Phyllis Yaffe is president of Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting, Toronto….

* AAC reports rising revenues…

Former broadcast and marketing executive Claire Samson has been appointed president and director-general of l’Association des Producteurs de Films et de Television du Quebec, the 100-member Quebec film and tv producers association….

Vancouver: Deadlines to finalize a deal between Peace Arch Entertainment and the backers of the new 22-episode series AKA Picasso were bumped a week to Dec. 17….

Canada has nine titles in the Sundance Film Festival 2000, running Jan. 20-30. As usual, Canada is well represented in the Native Forum program, but the festival’s official selections also include several Canadian productions in other notable categories at this showcase…

Knightscove Entertainment, an upstart Toronto-based producer/ financier, has acquired an insurance-backed bond issue of $50 million, which it will use to produce and finance 10 to 20 family films with total budgets of $100 million over the next four years….

Vancouver: The flagging fortunes of Vancouver public companies are finally having a respite. Earlier this month, Lions Gate Entertainment reported a quarterly profit and now Mainframe Entertainment is in the black with its second quarter of fiscal 2000 (ended Sept. 30)….

W. Paterson Ferns is president and ceo of the Banff Television Festival….

Some dates listed in Playback’s Nov. 15 article concerning the merger of satellite providers Cancom and Star Choice, are misleading. The merger was completed through an exchange of one Cancom common share for 4.8 Star Choice common shares on Sept. 1,…

P&A…

telefilm Canada’s Montreal office is holding an information session for Quebec feature film producers planning to file applications to the Feature Film Fund or to the Canadian Television Fund (Equity Investment Program/Feature Film) for the 2000/2001 cycle. The session will be…

Montreal: Several new approaches to feature film funding emerged this year at Telefilm Canada’s Quebec operations office. The emphasis on auteur movies remained unchanged, but the agency apparently found a way to disgruntle a number of older established producers by greenlighting…