Canadian star Neve Campbell (Scream) has joined Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)-bound feature-length doc Swan Song (pictured) as an executive producer. The film will have its world premiere as part of the festival’s Special Presentations program.

Swan Song, which profiles the National Ballet of Canada as it mounts a new production of Swan Lake, is directed by Chelsea McMullan (My Prairie Home) and produced by Sean O’Neill (In the Making). The film is produced by Visitor Media production, in association with Mercury Films and Quiet Ghost (all Toronto). It is being distributed domestically by Toronto’s Blue Ice Docs, with international sales managed by London-based Dogwoof.

The film will see theatrical release starting September 22, before airing on CBC and CBC Gem this fall.

Rogers gets Q2 bump from Shaw deal

Roger’s merger with Shaw has led to a major boost in the company’s subscribers and revenue in Q2, even as lower ad income continues to hound its media division. The 30% increase in revenue was largely due to the completion of the merger, leading to a 93% increase in cable and 10% increase in wireless revenue. The marriage also came with an 89% increase in cable operating expenses, but the segment still ended the quarter with an adjusted EBITDA of $1.03 billion.

Revenue in the company’s Media division was up 4% year-over-year, a slowing of momentum from the 10% increase it had in Q1. The increase was driven largely by higher sports revenue, primarily from the Toronto Blue Jays, as the company continues to report lower ad revenue “across all divisions” being a slight drag on performance. Low demand has also caused revenue from Today’s Shopping Choice to decline for another quarter, though that has also come with a corresponding decline in TSC-related operating expenses.

Higher Blue Jays player payroll also led to an increase in media costs, while improvements and renovations at the Rogers Centre added $49 million in capital expenditures during the quarter.

In the Black lands Screen Funds

The British Film Institute has made a further nine awards through its U.K. Global Screen Fund – including one to U.K.-Canada treaty copro In the Black. The film is being produced by Toronto’s CaribbeanTales Media Group and London’s I Made It Films. The feature is also backed in the U.K. by LIPSYNC Productions in London and in Canada by Telefilm, CBC and the Canada Media Fund.

Directed by Frances Anne Solomon, the film is an adaptation of the memoir In The Black: My Life by Jamaican businessman Denham B. Jolly that examines his 12-year fight to launch Canada’s first Black music radio station.

Financed through the U.K. government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the U.K. Global Screen Fund allocates over £1.2 million ($2 million) through the fund’s International Coproduction strand, supporting U.K. producers to work as partners on international coproductions and help create new global projects. To date the strand has awarded over £5 million to 33 coproductions.

With files from Media in Canada

Photo courtesy TIFF