NFBlues by MATTHEW HAYS The NFB--the crown corporation assaulted by multiple cuts over the past decade--was again under assault this past week, this time over rumours that the latest recommendations concerning government film funding included further cuts to the organization. The furore began Friday (Jan. 8), when a front-page Globe and Mail article revealed that Heritage Minister Sheila Copps was considering "a proposal to shut down large parts of the NFB and turn its assets over to a fund that would invest in privately produced movies." The suggestions in the article strike to the heart of the debate about our national film culture; should Canadian tax dollars be going to support the superb animation and documentary projects the NFB has generally been responsible for, or should the money go to the sexier dramatic feature film side of things? While the NFB has a solid track record (including 10 Oscars in its 60-year history), it has understandably taken a lower profile in recent years (due to the severity of its cuts). One could see talk of downsizing the NFB's role (if not shutting its doors completely) as part of the worst suspicions of conspiracy theorists, who argued from the beginning that slashing the crown corporation's budget was a way of crippling it and making it largely redundant--thus easier to slice away entirely. Sources at the NFB tell me the Globe article is rife with errors, and Quebec's superproducer Roger Frappier, who served on the committee in question, stated bluntly on Friday that there was never any suggestion during meetings that the NFB be abolished. The suspense will end next Thursday, January 21, when the recommendations of the committee will be made public. At First Sight, which opens Friday, January 15, features Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino in one of those rather treacly based-on-a-true-story romance films which best belongs in a Sunday-night made-for-TV movie time slot. The two stars have a certain charisma, but the script, which involves the blind Kilmer gaining his vision and then losing it again, is a no-brainer, with few or no surprises. A far more unusual romance can be found at the Cinéma du Parc (also this Friday) with Sixth Happiness, the self-told story of novelist Firdaus Kanga, an Indian lad born with a brittle-bone disease which constantly imperils his health and impedes his growth. Kanga plays himself in a delightful performance, laying bare his own "fictional autobiography," in which he deals with his tortured father and his own homosexuality. A truly unusual film which rises to the level of the best of indie British filmmaking. Ted Demme's (nephew of Jonathan) latest feature, Monument Avenue, also opens at the Parc on January 15. Denis Leary stars as a troubled young Boston lad who, after witnessing the mob-style murder of one of his close friends, must decide exactly how he's going to get revenge. Demme captures the rather rough-and-tumble life of this Boston milieu, but like his last film, Beautiful Girls, Monument Avenue feels far too slight. Good atmosphere, but ultimately there's something missing. The Montreal Women in Film group will launch its 1999 speaker series with guest Madeleine Lévesque, director of original production for Teletoon, who will discuss new trends in animation. The talk takes place this Wednesday, January 20, at 5:30 p.m. at the Bistro Room, Marché Movenpick, Place Ville-Marie (University/Cathcart entrance). Admission $5, $8 non-members. Info: 733-3098. COMMENTS: matt_hays@babylon.montreal.qc.ca