Herewith, a summary of various industry news to land at Playback in the recent weeks.

Creative Emmys

The Creative Arts Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out last Saturday in L.A. by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and amongst the winners were a few Canadians. They included editor Don Cassidy and sound re-recording mixers Chris Cooke and Brad Zoern (pictured) from Toronto-based Deluxe Toronto Ltd.

Cassidy took an award for outstanding single-camera picture editing for a mini-series or movie for Hatfields & McCoys.

And Cooke and Zoern received awards for outstanding sound mixing for a mini-series or movie, also for Hatfields & McCoys.

The six-hour mini-series, starring Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner, aired on History Channel in Canada and the U.S.

The 64th Primetime Emmy Awards will be given out this Sunday, Sept. 23.

Award winners

Regina-based filmmaker Sarah Abbott has received the Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Award for arts and learning, presented at a gala celebration hosted by the Saskatchewan Arts Board on Sept. 18.

Abbott, also an associate professor in the media production and studies department at the University of Regina, received the award for her filmmaking endeavours and innovative teaching methods.

Abbott’s film project credits include Out in the cold and This Time Last Winter, created through a teaching model she devised that sees her students work alongside local industry professionals in a professional production environment.

Scott Thompson plays Bob London in The Immigrant

Elsewhere, The Immigrant, from Toronto-based Levy brothers Josh and Robi, and Kids in the Hall alumnus Scott Thompson, won the best comedy award at the Nevada City Film Festival in August.

The film had also won best of the fest at the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival in May.

Sales/Acquisitions

Montreal-based Imavision acquired all distribution rights to Japanese animated series Golorak from Toei Animation, and will release the DVD in French Canada later this year.

9 Story Entertainment partnered with NCircle Entertainment for home entertainment sales of its animated preschool comedy series Wibbly Pig in the U.S. 9 Story co-produces the series, originally commissioned by BBC’s Cbeebies, TVO and Knowledge Network, with the U.K.’s Wish Films.

Daniel Tiger's Neighbourhood

The company also sold the first season of its upcoming animated preschool series Daniel Tiger’s Neighbourhood to ABC (Australia), Canal + Family (France), Hop TV (Israel), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway) and Zee Learn (Indian subcontinent).

The series was developed by the Fred Rogers Company in association with Out of the Blue Enterprises. It is exec produced by Kevin Morrison for The Fred Rogers Company; Out of the Blue cofounder Angela C. Santomero and 9 Story’s Vince Commisso, with 9 Story producing.

It is slated to launch this fall on PBS Kids in the U.S. and the CBC.

Toronto-based Cuppa Coffee Studio’s distribution arm Decaf Distribution signed a three-year deal with Australian network Foxtel for Cuppa Coffee stop motion original comedy Life’s A Zoo. The series aired on Teletoon in Canada and SBS in Australia. Cuppa Coffee’s Adam Shaheen will also resurrect two of the series’ main characters in a spin-off comedy entitled The Pen.

Rebranding

Montreal-based Delphis Films has rebranded as Attraction Distribution, part of media and entertainment co Attraction’s global brand strategy, it was announced earlier this month.

Delphis Films, founded in 2003, joined Attraction in 2009. As Attraction Distribution, the company will continue to offer family films, children’s series, primetime dramas, docs and formats to the global market. Delphis Films president Xiaojuan Zhou will remain president of Attraction Distribution, with Chrystine Girard taking the role of head of format licensing with the integration of Attraction’s formats into the company’s catalogue. Richard Speer is Attraction president and founder.

Air Canada enRoute Film Festival

The Air Canada enRoute Film Festival is showcasing Canadian short film talent on Air Canada flights until Dec. 31.

This year’s festival jury includes actor Jay Baruchel, producer Niv Fichman, director Mary Harron, actor Alison Pill, actor Gordon Pinsent, actor Callum Keith Rennie, actor Saul Rubinek, director Jacob Tierney and actor Karine Vanasse.

The festival first began in August.

Passengers will also have the opportunity to vote for the winner of the inaugural People’s Choice Award between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7 on enRoutefilm.com. For more information about the festival, visit the festival’s website.

ReelWorld Indie Film Lounge

This year’s ReelWorld Indie Film Lounge, a two-day event that took place last week in Toronto, saw 20 emerging filmmakers mentored by 21 industry professionals.

The emerging filmmakers included producer-director Najia Alavi; actress and aspiring director Carla Albi; writer-director-producer Alfredo Salvatore Arcilesi; filmmaker Isa Benn; screenwriter and filmmaker Firdaus F. Bilimoria; writer Selbert Boothe; actress and writer Marium Carvell; filmmaker Irma Duplessis; filmmaker Bryan Edwards; producer Ty Greenridge; producer-director Lisa Harewood; screenwriter and director Jag Parmer; filmmaker Richard Pierre; writer-director Niloo Ravaei; actor and writer Roda Siad; writer-director Joffre F. Silva; producer-director Darryl Shaw; filmmaker Jane Hui Wang; director and writer Raymond Wong and director, writer and actor Ziyang Yip.

This year’s mentors, who offered up their expertise in production, film, programming, financing, marketing and distribution included: Circle Blue Films CEO Amos Adetuyi; eOne family entertainment director of development Swin Chang; Accountability Research Corp. director of business development Tony Cianciotta; Rogers Broadcasting original programming production exec Carol Commisso; writer-director Yuval Daniel; CHCH programmer Sonya Davidson; Joel Goldberg Productions Inc. president Joel Goldberg; Rogers Broadcasting original programming production exec Marni Goldman; Astral Television Networks original programming coordinator Lisa Gotlieb; Temple Street Productions director of scripted programming Laura Harbi; Ouat Media head of acquisitions and North American sales Brad Horvath; Halifax Film Company production exec Floyd Kane; ACTRA Toronto TIP coordinator Tasso Lakas; Aircraft Pictures exec producers Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen; Telefilm feature films unit creative analyst James Luscombe;  Super Channel head of creative development Marguerite Pigott; CBC exec for scripted primetime Nataline Rodrigues; Caribbean Tales Group of Companies filmmaker and CEO Frances-Anne Soloman; and eOne TV series producer Cara Volchoff.

Opening

Newfoundland and Labrador filmmaker Deanne Foley’s debut feature film Beat Down received a theatrical release in the Atlantic provinces, and hit theatres on Sept. 7.

The film, which received three Canadian Comedy Awards nods, stars Robb Wells (Trailer Park Boys) and Marthe Bernard (Republic of Doyle)

View the trailer: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7EQYK1vgNY