*Lynch’s Grizzly follow-up

From Peter Lynch, producer of Project Grizzly, comes The Last Lap, an equally bizarre tale about the last Arctic reindeer drive. Because of Canadian bureaucracy and a couple of wrong turns, the scheduled 18-month drive took six years, enough time for the leader of the herd drivers to become completely senile. The nfb production is still shooting and will be available in a 90- and 60-minute format. The budget should come in around us$375,000.

*Gripes of wrath

In an effort to give misunderstood animals some press, Great North Communications of Edmonton, Canada, looks at animals normally ignored by shows (like pigeons). The Wrath Among Us explores the mythology surrounding these animals and their relationship to humans. Set to air in December, the 13-part series comes in at about us$525,000 per episode, and is tied to Discovery Canada, Canal D and Canal+ in France, as well as German broadcasters orf.

*NFB tracks Olympics

The Winter Olympics in Nagano marks the first time women’s hockey will be a medal sport. Team Canada, from the National Film Board of Canada, is a look at the three-time Canadian World Champions as they train for the Olympics, paying particular attention to the rivalry between the Canadian players and their US counterparts. The producer is well-known Canadian documentarian Silva Basmajian (Out: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Youth), and the director is Lyn Wright. Originally planned to be shot on film, the budget was initially US$375,000, but a decision to switch to Beta will see that figure drop by about a quarter. The one-hour production is tied to CBC Sports and should air in primetime shortly before the Olympics in December.

*Double Dutch

Dance is one of the few artistic disciplines to cast its disciples off just as they reach their prime in their thirties. GoodbyeÉHello, a one-hour doc from Greenspace in Montreal, highlights a production choreographed for recently retired prima-ballerina Karen Kain by the Netherlands Dans Theatre III (a troupe of dancers over the age of 40). Filming begins fall of this year, with delivery set for March 1998. The one-off airs on the cbc in Canada.