They haven't issued their final cut yet, but the District of North Vancouver may fade out of their decade-long relationship with the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival.
The district approved grants for a dozen cultural events Monday, but stopped short of passing a $14,000 funding request for the film fest - at least for the time being. Council is planning to revisit the issue at a Jan. 20 meeting.
"Every group doesn't get a continuous trip to the trough," said Coun. Roger Bassam.
The district initially funded the festival with the notion that the grant was seed money, which would enable the event to be selfsufficient, said Bassam.
The festival typically screens between 40 and 50 films and includes a speaker series and photo competition, drawing approximately 5,000 moviegoers to North Van theatres. The festival's estimated budget is $153,500.
The funding request was strongly recommended by an advisory committee working through the North Vancouver Arts Office. Council's relationship with the committee provided a point of contention for council.
"I won't simply blindly rubber-stamp committee reports when it comes to spending money," Bassam said, adding that he thanked the committee for their work.
Recalling a previous incident where an advisory committee resigned after clashing with council, Mayor Richard Walton urged his colleagues to approve funding for the festival. "We're second guessing them publicly," he said of the arts office committee.
The committee simply worked within the guidelines provided by council, according to Coun. Mike Little. "I would vote against it if there was evidence they had not followed policy, and there is no evidence of that here," he said.
"This is an advisory committee, it isn't a dictating committee," disagreed Coun. Alan Nixon. Nixon said he despaired at granting $14,000 to the film festival, particularly in light of how many free events are offered.
Council also elected not to grant $5,000 to the Kay Meek Centre for On A First Name Basis, a new play by Norm Foster. The request to fund a West Vancouver event vexed many councillors. "It galls me quite frankly when the District of West Vancouver can blow its horn (about) a zero per cent tax increase, and yet doesn't have enough money to fund Kay Meek," Nixon said.
Many North Vancouverites make trips to Kay Meek, according to Walton. "When it comes to the arts. .. there are no boundaries on the North Shore," he said.
All grant costs are slated to be split between the City and District of North Vancouver. Council approved 12 funding recommendations at Monday's meeting, including granting $12,000 to the Capilano University Foundation for North Shore Jazz.
The Smith Foundation received $8,500 for the upcoming Gu Xiong exhibit.
The Lynn Valley United Church saw its grant request declined. The church was planning to put $5,000 toward a weekly performance series dubbed Friday Night Live. The jury cited lack of accountability as a reason for the rejection.
The Vancouver Waldorf School was also left singing an unhappy tune Monday. Facing flagging membership, the choir applied for $1,000 to subsidize a recruitment drive. Noting the plethora of choral options in North Vancouver, the jury elected to turn down the request.
