The Writers Guild of Canada and the cftpa’s industrial relations committee are embroiled in a dispute as to whether minimum guarantees and distribution advances fall under the Independent Production Agreement’s definition of producers receipts….

In a further step towards increased integration as a content provider and supplier, CanWest Global Communications subsidiary CanWest Entertainment (formerly Fireworks Entertainment) has launched a London, Eng.-based international distribution arm, CanWest Entertainment International….

Edge Entertainment of Saskatoon has signed with broadcaster WIC Entertainment, Toronto’s Oasis Shaftesbury Releasing and l.a.-based distributor Regent Entertainment on the $4-million feature film Now & Forever….

On the public and private funding front, the past year saw the overhaul of the Canadian Television Fund and millions in new money added to the mix: tv movies gained $1 million in annual support from Cogeco Cablesystems; kids’, youth and…

Winnipeg: Short film buyers and distributors were among 175 filmmakers, broadcasters, industry delegates and another 450 seminar attendees who gathered for the inaugural Local Heroes International Screen Festival in Winnipeg March 8-13….

In what looks like a studio boom for Manitoba, a consortium of American producers is putting together a proposal for a digital production and post facility in Winnipeg worth over $35 million, Toronto’s Cambium Entertainment is in discussions with Manitoba Film…

While the new $15-million Alberta Film Development Program will provide a financial boost for indigenous dramatic production in the province, producers say the grant is difficult for documentary projects and coproductions to access because of the eligibility criteria which requires principal…

Heartland Motion Pictures has cracked the u.s. market, landing a development deal with cbs to produce a $10-million tv movie. Minds Eye Pictures has opened a Santa Monica office and will team up with l.a.-based Legend Entertainment on feature film projects….

Playback is marking the return of Prairie Scene with this Special Report on Production in the Prairie Provinces and B.C. Following its relaunch, Prairie Scene will appear every second issue in the Film and Television section of Playback….

The Alberta production industry has taken quite a hit over the past two years since the Alberta Motion Picture Development Corporation was closed. Since 1996, indigenous production has been falling – from $50 million to $13.6 million in 1997 and the…

The long-term usage of Currie Barracks (a deserted military base in Calgary) as a film and tv studio and production facility has a thumb’s up from Canada Lands, the federal real estate agency which leases the property….

On Manitoba’s post-production front, the two-years-young special effects house Frantic Films is making headway in the u.s. The Winnipeg-based company landed its first American network tv contract in 1998, contributing 20 shots to Stephen King’s Storm of the Century miniseries for…