– Alberta antics

Still no word from the pmo on CanWest Global’s appeal of the Alberta decision, but the politics are escalating.

Speculation is running the petition will fall flat, but it seems an article by Maclean’s columnist Peter C. Newman has upped the ante. In the December issue, the 18-point pull-quote declares, ‘The crtc has deprived Canadians of an alternative and could destroy the tv production industry,’ with the surrounding article accusing the regulator of ‘destroying the last chance for an urgently needed third national network.’

Next, the full-page ad Craig Broadcasting has been using in Alberta dailies to explain its position and rally support appears in the Globe and Mail.

According to the Broadcasting Act, a verdict on the appeal must be reached within 90 days of the decision. Expect an announcement before the end of January.

The local production community remains trepidant, although some less so than others. Calgary-based commercial production house Creative Storm, which opened its doors last June, has announced it is expanding onto the tv and film scene.

Brent Wickes, who heads up the company with wife Nora Wickes, says they will develop their own projects as well as take on outside production work.

Wickes has two scripts currently in development – the feature Daughter Nature, a fantasy tale of a woman transformed into a supernatural entity, and a tv series called The Life of O’Rielly, the coming-of-age story of a farm boy who dreams of becoming a doctor.

– Canadians at Sundance

The National Film Board documentaries Power, from director Magnus Isacsson, Forgotten Warriors by Loretta Todd and Gary Farmers’ The Gift have been selected for the Sundance Festival, running Jan. 16-26 in Utah.

Forgotten Warriors premiered in November at the 21st Native American Film Festival in San Francisco where it picked up the Best Short Documentary Award. The feature-length Power, the story of the Cree Indians’ battle to stop a hydro project in Northern Quebec, is an nfb/Cineflix coproduction, and The Gift, a 20-minute video, depicts the Six Nations’ sacred relationship with corn. All three films are being screened as part of the festival’s Native Forum.

Alliance Communications also has a number of titles at Sundance, including Alex Sichel’s All Over Me, Mathew Carnahan’s Black Circle Boys, Hal Salwen’s His and Herb, Peter Wellington’s Joe’s So Mean To Josephine and John Greyson’s Lilies.

Lynne Stopkewich’s Kissed has also been selected for screening.

– People moves

Paul Robertson, former president of Baton Broadcast Sales, has been appointed the new president of ytv.

Effective Jan. 13, Robertson, who joined Baton in January 1995, will fill the president’s position, which has been vacant since June when ytv’s parent company Shaw Communications released Pat Macdonald.

At Baton Broadcast Sales, Ed Voltan, vp and gm of sales, is acting as president.

Back at head office, Bruce Cowie has been named executive vp and coo of Baton Broadcasting, replacing Ivan Fecan who became president and ceo last month.

– New at Alliance Communications, Louise Anne Worth has been named managing director of Alliance International Television. Worth will work from the Alliance offices in Paris, Shannon and Amsterdam, as well as managing staff in Toronto and l.a.

Noreen Halpern has been promoted to vp creative affairs of Alliance Television Productions and has relocated from the Toronto office to l.a.

– At ytv, Sonja Hyde has been appointed to the newly created position of Web site producer.

– Out West, lawyer and filmmaker John Nicolls joined the Vancouver office of Telefilm Canada in November as a project manager who evaluates applications.

– In the Maritimes, Gordon Whittaker is replacing Robin Johnston as executive director of the Atlantic Film Festival.

– In post-production, Tony Meerakker has been appointed gm of Magnetic North. The Magnetic companies, which include Magnetic Music, Magnetic South and Master’s Workshop, are a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications.

Speaking of Rogers, responding to reports from Vancouver on Rogers slashing community production studios and staff, Ontario producers point out local resources have been hit equally hard.

To date, Rogers in Ontario has closed the Downsview and Brampton studios, with the York and Etobicoke studios reportedly destined to close soon, all under the banner, Operation Complete.

At the North York studio, all senior producers were let go, some of whom had been there for more than 20 years. Of the original 14 producers and support staff, three remain. Junior producers or contract people will be called in to fill the void.

– Awards winners

Canadian technical expertise is being saluted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year. Imax is picking up the honor for scientific and technical achievement. Nestor Burtnyk and Marceli Wein, recently retired from the National Research Council of Canada, will be recognized for their work on two-dimensional, key-frame character animation. The Oscars will be formally presented March 1 in Beverly Hills.

– This year’s Prix Albert-Tessier, the Quebec government’s annual career achievement award in cinema, goes to filmmaker Jacques Giraldeau.

During his 46-year career, Giraldeau worked primarily in documentaries, as well as animation, as a director, cinematographer, producer and screenwriter. He has created 165 films for the National Film Board, Radio-Canada and for his own company, Studio 7.

Giraldeau’s special contribution has been to chronicle the evolution of modern art in Quebec.

He was honored with a tribute at the 1995 Festival International du Film sur l’Art, and has been a strong defender of independent filmmaking and a voice against censorship.

Highlights from Giraldeau’s filmography include the animation films Opera Zero (1984), L’Homme de Papier, a documentary on the animation process, and Les Iris, a Jury Prize winner at the 1991 Montreal World Film Festival. Blanc de memoire (1995) won best cinematography, screenwriting and direction awards in its category at the 1996 Hot Docs! festival. Giraldeau is also a painter and engraver.

– Vancouver’s The Eyes Multimedia Productions, a Vidatron company, picked up two Silvers at the annual Emerald City Awards in Seattle, Washington. The awards recognize excellence in corporate and commercial production in the Northwest.

-Alliance bankrolled

On the heels of news that Alliance Communications will produce and co-distribute Total Recall: The Series, Alliance also announced that the Royal Bank of Canada has extended its credit line by $122 million.

Of the sum, $65 million is a general operating line with the balance to be used principally for production. The new facility increases Alliance’s operating line by $45 million. Roman Doroniuk, the company’s cfo, says the increase will help in the expansion of distribution activities, particularly in Australia and the u.k.

-Banff sports award

The Banff Television Festival has added a sports category to this year’s Rockie Awards competition.

The new genre includes non-fiction programs exploring issues, activities or personalities in the world of amateur and professional sports. Live pickups or coverage of games are not eligible.

The international tv festival has also changed its eligibility requirements regarding telecast dates, giving greater flexibility for entries scheduled for broadcast prior to May 1, 1997. The deadline for program entries is now Feb. 24, 1997. The Banff festival runs June 8-14 this year.

-Catalyst gets cheesy Bs

Catalyst Distribution has picked up the Jack Harris Library, a collection of 25 campy American b movies from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Among the titles included in the cheese-fest are classics like the 1958 ‘thriller’ The Blob with Steve McQueen, Bela Legosi in the 1963 horror spoof My Son The Vampire, and John Carradine as a mad scientist in the 1970 gem Astro Zombies.

-Winnipeg releasing firm makes int’l sale

New Winnipeg-based Maple Lake Releasing has sold the rights to K. George Godwin’s science-fiction short The Adventures of Stella Starr of the Galaxy Rangers in the 23rd Century to French tv service Canal+. The film screened in Paris at the August Festival de l’Etranger.

This is the first sale into a non-English market for Maple Lake, which set up shop in August.

The distribution company also has a sale in the works with pbs in the u.s. for A Question of Reality, a documentary from Winnipeg director Barry Gibson.