FilmOntario goes to L.A.

FilmOntario is setting up permanent digs in Los Angeles to promote the province as a production destination. The offices, made possible by funding from the Ontario Media Development Corporation and FilmOntario, with an additional small contribution from the City of Toronto, will be up and running this year with a full-time marketing executive and one assistant.

CBC wins for SARS

Coverage of SARS netted CBC a win at the 2003 Online Journalism Awards last month, where its SARS: The Mystery Illness website came out on top for best service journalism. Judges commended the CBC.ca site for its in-depth, level-headed coverage of ‘a complex and frightening topic.’ The awards look at all English-language Web reporting and are run by the Online News Association and the University of Southern California.

Canuck film guide released

There has been no comprehensive source that reviews every notable Canadian movie in the nation’s cinematic history – not until the recent release of A Century of Canadian Cinema – Gerald Pratley’s Feature Film Guide, published by Toronto’s Lynx Images.

Pratley has likely been following the Canadian film scene longer than anyone, starting as CBC Radio’s first film critic in 1948. He founded the Ontario Film Institute in 1968 and remained its director until 1990. He has taught film, written about it for various publications and penned books on several filmmakers. A special Genie recipient, this year he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

The book contains over 1,000 entries, dating back to 1900 and including pioneer filmmakers such as Nell Shipman (Back to God’s Country), right up to films that screened at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. Key credits and info are provided for each film along with a write-up. Although a star rating is not provided, Pratley’s opinions come across loud and clear. The book retails for $29.95.

Bell Fund names recipients

The Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, which supports independent producers developing television content with interactive components, announced its recipients for the Oct. 1 round of funding.

Five new projects received production grants, including Brady’s Beasts, an animated children’s series and Flash-based game environment from Vivatoon for YTV.

Three previously supported projects received additional funding, including season two of Deaf Planet, a 16 x 6 series about two tweens who use sign language.

In addition, the fund has announced development grants for four projects, including Dragon from Cite-Amerique producers Luc Martineau and Greg Dummet for Treehouse.

Equinoxe gets rights to Christ

Montreal-based Equinoxe Films has secured Canadian rights to The Passion of The Christ, the controversial close look into the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ, directed and cowritten by Mel Gibson. Equinoxe will release the film domestically on Feb. 25 to coincide with Ash Wednesday. From Gibson’s Icon Films, the feature stars James Caveizel (The Count of Monte Cristo) as Jesus and Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded) as Mary Magdalene. Icon is the U.K. and Australia distributor for Equinoxe’s Mambo Italiano.

NSI selects pitch teams

The National Screen Institute has selected three teams from its Totally Television Program that will pitch their TV series to broadcasters at the Banff Television Festival in June.

Participants are producer Ed Sinclair and writer David Tomlinson, pitching the series Boys Like Us; producer Jay Dahl and writer Josh MacDonald, pitching Strange Adventures; and producer Nicole Hamilton and writer Karen McClellan, pitching rebound.

Shatner honored

William Shatner was toasted in his hometown on Nov. 22 at ACTRA’s gala anniversary bash. The famed Star Trek captain got an award of excellence from the actors union, in recognition of his ‘illustrious career and 50-year contribution to film and television.’ Shatner has been in the business almost as long as ACTRA, which this year marked its 60th anniversary with singing, dancing and cocktails at Montreal’s Windsor Ballroom.

Xmas comes early for BCIT students

CityTV Vancouver handed out $21,000 in early Christmas gifts in November to 10 broadcasting students at the second annual BCIT Fall Scholarships & Awards Ceremony in Vancouver. Journalism winners include Lilian Kim, Ajindergit Mehat, Timothy Peeling and Eric Shih. Television winners include Jeannine Avelino, Reinhard Manlolo, Brian Matsuo and Marie Shimizu. New media winners are Yu Ting Hu and Shirley Soldat.

The City awards honor Aboriginal and/or visible-minority students who have shown exemplary work in their first year of the BCIT Broadcast and Media Communications program, as well as those who are entering the initial year at BCIT and have shown outstanding work in high school.

CTV goes HD

CTV moved fast last month, throwing out the first high-definition version of its network feed little more than a week after the CRTC released its guidelines for over-the-air digital signals. CFTO, the net’s flagship Toronto station, added an HD version of its signal on Nov. 19, beginning with that night’s ep of The West Wing.

The signal, branded CTV East, has the same content as the station’s analog signal and is available on Rogers Cable and Bell ExpressVu. CTV is the first national network to add HD service, following regional broadcasters such as Toronto 1 and Citytv.

Portfolio women honored

Lisa Olfman and Joy Rosen, cofounders and presidents of Toronto’s Portfolio Entertainment, were honored for export excellence at the 2003 Rotman Canadian Women Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, held last month in Toronto.

Portfolio, which produces and distributes children’s programming, was started by Olfman and Rosen in 1991 and has grown quickly, doubling its sales last year. Portfolio original productions include animated series RoboRoach and CTV MOW Stolen Miracle.

Olfman and Rosen are currently developing another MOW for CTV called Tracking the Hunters and an animated series for Family Channel called Carl Squared.