Peace Arch buys kaBOOM

Toronto’s Peace Arch Entertainment has bought the home entertainment outfit kaBOOM! Entertainment in a cash-and-stock deal worth some $8.5 million. Peace Arch says the buy will allow it to self-distribute its movie and TV titles (The Keeper, The Good Shepherd) directly to the home market in Canada, and is a ‘significant step’ into the international market. Under the terms of the agreement, Berry Meyerowitz will stay on as head of kaBOOM!’s day-to-day operations.

AAC signs with Weinsteins

The distribution wing of Alliance Atlantis has signed an 80-picture multi-year deal with The Weinstein Company to handle all of its motion pictures in Canada. The deal, expected to run through 2009, builds on AAC’s long-standing relationship with Bob and Harvey Weinstein from their days at the helm of Miramax. AAC and the newly formed outfit have, until now, been releasing movies on a title-per-title basis.

Upcoming WC titles include Lucky Number Slevin, Sin City 2 and the Quentin Tarantino-produced Killshot. AAC’s deal with Miramax is set to expire at the end of 2006. It recently re-signed with Focus Features and New Line Cinema.

Telefilm teams with U.K., backs new projects

Telefilm Canada is sending 12 producers to Manchester, UK in March for a two-day meeting about TV coproductions with the U.K. The Canada-U.K. Television Immersion is meant to ‘demystify’ the copro process and to familiarize Canucks with the British TV market, with a focus on drama, doc and children’s programming. Twelve Brit producers will also attend, as will a number of high-level advisors from both countries. The deadline for applications has passed.

Meanwhile, Telefilm is backing another 30 feature projects – 18 English and 12 French – through its Screenwriting Assistance Program. Among the treatments getting the push to first draft are Kristy Kachowski: Lesbian Nerd by Cassandra Nicolaou (Show Me), AK 47 by Kim Nguyen (Le Marais) and Refugee Skunk from Boris Mojsovski (Neil) and his father/DOP Levko Mojsovski.

Telefilm is also backing outlines by writers including Michael Best, Ian Johnson, Rodrigue Jean and others, but did not offer specifics.

TMN re-airs in HD

The Movie Network broadened its HD reach last month with the launch of MHD – a dedicated high-definition channel that simulcasts ‘classic’ films carried on its sister channels, Mpix and Mescape. MHD titles are at least five years old and, at its debut, included Titanic, Roman Holiday, Event Horizon and the Karate Kid trilogy. It is the second HD channel in the TMN family, following the May 2005 debut of The Movie Network HD.

HBO, BBC execs at Banff

Decision-makers from HBO, the BBC, NBC Universal and Alliance Atlantis will be among the 150 top execs expected to attend this year’s Banff World Television Festival. Banff has confirmed 50 commissioning editors so far, including HBO’s Julie Anderson, Beeb factual controller Glenwyn Benson, Jeff Wachtel from NBC U and AAC EVP Norm Bolen. The festival returns to Banff June 11-14. See www.banff2006.com.

Yorkton goes young

Lifestyle and youth programs are now eligible for top prizes at the Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival, which has broadened the categories for its Golden Sheaf Awards. The fest will award nonfiction lifestyle shows – covering subjects such as design, food, sex, travel and the like – as well as youth programming aimed at 13- to 18-year-olds, either nonfiction or drama. The fest previously grouped youth together with kids shows.

The Yorkton fest returns to the Saskatchewan town May 25-28. Deadline for submissions is Feb. 15. See www.yorktonshortfilm.org.