*IFVA demands more $

In anticipation of a $25-million federal allocation to the Canada Council, the Independent Film & Video Alliance has formed a lobby to assure the funds are funneled directly into grants for individual artists and arts organizations.

At a recently held Montreal conference, IFVA delegates representing over 7,000 media artists Canada-wide met to decry the Liberal government’s arts cuts of $326 million. Emerging at the top of the organization’s agenda is the demand that the Canada Council revoke its limitation of one deadline per year, one application per year per artist, and only one grant in two years, which it says impairs filmmakers’ abilities to leverage other funds.

*Export Award for Cinar

Cinar Films has been named a 1997 Canada Export Award winner for delivering socially responsible entertainment programming to kids in more than 100 countries.

The Export Award, sponsored by the Export Development Corporation, the CIBC and Stentor, honors 10 companies per year which have excelled in exporting their products worldwide. The Montreal-based production company’s animated and live-action programming, as well as its entertainment and educational products pulled in $57.9 million in 1996, with exports making up half the total sales. This represents a 77% increase over 1994, fueled in part by partnerships with programmers in more than 30 countries.

*Gross and Keeley CD

Ensuring once and for all his status as a true renaissance man, Due South (Alliance) actor/writer/producer Paul Gross has released a country music album with fellow thespian David Keeley for Lenz Entertainment.

The idea for the cd was hatched when Gross recorded his song Ride Forever, with guest vocals from Keeley and Leslie Nielsen, for an episode of Due South. Keeley and Gross then collaborated on a series of songs that became the Jack Lenz-produced cd Two Houses, recorded in Toronto and Nashville last winter.

Lenz is one of the creators of the soundtrack for Due South and Keeley has appeared at Stratford, The Royal Alex and Elgin theatres as well as in F/X: The Series, Forever Knight and Kung Fu.

*Levy named at Telefilm

Telefilm Canada has named Joelle Levy as its new director of Quebec operations.

Levy replaces Louis Laverdiere who held the post for eight years, subsequently joining Montreal production house Cite-Amerique this month.

Her experience includes management duties with sogic, the former provincial agency; a three-year term, from 1992 to 1995, with Telefilm, including the post of director, tv unit; and more recently, a stint as vp business affairs with Malofilm Communications subsidiary and animation producer Desclez Productions.

Levy’s immediate responsibilities include the development of a three-year business plan in synch with the evolving Quebec film and tv industry.