Budget ignores culture

The federal Tories earmarked $50 million for the Canada Council of the Arts but otherwise had little to say about arts and culture when Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tabled the government’s first budget on May 2 – leaving hot-button issues such as the CBC, the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada unmentioned.

The budget also pledged to eliminate the capital gains tax on certain charitable donations which, it suggests, will encourage donations to cultural, social and educational efforts.

‘It’s troubling that [culture] is barely on this government’s radar,’ said ACTRA in a statement. ‘They didn’t talk about culture during the election. They failed to speak of it in the throne speech.’

AA signs with Arclight

The distribution wing of Alliance Atlantis has inked a deal with Australia’s Arclight Films to form a new, U.S.-based distributor of indie films, Union Station Media. The joint venture will be fronted by former Lionsgate exec Paul Gardner, headquartered in L.A., and will target films and programs for deals on DVD, TV, the Internet, VOD and other platforms.

Union Station has already acquired the drama The Sisters, starring Maria Bello and Eric McCormack, the Tony Hawk-starrer Deck Dogz and the doc Dan Aykroyd Unplugged on UFOs.

Past its Prime?

CanWest MediaWorks will rebrand Prime on June 1, repositioning the once senior-aimed cable channel as the home of hit show reruns, now dubbed TVtropolis. The channel will air shows from the past 10 to 15 years, such as Seinfeld, Ellen, Married… With Children and Frasier, as well as new titles including Celebrity Fit Club and celebrity profiler Breaking Bonaduce.

Telefilm taps Holt

Telefilm Canada has reassigned Ralph Holt – moving him from English-language feature films to the regional director spot for Ontario and Nunavut.

‘I am very pleased that Ralph has decided to take on the complex challenges of regional director,’ said Telefilm COO Elizabeth Friesen in a statement. ‘Ralph has a broad range of experience and solid relationships in the industry.’

Holt was head of Telefilm’s Atlantic office for 19 years, and replaces Dave Forget, who was last month promoted to the top of Telefilm’s TV sector.

ZeD cut short

CBC has cancelled ZeD TV, its late-night showcase of experimental, short films, after four seasons. The Vancouver-produced half-hour will run out at the end of this season, though CBC says its zed.cbc.ca component will continue. Six jobs will be lost. The cancellation drew criticism from the Canadian Media Guild, calling it a step away from ‘the things that make public television special.’ ZeD shorts drew a number of Gemini nominations and a win in 2004 for best lifestyle/practical information segment.