The executive talked to us about the National Film Board of Canada’s work on backing non-fiction and strengthening ties with European partners, among other topics

(© National Film Board of Canada)

Cineuropa sat down with Nathalie Bourdon, director of Distribution and Market Development at the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). Back from Nyon’s Visions du Réel, Bourdon spoke about the NFB’s mission in nurturing documentary production and developing relationships with industry players in Europe and worldwide – a growing priority owing to the uncertainty brought about by the current geopolitical climate and the recent decisions announced by the US administration.

Cineuropa: Could you introduce the NFB’s mission to our European readers and talk us through its current focus, particularly in non-fiction?
Nathalie Bourdon: Of course! The National Film Board of Canada was founded by the Government of Canada in 1939, so we’re celebrating over 85 years of history. At first, we were something of a propaganda arm – filmmakers were tasked with introducing Canada to the world through film. But over time, we’ve evolved into a national public producer and distributor of film, dedicated to telling stories through the eyes of Canadian filmmakers. Since 1939, we have produced over 12,000 titles. Not all of them are alive and kicking, but we have a library of 7,000 titles we can still sell.

Our mandate today is to nurture talent, support production and distribution, and showcase the work of Canadian creators both domestically and internationally. Currently, we focus exclusively on auteur-driven documentaries and animation. We stopped producing fiction about 20 years ago. On the animation side, we function as a kind of laboratory – a space for experimentation and innovation, producing shorts and mid-length films that regularly appear at major festivals, and even the Oscars.

Roughly 75% of our work is done entirely in house. The other 25% is carried out through co-productions, primarily with Canadian partners. In those cases, we often serve as minority co-producers.

Recently, much has been said about Donald Trump’s decisions and the growing concerns among industry players. Have you seen any impact of this on your activities?
So far, we haven’t experienced any changes in our US sales. We’re already well positioned and curated for a number of platforms active there – Amazon, Tubi, Criterion, MUBI and others. Occasionally, we also license directly to broadcasters like PBS. That said, we’re aware that the appetite for docs in the USA is becoming increasingly niche. Big platforms like Netflix are commissioning fewer docs, and when they do, they tend to favour high-budget productions. However, since our content is already featured on niche and curated platforms, we haven’t seen any pushback. For now, it’s business as usual.

That’s reassuring. But more broadly, are you seeing challenges in terms of access or sustainability in the documentary sector?
Definitely. The documentary market is tough, especially at the high end. Streamers like Apple TV+, Amazon, HBO and Netflix are scaling back on non-fiction content, and when they do invest, it’s in large-scale productions. That’s just not the kind of work we typically do – we support films that are more auteur-driven, often made on tighter budgets. So yes, challenges exist, but we’ve been adapting by staying close to niche buyers and continuing to focus on international relationships.

Speaking of international relationships, how are you working with European partners, and what new partnerships are you hoping to develop?
We’re looking to strengthen our relationship with the players that buy documentaries, including major broadcasters. Europe is a natural partner for us, especially France, since 25% of our production is in French, and we are a bilingual country. We also have strong ties with ARTE France and its German division, ZDF, as well as with the BBC in the UK. I was recently at Visions du Réel, meeting with several of these broadcasters, and we had fruitful discussions. Beyond that, we maintain great relationships with NHK in Japan, and we work with buyers in Poland, Spain – which is especially enthusiastic about our documentaries and animated shorts – and other territories.

Let’s say I’m a European producer interested in co-producing with you. How would I go about it?
The first step is always to partner with a Canadian producer. That producer would then pitch the project to us. We’ve done this many times before – take The Whale and the Raven, for example, which was a co-production between Canada and Germany. The NFB was on the Canadian side, while ARTE was the main buyer supporting the German end. We then sold it to Canada and the rest of the world. From our side, we act as a co-producer, not a grant-giver. Our contribution might come in cash or in-kind services – we have in-house post-production facilities, including sound mixing, editing and more.

Do you also collaborate with other Canadian institutions and funds?
Yes, very much so. We see ourselves as part of a broader public ecosystem, and we work in close coordination with other government-backed bodies. When we’re part of a film’s financial structure, we’re treated as a full producer. We also operate NFB.ca, a geo-blocked platform offering 6,000-7,000 titles to Canadian audiences. Because they’re taxpayers, they can stream our films for free.

If market conditions in the USA were to worsen, would you explore other regions more actively?
We’re always observing and exploring. I can’t comment on politics, owing to my status as a government employee, but yes, we’re certainly looking beyond Europe – Latin America, for example, is an area we’re expanding into. Many of our films are subtitled in both French and English, and increasingly, we’re dubbing them into Spanish. We’re also exploring AI dubbing to make our catalogue even more accessible globally.

We have longstanding ties with buyers in the Middle East – Al Jazeera, for instance, is a loyal partner. They appreciate the international perspective in our documentaries, grounded in a Canadian worldview.

How could European professionals explore working with you?
If you represent a fund or film commission, I’d recommend reaching out to the NFB commissioner directly. On the other hand, if you’re a distributor or sales agent, then yes, please reach out to me. We often work with distributors for theatrical releases, since we don’t usually handle that ourselves unless approached directly by cinemas. At markets like Berlin’s EFM, I meet with broadcasters and platforms as well as distributors and sales agents – particularly those who understand their local markets.