The Anti-Young People F**king Act

Canada's generous subsidies for home-grown filmmakers—no matter how weird—have always been a mystery to me. I see they've become a mystery to Canada's Tory government as well. Charlie Smith writes on Bill C-10, a law that seemingly restricts funding for films "contrary to public policy."

At the centre of the uproar is a small Canadian film called Young People Fucking, which will open in Vancouver on Friday (June 13). The $1.4-million movie has a lot more to do with relationships than with carnal pleasure, but its title has raised the ire of religious conservatives, including Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition. For Steven Hoban, the producer of Young People Fucking, this is a serious affair that could have an impact on all Canadian filmmakers and the crews that work on their productions.

Hoban told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview that his film has $80,000 in federal tax credits, which is a relatively small percentage of the budget. There is an additional $120,000 provincial tax credit, Hoban added. In addition, Telefilm Canada owns a 30-percent equity stake. He noted that if the federal government were to deny his federal tax credit, it wouldn't be catastrophic for him financially. He could probably take out a second mortgage on his house to cover the debt.

"But the real problem would be the next movie I go to finance or any other Canadian producer goes to finance," Hoban said. "The bank is going to say, 'We're not going to bank your tax credit. We can't count on banking it because Young People Fucking didn't get the tax credit at the end of the day, and we don't deal in risks. We only deal in certainties, because we're a bank.'"

More on movie censorship (of the voluntary, not-tied-to-taxpayers kind) here.