37th Annual Alberta Film & Television Awards (Rosies) - winners

Last night, the Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA, formerly known as the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association) held its 37th Annual Alberta Film & Television Awards or Rosie Awards at the Marriot at River Cree in Edmonton.

The winner for Best Dramatic Feature was Michael Dowse's Fubar II, also known as Fubar: Balls to the Wall. It had been up against A Heartland Christmas, A Legend of Whitey, The Corrupted, The Future is Now and The Pharmacist.

The documentary Code Breakers took three awards: Best Documentary - Over 30, Cinematographer - Non-Fiction, Over 30, and Overall Sound - Non-Fiction. Another The Nature of Things documentary Tipping Point also won three awards - Best Director and Best Screenwriter for Niobe Thompson and Tom Radford, and Best Editor.

The big winner for television series was the CBC drama Heartland. Its five awards were Best Dramatic Series, Best Director - Drama Over 30 (Francis Damberger), Best Actor (Shaun Johnston), Cinematographer - Drama Over 30 (Craig Wrobleski) and Best Editor - Drama Over 30 (Ken Filewych). The movie based on the series A Heartland Christmas won for Sound - Drama.

Worldwide Short Film Festival 2011 kicks off with free party

Although the Worldwide Short Film Festival doesn't begin until Tuesday night, the festival is launching this year with a free "Square Party" to give everyone a taste of what's in store. The festivities take place starting at 8pm on Sunday night at Yonge and Dundas Square.

The festival has already started showing short films in the "Short Bus" that has been driving around the city to give people an opportunity to watch short films for free in a traveling theatre. It will continue showing up at various locations to screen films until the last day of the festival on Sunday.

They've also announced that Award-winning director Kari Skogland, (Fifty Dead Men Walking, The Stone Angel) will lead an inspiring Master Class with actor Callum Keith Rennie (The Killing, Californication) on Directing Performance.

Also new this year, they will be having a full day of programming at the CN Tower including films suitable for children, and also a date night where you get dinner and a movie for $20.

65th Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) Awards for Italian film - nominations

The Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani (Association of Italian Film Critics) announced the nominations for their 65th Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) Awards.

Leading with seven nominations was the recent Cannes competitor Habemus Papam (We have a Pope) by Nanni Moretti. It received nominations for Best Director, Producer, Story, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction and Costume Design.

Two films followed closely with six nominations. Benvenuti al Sud (Welcome to the South) received nominations for Best Comedy, Producer, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress and Screenplay, while Nessuno mi può giudicare (Nobody Can Judge Me) picked up nominations for Best New Director, Comedy, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress and Screenplay. Earlier this month at the 55th David di Donatello Awards, Paola Cortellesi won Best Actress for Nessuno mi può giudicare (Nobody Can Judge Me), while Valentina Lodovini of Benvenuti al Sud (Welcome to the South) won Best Supporting Actress.

La Solitudine dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude of Prime Numbers) picked up five nominations. A number of films nabbed four: Malavoglia (The House by the Medlar Tree), Una vita tranquilla (A Quiet Life), Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male (Angels of Evil), 20 sigarette (20 Cigarettes),  Immaturi (The Immature) and La banda dei Babbi Natale (The Santa Claus Gang). The last two titles are comedies by Paolo Genovese.

Free screening of Bodyguards and Assassins

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is presenting a free screening tonight in celebration of Asian Heritage Month.

Bodyguards and Assassins by Teddy Chan Tak Sun is an action-packed epic martial arts film set in 1905. Its all-star cast includes Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, Leon Lai, Wang Xueqi and Tony Leung Ka-fai.

The film won 8 awards at the 2010 Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Film. It set a record for the most nominations in the event's history with eighteen. It also won Best Actor (Wang Xueqi) and Best Supporting Actor (Nicholas Tse) at the 4th Asian Film Awards.

The screening takes place tonight at the Toronto Underground Cinema at 186 Spadina Ave. It begins at 8pm and runs 2 hours and 19 minutes.

4th annual Sidabrinė gervė (Silver Crane) awards for Lithuanian film - winners

Tonight, the Lietuvių kino akademija (Lithuanian Film Academy) held their ceremony for the 4th annual Sidabrinė gervė (Silver Crane) awards at the Congress Palace, Vilnius.

The awards were swept by Kristijonas Vildžiūnas' Cold War drama Kai apkabinsiu tave (Back in Your Arms). It not only won Best Picture and Director, but won all four acting categories, screenplay and production design.

The only other film to win multiple awards was Taip Laima lėmė which won Best Animated Picture and Original Music. Best Documentary went to Barzakh by Mantas Kvedaravičius, an examination of tortures and abductions in Chechnya.

The Auksinė gervė (Golden Crane) for Lifetime Achievement went to actor Regimantui Adomaičiui.

Telefilm Canada's 2nd annual Golden Box Office Award goes to Splice

Telefilm Canada announced the winners of the 2nd annual Golden Box Office Award today at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. The award is given to the director and writer(s) of the highest-grossing English Canadian film for the previous year.

The winners for the year 2010 were director and co-writer Vincenzo Natali and co-writer Doug Taylor for the film Splice. It was a science-fiction film starring Canadian Sarah Polley, American Adrien Brody and French actress Delphine Chanéac. Polley and Brody play genetic scientists who introduce human DNA into their experiments.

Last week, Splice was the winner for feature film at the 1st annual Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE) Awards. The editor was Michelle Conroy.

Curiously, the Golden Reel Award at the 2011 Genie Awards for top box-office performer of 2010 went to Resident Evil: Afterlife. Like Splice, that movie was a Canadian-French co-production. Resident Evil: Afterlife, however, did not receive Telefilm funding and its writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson is not Canadian but British.

Festival TransAmériques 2011, May 26-June 11

The next two weeks mark the 5th edition of the Festival TransAmériques, the follow-up to the Festival de théâtre des Amériques which ran from 1985 to 2006. It celebrates the newest in contemporary dance and theatre, as well as other disciplines.

In addition to various performances, the festival will host a symposium on the weekend of June 4 and 5 called Supporting New Work. It will bring together artistic directors, presenters, programmers for art centres and festivals, choreographers, theatre directors, dramaturges and art critics for discussions on fostering creativity in the contemporary performing arts. In addition, there will be other talks and discussions with visiting artists, all of which are free.

There will also be film screenings of Territoires de l’art – Lia Rodrigues, de Vitry à Rio and Les ballets de-ci, de-là. And of course, the festival will hosting parties and other events.

The festival continues until June 11 at various venues throughout Montreal.

Call for Proposals: HATCH 2011

A call for proposals for the 9th edition of HATCH has been put out by the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. HATCH is a development program for local performance artists and companies. Successful applicants receive a residency and mentorship from Harbourfront Centre.

For this series, the curator will be Jess Dobkin who has received international recognition for her work. She has been named Best Performance Artist by NOW and X-tra.

The deadline for applications is June 20th, 2011.

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Calls for Submissions: HATCH 2011-12

Call for submissions: Trinity Square Video's "Right"

The film and video collective Trinity Square Video has put out a call for submissions for the second part of their trilogy series LEFT, RIGHT, CENTRE. TSV will select five proposals for works 5-7 minutes long to receive $750 in equipment rentals, technical support and a small honorarium.

Works selected will screen at an exhibition in November 2011. They will also be included in the LEFT, RIGHT, CENTRE catalogue. The first part of the series, LEFT, is currently screening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox until June 12.

The program is intended for Toronto-based artists. However, those from Toronto or the Greater Toronto Area can apply if you can ensure that you will attend all RIGHT related activities at your own expense.

The deadline for submissions is Friday July 1st, 2011.

56th Annual Drama Desk Awards - winners

Last night, the Drama Desk Awards were held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan Center. The Awards honour all of the New York theatre scene -- Broadway, Off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway and legitimate not-for-profit theatres.

The winners for the night were led by The Book of Mormon and Anything Goes which received five awards apiece. The Book of Mormon was received awards for Oustanding Musical, Director of a Musical, Music, Lyrics and Orchestrations. Anything Goes captured prizes for Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Actress in a Musical (Sutton Foster), Choreography, Set Design and Sound Design in a Musical.

The award for Outstanding Play went to War Horse by Nick Stafford. The honour for Outstanding Revival of a Play was given to The Normal Heart.

Those receiving acting awards included Bobby Cannavale (The Motherf**ker With the Hat), Frances McDormand (Good People), Brian Bedford (The Importance of Being Earnest), Edie Falco (The House of Blue Leaves), John Larroquette (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and John Leguizamo (Ghetto Klown).

8th annual Student Film Showcase, May 24, 26

The Toronto International Film Festival continues its support of emerging talent with its 8th edition of the Student Film Showcase. 12 films have been selected from student filmmakers across Canada, though it seems limited to B.C. and Ontario where most of the Film School Consortium affiliates are from. Nonetheless, the films are strong and show a wide variety of approaches.

The student filmmakers will participate in a panel discussion with animator/director Larry Jacobs, as well as filmmakers Kari Skogland and Warren Sonoda (Coopers' Camera, Textuality). Plus, a jury of industry professionals will award impressive prize-packs for the best live action and best animation films.

The animation films are particularly compelling. Basic Space has an innovative and imaginative approach to the visual style involving paper cutouts. Bramula is a stop-motion piece that seems inspired by Tim Burton with its macabre humour and Vincent Price-style narration. The Dimming is a gorgeous and haunting piece based on Inuit storytelling. My Name Is Mitch uses lovely hand-drawn animation to tell a story of self-acceptance. Paso Doble is a lively interpretation of a flamenco number.

But the live action films are good too. The standout there is Blink, a futuristic romance with a striking visuals and excellent performances. Shuffleboard Kings is the funniest of the bunch and though it has a cheesy synthesizer soundtrack, it is well-written and has lots of good laughs.

The Script Tease Project, May 24-29

The National Theatre of the World trio of Ron Pederson, Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram presents an entire week at the Theatre Passe Muraille in the vein of their Impromptu Splendor evenings.

Called The Script Tease Project, they've enlisted a number of playwrights to write the first two pages of a play. The three will read them onstage sight unseen and use as a jumping-off point to improvise an entire full-length play. They will also include some input from the audience at each show to include in the ad-libbed story.

The playwrights who agreed to participate is quite impressive: Judith Thompson, Linda Griffiths, Daniel MacIvor, Woody Harrelson, Hannah Moscovitch, Brad Fraser, Morris Panych, Mark McKinney, Norm Foster and John Patrick Shanley.

The Script Tease Project runs from now until May 29, with afternoon and evening shows on most days. Theatre Passe Muraille is located at 16 Ryerson Avenue, northeast of Bathurst Street and Queen St. West.

Concours Musical International de Montréal 2011, May 23-June 3

The Concours Musical International de Montréal (Montreal International Musical Competition) begins today as 24 musicians from around the world vie for a prize package worth over $150,000. The First Prize is $30,000 plus a Career development programme valued at $20,000. The Second Prize is $15,000 while the Third Prize $10,000. Additional prizes include Award for the Best Canadian Artist and the Joseph Rouleau Award for the Best Artist from Quebec, both worth $5,000.

The CMIM was established in 2002 for voice, violin and piano, and rotates over a three-year cycle. This year's competition is for piano. In addition to the four Canadian participants Tina Chong, Younggun Kim, Steven Massicotte and Avan Yu, competitors come from Australia, China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland and the U.S.

In addition to the competition itself, they are hosting a number of free events at the Place des Arts’ new Grand Foyer Culturel, the Espace Georges-Émile-Lapalme. From May 24 to 28, you can take a free piano lesson with a professional, bring your kids to workshops for 3 to 9 year-olds, or visit the piano bar happy hour at Place Deschamps wine bar.

On May 29, two Master Classes will be offered at Tanna Schulich Hall l’Université McGill. The first is with Jean-Philippe Collard in the afternoon, and the evening class is with Arnaldo Cohen.

2011 Billboard Music Awards - winners

After a five-year hiatus, the Billboard Awards returned with bang at last night's show in Las Vegas. The evening's host was Ken Jeong from The Hangover 2.

Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night, taking home three trophies including Top Artist, where her fellow nominees were Justin Bieber, Eminem, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

The other nominees all picked up prizes of their own, however, and Canadian Justin Bieber picked up seven awards total, including Top New Artist and  Fan Favorite of the Year. Eminem swept the rap categories and was named Top Male Artist, while Rihanna was named Top Female Artist.

The show included performances by Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Far East Movement, Mary J Blige and Lil Wayne. Beyonce was presented with the Billboard Millenium Award for her career achievements.

64th Festival de Cannes - award winners

Tonight at the Festival de Cannes in France, the jury presided by Robert De Niro presented their awards in a ceremony at the Palais. Robert De Niro received a standing ovation from the attendees.

The top prize Palme d’Or went to Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. Malick wasn't on hand to receive the honour and so producers Bill Pohlad and Dede Gardner accepted the award. Pohlad said, "I have always wanted to speak French, and tonight more than ever. Tonight I have to take the place of a giant. Terrence Malick is very shy and discreet. But I spoke to him today and I know he is very happy to receive this honour. The Tree Of Life was a long journey, but it was all worth it. I would like to thank especially the Festival de Cannes."

The Grand Prix was a tie between Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid With a Bike) by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. The controversial choice for the Jury Prize was Polisse by Maiwenn, which like Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da is a police procedural but received a more polarized critical response.

Nicolas Winding Refn won Prix de la Mise en Scene (Best Director) for Drive. The Prix d’interpretation masculine (Best Actor) went to Jean Dujarin in the silent film The Artist. Kirsten Dunst received the Prix d’interpretation feminine (Best Actress) for Melancholia.