* Ariel Veneziano has been named Alliance Atlantis Entertainment Group’s director of motion picture sales and international home video distribution, overseeing European motion picture sales activity and global home video distribution in all markets excluding North America.

Veneziano, who will be based in London, returns to Alliance Atlantis after a tenure with Menemsha Entertainment, where his duties were acquiring and arranging the distribution of Menemsha’s feature film projects.

* Former Telefilm Canada executive director Francois Macerola has joined Cirque du Soleil as VP business and legal affairs, as of May 5.

The Macerola committee report on Canadian Content in Film and Television was submitted to Canadian Heritage last week. The present indication is the report will be published towards the end of June.

* Martin Vann has joined Discreet as the Montreal-based software and system providers’ new VP of systems sales and marketing. Vann has worked for IBM in various marketing and sales positions and has also managed field operations for Avid Technology’s entertainment and broadcast sales. Most recently, he was VP of sales and business development at digital rights management company DMOD.

* Diane Cappelletto has left her post as sales and marketing manager, production, at Kodak Canada to be the ‘front end’ VP at Deluxe Toronto.

* Galafilm has announced Puelo Deir as its new director of communications.

Deir launched his career working for the press office of Just For Laughs and the Montreal World Film Festival and most recently completed a publicity campaign for Barna-Alper Productions.

* Cabinet appointments announced April 29 by new Quebec Premier Jean Charest include Finance Minister Yves Seguin (Outremont) and Culture and Communications Minister Line Beauchamp (Sauve). Beauchamp had served as the official opposition critic for culture.

* Programming manager Jodi Lieberman of Just For Laughs – the Montreal International Comedy Festival has been promoted to director of programming. A nine-year veteran of the festival, Lieberman will oversee all English-language programming.

This year’s edition of JFL runs from July 10-20.

* Belle Mott has won the second Citytv Cultural Diversity Fellowship for her script Pink Ludoos, a romantic comedy about a young and disenchanted Indo-Canadian girl nervously approaching an arranged marriage.

The award, handed out by Citytv Vancouver and the Praxis Centre for Screenwriters, gives Mott full admission to Praxis’ Spring Screenplay Workshop and provides her with the mentorship of writer/director Mina Shum.