Saskatchewan Filmpool temporarily shutting down amid financial strain

A co-operative that assists filmmakers in Saskatchewan is set to temporarily close its doors amid what its president says is unsustainable financial strain. 

The Saskatchewan Filmpool Cooperative, better known as Filmpool, provides its approximately 70 members with training, tools and equipment to help them make films in the province. 

It has been operating for 47 years, but the organization recently informed its members that it will be temporarily shutting down.

The closure will be effective Oct. 1, but Filmpool says it's planning to reopen on April 1, 2025. 

A deficit of approximately $60,000 is the reason for the decision, according to Filmpool president Mattias Graham.

"The deficit is too large at this point, and we need to make sure that we're meeting our stakeholders' needs," Graham said Thursday in a Zoom interview from Montreal, where he currently lives.

The deficit has shrunk from the $100,000 first reported to Filmpool's members in March, but the temporary shutdown "ensures us that we have a fully balanced budget by April 1," he said.

It will also allow Filmpool's executive and members to work with a consulting company. The aim is to come up with a new strategic plan, hire a new director and resume services that will allow the organization to be financially sustainable, Graham said. 

Gerald Saul, a longtime member of Filmpool and a director with the organization, said the news of the shutdown was shocking. 

"It is a place that will support people that want to work with film, want to make films, but maybe they don't fit into the usual categories — maybe they don't fit into the way the industry is shaped, but they want to be creative in some other way," said Saul. 

He admits there have been concerns about a shutdown because other arts organizations are experiencing similar problems. 

After getting more information at the organization's annual general meeting this week, Saul said he feels confident Filmpool will get back on its feet. 

The decision to shut down has not been without its difficult moments, said Graham. The organization has had to notify its staff that they will be laid off. 

"We worked really hard to avoid this. It's really the last thing we wanted to do, but it's necessary due to our financial situation," he said. 

While the organization will be closing, that doesn't mean it will stop providing services. Graham said it's open to volunteer services on an ad hoc basis in order to keep helping filmmakers.

"I have a career here in Montreal and it's all owed to the support I received as a filmmaker," Graham said. 

"I think you see in our membership that everyone has this sort of story and connection, and it's hard to see the organization and the difficulty it's been in the past while."