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Von Finckenstein is new CRTC chief
Former judge and Competition Bureau commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein is the new boss of the CRTC, following a Jan. 25 announcement by Heritage Minister Bev Oda.
How She Move scores Sundance deal
Park City, UT: For the second year in a row, a Latin flavor played well at the Sundance Film Festival, which on Jan. 28 handed its grand jury prize to the Spanish-language drama Padre Nuestro by U.S. writer/director Christopher Zalla. Last year, Quincanera by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland took the prize.
A good film in any language
It took nearly 60 years, but we finally have a ‘foreign’-language Oscar nominee from English Canada. Quebec filmmaker Denys Arcand led the charge 20 years ago for French Canada, and has a couple of Oscar noms (The Decline of the American Empire, Jesus of Montreal) and a win for The Barbarian Invasions. That Toronto-based Deepa Mehta’s Water is in Hindi and shot in India makes little difference – and all the difference.
Partition needs heart
Despite being set in India within a decade of the same tumultuous period described in Deepa Mehta’s tragic love story Water, Vic Sarin’s Partition has none of that film’s grace, restraint or unity of vision. Look for a brief run that attracts a largely Indo-Canadian crowd, followed by a hasty exit from theaters. The film opens Feb. 2 through Seville Pictures.
Bon Cop, Kigali tie Jutra noms with 12 each
Box-office star Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Un dimanche à Kigali, a tragic story of the Rwandan genocide, lead the pack with 12 nominations each in this year’s run-up to the Prix Jutra, which on Jan. 23 unveiled its contenders for the top Quebec film honors.
CTF tweaks 2007/08 guidelines
For once, there are no major policy changes this year at the Canadian Television Fund, which will enact new guidelines for 2007/08 on Feb. 1.
TV needs ‘vision,’ says Heritage critic Keeper
A thriving homegrown TV industry is a major priority for Tina Keeper, the former actress who has taken her place in Parliament across the aisle from Bev Oda as Heritage critic for the Liberals.
Fiddler and Mile Zero on DVD
Norman Jewison’s 1971 Oscar-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof finally got the deluxe treatment Jan. 23 on DVD. Special features on the disc include the doc Norman Jewison, Filmmaker and a commentary with Jewison and lead actor Topol (seen above left).
Degrassi close to syndication following NATPE
Following last month’s NATPE convention in Las Vegas, Degrassi: The Next Generation is just 10% away from its goal of reaching U.S. syndication by September.
Emmy noms kick off expanded KidScreen Summit
Nominations for the Daytime Emmys children categories will help kick off this year’s KidScreen Summit, when the eighth annual kids entertainment conference meets this month at the Sheridan New York Hotel & Towers in NYC Feb. 7-9.
People
* Board member Felix Fraser will take over as interim chair of Telefilm Canada upon the departure of Charles Bélanger, whose five-year term comes to an end on Feb. 18. The search for a permanent replacement is underway. Also at Telefilm, Denny Alexander has been hired as its new media and communications manager, exiting the Toronto International Film Festival Group after five years.
Sold!
* TSN has secured a multi-year agreement to air the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, which gets underway in May, until October 2007. The deal includes 12 one-hour broadcasts, which will consist of race coverage, driver interviews and features. The sportscaster recently acquired broadcast rights to all 35 NASCAR Busch Series races, including the inaugural Montreal race.
With no vision comes no Canada
Peter Keleghan has been acting in movies and TV shows for more than 20 years, and has appeared in projects including The Newsroom, The Red Green Show, Made in Canada, Seinfeld and Billable Hours.
Advertisers eye online version of Falcon Beach
Stars of Global’s homegrown drama Falcon Beach are meeting fans from across Canada, the U.S. and beyond this winter, all from the comfort of the show’s Virtual Cottage Community, a multi-user environment that has some of the show’s advertising partners thinking about a whole new way of reaching online audiences.
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