Beyond the official agenda at this year’s Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention, hot topics among execs and advocates are likely to be the newfangled television policy and the digital domain. Broadcasting ’99, taking place this year at the Queen Elizabeth…

Cannes, France: The Canadian Television Fund Review Task Force on Coproductions has approved new guidelines eliminating the distinctive coprod envelope, capped at $10 million this year. Deborah Drisdell, director of international relations at Telefilm Canada and chair of the ctf’s coproduction…

Cannes, France: This year’s 15th edition of the mipcom program market seemed especially focused. There was talk of the tough sell and less traffic on the floor, but the more meaningful message pointed to fabulous ongoing opportunities in drama, children’s and…

Toronto-based animation producer Nelvana has set up a corporate sponsorship division which company representatives say marks a unique approach to financing productions….

Vancouver: Attendance was up 2% at the 18th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, which wrapped two weeks of screenings Oct. 10. Ticket sales numbered 135,000 and overall revenues jumped 4% to $775,000….

Vancouver: b.c.-owned and -controlled production quadrupled to $167 million in 1998 from $43 million in spending in 1994, says the provincial ministry responsible for film and television. Canadian-controlled production shot in b.c., meanwhile, more than quadrupled over the same period to…

After several months of complaints from its Toronto-based members and less than two weeks after rival union iatse Local 873 launched its ‘membership drive,’ Nabet 700 has been placed under trusteeship by its mother organization, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union…

Peter Benchley’s Amazon had its genesis over a year ago when Peter Benchley, the man behind Jaws and The Deep, posed the question, ‘What would happen if a plane crashed over the Amazon and six people survived?’…

Cine-Groupe of Montreal has begun development of the Alice Munro short story A Wilderness Station, the company’s first live-action feature since 1994….

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television will hand out a set of special Gemini awards to those who have made a considerable contribution to Canadian television. The awards will be presented over the three nights of the Geminis program (Nov….

Minds Eye Pictures of Regina is beefing up its feature film slate with the launch of a low-budget genre division….

The Comedy Network is going for more laughs as it slowly but steadily unveils its new lineup for the season, including three new original productions….