Local documentaries and Quebec films will grab the spotlight when the Whistler Film Festival returns to the B.C. ski resort Nov. 30 to Dec. 3 for its sixth edition, backed by a new documentary conference and three Quebec films in the running for its Borsos Award.

* Doug Smith has been promoted to EVP of Motion Picture Distribution.

The distribution landscape in Canada is facing significant changes following last month’s sale of ThinkFilm and moves by Alliance Atlantis to unload its Motion Picture Distribution.

The Canadian Film Centre has rebranded and rolled out new plans for the future that include a multi-platform project with NBC Universal and a video website similar to MySpace.

The Gemini Awards’ first foray outside of Toronto proved to be a good move on the part of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and the B.C. industry that contributed so much to make it happen. The excitement of finally hosting the nation’s TV awards in a different Canadian production center was palpable on the West Coast – it certainly provided a breath of fresh air when you consider the jaded attitude the mainstream Toronto press has brought to the festivities in recent years.

Thank you for including me in your Oct. 16 feature ’20 people, events, trends and things that made a difference.’ I was truly flattered (especially as my photo on the front page was positioned so closely to the lovely Avril Lavigne).

Our readers think it’s mostly about the product. In a recent online Playback poll asking ‘Why do you think CBC shows are drawing low ratings?’, 39% of voters say it’s the quality of the shows, followed by 31% who blame poor promotion, and 24% who think tough competition is the main culprit. Finally, 6% feel it’s been hard for the network to bring viewers back after last year’s lockout.

Corner Gas does not receive financing from the Canadian Television Fund, as stated in the Oct. 30 issue.

Two years after its brief appearance on VisionTV, Da Kink in My Hair is set to make a comeback on Global, which has a comedy based on the hit stage play shooting this month in Toronto.

Blueprint Entertainment hopes its college-set The Best Years – now underway in Toronto for Global and The N in the U.S. – will connect with viewers from different age groups, bringing in teens, twentysomethings and those of us for whom school is a distant memory. Something like The O.C.

The creators of The Tournament have signed a deal that could see the series retooled and reborn on Fox. The network has ordered a pilot script from creators Howard Busgang, Marty Putz and Howard Nemetz for an Americanized version of the sports comedy – with Little League Baseball replacing the original’s junior league hockey.

Vancouver filmmaker David Paperny is again putting his love of documentaries into a series of new shows and specials for nonfiction channels on both sides of the border.