Thank God it’s Friday! Not only is it pay day for many, but also the day we put together the Friday roundup.

Production news

Berkshire County is set to begin principal photography in Toronto this April of 2013. The directorial debut of CFC alumni Audrey Cummings (pictured), it’s a feature-length thriller produced by Bruno Marino (Tapped) and executive produced by Tony Wosk (The Samaritan).

Marino’s credits include Anything Goes, a comedy that was recently picked up by Entertainment One and that is receiving VOD platform release in Canada, the U.S. and Europe in stages throughout 2013.

Writers room news

Writer and story editor Josh Gal will manage the writers room as a consulting producer on Bite TV’s upcoming series Guidance, a comedy about inept guidance counsellors. Principle photography is set to start the middle of February, 2013, and the series will premiere on the niche broadcaster’s website before getting TV channel carriage, according to a statement from Gal. Marcia Martin, Senior VP, development at Bite TV, is producing the series. It’s directed by Jared Sales and starring Adam Cawley, Patrick Smith and Rob Baker.

Awards

Women In Film and Television Vancouver have announced their Spotlight Award Winners for 2013, including the taker of the inaugural Spotlight Lifetime Achievement Award. The recipient of that prize is Haida Paul, a Genie Award-winning film and sound editor whose credits include My American Cousin. A complete list of the winners can be found here.

Film releases

Molly Maxwell, the 19th feature film developed and produced through CFC Features, is will have its Canadian premiere Saturday at the youth-oriented TIFF Next Wave Film Festival. Director/writer Sara St. Onge and select cast will be in attendance for the red carpet and a Q&A following the screening. It’s U.S. premiere will take place Mar. 13 as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s Canadian Front program (St.Onge and cast will again be in attendance).

The documentary Trouble In The Peace will have its theatrical release in March, with dates at the Royal Theatre in Toronto and (Mar. 8-10), and at Vancity in Vancouver (Mar. 1-6). It is produced by Six Island Productions in association with TVO and with the participation of the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Rogers Documentary Fund, and with the assistance of the Shaw Media-Hot Docs Fund and the Ontario Arts Council.

Premiere dates

Dylan Pearce’s I Think I Do rom-com drama had it’s U.S. premiere on the Lifetime Network on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14. The TV movie has also been picked up in the Middle East (OSN), the U.K. (Content Film), Spain (Antena 3), France, Belgium, Switzerland (TFI), Slovenia (POP TV) and Seychelles (SBC).