health restrictions, including two projects involving emerging filmmakers: Seuls à plusieurs (now entitled Fire-Jo-Ball), by Audrey Nantel-Gagnon, a film produced under the NFB’s Repêchage initiative, and the fourth edition of Jeunes Pousses, the NFB Interactive Studio’s creative internship for emerging talents from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

 

Maintaining the NFB’s leadership in innovation

Despite this year’s highly unusual circumstances, the NFB pursued its mission of innovation by exploring new narrative forms and new media formats while staying attuned to audiences’ expectations. Here are descriptions of two especially innovative projects that the NFB completed in 2020–2021.

• Far Away From Far Away is the product of a collaboration between the English Program’s Quebec and Atlantic Studio and its Interactive Studio. This work, designed exclusively for smart phones, combines elements of interactive storytelling and visual podcasts to offer a contemporary interpretation of the transformation of Fogo Island. It was presented before the public in St. John’s in January 2021.
• Agence, an interactive work by Pietro Gagliano, explores the relationship between human and artificial intelligence. It was presented in official competition in the Venice VR Expanded category at the 77th Venice International Film Festival (September 2 to 12, 2020) and was accessible worldwide on the Venice VR Expanded online platform.

 

Strengthening strategic partnerships to support creation and engage audiences

The year 2020–2021 was a fruitful one for innovative partnerships that developed new ways of telling stories and interacting with audiences.

• Parliament: The Virtual Experience, a work designed by the NFB in partnership with the Library of Parliament, offers a virtual-reality (VR) visit to the historic seat of Parliament. Available online now, this work will soon be offered in schools as well. It has been available to the general public since May 13, 2020, and will remain online for 10 years. This work is also available as an interactive application.
• In partnership with Global Affairs Canada, the NFB created the art installation Traces for the Canada Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, originally scheduled for October 2020 but postponed to October 2021. Designed by KANVA in collaboration with artist Étienne Paquette, Traces raises awareness about the alteration of our ecosystems caused by climate change.
• Production of Second souffle began in 2020–2021 and will continue for several years. It is the third work created through the partnership between the NFB and Montreal’s Space for Life Museum. This immersive, interactive work, conceptualized by Mélanie Crespin and Alexandre Burton, is an ambitious flagship project of Montreal’s Botanical Garden.

 

Gender-based Analysis Plus

One of the NFB’s commitments for promoting diversity and inclusion is to give a voice to communities that are systematically underrepresented in the media landscape, whether in front of or behind the camera. To make this commitment a reality and reflect the Canadian social fabric, the NFB has taken several steps to ensure there is gender parity among creators and that Indigenous people and official-language minority communities have a space in which to produce works. Gender-based Analysis Plus is, of course, an integral part of these measures.

The NFB is working in particular on providing creators with new mechanisms for self-identification. These mechanisms will enable the NFB to do monitoring in an appropriate, respectful way and to strive to reaffirm and improve its commitment to increase representation of artists and partners belonging to equity-seeking groups.

In this same spirit, in 2020 the Creation and Innovation Division established the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) working group. This advisory committee consists of the executive producers and producers, and its mandate is to provide advice on issues of diversity and representation affecting BIPOC staff within the division, as well as on the projects that the NFB has in production.

 

Experimentation

Experimentation is part of the Creation and Innovation Division’s DNA, as its name so clearly indicates. The NFB has long been a world leader in innovative storytelling that applies emerging technologies and explores new narrative and visual formats, often by hybridizing genres and experimenting with new methods.

During the consultations held to develop the NFB’s 2020–2023 Strategic Plan, the Creation and Innovation Division’s executive producers and directors actively considered the approaches and actions that should be emphasized to improve the NFB’s programming and the “NFB experience.”

In addition, because some of NFB’s facilities remained inaccessible to most artists throughout the year, the NFB had to invent new ways of working together on audiovisual productions. Thus, in collaboration with the NFB’s Technical Services, Research and Development teams and IT, the production teams experimented with and developed new methods for collaborating on projects remotely, in both the production and post-production phases.

Lastly, in 2020–2021, with the support of the Creation and Innovation Division’s teams, the NFB continued to explore the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence (AI), such as the use of assisted production (neural networks) to apply creative styles to works, and the application of AI algorithms to enhance low-quality archival footage. AI algorithms were used, for example, to enhance the quality of digital capture for the production Mondes de glace, produced in partnership with the Montreal Planetarium, and to restore Norman McLaren’s animated film Neighbours in 4K. Also worth mentioning are Cyber Space and Chomsky vs Chomsky, two works in production that make incursions into the world of artificial intelligence.

 

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

As part of its mandate as a public producer and distributor, the NFB helps to promote living together in Canadian society. By extension, it helps to advance several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to achieve certain targets set by the Government of Canada.

Here are some ways that the NFB contributes to the SDGs in carrying out its audiovisual programming and production mandate.

SDG 5 – Gender equality: For the past five years, the NFB has maintained its commitment to gender parity and continued to meet its gender-parity objectives in terms of number of productions and production budgets. The NFB achieved gender parity in 2020–2021 for the key activities of scriptwriting (45% women, 46% men, 9% mixed teams and 1% indeterminate) and editing (47% women, 49% men and 4% mixed teams).

SDG 13 – Climate action: The NFB explores the issue of climate warming in its productions for the Ocean School learning experience, for example.

SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions: Through its works, the NFB acts as a catalyst for change and helps to pursue the common good and the well-being of society. In addition, the NFB has strived to improve the role of Indigenous people in audiovisual production by implementing its 2017–2020 Indigenous Action Plan. Lastly, in February 2021, the NFB made a set of firm commitments regarding diversity and inclusion in its audiovisual production activities.

The increase in actual spending versus planned spending for this core responsibility is due to funds carried-in from prior year because of:

• delays at year-end as a result of the pandemic that began in March 2020;
• salary indexation and rent increases;
• equipment purchases, in line with the NFB investment plan. These investments will allow the NFB to implement the technology required to connect virtually across all NFB offices and facilities, as well as the optimal technological tools required for the production of audiovisual content at a distance, initiatives that were sped up in response to COVID-19 restrictions.

The NFB managed the funding of capital acquisitions for 2020–2021 through cost reductions and additional operations savings from the slowdown caused by COVID-19. Therefore, no drawdown on the revolving fund was required for capital acquisitions in 2020–2021.

The increase in the number of full-time-equivalent positions resulted from the need for resources to administer and coordinate projects—most notably in technical services devoted to programming and audiovisual production, where needs were greater than during the previous year.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the National Film Board of Canada's Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Content Accessibility and Audience Engagement

Description:

The National Film Board strives to ensure that Canadians from all regions have access to its works across a range of formats. Understanding audiences and their consumption habits, making content available on a variety of platforms, and calling attention to National Film Board productions are thus intrinsic to the organization’s mandate. The National Film Board has a rich collection of over 13,000 titles that constitutes an essential component of Canada’s cultural heritage. Preserving these works for the enjoyment of Canadians and people around the world, both today and in the future, falls under the mandate conferred to the National Film Board under the National Film Act.

Results:

During this highly unusual year, the NFB successfully adapted to the radical changes that occurred in audiences’ viewing habits and made sure that its productions could be accessed online quickly and easily. Here are the results for 2020–2021.

Reaching and engaging wider audiences

In 2020–2021, the NFB launched its new strategic plan, through which it intends to reinvent its methods of marketing, presenting and distributing its works, with an emphasis on getting closer to its audiences. Thanks to the digital strategy the NFB began implementing 10 years ago, and the major online presence of its works, the organization was able to adapt quickly and successfully to the sweeping changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

All of the efforts made have borne fruit: this year, total views of NFB works exceeded 72 million worldwide, the third-best performance in the organization’s history. But it was in Canada that the NFB saw its best results, achieving an all-time record of more than 36 million views, up 12% from the year before.

The vast majority of the NFB’s audience is now online, with nearly 49 million online views worldwide in 2020–2021, including over 12 million in Canada (an increase of 53% from 2019–2020). What captured viewers’ attention this year was the online platform NFB.ca/ONF.ca, which put in its best performance of the past seven years, with over 4.4 million views worldwide and 3.4 million in Canada, a 65% increase over the preceding year. Views of NFB works on YouTube, Facebook, Amazon Prime and other NFB partner sites totalled over 42 million, including 8 million in Canada.

The NFB’s television audience in Canada represented nearly one-third of its worldwide total and hit a record of nearly 22 million views in the past year.

It is online that the NFB constantly strives to find innovative ways of distributing its works and reaching audiences wherever they are, building meaningful relationships with an ever-growing number of viewers. On social media, the NFB reached an important milestone this year with more than 1 million subscriptions on all platforms combined (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.). The NFB’s interactions with audiences were up 25% from the year before: the number of engagement actions (comments, shares, likes and clicks) on social networks totalled 4.9 million, almost 1 million more than in 2019–2020.

The public screenings category of NFB activities was most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For most of the year, in-person public screenings were replaced with virtual screenings, and the discussions normally held with filmmakers and other guests after public screenings were also held online.

The NFB’s presence at festivals was mostly virtual too, and the events planned for the opening of the NFB’s new headquarters and public space had to be postponed.

Promoting the NFB’s works and making them accessible

The NFB continued to enrich its online offerings in 2020–2021 by enhancing the holdings of the NFB.ca/ONF.ca screening room, where close to 5,400 titles are now accessible for free (up 10% from 2019–2020). It should also be noted that Indigenous Cinema, the NFB’s rich online collection of Indigenous-made films, now offers 415 titles for free and received over 480,000 views in 2020–2021.

To meet the growing demand for content during the pandemic, the NFB launched a social-media campaign that every week promotes new works by award-winning directors, produced by NFB studios across Canada. Some of the biggest hits with audiences this year included Where the Land Ends, First Stripes, How to Be at Home and The Rose Family. To generate engagement with all of these new works, the NFB produced several trailers for social media, while the combined efforts of its marketing and press relations teams yielded very good coverage in conventional media—slightly more than 20% higher than the year before.

Throughout 2020–2021, the NFB tested new distribution strategies for launching its works. Unquestionably, one of its greatest successes was The Curve, a collection of works presented at a single online destination, featuring 40 artists from across Canada providing their perspectives on the ups and downs of everyday life in the time of COVID-19. This special programming, with many new elements added over the months, generated nearly 200,000 views, thus becoming the NFB’s most successful project of the year. Also noteworthy was Andrea Dorfman’s animated short How to Be at Home, the most-watched NFB work of 2020–2021.

The NFB’s redesigned educational offering

As a leader in audiovisual learning resources in both official languages, the NFB adapted quickly to the new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic by presenting free online educational content to help families and teachers keep young minds active during this time of uncertainty. From March 27 to June 30, 2020, Canada’s parents had access to a special collection of NFB learning resources and landmark NFB films on the NFB Education site, while Canada’s teachers had free access to CAMPUS, the NFB’s online media portal for 21st-century learning.

The pandemic showed just how much the NFB’s educational offerings have become a reliable, accessible reference, for parents as well as teachers. In all, 4.1 million students had access to CAMPUS through their schools’ subscriptions this year, while the number of page views on the NFB Education site more than doubled from the year before.

The NFB Educator Network, a community of 50 education specialists from all over Canada, produced nearly 90% of the content offered on the NFB Education site, including blog posts, mini-lessons, educational playlists and study guides.

The NFB had planned to launch two new online learning programs in 2020–2021 but had to delay both launches, for different reasons. The launch of NFB Media School was delayed in order to make programming changes that will allow the NFB to reach all teachers at Quebec primary and secondary schools on a single platform. The launch of the Indigenous Voices and Reconciliation learning experience was delayed because of staff shortages and the need to adapt certain audiovisual resources.

Conserving and preserving the NFB’s collection

In 2020–2021, the NFB finished moving its conservation rooms and its digitization and conservation activities into a new building, where they are now fully operational, although they faced a certain slow down in their regular activities during this period. Thanks to new facilities and equipment incorporating cutting-edge technology, this relocation has opened a new era in the conservation and preservation of the NFB’s collection.

Having finished digitizing its active collection, this year the NFB continued to digitize its inactive collection and restore works from the active collection, so that they will be permanently accessible to future generations. To date, 85% of the works in the NFB’s entire collection have been digitized.

Gender-based analysis plus

In February 2021, the NFB presented its commitments regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. These commitments complement the steps that the NFB has already taken to support gender parity and official-language minority communities and to redefine its relationships with Indigenous Peoples, in both the production and the distribution of audiovisual works. Gender-based Analysis Plus is, of course, an integral part of these measures.

Through these commitments, the NFB will ensure that its productions reflect Canadian diversity and that all people in Canada, including underserved and remote communities, have access to a wide variety of voices and stories from across the country. The NFB has also committed to make films accessible to everyone by ensuring that every new film includes described video and subtitles. In addition, the NFB offers channels such as Indigenous Cinema and Diversity and Inclusion on NFB.ca/ONF.ca to promote the works of various communities.

Experimentation

The NFB experimented in many ways in 2020–2021, in particular through virtual public screenings and virtual film festivals. The NFB also tested new distribution strategies for launching its productions. Here are a few examples of successful experiments in which the NFB showed its determination to innovate, so that it could reach its audiences in various ways, wherever they may be.

• Otherly, a series of seven short documentaries by female, non-binary and genderqueer filmmakers, premiered in succession on Instagram Stories from March 15 to April 2, 2021. Throughout these two weeks, various kinds of content—such as stories, publications, augmented-reality filters and IGTV videos—were created to promote these films. In addition, an advertising campaign launched exclusively on Instagram generated over 22,000 views and nearly 2,500 clicks on the project’s Instagram profile.
• To promote the launch of its smartphone experience Far Away From Far Away, the NFB developed a multichannel approach in an editorial partnership with the National Post, in addition to a social-media campaign. The NFB also deployed a complementary national advertising strategy, along with awareness activities and an intensified presence on social media.

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

By providing access to NFB works dealing with a variety of social issues, and by interacting with its audiences, the NFB contributes to several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2020–2021, the NFB contributed to the following SDGs in particular.

SDG 4 – Quality Education: Through CAMPUS, its online media portal for the education community, the NFB offers teachers in every part of Canada access to a rich collection of films, interactive productions and teaching materials that help to foster media skills and world citizenship.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: Although its scope for action in this regard remains limited, the NFB strives to reduce social inequalities by giving a voice to the communities that have been systematically underrepresented in the media landscape, and by firmly committing to making Canada’s incredible diversity visible and encouraging a wider variety of perspectives.

The difference in actual and planned spending is the result of several factors, including:

• indexation of salaries and rent increases;
• funds carried-in from prior year, mostly because of film launches that were delayed by the pandemic;
• the cancellations or slowdowns of several activities due to the pandemic, including festival and markets for the launch of films, and activities in libraries and community events that required less technical support;
• an increase in spending due to capital acquisitions for the upgrade of digitization and conservation equipment, as well as the implementation of optimal technological tools required for the distribution of audiovisual content at a distance.

The decrease in results is primarily due to the cancellation or postponement of numerous activities as a result of health and safety measures required to counter the pandemic. The most affected activities are the following:

• Attending festivals and markets in order to help launch and promote films;
• Holding activities in libraries and events in communities.

These circumstances led to a decrease in the number of technical services required.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the National Film Board of Canada’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Internal Services

Description

Internal Services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal Services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support Program delivery in the organization, regardless of the Internal Services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• Acquisition Management Services
• Communications Services
• Financial Management Services
• Human Resources Management Services
• Information Management Services
• Information Technology Services
• Legal Services
• Materiel Management Services
• Management and Oversight Services
• Real Property Management Services

Results:

In fiscal year 2020–2021, the NFB quickly and successfully adapted to the new work environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization also presented its 2020–2023 Strategic Plan, entitled New Ways of Storytelling for New Ways of Seeing, and formulated its objectives for diversity, equity and inclusion. Lastly, the NFB finished moving its headquarters and its conservation rooms.

Adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic

On March 15, the NFB closed all of its offices, and working from home became mandatory for all staff. The organization quickly activated its institutional business continuity plan to ensure the continuation of essential services, two-way communications, employee pay, payments to suppliers and access to computer networks and systems.

The NFB continued its activities by using collaborative and remote work tools that were already in place across its offices. But to limit the impacts of COVID-19 on its production and distribution activities, the NFB accelerated the implementation of its 2021–2025 Technology Plan and deployed new technology solutions to encourage virtual collaboration among creators from various disciplines throughout Canada and to enable remote work in the production, post-production and distribution of audiovisual content, notably in a series of projects entitled The Curve. The NFB also quickly developed and implemented shooting protocols that met the public-health requirements of the various provincial and territorial governments.

Starting in June 2020, only people with an operational need to access the NFB’s technical facilities in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and St. John’s were allowed to do so. In this regard, regular communications with NFB staff were a key element in maintaining the teams’ cohesion and productivity. So were the weekly meetings of the National Health and Safety Committee and the work done by the Human Resources team and the Committee on Quality of Life and Mental Health in the Workplace.

The pandemic had some marked impacts on the organization of the NFB’s work and on its finances, but these impacts were mitigated by the emergency funding that Treasury Board granted the NFB to respond to the financial pressures that it was facing and to partly offset revenue losses attributable to COVID-19.

Promoting a work environment that fosters diversity and inclusion

In February 2021, the NFB presented its commitments and objectives in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, set out in a plan designed to make the NFB a more egalitarian, open and diverse institution. This plan complements the commitments that the NFB has already made to Indigenous people and gender parity, as well as its past agreements with minority-language communities.

This plan calls in particular for the creation of two new management positions: one of the incumbents will be responsible for equity and anti-racist practices and the other for Indigenous relations and community engagement. The plan also calls for improvements in hiring practices, and for ensuring an equitable place in the NFB’s programming for artists who are Indigenous, Black, racialized or LGBTQ2+, or who have disabilities.

In addition, this year the NFB held forums, consultations and training sessions on issues such as diversity and inclusion, systemic racism and recognition of Indigenous communities. The NFB also published its Official Languages Guide 2020–2023, which provides an overview of each part of the Official Languages Act and the rights and obligations it confers on all members of the organization. It should also be noted that for the second year running, the NFB received Platinum Parity Certification from Women in Governance, which is the highest level of parity recognition awarded by that organization.

Talent-management strategy

Over the year 2020–2021, in keeping with the NFB’s integrated talent-management strategy, the NFB defined its organizational values so as to rally its employees around a shared “language”.

To facilitate the integration and engagement of new employees, we began doing a monthly follow-up with all new hires to ensure that their experience is consistent with expectations they developed during the selection process. In addition, a discussion was begun on transforming the NFB’s approach to performance management into a value-add, both for employees and managers. Lastly, targeted communications were sent out to promote the NFB’s leadership-development programs and thereby field an agile, diverse team of managers who can develop the talent in their various divisions.

Operational and technological improvements

The NFB pursued various projects aimed at achieving continuous improvements in its work environment and in the technologies at its disposal. We completed the moves of our headquarters and conservation rooms in 2020–2021, thus bringing to fruition a long-term effort that had begun in 2012. We also began discussions and consultations around our 2021–2025 Technology Plan, whose three main pillars are to develop remote-collaboration tools for production and post-production, to develop the next generation of digital platforms for distributing the NFB’s works, and to update the NFB’s information-management technologies, in particular by implementing a business-intelligence system to improve decision-making and to support the achievement of the objectives of the NFB’s 2020–2023 Strategic Plan. The launch of this technology plan is scheduled for 2021–2022.

The Operation Reboot project was launched in summer 2019 to simplify and optimize the NFB’s work processes. This year, this project successfully overcame the payroll delays attributable to errors in the Phoenix pay system and improved the processes involving royalties and the financial management of the NFB. In 2020–2021, we also continued to carry out the action plan responding to the audit done by the Office of the Comptroller General, achieving 86% completion.

Lastly, the NFB implemented new cybersecurity measures to improve the protection of its technology infrastructure, and provided its employees with mandatory training matched to their tasks and responsibilities. The NFB also strengthened its health and safety protocols in response to the pandemic, providing training to employees who have to return to NFB workplaces, tightening access controls at the NFB’s various sites and providing better supervision for people who have to work alone in NFB offices across Canada. In the course of the year, threat risk assessments were conducted, and the analyses are in progress for all NFB offices and facilities throughout the country, which will make it possible to implement action plans for strengthening security measures in 2021–2022.

Internal services dedicated additional resources to several activities, including the following:

• Managing the response to COVID-19, which involved implementing a teleworking policy for most staff, sending communications, putting health and safety measures into place, and producing reports on the pandemic’s repercussions on the organization;
• Configuring internal satellite information systems, adapting them to the new SAP financial and material resource management system;
• Reviewing administrative processes with a view to automating and simplifying them, while also strengthening the organization’s compliance with government policies and directives.

Analysis of trends in spending and human resources

Actual expenditures

Departmental spending trend graph

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory spending) over time. The graph excludes current-year spending financed from the NFB revolving fund. The NFB revolving fund is available to finance working capital and capital acquisitions and is reimbursed periodically from the voted main authorities presented below.

For the relocation of its headquarters to downtown Montreal, the NFB obtained a total of $14.4 million in financing, of which $7.4 million was received in 2018–2019, $4.6 million in 2019–2020, and $2.4 million in previous years. These funds will be repaid through a $1.2 million reduction in the NFB’s annual allocation over 12 years, starting in 2020–2021.

Expenditures for 2020–2021 include $4.7 million allocated through supplementary funding for critical operational needs.

Forecast expenditures for 2021–2022 and subsequent years take into account adjustments for statutory salary adjustments confirmed in the annual review of reference levels.

Budgetary performance summary for Core Responsibilities and Internal Services (dollars)

The NFB authorities include budgetary expenditures voted by Parliament on an annual basis.

The NFB has also been granted the use of a revolving fund (non-lapsing authority) for working capital and capital acquisitions. The fund is periodically reimbursed through the voted authorities as directed by the Treasury Board.

In 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, in line with its investment plan, the NFB renewed technological equipment for audiovisual production and completed the move and upgrade of its digitization and conservation facility. Financing for these major investments was drawn from the revolving fund in 2019–2020 and from main authorities in 2020–2021.

 

Main estimates and planned spending for 2020–2021 include a reduction of $1.2 million for the repayment of funds advanced for the relocation of the Montreal head office. The reduction of $1.2 million began in 2020–2021 and is planned for 12 years, for a total repayment amount of $14.4 million. The NFB headquarters relocation project took place mostly in 2018–2019 and 2019–2020.

Main voted authorities of $72.9 million available for use in 2020–2021 include $4.7 million in funding for critical operating requirements as confirmed in the supplementary budget allocation. Main voted authorities available for use in 2020–2021 also include a $3.3M carry-in from prior year.

In 2020–2021, actual spending from main authorities totals $71.5 million and includes $5.3 million in expenses related to implementation of the technology required to connect virtually across all NFB offices and facilities, and the implementation of optimal technological tools for the creation and distribution of audiovisual content at a distance.

The NFB was able to finance the investments for 2020–2021 through cost reductions and additional operations savings resulting from the slowdown caused by COVID-19. In 2019–2020, expenses related to the investment plan amounted to $5.0 million, of which $4.3 million was financed through the revolving fund mechanism, allowing for repayment of these capital acquisitions over five years.

Actual human resources

Actual human resources for 2020–2021 reflect the pandemic’s effects on the organization. Resources devoted to programming and audiovisual production as well as internal services increased, while those devoted to accessibility of works and interactions with the public were reduced.

While there were no major interruptions to audiovisual production, large public activities such as festivals, distribution markets and community events were cancelled, leading to a reduction in the need for technical services. Digitization of the collection also saw a reduction due to offices being shut down for several weeks.

Furthermore, management of the COVID-19 response, including the implementation of remote work for most staff, communications efforts, and the adoption of health and safety measures, along with the production of reports on the effects of the pandemic, resulted in an increase in resources required for internal services.

In addition, a number of activities led by internal services continue to be carried out:

• Configuration of internal satellite information systems to adapt to the new SAP financial and material resource management system;
• Improvements in administrative and operational processes, adapting them to best practices in the audiovisual industry, while ensuring the organization complies with government policies and directives.

Projected human resource requirements for 2021–2022 reflect the implementation of a new organizational structure, including a national programming framework and a focus on technological expertise to speed up the development of platforms.

Expenditures by vote

For information on the National Film Board of Canada’s organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada 2020–2021.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the National Film Board of Canada’s spending with the Government of Canada’s spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The National Film Board of Canada’s financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2021, are available on the NFB website.

Financial statements highlights

Revenues

Revenues recorded in 2020–2021 were lower than projected and decreased in comparison to the previous year. The drop was caused by the pandemic, which resulted in a downturn in sales of audiovisual products and in the postponement of partnership projects.

Expenses

Expenses are stated using the accrual accounting method.
The difference between 2020–2021 results, forecast results, and the previous year’s results can be explained by the following factors:

• A decrease in external revenue;
• Increased costs due to salary revisions;
• Rental and amortization expenses for a full year at the NFB’s new headquarters.

The overall drop in net liabilities primarily resulted from payment for technological equipment for headquarters and the Conservation Room.

The decrease in total net financial assets was essentially the result of a reduction in external accounts receivable.

The departmental net debt represents the difference between total net liabilities and total net financial assets.

The net financial position of the department was improved due to the reduction in the department’s net debt.

Additional information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister[s]: The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, P.C., M.P., Minister of Canadian Heritage

Institutional head: Claude Joli-Coeur, Government Film Commissioner and Chairperson of the National Film Board

Ministerial portfolio: Canadian Heritage

Enabling instrument[s]: National Film Act, R.S.C., c. N-8

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1939

Other: The NFB Board of Trustees is composed of eight members: the Government Film Commissioner, who acts as the Board’s chairperson, the Executive Director of Telefilm Canada (ex-officio member) and six other members appointed by the Governor in Council. With the exception of the Commissioner and Executive Director of Telefilm Canada, Board members serve three-year terms. The Board’s primary role is to define the NFB’s broad strategic directions and monitor its results. It approves its strategic plans and budgets, among other items.

Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

“Raison d’être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do” is available on the National Film Board of Canada’s website

For more information on the department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.

Reporting framework

National Film Board of Canada’s Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory of record for 2020–21 are shown below.

Graphical presentation of Departmental Results Framework and Program Inventory

Supporting information on the Program Inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for National Film Board of Canada’s Program Inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on National Film Board of Canada’s website

• Reporting on Green Procurement
• Gender-based analysis plus

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA+ of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

National Film Board of Canada
1501 De Bleury Street
Montreal, Quebec H3A 0H3

Telephone: 514-594-8531

Email: reports@onf-nfb.gc.ca

Websites
NFB.ca
NFB institutional website

Social media
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Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3 year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité)
A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

experimentation (expérimentation)
The conducting of activities that seek to first explore, then test and compare the effects and impacts of policies and interventions in order to inform evidence-based decision-making, and improve outcomes for Canadians, by learning what works, for whom and in what circumstances. Experimentation is related to, but distinct from innovation (the trying of new things), because it involves a rigorous comparison of results. For example, using a new website to communicate with Canadians can be an innovation; systematically testing the new website against existing outreach tools or an old website to see which one leads to more engagement, is experimentation.

full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS+])
An analytical process used to assess how diverse groups of women, men and gender-diverse people experience policies, programs and services based on multiple factors including race ethnicity, religion, age, and mental or physical disability.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2019–20 Departmental Results Report, those high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the 2019 Speech from the Throne, namely: Fighting climate change; Strengthening the Middle Class; Walking the road of reconciliation; Keeping Canadians safe and healthy; and Positioning Canada for success in an uncertain world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)
What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)
The process of communicating evidence based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)
Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.