Netflix could soon announce the start of original Quebec films. The American giant has just signed an agreement with Attraction concerning feature film projects in French, which the Montreal company will develop and produce.
This is a “first look” type agreement, the first ratified by Netflix in Canada. According to the terms of the contract, concluded at the beginning of November, the production company behind Le temps d’un été (2023), L’arrause de temps (2021) and Mafia inc. (2020) is committed to presenting its film projects first to the popular subscription video-on-demand service, which has 247 million paying members in more than 190 countries.
This type of agreement, commonly called “First Look,” is widely used in the United States. The big studios come to an agreement with a few small, well-known production companies to ensure, in exchange for a sum of money, that they are the first to whom they will present their script sketches.
It was Netflix – not Attraction – which requested the meeting. Reached by telephone, the vice-president, fiction producer, at Attraction, Antonello Cozzolino, speaks of an “act of faith” not only towards the company for which he works, but also towards all Quebec creators.
For the moment, no title has been confirmed. “Our teams are under development,” however, Netflix management assures us. Are the chances good that an announcement will be made soon? Yes, answers Antonello Cozzolino without hesitation.
This agreement between Attraction and Netflix comes as the American company prepares to comply with the Online Streaming Act, which received royal assent last April. This law, the parameters of which will be defined in the coming months, will notably impose spending obligations on the various platforms so that they produce Canadian content on Canadian soil.
According to Antonello Cozzolino, the leaders of the Canadian side of Netflix, producers Tara Woodbury and Danielle Woodrow, based in Toronto, are “sincere” when they say they want to produce Quebec films in French. “They are very efficient and they are supported by their staff,” adds the producer.
For Richard Speer, president of Attraction, this alliance will “propel Quebec content on a global scale.”
So far, only one Quebec feature film bears the “Netflix Original” label: Until the decline (The Decline, in version translated into English). Released in 2020, directed by Patrice Laliberté and starring Marc-André Grondin, Guillaume Cyr and Marie-Évelyne Lessard, the survivalist thriller attracted 21 million subscribers during its first months online. And 95% of them came from outside the country, viewing statistics provided by Netflix revealed.
The Netflix-Attraction agreement will undoubtedly make some Quebec producers jealous. But for Antonello Cozzolino, this is good news for the entire industry, since by presenting film projects directly to Netflix, without taking the usual financing route, Attraction avoids asking public institutions (SODEC, Telefilm Canada) and “relieves an already congested ecosystem.”
“It’s just grist to the mill. It’s another opportunity for our creators,” continues the producer.
Netflix is not the only American giant with which Attraction does business. The company behind En direct de l’univers (Radio-Canada), Deux hommes en or (Télé-Québec) and L’amour est dans le pré (Noovo) also produces LOL: Who will laugh last? for Prime Video, Amazon’s video-on-demand service.
“Everyone is trying to get out of the game,” emphasizes Antonello Cozzolino. For us, it’s another pipeline.
“If we are able to develop a vein with Netflix, which can showcase our productions in 240 countries, we would be crazy to do without it. »
