CBC, Ngozi Paul expand FreeUp! Emancipation Day special

Paul talks about building on the partnership for the special and how the relationship with CBC began.

Deals: Sinking Ship, Attraction Distribution, Super Channel

Sinking Ship Entertainment inks new sales for Odd Squad and Annedroids, Attraction Distribution to distribute Dear Flora internationally, plus more.

SODEC to help finance 15 feature-length documentaries

Two of the films are from Robbie Hart: Ice-Breaker and La fille du rocker: un voyage au bout de Lucien Francoeur.

Telefilm allocates $12.8M to 21 English market films

The features were selected from more than 300 submissions to the 2022 production program. (Update: this story corrects erroneous information about The Invisibles.)

In brief: CBC’s Canada’s Ultimate Challenge starts shooting

Plus: Vancouver’s Spark Animation Festival selects its jury for fall and Christa Dickenson makes her first strategic move at CPAC.

Ashgrove grows with U.K. distribution deal

EXCLUSIVE: London-based (Yet) Another Distribution Company has acquired the Jeremy LaLonde-directed thriller to release in tandem with the U.S. and Canada.

Bron Studios, Falcon’s Beyond take flight with partnership

The studio will make an animated series and movies based on Falcon’s Katmandu IP, while Falcon’s brings Bron IP into its theme parks.

TIFF CEO previews conversation-sparking festival lineup

TIFF ’22: The 47th edition has unveiled a raft of world premieres among its gala and special presentations, including Canada/U.S. copro Alice, Darling and Uninterrupted Canada documentary Black Ice.

Netflix’s The Swimmers to open TIFF’s 47th edition

The Sally El Hosaini refugee drama is the second Netflix title to open TIFF after David Mackenzie’s Outlaw King in 2018.

Blue Ant Media launches HistoryTime on LG Channels

The history-themed FAST channel is on LG Channels in the U.S. and Canada, adding to Blue Ant’s portfolio of free, ad-supported streaming channels.

CMF allocates $7.3M to English, French docs via POV program

The funder will open a second round of the program for French-language docs in September due to a leftover $1.1 million in funds.

Rogers, Shaw extend merger deadline

The company announced the extension as part of its Q2 2022 financial report.

Blink49 Studios partners with Jeff Wachtel’s new production banner

The Toronto studio is a strategic investor in Future Shack Entertainment, signing a long-term distribution and production deal on Canadian projects.

Hot Sheet

Hot Sheet: Departure season two makes national top 10

Meanwhile, The Amazing Race Canada continues to lead TV ratings in Canada for the week of July 11 to 17.

Gusto TV brand returns to Canada

Gusto Worldwide Media head Chris Knight discusses the relaunch of the Ottawa-based international food channel in Canada as its licensing deal with Bell Media ends.