eOne inks first-look deal with Australian prodco Aquarius
Entertainment One has inked a first-look deal with Australian production company Aquarius Films. The deal, which covers both film and television projects, will see the two companies collaborate on developing, producing and distributing all content to emerge from the partnership. Under the deal, Troy Lum, managing director of eOne Films in Australia and New Zealand, will oversee the development and production of the films, while Jude Troy, eOne’s EVP of acquisitions and TV development for Australia and New Zealand, will lead the television projects. The agreement is an extension of an existing relationship between eOne and Aquarius, with the companies having previously worked together on the release of Aquarius’ Wish You Were Here. Two companies are also working together on Berlin Syndrome, which is set to be released this year. Aquarius Films is headed up by Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford and Cecilia Ritchie.

eOne has an existing presence in the region, having acquired Australian and New Zealand market distributor Hopscotch in 2011. The company later launched a TV development and production arm in Sydney, Australia in November 2014, tapping Jude Troy to lead the division.

Mark Media hires Yvan Pinard
Toronto’s Mark Media has hired Yvan Pinard to the role of director, CG and visual effects. Pinard will head up the company’s team of 3D artists in addition to overseeing Mark Media’s CG animation pipeline. As well, Pinard will produce a series of animated shorts for a kung fu action game entitled Shuyan. Pinard has served as post-production director on projects such as The DNA of GSP, as well as compositor on films such as Robert Lepage’s The Far Side of the Moon and Léa Pool’s The Blue Butterfly.

Cottage Life reveals spring lineup
Blue Ant Media’s Cottage Life has announced the premiere dates for a raft of new and returning series, which will air on the channel as part of an eight-week free preview. Starting on March 15 at 9 p.m., What’s for Sale? With a View returns for its second season, followed on March 16 at 8 p.m. by the premiere of Burger Bar to Gourmet. Brojects spinoff Brojects in the House premieres the next day at 9 p.m., with Cabin Truckers returning for its second season at 10 p.m. on March 18. On March 20 at 9 p.m., Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure returns for its third season, in tandem with the release of 13 webisodes featuring all-new content.

BravoFACT to launch short pitch contest at Toronto LGBT Film Festival
Bell Media’s BravoFACT has partnered with the presenters of Toronto LGBT Film Festival, Inside Out, to launch the first Inside Out BravoFACT Pitch Competition. Featuring five filmmaking teams pitching their short projects to a live audience and jury, the contest will take place on Sunday, June 5 during the 2016 Toronto LGBT Film Festival. The winning team will collect $50,000 in funding, as well as gaining the option to premiere the finished film at the 2017 edition of the festival.

Images in Sound, Urban Post win Golden Reel prize 
Teams from Toronto-based audio post houses Images in Sound and Urban Post Production have won a Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel prizes for their work.  Images in Sound won their award for their work on Giant Screen Films and K2 Films’ Journey Into Space, in the category of Best Sound Editing & Music: Special Venue. Brian Eimer served as supervising sound editor and sound designer on the project, with Josh Vamos serving as supervising dialogue editor and Michael Bonini serving as sound effects editor. Music editors were Max Braverman and Keith Munson.

A team from Urban Post, meanwhile, won an award for their work on the miniseries Texas Rising in the category of Best Sound Editing: TV Long Form – FX/Foley. The team was lead by supervising sound editors Tom Bjelic and John Laing. Bjelic also served as sound designer, with Tyler Witham, Mike Mancuso and Adam Stein serving as sound effects editors. Steve Bain was supervising Foley editor, with Simon Meilleur serving as Foley artist. The awards were presented on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.

CMF-Corus Page to Pitch budget increased
The Canada Media Fund has increased the budget for the Corus-CMF Page to Pitch program for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. When the program was launched, the budget was set for $1,163,750, with the CMF announcing Monday it has been upped to over $1.2 million. The Page to Pitch program is open to producers seeking funding for creative and business activities during the development of eligible live-action and animated television projects that have been triggered by CRTC-licensed Canadian broadcasters.

Updated at 12:51 p.m. with information regarding Urban Post’s Golden Reel prize