Insights

What changes when we start with audience? Annelise Larson examines how people find stories and what makes them care enough to stay, connecting audience relationships with the wider questions facing screen media and cultural policy.

Annelise Larson 5/20/26 Annelise Larson 5/20/26

Playback Op-ed: Canadian Screen Policy Must Rethink Audience Approach

Making a Canadian film available doesn’t mean it has reached the people most likely to care about it. In this May 20, 2026 op-ed for Playback, Annelise Larson argues that audience strategy belongs at the beginning of a project. She calls for flexible release pathways and measures of success that reflect each film’s cultural purpose, backed by shared learning across the sector.

Navigating the Shifting Screen in an Era of Policy Reform

As Canada’s screen sector enters a rare moment of policy reform, the Navigating the Shifting Screen report argues that Canadian films need more than support for production or visibility. They need flexible audience pathways, stronger community infrastructure, better data, and systems designed to help stories reach people where they already are.

The New Audiovisual Panel Is a Vital Step, But We’re Still Building Policy for a System That No Longer Exists

Canada is modernizing its screen institutions, but the bigger challenge is modernizing the assumptions underneath them. Audience Reality Check #1 explores why future-ready policy must bridge legacy systems, digital creators, and the real ways audiences are built today.