In 2002, Canadian Yung Chang went on one of the so-called ‘farewell cruises’ along the Yangtze River with his parents and grandfather. It was a common trip for tourists to see the area before it was to be flooded by the Three Gorges Dam, and the voyage became the catalyst for the feature doc Up the Yangtze.

Films from China are spotlighted in this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, with epic Chinese filmmaking represented by Jiang Wen’s The Sun Also Rises, an operatic tale of love and madness set in the 1970s, starring Joan Chen.

The Vancouver International Digital Festival, four days of digital media events focusing on animation, gaming, web 2.0, mobile and interactive content, begins Sept. 22, in essence kicking off the city’s major film festival.

The environment plays a starring role in this year’s VIFF through the fest’s new Climate for Change series.

Art and commerce merge at the 22nd annual Film and Television Forum, Sept. 26-29, with new streamlined days, each of the four with a specific focus.

The fourth annual Television Animation Conference, the two-day offshoot of the Ottawa International Animation Festival (Sept. 19-20), will attract about 250 industry execs looking for the next step in producing stellar content for all screens sizes, from mobile to HD.

Starz Media – the Burbank power-house entertainment company that animates The Simpsons – officially opens Starz Animation Toronto, its new Canadian studio, at the end of the month.

Despite the position of the regulator, private broadcasters tell the commission that media consolidation poses no threat to diversity in media, so no changes are necessary

In its limited-release North American opening weekend, David Cronenberg’s thriller Eastern Promises brought in nearly US$550K on just 15 screens

Bonnie Brownlee is the new communications head at CTVglobemedia, taking over for veteran Mary Powers, who is striking out on her own

Season ender down slightly overall from last year, though summer-long singing contest still a winner, says CTV

The channel goes live with its new DigitalDrum online property, aiming to connect innovation and tradition