* Jeffrey Elliot has been appointed senior vp of Alliance Atlantis Communications. In his new role, Elliot, former managing director of Netstar Interactive, will work directly with president and ceo Michael MacMillan and the presidents of the company’s operating groups in broadcasting, television and motion pictures, to further develop and implement aac’s online and Internet strategies.

Bill Caldwell has been appointed director of television sales in English Canada for Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution.

Former director of sales for International Image, Caldwell will be responsible for television programming sales to the specialty and regional channels in Canada.

* Salter Street Films has appointed tv distribution exec Stephen Kelley to the position of vp Salter Street Films International. Kelley is former head of international sales at Catalyst Distribution, and also worked at tvontario in a similar capacity.

* CineGroupe has appointed Marie-Claude Beauchamp to the position of executive vp responsible for development and production financing in Canada and Europe. A former exec producer with Productions Prisma, Beauchamp joined the Montreal animation producer in October 1999 as vp development.

The company has also named senior vp distribution Derek MacGillivray head of Toronto operations. CineGroupe’s development and distribution unit includes Valerie Gray, director of development, Michele Dal Cin, recently named manager international sales, Sylvie Belanger, promoted to producer – development, and Louise Perron St-Louis and Annick De Vries, executive producers.

* Advertising industry veteran Claude Lizotte has joined Astral Media as its new vp sales and marketing, specialty television. Lizotte’s responsibilities include sales and marketing for all of Astral’s specialty tv networks as well as the company’s wholly owned sales agency TVPlus Media. Before joining Astral, Lizotte was gm marketing and creative media at Reseau tva.

* Independent producer Peter O’Brian has been appointed executive producer of the Feature Film Project, an initiative of the Canadian Film Centre. O’Brian was executive director of the cfc from 1988 to 1991.

* Citing health reasons, Robert Trempe has stepped down as senior vp sales and teleshopping at TVA Group. Media executive Robert Leonard replaces Trempe as senior vp sales and marketing. Trempe remains president of tva’s turnkey home-shopping service, HSS Canada. He’ll also head up the group’s e-commerce unit as of this fall.