Montreal: A father and son take the daughter of a Mafia don hostage in Le Génie du crime – a dark crime drama that reunites director Louis Bélanger and cinematographer Jean-Pierre St-Louis of Gaz Bar Blues.

Iroquois ON-based Ross Video took home an award at the 4th annual Awards for Innovation in Media, presented on April 27, closing this year’s NAB.

Tech giant Autodesk has had nearly seven months to decide how it would position its newly acquired line of Alias products, including Maya 3D animation and FX software, in tandem with its own 3ds Max release. The systems were formerly fierce rivals, but Autodesk has decided to keep them on their own courses, while also allowing them to talk to one another.

Everyone talking Pablo

During the two-day Digital Cinema Summit held in advance of the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, filmmaker James Cameron asked his attentive audience whether it believed digital cinema could bring people back to the theaters after a tepid 2005 box office year. He answered his question himself.

Broadcasters looking for cheaper programming, along with resurgence in feature film production, helped offset dips in other areas to keep spending on independent Canadian film and TV production in 2005 on par with that of the previous year, according to Playback’s 18th Annual Report on Independent Production.

The following chart indicates where independent production companies spent their money in 2005.

The CRTC decision to exempt mobile TV services from regulation marks a tipping point for Internet-based broadcasting in favor of the country’s cable and phone giants.
In a landmark decision on April 12, the CRTC said mobile TV services offered by Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and Telus Communications fall within its ‘new media exemption order’ of 1999 because they are delivered and accessed through the Internet – rebuffing arguments from traditional broadcasters that cell phone TV services should be licensed.

Telefilm Canada has tapped Michael Jenkinson, a former VP at 20th Century Fox and graduate of the Canadian Film Center, as its new feature film executive for the English-language market – handing the Jamaica-born, Toronto-raised MBA the green-light switch for its $80-million Canada Feature Film Fund.

The video game-inspired feature Silent Hill ruled the box office over the April 21-23 weekend, bringing in US$20.2 million from theaters across North America, besting the horror spoof Scary Movie 4 and the debut of the 20th Century Fox thriller The Sentinel.
In Canada, Silent Hill grossed $1.8 million for a per-screen average of $7,500 for distributor Odeon Films.

CBC Television is axing most of its in-house design department and pink-slipping 79 staff in Toronto. The pubcaster announced the cuts on April 20, saying it needs to make up for a budget shortfall.