Vancouver: On March 16, the Supreme Court of British Columbia handed a $351,000 judgment to Water Street Pictures of Vancouver in a breach-of-trust lawsuit launched against now-defunct Forefront Releasing, along with Vancity Capital Corporation and the Business Development Bank of Canada.

The film and video tax credit in Manitoba could now cover more than half a production’s labor expenses.

Phil the Alien, Rob Stefaniuk’s no-budget comedy about the misadventures of an extraterrestrial barfly in northern Ontario, had a respectable first week at the box office, raking in almost $13,000 from four screens.

Phil the Alien: Up top, almost everyone gives high marks to Rob Stefaniuk’s no-budget comedy about a wayward, drunken E.T., but there are a lot of ‘buts’ buried in the fine print.

The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period March 11-17 and television ratings for the period March 14-20.

Carole Taylor announced her resignation as chair of CBC/Radio-Canada’s board of directors on March 14. She intends to enter provincial politics in her home province of British Columbia, where she will run for office in May. Taylor served as CBC chair for the past four years.

Cuts at Telefilm

Moritz de Hadeln seems to be perfectly and oddly pleased with his new job at the Montreal International Film Festival – a top programming spot that puts the Swiss-born festival vet in the middle of the three-way slap fight that has broken out between MIFF and its cross-town rivals, the World Film Festival and the Festival du Nouveau Cinema.

Some good news for the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma – the fest again got a $200,000 cheque from Telefilm Canada this month and a matching contribution from SODEC. The fest has been consistently backed by both funding agencies. It drew $200,000 from each last year, enjoying a bump from its usual $150,000.

* Andrew Williamson will join Vancouver-based Keatley Film as director of development in June. Previously, he worked in industrial relations and policy at the B.C. branch of the CFTPA and was seconded by the B.C. Ministry of Labour to assist Justice David Tysoe in last year’s labor inquiry into the B.C. film industry.

The Department of Canadian Heritage is preparing to rethink its copro policies, and will meet in the spring with stakeholders to ‘review and refine’ Ottawa’s role in the coproduction process.

Peer-to-peer, Napster-like trading of TV shows is starting to get a toehold in the culture. It’s worth noting now while it’s still just a toe, because the whole foot, and maybe the leg, is going to get a hold within this decade.