*Nelvana barters

Toronto’s Nelvana and Chicago-based distributor MediaVentures International have joined forces to offer a program block of Nelvana-produced animated series for distribution to select international territories on an advertiser-supported basis.

Titled The Nelvana Kidz Klub, MediaVentures will offer territories program blocks of one to two hours for daily broadcast, or as a weekend block of three to four hours, says Michael Hirsh, ceo of Nelvana.

Broadcasters ‘clearing’ The Nelvana Kidz Klub will be required to provide MediaVentures a set amount of minutes for the block’s advertisers, as opposed to licensing the programs on a cash basis. ‘We believe there are some countries where this will help us maximize the value of the distribution rights that we have in those countries,’ says Hirsh.

Also partnered in the project is Grey Advertising, the global advertising agency that pioneered u.s. barter syndication during the ’70s. Hirsh feels that it will probably take about six months to close the first barter agreement with a territory, saying, ‘Grey Advertising is one of the largest media buyers in the world, so when we go into tight markets or third-world countries, having a major advertising company that can convert the barter time into cash is a key factor.’

In other Nelvana news, the animation company has partnered with the Children’s Television Workshop in the u.s. on the development of a new animated children’s math series titled Problem 13.

*Alliance U.K.

Alliance anticipates releasing 10 to 15 titles over the next 12 months through its new u.k. distribution subsidiary Alliance Releasing Limited (formerly Electric Pictures).

Alliance Releasing u.k.’s first acquisition is Parallax Pictures’ The Governess, which just completed production in England and Scotland. The Governess stars Minnie Driver and Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty). Alliance is taking u.k. theatrical and video rights. In u.k. production, Alliance has a first-look agreement with Company Pictures (George Faber and Charlie Pattinson) which includes both film and television. Company’s first feature, Titanic Town, began shooting this week.

In other Alliance news, the pilot for Blackjack is in the works, the latest potential series from Alliance Communications/John Woo (Once a Thief). Dolph Lundgren will star.

*Arcand tribute in Thessaloniki, Athens

The Canadian Embassy in Athens with the support of Telefilm Canada have announced tribute screenings of four Denys Arcand films in Athens, Oct. 16-20, and Thessaloniki, Oct. 21-25. The program includes Le Declin de l’empire americain, Jesus de Montreal, Le Crime d’Ovide Plouffe and Joyeaux Calvaire. Thessaloniki has been designated 1997 Cultural Capital of Europe.

*Bre-X feature

‘A gold mine is a hole in the ground with a liar at the top.’ The Mark Twain quotation sums up the angle that Montreal’s Vision 4 and Toronto’s G.A.P Entertainment plan to take when they bring their version of the Bre-x scandal to the big screen in 1998.

Producers Claude Veillet and Jacques Bonin of Vision 4 and Guy Perron of gap will shoot Gold-X next spring on location in Canada and Indonesia.

An announcement is expected soon on cast, director and budget.

*C3 acquires Dead Meat rights

Julian Grant’s Toronto-based motion picture production company C3 has acquired the rights to Guy N. Smith’s pulp horror classic Dead Meat.

Producing ‘audience-driven material,’ C3 has just wrapped Airborne for Alliance Releasing and is planning to develop Dead Meat with an international star attached.

*Awards, deadlines

Montreal filmmakers Daniele Lacourse and Yvan Patry have won a prestigious Chalmers Award for their documentary Chronicle of a Genocide Foretold, a terrifying on-the-ground report on the killings in Rwanda. The Chalmers Award includes a $25,000 cash prize.

Toronto filmmaker Andres Pelenur’s short Dead Point received the Bronze Plaque Award from the Columbus International Film & Video Festival. The film has also been invited to the Denver International Film Festival, Oct. 23-30.

The Radio, Television News Directors Association has named U. News at Six (now Global News) the best local newscast in a large market. The award was given for its coverage of a local snowstorm in the Lower Mainland in December 1996.

The deadline for applications to the 1998 Jeanne Sauve Awards (two internships at Canadian Heritage and two exchange placements with Industry Canada) is Nov. 15.

The deadline for the Canadian Women in Communications’ annual Woman of the Year, Employer of the Year, Mentor and Trailblazer of the year is also Nov. 15. The annual awards and gala dinner is skedded for Feb. 9, 1998 in Ottawa.

Also with a deadline looming is ytv for its 9th annual YTV Achievement Awards. D-day is Nov. 14.

*People

The pmo’s office has named Vancouver-based industry consultant Cindy Grauer, David McKendry, the director of consumer affairs consulting with Price Waterhouse since 1989, and Andrew Cardozo, president of the Pearson Shoyama Institute for Inclusive Policy Development, to the crtc.

* The potential salability of Everest Entertainment is looking grim as news comes that executives Tim Bishop and Paul Gardner are heading to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Live Entertainment, respectively.

* Ian Haysom, former editor-in-chief at the Vancouver Sun, has taken over as managing editor at bctv.

* John Backhouse, Hudson Mack, Debbie Millette, C. Lynn Smith and Sally Warren have been appointed to the B.C. Regional Council of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

In Quebec, Marc Gervais and Peta Tancred have been appointed to the cbsc Quebec Regional Council.

* Janice Kaye has joined the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television as its new director of communications.

* Suzanne D’Amours has joined Montreal animation studio Groupe prh (Productions Roger Heroux) as the company’s vp, business affairs.

* Former CityLine host Jane Lockhart has signed on to host new HGTV-Canada series One House, Two Looks.

* The Banff Television Festival has a new mailing and courier address, effective Oct. 21. It is The Banff Television Festival, 1516 Railway Avenue, Canmore, Alta., T1W 1P6.