The mysterious "Green Light"

In film, producers and screenwriters are always trying to figure out how to get the “green light” on their project. I’ve had a recent experience that allows me greater insight into the process. It comes from being the Chair, Chinese Canadian Advisory Panel to the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP). Our responsibility is to advise Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney on projects that address the history of the “Chinese Head Tax” and immigration restrictions.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, the "Head Tax" was an “admission fee,” levied solely on the Chinese, on those that immigrated to Canada. This lasted from about 1890-1923. Things got bleaker for the Chinese because when in order to stop any immigration, Canada instituted the “Chinese Immigration Act” (the Exclusion Act) which forbade almost all Chinese from immigrating, from 1923-1947. This was a dark time which we hope will never be repeated but yet must be remembered.

With a $5,000,000 fund, we have looked at projects with many perspectives, including artistic, legal, documentary and cataloguing. This is a competitive process and all of the selected projects show most, if not all, of the following attributes. It's an informal checklist that I've personalized.

1. Passion - do I love this idea? How much? Do I love it enough to spend 1, 10, 20 years trying to put this together?

2. Research & Knowledge – Is this a subject I really understand or the people I want to work with understand to a great depth?

3. Bureaucratic considerations – How much red tape do I have to go through in order to make this happen and do I want to go through it?

4. Community Support – How does the affected community feel about this and are they important to the project’s success?

5. Non-community interest - Will this project transcend local concern?

6. Credibility & Experience – Are the people who are proposing the project know what they’re doing or be able to convince others that they will be able to achieve their goals?

7. Creativity – Are we looking at something in a unique way?

8. Financing – Where is the money coming from? Am I expected to foot the entire bill, is there any other potential sources of funds?

When I think about broadcasters and film funding bodies I have dealt with, their decision-making is similar to how I address the issues above. Now in order to have a project go ahead, it is not necessary to score high on every single point but it is necessary to be able to address most of them in a realistic fashion.

For any of you that have a project idea that fits, the CHRP has just announced a new call. Details can be found at: CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Addressing the above is no guarantee of a "green light," but it is another tool you can use in trying to get inside the mind of the decision-makers.