$3.5 million from CRC

In December, the Canadian Retransmission Collective, a non-profit corporation founded by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, distributed over $3.5 million in royalties to producers. Over 200 crc affiliates received funds from cable operators carrying distant signals for the use of their productions.

This was the first-ever distribution by the crc, which plans to distribute an additional $10 million from its collections by the end of 1995. Cable operators have been required to pay producer collectives for the program content of the broadcast signals they market from outside their local reception area since January 1990. The amounts payable are set by the Copyright Board.

Doc deal for CBC

cbc has signed a documentary deal for a program featuring Major-General Lewis W. MacKenzie, the Canadian Commander of un forces in Sarajevo in 1992. Partly based on MacKenzie’s book Peacekeeper: The Road To Sarajevo, the two one-hour documentaries titled A Soldier’s Peace, will ‘investigate peacekeeping in the post-superpower vacuum.’

MacKenzie will be host and interviewer. The documentary will be produced by Screenlife with cbc, and executive produced by Mark Starowicz, Michael Maclear and Michael Levine.

Next Wave rolls in

b.c.’s Next Wave developmental drama program has issued its 1994 call for submissions. The program will fund and support the production of a low-budget first feature film. Entry forms are available from British Columbia Film and the National Film Board Pacific Centre. The deadline for receipt is March 31.

Two head for Berlin

bob’s Birthday, an animated short, and Out: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Youth, a documentary that promotes better understanding and acceptance of sexual orientation and sexual differences, will be screened at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, running Feb. 10-21.

Bob’s Birthday is the latest project from the London, Eng.-based team of Alison Snowden and Canadian David Fine, the creators of the Oscar-nominated George and Rosemary. It was coproduced by Channel Four in the u.k. and the National Film Board.

Out: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Youth is an nfb feature-length documentary directed by David Adkin and produced by Silva Basmajian.