Long Branch, a short film directed by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart, continues to garner attention. The short (pictured) from the Toronto filmmakers is among Viewfinder’s top short films, commercials or music videos of 2012. The annual list is based on polls of studio executives, producers and creatives in which they are asked to provide their top 10 favourites in these mediums for the previous 12 months.

In November, Long Branch, took both the $1,250 A&E Short Filmmakers Award for best film and the $750 Bite Comedy Award for best comedy in the National Screen Institute’s online short film festival.

Clark and Stewart are currently working on the theatrical feature I Put a Hit on You, along with Mike MacMillan of Lithium Studios Productions and Jordan Gross of Dark Hope Entertainment, two Toronto companies that also had a role in Long Branch.

Cinematography nomination

Award-winning Canadian cinematographer David Moxness has been nominated for an American Society of Cinematography award for his lensing of Joshua Jackson starer genre series Fringe. The nomination announced earlier this week is for his work on the episode Letters of Transit. He’s a past winner of the ASC award, for his work on Smallville (2007), and has taken Gemini and Leo awards for his work.

Moxness, who has also been nominated for Canadian Society of Cinematography awards, is represented by Los Angeles-based Dattner Dispoto and Associates.

Sink Hole shoot

Odyssey Media, a prodco with offices in Vancouver and Brisbane, Australia, reports that principal photography has started in L.A. on their latest action thriller, Sink Hole. Scott Wheeler directs the script penned by sci-fi and horror veteran Lindsay James (Malibu Shark Attack, Ice Road Terror).

The producers for Odyssey are Kirk Shaw and Devi Singh along with exec producer Stan Spry.

Odyssey has had a busy 2012, with feature-length projects in production or pre-production that include Deception, Suddenly, Forever 16 and Dracano).

A Question of Innocence

Christian Bruyère of Vancouver-based Mystique Films is currently in production on a feature documentary called A Question of Innocence. The doc, which recently received funding from ID Films: Investigation Discovery U.S., a man who has spent 37 years on death row due to an apparent wrongful conviction in Florida.

Mystique Films recently completed production on the Lifetime Networks‘ film Holiday Spin. Billed as a ballroom dance drama, the program that stars Ralph Macchio and Vancouver actress Allie Bertram is distributed by Toronto’s Union Pictures of Toronto.

imagineNATIVE submission opens

Aboriginal artists are being invited to again submit proposals for innovative interactive digital media projects to the NFB-backed imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. The deadline is Jan. 31, and all Canadian aboriginal artists, using any digital medium and genre, are eligible to submit proposals. Application details are found in the PDF here.

Hollywood Suite on Rogers

Hollywood Suite, the Toronto-based provider of commercial-free movie channels, has pacted with Rogers Communications in a deal that see Rogers HD TV customers in Ontario being offered five new Hollywood Suite channel offerings: WarnerFilms, MGM Channel, Sony Movie Channel, AXN Movies and Hollywood Suite OnDemand. The roll out includes a free-trail period until the end of March in many locations. The offering won’t begin in the Rogers zones of Mississauga, Etobicoke, Brampton, Ajax and Newmarket until early 2013.

South Asian-focused channels

Asian Television Network International has secured a deal that sees Cogeco Cable carrying 26 of its South Asian-community focused channels. The new channels were launched on Dec.2, and include a mix of programming offerings, including general entertainment, news, lifestyle and Bollywood movies, in languages including Punjabi, Bangla, Tamil and Urdu.