Feature doc about controversial Chinese dam buoyed by international interest at Amsterdam festival. Avi Lewis pitches adaptation of wife Naomi Klein’s bestseller The Shock Doctrine

Live-action series from Decode and Shaftesbury picked up by German broadcaster

Former CBS anchor and ‘most trusted man in America’ to take first lifetime achievement award at three-day meetup in New York

Bell ExpressVu and Rogers are getting some competition for Christmas, thanks to the California-based PVR pioneer

When hearing the story of how Christian Larouche joined the film business, it’s impossible not to think of the words ‘humble beginnings.’

Imagine finding yourself in a sticky situation such as this. Your bank manager, Mr. von Freermarket, calls you up to say he wants to raise the service fees you pay in order to embark on this-and-that development initiative – all to serve you better, naturally. He’s putting in for an operating budget increase of, say, 19%, and he needs to take your input to his department head – you know, to help make his case.

Michael Shepard is president of Thunderbird Films, which, with Program Partners in the U.S., distributes Canadian TV shows including Intelligence, Degrassi: The Next Generation, ReGenesis and Da Vinci’s Inquest

CBC programmer Kirstine Layfield rolled out the network’s winter schedule Nov. 20, unveiling a lineup that includes three new dramas, the daytime lifestyle show Steve & Chris, and the U.S. game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

Canadian producers are privately salivating at the prospect of U.S. networks buying their strike-proof shows during a prolonged WGA strike.

Five women representing the wide spectrum of the Canadian film and TV industry – from the ultra-small mobile screen to large-format film – are being honored for their achievements by Women in Film and Television-Toronto.

GATINEAU, QC: The benefits package put forward by CanWest Global drew harsh criticism from unions and other groups as public hearings concluded Nov. 20 into its $2.3-billion buyout of Alliance Atlantis. Groups including the CFTPA, ACTRA and the WGC called on CanWest to put more money into the package, and on the CRTC to make it off-limits to in-house productions.

• Kathryn Humphreys has exited Citytv, followed by her boss Stephen Hurlbut. The veteran sportscaster walked away after 10 years early this month when, according to Hurlbut, national VP of news, she was unable to close a new contract with the Toronto station group. Days later, Hurlbut himself was gone. Tina Cortese, City director of news programming, will fill in for him on an interim basis.