Film romance set within the chaos of war (think Gone with the Wind, Casablanca and The English Patient) has always resonated with film audiences drawn in by the fragile human story placed within firing range of inhuman violence.

Although this past year saw the continued evolution of both Kodak and Fujifilm’s motion picture stocks and the emergence of additional DV capture formats such as HDV, the watershed news may just be on the exhibition side.

At the recent Digital Video Expo in Los Angeles this past December, Panasonic unveiled the AG-HVX200, long-awaited big brother to the AG-DVX100, a lightweight SD camera launched three years ago that allowed an affordable way to shoot in true 24p. In addition to shooting HD in various flavors including 1080p, the biggest revelation from the 200 is its use of solid-state technology – similar to digital still cameras – to allow capture directly onto removable cards called P2 (Professional Plug-in).

A new report commissioned by the Government of British Columbia suggesting the province would be better off without film and TV production tax credits has ignited a wave of protest in the local industry.
The study, titled Film and Television Industry Review and prepared by InterVISTAS Consulting, was commissioned last March and posted in November on the website for the B.C. Ministry of Economic Development, with highlights appearing simultaneously in a Vancouver Sun story. The newspaper article shocked many industry players who had neither been contacted to participate nor notified in advance of the results. While acknowledging positive contributions the industry makes to B.C.’s economy, the report also concludes the province would be $46 million richer per year without production tax credits.

CTV’s forthcoming Whistler is being touted as the most expensive drama series the network has ever produced, and joins in a revival of indigenous B.C. series work that also includes the likes of Da Vinci’s City Hall, Godiva’s, Robson Arms and newbie Alice, I Think.

Scripts for season two of surprise hit Robson Arms are already being developed and the show’s producers hope it will go to camera in April.

Vancouver prodco Brightlight Pictures announced late last month that it is re-teaming with the U.K.’s Gold Circle Films to produce White Noise 2: The Light, the sequel to their wildly successful supernatural copro thriller White Noise. Patrick Lussier, a veteran editor whose helming turns include the feature Dracula 2000, will direct from a script by newcomer Matt Venne.

OMNI Television has launched a new fund called the British Columbia and Manitoba Independent Producers’ Initiative to benefit independent producers of religious or faith-based documentary programs in the provinces.

The long-standing question of whether the Canadian Television Fund should allow Vancouver to benefit from regional status – making it distinct from Toronto and Montreal – continues to pit producer against producer. The topic is so touchy that, despite heated debates behind the scenes, few stakeholders are willing to address it on the record.

A report by Auditor General Sheila Fraser says Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund and other agencies under the Department of Canadian Heritage suffer from inefficiencies and a lack of clearly defined goals.
‘Canadian Heritage and other organizations spend over $800 million a year on programs that support cultural industries,’ writes Fraser in the 28-page report, released Nov. 22. ‘The department should have a better idea of what it’s trying to achieve.’

The Canadian Television Fund is an effective tool for putting high-quality Cancon into primetime, but should establish audience benchmarks that more clearly define its success or failure, according to a recent report from its parent, the Department of Canadian Heritage.

The CBC is in the ‘very early stages’ of talks to hand sales of its archives to the BBC, but does not plan to sell the material outright or make any cuts at home.