Banff: Corus Entertainment used this year’s Banff Television Festival to announce the launch of a new production fund that is set to finance close to $8 million in original Canadian productions.

Designed to boost the family feature and teen drama series genres, Corus Entertainment Production Initiative, a byproduct of Corus’ acquisition of WIC Western International’s specialty assets, will oversee the distribution of $5 million for the production of at least eight Canadian family feature films and $2.65 million for the production of at least three Canadian youth drama series.

‘The Corus Entertainment Production Initiative gives Canadian filmmakers access to top-up production funding, and then offers national broadcast exposure on a Corus service,’ said Corus president and CEO John Cassaday. ‘It’s a real leg-up for Canadian film and television producers and, at the same time, allows us to play a role in the development of leading-edge entertainment programming for Canadian kids and their families.’

The entertainment giant also announced it has given the Canadian Film Centre $1 million to establish one of the best-equipped digital production training facilities of its kind in Canada, a commitment made by Corus as part of its purchase of Power Broadcasting.

Scheduled for completion in spring 2002, the Corus Entertainment Digital Animation and New Media Studio will be established in an existing cottage at the CFC and will feature state-of-the-art equipment.

In other Corus news, the first annual Corus Entertainment/CWC New Media Career Accelerator program is set to take place at the Banff Centre March 2-8, 2002.

The program, a joint effort of Corus, Canadian Women in Communications and the Banff New Media Institute, is geared toward those in the converging communications industries. It will allow 20 Canadian women to be immersed in a completely interactive experience in new media management, tools and practices. *