Halifax: The Atlantic Film Festival’s executive director Gregor Ash and festival director Lia Rinaldo had a lot of soul searching to do before deciding to go on with the 21st AFF.
They were expected to kick off the festivities three days after Sept. 11, the events of which no longer need description. They decided to carry on, running Sept. 14-22 in Halifax, despite irregular air traffic, undeliverable film prints and cancellations by delegates afraid to travel, which in turn shut down many scheduled Industry Series workshops, the Strategic Partners conference and other events.

Toronto’s untitled is now representing L.A.-based, Montreal-born director Tim Godsall, filling the comedy hole within the roster executive producer James Davis alluded to in last month’s On the Spot.
Godsall, raised in Toronto, joins untitled from T.O. production house Avion Films, where he had been directing for roughly three years. Like many currently in the industry, Godsall came to directing from the agency side. He started as a copywriter for McCann-Erickson 10 years ago, moved on to Doner Schur Peppler and then Geoffrey Roche & Partners. He also ventured to the U.S. to take a job as an associate creative director with Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners in New York.

Halifax-based producer JD MacCulloch says The Baddeck International New Media Festival is on track to run Oct. 11-13, despite the recent troubles in the world and the financial strains felt by many of the companies the festival is marketed to.

Jeff August, creative director of Calgary’s White Iron Digital, says although only 20% of his shop’s body of work is commercial production, it certainly makes an impact when a board comes through.
August recently brought home an Emmy Award for outstanding editing on an ESPN spot about the Heisman Trophy. He was nominated in the sports category, competing against himself for his work on ESPN’s 2000 Summer X Games.

Due to the catastrophic events that have taken place in the U.S., the 26th Atlantic Film Festival has been forced to change its film lineup and some events, but organizers assure that, despite some faulty media reports, the festival is taking place as planned Sept. 14-22 in Halifax.
‘We are going ahead,’ confirms AFF communications manager Ivy Ho. ‘It’s going to be difficult because we have to juggle things around, but for everyone’s sake it’s going through.’

Halifax’s imX communications is forging ahead on its digital feature film series seats 3a & 3c, with principal photography now completed on Thom Fitzgerald’s The Wild Dogs, number two in the low-budget five-pack.
Wild Dogs follows Dragonwheel, written and directed by Tricia Fish, which wrapped earlier this year as the first installment in the seats series.
Coproduced with Axiom Films of the U.K., each film in the series is premised on the chance meeting of two people on an airplane and the profound impact it has on their lives.

Toronto commercial production companies Generator Films and Angel Films have merged and will be operating under the Generator banner after the Labour Day weekend.
According to Generator cofounder and executive producer Michael Cooper, the merger gives his company a chance to better succeed in both its longer format initiatives as well as in its native commercial business with Angel owner Sarah Ker-Hornell as a new partner and executive producer.

Toronto copywriter Janet Kestin and art director Nancy Vonk are so comfortable with each other’s habits, quirks and views on the industry that after a full decade together at Ogilvy & Mather, the three-year cocreative directors happily continue to collaborate on new ads and guide the teams working under them.

The recent launch of Halifax-based commercial production company Cenex may help usher in a new era of high-end spot making on the East Coast, according to founder and executive producer Scott Westerlaken.
Cenex has been set up to offer local creatives a new option for making their TV ad ideas a reality, he says, adding that high-end commercial production hasn’t flourished for a while in the Maritimes.

Vancouver animation house Studio B Productions, creators of such cartoon series as What About Mimi? and Yvon of the Yukon, has opened a commercial animation division. Headed by producer Michael van den Bos, the new division is currently sending out reels of Studio B’s work as well as spots van den Bos produced at Vancouver’s International Rocketship, his former home of more than 15 years.
‘It seems like there are not many animation companies in Vancouver doing a lot of commercials,’ says van den Bos, who came to Studio B to work on a Christmas special the shop was producing. ‘I just thought, ‘Why not give [spots] another try?’ There are animated commercials on TV all the time, so somebody is doing them.’

Radke Films’ Matt Eastman, the big winner at the annual 2001 First Cut Awards ceremony, earning the top spot among Canada’s new batch of commercial directors, received feedback on his victory the day after his win. He left Toronto’s Capitol Event Theatre on Aug. 2 with a trophy and free trip to the Cannes Advertising Festival in 2002.