The 6th Hispano-American Film Festival, held in Toronto May 27 to June 1, wrapped with unofficial attendance numbers of over 7,500, up from around 6,000 patrons in 2002. The Montreal and Calgary HAFFs will run simultaneously June 12-15.

The 4th annual Canadian New Media Awards were presented during a gala ceremony at Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre on June 2. The swanky, well-attended event saw 12 Pixel awards handed out, but one big winner emerged from the evening.

Rick Mercer will wear almost as many hats at Banff as he does in the TV biz as a quadruple-threat writer, performer, producer and director. The funnyman will grace the Rocky Mountain town to participate in a master class, co-host the awards show and, most notably, receive a special award himself.

Gerald Lunz doesn’t appear too nervous about participating as the subject of a Banff master class on writing. Perhaps he seems comfortable because he’ll be up there with Rick Mercer, a man with whom he has worked and laughed for more than a decade, the pair making up a partnership known as Island Edge (see Mercer story, p. 29). Or maybe it’s because the title of the master class is ‘Driving the Comedy Bus,’ a topic he understands very well.

The Alberta film production industry has traditionally been hit-and-miss in attracting the high-profile productions that would bring the likes of Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight to town in tow. Despite the province’s variable track record – which does include Unforgiven and some of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies – recent coups such as the Kevin Costner western Open Range and scenes from X2 might be pointing the way to a more steady stream of big productions coming to shoot.

If the casts and crews of Alberta-based film and TV productions are wary of eating the province’s beef after the recent ‘mad cow disease’ scare, local caterers are ready to offer up plenty of alternatives.

Toronto’s Alliance Atlantis Communications has promised the largest launch ever for a Canadian film and it appears poised to deliver, with partners CHUM and Famous Players in tow.
The object of this vigorous effort is Foolproof, the sophomore feature from director William Phillips (Treed Murray). Jim Sherry, president of AAC’s Canadian theatrical distribution department, says the P&A budget for the film in Canada will be north of $2 million.

Despite the SARS scare plaguing Toronto in recent weeks, overall public admissions at the sixth annual Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children were up more than 10% from 2002, making 2003 its most successful year to date.

The CBC has formally requested the CRTC to reverse a ban preventing the broadcaster from airing foreign feature films after September.

The finalists for the 2003 Canadian New Media Awards have been announced, and as many as 12 lucky computer jockeys will leave Toronto’s Winter Garden Theatre with a Pixel on June 2.

Toronto-based service company MIJO Corporation, which boasts a who’s who in Canadian and U.S. production, broadcast and distribution on its client list, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Camera and gear suppliers in the major centres report a varied shooting season so far, but a few blockbuster Hollywood projects in B.C. are keeping them busy.