Filmmakers Joëlle Desjardins Paquette and Claire Sanford have been honoured for their directing efforts by the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists (AWFJ).

Paquette won the AWFJ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Feature for her first feature film, Rodeo (pictured), which the jury called “a father/daughter story that is told sensitively and without clichés.” The jury also praised Paquette’s “strong and distinct visual style and cinematic voice.”

Sanford took the AWFJ EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Short Film for Violet Gave Willingly, which the jury called “a powerfully gripping and thought-provoking feminist narrative in which a mother and daughter dance around a subject that neither wants to discuss.”

The EDAs honour work created by women and for women, both in front and behind the camera. They’re named in honour of AWFJ founder Jennifer Merin’s mother, late actor Eda Reiss Merin, and also stand as an acronym for Excellent Dynamic Activism. The 22nd edition of WFF continues online with select films available across Canada at on its screening site until Jan. 2, 2023.

The Fraggles return to Alberta

Apple TV+ has renewed the Alberta-shot Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock for a second season. Production on the new instalment of the Emmy Award-winning series has begun in Calgary, according to a news release.

Catherine O’Hara, Brett Goldstein and Ariana DeBose will guest star in season two, which will also include the return of Daveed Diggs. The reboot of Jim Henson’s classic Fraggle Rock is executive produced by The Jim Henson Company’s Lisa Henson and Halle Stanford, Henson collaborator John Tartaglia, and Matt Fusfeld and Alex Cuthbertson.

Co-executive producers are Dave Goelz and Karen Prell. The new season is produced by Chris Plourde and coproduced by Tim O’Brien. The series is produced in association with New Regency with Yariv Milchan and Michael Schaefer executive producing.

Disney channels join StackTV

Three new channels from Disney have launched on Corus Entertainment’s streaming service, StackTV, with hundreds of episodes and live streaming. The offerings from Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior include their most popular series and family favourites, such as Mickey Mouse Funhouse, Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest, and DuckTales.

Premieres will be added monthly, including season seven of Bunk’d, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Disney Junior’s Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.

Drew Robinson VP of content distribution at Corus Entertainment, said in a statement that the Disney channels “not only expands our premium multi-channel streaming package, but underscores our commitment to providing content for the whole family to enjoy.”

discovery+ hits Prime in Canada

Just over a year after making its Canadian debut, streaming service discovery+ is also now available on Prime Video in Canada. Through Prime Video Channels, customers will have access to more than 60,000 episodes of shows from Discovery’s portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Magnolia Network.

Also on offer are more than 200 original titles and exclusive content from the streamer, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as non-fiction content from A&E, The History Channel and Lifetime.

Photo credit: Cinematographer Juliette Lossky