• Bruce McDonald’s latest feature is headed to the Toronto International Film Festival with Maple Pictures, which has acquired the Canadian rights to his horror Pontypool. The deal was negotiated by Maple co-president Brad Pelman and SVP of theatrical John Bain, and producer Ambrose Roche and executive producer J. Miles Dale on behalf of the film. Pontypool will have its world premiere in TIFF’s Vanguard program.

• Popular lifestyle series including Canada’s Worst Driver and Newly Wed, Nearly Dead? will be part of ITV’s international slate, following a recent deal between the U.K. distributor and Toronto’s Proper Television. ITV acquired exclusive international rights (outside Canada) to all content and formats developed by Proper, which also includes the upcoming factual entertainment series I Suck at My Job and Realtor vs. Realtor.

• Portfolio Entertainment has closed sales for Chef at Home and Chef at Large in Asia and Australia. Asian Food Channel has picked up seasons five and six of Chef at Home, to be aired across Southeast Asia. Select episodes from the fifth season have also gone to i-Cable in Hong Kong. XYZ in Australia, meanwhile, took seasons five and six of Chef at Home.

• YTV’s The Next Star is headed to MIPCOM, where Toronto’s Tricon Films and Television plans to debut the format rights to the kids talent series.

• Self-financed thriller Cycle of Fear from Digital Silver Productions and director/producer Manuel Da Silva has been picked up by distributor Echelon Studios in Las Vegas.