Six of Canada’s most promising documentary filmmakers have been chosen to participate in the inaugural year of The Documentary Studio. Conceived by celebrated filmmaker Allan King (Warrendale), the Studio aims to promote and mentor emerging doc makers. Drawing on his extensive experience in documentary film, King seeks to guide participants through the process of producing innovative and commercially viable Canadian documentary content.

* Daniel Gourd hs been appointed executive VP, French television with Societe Radio-Canada. Gourd served as interim VP French television since Michele Fortin’s departure in July. He has held various managerial positions with SRC since 1985 and was named director-general of programming in 1999.

Ararat, Bollywood/Hollywood, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Atanarjuat: Canadian tales told by Canadians. But these represent something more. A paradigm shift, perhaps, in the content and in how we tell our tales? Certainly, these are not variations on Strange Brew or Goin’ Down The Road.

Vancouver: Canada’s drama industry may not be generating a galaxy of stars yet, but it is helping mayors get elected.

Best Motion Picture

‘In this corner, in the grey pompadour, his soft-spoken manner only hiding the grotesque machinations in his mind, the Baron of Blood – Dave ‘Deprave’ Cronenberg! And in this corner, in the spectacles – you’ll never see him do a romantic comedy – Canada’s Denizen of Downbeat – Atom ‘the Armenian Hammer’ Egoyan!’

During the last Winter Olympics – as Canada, France and Russia traded accusations over that figure skating scandal – more than a few observers commented that, corrupt judge or not, it is a very imprecise process to rank creative performances, be it twirling on ice to the tune of Lara’s Theme or, say, directing A Beautiful Mind.

Ararat leads the 2003 Genie pack with nine nominations, but conspicuously absent among those noms is achievement in direction for Atom Egoyan. The introspective Toronto filmmaker can console himself, however, in being cited for best motion picture – he coproduced the Alliance Atlantis/Serendipity Point Films drama with Robert Lantos – and best original screenplay.

Coming from the rarefied atmosphere of academia to make your screen debut in an Atom Egoyan movie would be a major adjustment for most.

Anne Wheeler is feeling decidedly done wrong these days.

Director Anne Wheeler’s Suddenly Naked may have proven popular with the Genie jury, but her latest feature, The Edge of Madness (aka A Wilderness Station), is currently languishing under the radar.

With a Directors Guild of Canada statuette, awarded in October for helming Rare Birds, resting in his trophy case and an unprecedented two MOWs premiering Dec. 15 simultaneously in Canada and the U.S., Christmas has come early for Sturla Gunnarsson. Add to that a possible best director Genie win, and we could easily dub 2002 ‘The Year of the Gunnarsson.’