* Ariel Veneziano has joined Alliance Atlantis Pictures International as director of international sales. Formerly with Menemsha Entertainment, Veneziano was instrumental in worldwide distribution for such international art house hits as Iran’s The Color of Paradise and France’s Train of Life….

Bolstering its presence in the u.k. and further solidifying its place in the documentary arena, AAC Fact is the new and proud owner of internationally renowned factual producer Cafe Productions….

Montreal: Christian Larouche, executive vp with distributor Films Lions Gate, has launched Christal Films, a new production and distribution company created in partnership with Lions Gate….

Last issue we knew that Denise Donlon, president of Sony Music Canada, has been named Canadian Women in Communications woman of the year. …

Montreal: The National Film Board delivered 128 productions, including 96 original nfb titles and 32 coproductions and 30 versions, according to its 1999/00 annual report tabled in the House of Commons on Feb. 6. In the period, the board garnered 132…

Buffalo Gal Pictures has emerged as the standout in this year’s Blizzard Award nominations, with three of the four nominees in the category of best drama long – budget over $1 million coming from the Winnipeg company. Hosted by the Manitoba…

Toronto 3D animation and f/x house TOPIX/Mad Dog and visual effects supervisor Dennis Berardi have launched Mr. X, a cg studio focusing on long-form projects. The new division brings together t/md, a well-established shop specializing in spots, and Berardi, who supervised, produced or managed the f/x work on such films as The Cell, Fight Club and eXistenZ at Toronto post house toybox.

Toronto-headquartered Bulloch Entertainment Services, a member of The Comweb Group, has introduced proXee (Production Office Express), a new payroll software product that increases efficiency in production management on the set of film and tv productions.
Bulloch, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, provides financial services to the entertainment industry, focusing on payroll.

Montreal-based cinematographer Francois Dagenais says he got the gig on the feature Between the Moon and Montevideo for his knowledge both of Spanish and the Super 16 format. These proved a boon on the Cuban set of btmam, writer/director Attila Bertalan?s follow-up to 1992?s A Bullet in the Head, Canada?s Academy Award entry that year for best foreign-language film.
Dagenais shot BTMAM in Super 16 for blowup to 35mm, and offers some advice on the process.
?The most important thing is to do tests beforehand, [keeping in mind] where you?re going to do your blowup and with which kind of film stock,? he says. ?Also, try to test in the situation you?re going to experience during the movie.?
Dagenais was impressed with the image sharpness maintained even after the transfer. (The movie was originated on Kodak Vision 500T 7279 stock.) Part of this can be attributed to his approach to the printing process.

Still riding high after receiving the Genie for best documentary for the Ontario-banned doc Grass, Ron Mann and his production engine Sphinx Productions are busier than ever with at least five flavorful projects in development.
‘I’m committed to making documentaries about alternative culture,’ said Mann a week after accepting the ironic Genie nod and being spotlighted by Cinematheque Quebecoise in Montreal. ‘We’re still a small company that’s deciding which way to go, but at this point it’s about making films for the love of making films. A lot of doc makers disappear after one or two movies, but for me it’s not a ticket to making long-form dramas, the form still excites me.’

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia stargazers get an eyeful this spring when Miramax brings The Shipping News to the East Coast.
Adapted from E. Annie Proulx’s award-winning novel of the same name, The Shipping News will shoot on location in the Trinity Bay area of Newfoundland and take advantage of studio space in Dartmouth, ns.

Mark Lobsinger is a lawyer at the Toronto law firm of McMillan Binch and a member of the firm’s Tax Group.

No discussion of film financing in Canada today would be complete without discussing the role that Canadian tax shelters play.
There are at least three Canadian organizations that offer these shelters: Cinegate Production Management Services, Grosvenor Park Film Financing Corporation and Sentinel Hill Alliance Atlantis Equicap lp.
While these structures are designed to provide an attractive tax shelter product to private individuals, as a by-product they also provide a financial benefit to studios or production companies that are willing to supply the films and television productions that are needed to make these shelters work.