Membership to the Directors Guild of Canada is at the sole discretion of the DGC.
- You have a signed Director’s contract from a DGC Signatory production.
OR
- You have a Director credit for at least 75 minutes of commercially exhibited* content.
For the production(s) to qualify, the following criteria must be met:
- initial commercial exhibition of the production(s) took place within the five years immediately prior to the date of application for DGC Membership; and
- the production(s) must be in a genre and format defined within the DGC collective agreements.
OR
- You are an Independent Feature Filmmaker with at least one Feature Film programmed in at least two film festivals on the Academy of Canadian Cinema Recognized Festival list within the last 5 years.
AND
- You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
*In order to be considered commercially exhibited, the work must have been broadcast by a national broadcaster or streamer and have either a licensing agreement or commissioning agreement. In the case of a theatrical release, the work must have been released through a distributor into theatres to a paying audience.
**Click here for a list of recognized film festivals.
Dues
There is a one-time initiation fee of $1,500 and annual dues of $750. Annual dues can be paid all at once or quarterly ($187.50). At the time of joining you must pay the full initiation fee plus one quarter annual dues. The remaining balance will be subject to the deadlines of the quarterly dues payment schedule.
New Member Fee: $1,500
Annual Dues: $750 (can be paid $187.50 a quarter)
Payment when joining: $1,500 + $187.50 = $1,687.50
Application
- DGC Director Application Form
- Individual RRSP form. Membership includes becoming part of a group retirement savings plan. This form must have the original pen and paper signature and must either be mailed or dropped off to your local DGC office
- NRSP Corporation Form. If you are incorporated and wish to have your payroll routed to your corporation, you need to fill this out as well as the RRSP form above. This must also have the original pen and paper signature and must either be mailed or dropped off to your local DGC office
- Certificate of Incumbency Form
Please send the completed forms to your local DGC District Council office.
Payment
Once your application is approved, your payment options are:
- Online through your personal online banking system and choose the Directors Guild of Canada as a payee. It will ask you for a membership # for which the default is “999”
Once you are accepted into membership you will receive a membership package that will include: Membership number, RRSPs contact information, Health and Welfare benefits enrolment package. You will also receive a welcome email connecting you to the director representatives nationally and in your region.
Before making a payment or applying to become a Director Member, please contact Francine Deschepper at fdeschepper@dgcmaritimes.ca.
If you have any questions or would like more information about joining the DGC as a Director, please contact:
Hans Engel
National Directors Division
hengel@dgc.ca
416-482-3825
1-888-972-0098
