Vancouver: The godfather of the Vancouver independent film scene is lending his expertise to local producers who self-distribute.

Leonard Schein, founder of the Vancouver International Film Festival, finished his three-year management contract as president and CEO of Alliance Atlantis Cinemas in September. (He sold his Festival Cinemas, including the Fifth Avenue in Vancouver, to Alliance Atlantis in 1998.) Since then he has been acting as a consultant for Anagram Pictures’ feature Mile Zero, about a father who kidnaps his son.

‘Most producers don’t have a clue how to distribute,’ says Schein, operating under the name Starr Schein Enterprises.

For a flat fee and no purchase of rights, Schein will set up a marketing plan and book the films into Canadian theatres. The producers pony up the P&A budget and the cost of prints. After opening at the Fifth Avenue on Nov. 23, Mile Zero will play in Vancouver until Christmas, when its two prints will move on to Toronto, Calgary and other major markets.

Schein says independent producers are forced to self-distribute when they sell off the television rights to finance production. Distributors are reluctant to get involved with projects that can offer only theatrical or video/DVD rights in Canada. So most films sit on the shelf waiting for their TV airdates.

Schein is also working with the documentary features Lilith on Top (Boneyard Film Productions) by Lynne Stopkewich and festival favorite Obaachan’s Garden (Harvest Productions) by Linda Ohama.

Schein says he’s not yet sure whether he’ll get back into exhibition when his non-compete clause expires next year.

Lucky 7

CBC’s new national weeknight program tentatively called Zed will debut in February 2002 with original short films created by seven filmmakers picked Dec. 10 for production assistance – financial and otherwise.

The filmmakers, chosen on the strength of their pitches, were not known at press time, but the contest was open to anyone across the country with a good idea.

Zed, says executive producer McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves, is a product of the ‘do-it-yourself’ generation of content generators. An example of convergence and ‘open-source television,’ the hour-long variety show will have a TV and Web presence and feature live and recorded performances – music, poetry, dance, dramas, animation, musicals, etc. The audience of TV-, media- and Internet-savvy 18- to 49-year-olds will be able to have a say about content and how the show evolves, and even upload their content for consideration. Along with its commissioning initiatives, Zed will have acquisition people in Toronto and Vancouver to review completed material.

Mashingaidze-Greaves – previously a print journalist, cartoonist, alternative rock band manager, Web development company founder and a VP content at HBO/AOL Time Warner in New York – says: ‘Almost anything goes as long as it’s deliverable on TV. We don’t want to force formula on anyone.’

Produced in Vancouver, Zed will begin airing after The National Feb. 25. It will run for seven weeks, then run only on the Web for the summer and return to CBC in the fall.

Write stuff

A handful of B.C. screenwriters also got early Christmas presents – but from funder British Columbia Film, which has announced the scripts that get development funding.

‘We believe that the continued support of the writing talent in the province is the key to continued success of this industry,’ says Rob Egan, B.C. Film president and CEO.

The lucky 15 are: The Attendant (writer, Angus Fraser; producer, Crescent Entertainment), Change of Occupation (Geoff Inverarity), Dark Hearts (Robert Chomiak), The Devil You Know (Rebecca Wood Barrett), Doing Joe (Kim Barker; producer, Michael Robison Films), The Emperor of China (Kat Montagu), Her Proper Place (Sioux Browning), I’ll be Loving You (Colin Browne), John Doe (Ross Ferguson), Moving Malcolm (Benjamin Ratner; producer, Seven Wells Pictures), The Pitch (Pat Bermal and Evan Tylor; producer, Prophecy Entertainment), Punk not Dead (Penelope Buitenhuis; producer, Penny Films), Small Fry (Geoffrey Way), Wild Cherry (David Kolbewiecz and Grant Vetters; producer, Prophecy Entertainment), The Women of My Life, (Carole Ducharme; producer, Witness Productions).

Development funding pays for the writer and story editor. In addition, B.C. Film organizes one-on-one story editing consultation sessions for all finalists with experienced writers or story editors.

And another thing…

Sausage Factory, Peace Arch Entertainment’s teen comedy, debuted its 13 episodes Nov. 19 on The Comedy Network. It’s a coproduction with Nelvana and MTV, which won’t air the series until at least spring. Described as Dawson’s Creek meets American Pie, the series is about four teens trying to make some kind of sense out of their adolescent years.

* Vancouver’s Atomic Cartoons contributed computer animation services to the Internet series Chuck Jones’ Timber Wolf, 13 five-minute episodes by Wolfgang Productions. ‘We wanted to animate an Internet show with the same look and feel of the Classic Warner Bros. cartoons that Chuck is so well known for,’ says Mauro Casalese, cofounder and director at Atomic. Timber Wolf, about the adventures of Thomas T. Wolf, launched Oct. 24 at www.warnerbros.com.

Oh no, a correction

Sandra Oh, star of Long Life, Prosperity and Happiness, is busy but not as much I say. Moira Kelly was the lead in Drive, She Said – Mina Shum’s second feature – not Oh. Apologies.