A step forward for Canadian diversity at 2017 CSAs

Tatiana Maslany (above) walked away with two big statues at Sunday's Canadian Screen Awards gala in Toronto. That's three if you count the award that Orphan Black (below) snagged for its farewell season. Pretty good for a show that nobody in Canada picked up until BBC America did. Oh, Canada...

Other big winners were Montreal director Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World, the Jesse Owens biopic Race and Letterkenny for best TV comedy series.

Nominations announced for the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards

The nominations for the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards were announced today in joint press conferences in Montreal and Toronto. Montreal director Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only the End of the World | Juste la fin du monde and Space’s series Orphan Black are the leading nominees for this year’s Canadian Screen Awards.

Dolan’s French-language drama It’s Only the End of the World | Juste la fin du monde leads the film portion with nine nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for French actor Vincent Cassel.

Orphan Black leads the televion categories with 14 nominations. CBC comedy “Schitt’s Creek followed with 13 nominations, while another of their comedies “Kim’s Convenience had 11. “19-2 and “Vikings each received nine nominations.

Christopher Plummer had been previously announced as the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards.

Toronto International Film Festival announces Canadian selections, Talent Lab, Pitch This!, Rising Stars

POLITICS AND BOLD STORYTELLING HEADLINE CANADIAN LINEUP AT THETORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Toronto International Film Festival® announced an exciting lineup of Canadian features, packed with World Premieres from acclaimed filmmakers Deepa Mehta, Alanis Obomsawin, Bruce McDonald, and Brigitte Berman to promising new work from Kevan Funk, Anne Émond, Chloé Robichaud, Jamie Kastner, and Vincent Biron. North American Premieres include the latest from Xavier Dolan, Nathan Morlando, Kim Nguyen, Ann Marie Fleming, and Johnny Ma.

“We are thrilled to present a robust selection of projects from some of Canada’s best filmmakers,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “From thought provoking documentaries and affecting dramas, to unconventional biographies and thrillers, to animated features, this year’s selections highlight the diversity and high-calibre work produced in Canada.”

“We are proud to shine a spotlight on both veteran filmmakers and emerging talent in this year’s slate,” said Magali Simard, Film Programmes Manager, TIFF. “Canadians continue to forge their own path on a global scale with their own distinct perspectives and methods of storytelling.”

Call for submissions: TIFF Studio 2016

TIFF Studio 2016 Applications are now open:
Calling Canadian writer-directors!

Applications for Canadian writer-directors are now open for TIFF Studio, our year round training programme for mid-career professionals, co-supported by the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Director’s Guild of Canada. Our fourth edition will run from June to January 2017.

Studio is a space for filmmakers to be inspired, consolidate skills, exchange ideas, and discuss challenges in a collaborative environment. Offered to a select group of 10 mid-career, writer-directors, Studio is intended to take the candidates careers to the next level, via creative and business skill development.

2016 Canadian Screen Awards – Pre-Show & CBC Broadcast Winners

Comedian Norm Macdonald hosted the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards live on CBC from the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, where 39 CSAs were presented to winners from across the country, it was announced by the Academy of Canadian Cinema &
Television.

"Tonight we congratulate and applaud all of the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards' nominees and winners,” says Academy Chair Martin Katz. “Through your skill, artistry and talent – you represent the cultural infrastructure of our creative economy. We are all very proud of you.”

39 Canadian Screen Awards’ winners included six Academy Special Awards:

2016 Canadian Screen Awards – Television & Digital Media Gala 2 Winners

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television held their gala evening at the Westin Harbour Castle for the second round of Canadian Screen Award winners for 2016.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce that 49 Canadian Screen Awards and six Academy Special Awards were presented tonight in Drama, Children’s or Youth, Comedy and Variety categories. This Canadian Screen Awards Gala was hosted tonight by comedian Steve Patterson at the Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto.

2016 Canadian Screen Awards – Television & Digital Media, Gala 1 Winners

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television held its first gala tonight at the Westin Harbour Castle for the first round of Canadian Screen Award winners for 2016. The event was hosted by comedian Seán Cullen and presented 50 Canadian Screen Awards in the News & Sports, Documentary, Lifestyle, Reality & Digital Media categories.

In addition, they presented and three previously announced Academy Special Awards – Canada in Perspective received the Diversity Award; Mark Starowicz received the Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism; and Much Music Video Awards – Router-Based Production Audio Design received the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.

2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards finalists announced

The Writers Guild of Canada celebrates 25 years of working for Canadian screenwriters, showcasing their talents at the 20th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards. The gala event takes place on May 2, 2016 at Toronto’s beautiful Koerner Hall.

This year close to 150 scripts were nominated, with 24 scripts chosen as finalists, and 32 screenwriters up for awards. Special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, and the Sondra Kelly Award will also be presented.

Canadian Film Fest Reveals 2016 Lineup (March 30 – April 2)

The Canadian Film Fest (CFF), celebrating it’s 10th edition, has revealed the line up for this year’s festival along with a new logo and website.

The CFF returns to The Royal Cinema in Toronto from March 30 – April 2 and opens with the Toronto premiere of Jeremy LaLonde’s How To Plan An Orgy In A Small Town, which is fresh off its U.S. premiere at Slamdance and stars Jewel Staite, Ennis Esmer, Katharine Isabelle and Kristian Bruun. Director X’s feature film debut Across the Line, with Stephan James and Sarah Jeffery, has its Toronto premiere as the closing night film.

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announces 2016 CSA nominations

“We are proud today to announce the nominees for the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards,” says Helga Stephenson, CEO, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

"Congratulations to each and every nominee," Stephenson adds. "They stand out in a field where the bar is already set high and continues to rise. That's one sign of a vibrant screen-based industry in Canada."

CSA nominations in 132 categories (24 film, 101 in television and 7 in digital media) were announced today at simultaneous press conferences in Toronto and Montreal and via live webcast on the Academy’s newly designed fanzone.academy.ca.

“We’re looking forward to a great 2016 Canadian Screen Awards with a brand new production team headed by executive producer Barry Avrich,” says Stephenson.

Toronto Film Critics Association announce winner of Best Canadian Film Award

TORONTO CRITICS HAIL ‘THE FORBIDDEN ROOM’
Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson share $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award

The Forbidden Room, Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson’s giddy mash-up of Golden Age adventure serials, has won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s 2015 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award.

The award was presented to the filmmakers by fellow director Don McKellar – whose Last Night was named the TFCA’s Best Canadian Film in 1998 – at a gala dinner held January 5, 2016 at the historic The Carlu in downtown Toronto. Also nominated for the award were Philippe Falardeau’s My Internship In Canada and Andrew Cividino’s Sleeping Giant. In attendance were prominent members of the film industry, including actors Vinay Virmani (Breakaway, Dr. Cabbie) and Tara Spencer-Nairn (Corner Gas), directors Michael Dowse (The F Word) and Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo, The Husband), producers Nick de Pencier, Roger Frappier and Félize Frappier, David Hamilton, Martin Katz, David Miller, Ajay Virmani, and Robert and Ari Lantos.

Toronto Film Critics Association announces 2015 award winners

Todd Haynes’s Carol takes Best Picture, Best Director
The Forbidden Room, My Internship in Canada and Sleeping Giant compete for Rogers $100,000 Best Canadian Film Award

Carol, the swooning tale of a life-changing love affair, won two top prizes at the 2015 awards of the Toronto Film Critics Association.

Todd Haynes’ 1950s melodrama was named Best Picture, and Haynes named Best Director. The film’s stars, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, were runners-up for this year’s Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress prizes, respectively.

The TFCA named Tom Hardy Best Actor for the second consecutive year for his dual role as homicidal twin crime lords Reggie and Ronnie Kray in Brian Helgeland’s Legend; he’d won the 2014 award for holding the screen all by his lonesome in Steven Knight’s solo drama Locke.

TIFF announces Canada’s Top Ten for 2015

Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival expands with three-city simulcast and coast-to-coast screenings
Celebrated lineup includes works by Patricia Rozema, Guy Maddin, Philippe Falardeau, Alan Zweig, plus an onstage conversation with Kiefer Sutherland

TIFF salutes the country’s cinematic superstars tonight, revealing the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival lineup of the top 10 features, shorts and student shorts for 2015. Established in 2001, the festival celebrates and promotes contemporary Canadian cinema and raises awareness of Canadian achievements in film. Running January 8 to 17, 2016 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, the 10-day event presents public screenings of the selected films accompanied by introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers, as well as special events, industry panels and free engagements. On January 16, Golden Globe–, Emmy- and Screen Actors Guild Award– winning Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland will take the stage for an intimate discussion about his fascinating career. The 1985 landmark film My American Cousin rounds out the lineup as the festival’s Canadian Open Vault selection.

Third edition of The Shortest Day: a treat for families, kids and movie-lovers of all ages

The Shortest Day returns for a third year across the country from December 18 to 21, 2015, with an outstanding program of new, classic and award-winning shorts by some of Canada’s most talented filmmakers. This year’s free event—a fun way for families and movie-lovers to celebrate the lead-up to the winter solstice on December 21, the shortest day of the year, and usher in the holiday season—features 28 shorts organized into four thematic programs: Kids (under 8, 61 minutes), Family (56 minutes), Musical (16+, 74 minutes) and Dramas and Comedies (16+, 91 minutes).

Among the shorts from Ontario-based filmmakers this year is Bacon & God’s Wrath (Dramas and Comedies program) from director Sol Friedman. Bacon & God’s Wrath screened in the Short Cuts Programme at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Friedman’s short, an endearing mixed-media docu-collage, tells the story of a 90-year-old Jewish woman who reflects on her life’s experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time.

Call for submissions: NFB’s Hothouse 11 program

Apply by December 11 for the chance to be part of the NFB’s Hothouse program for emerging Canadian animators
NFB studios across Canada to take part in Hothouse’s 11th season

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is seeking submissions for its Hothouse apprenticeship program for emerging Canadian animators, now in its 11^th season.

Canadian filmmakers and artists can apply at http://films.nfb.ca/hothouse by December 11 for the chance to be one of six participants in a 12-week paid apprenticeship program with NFB animation professionals—a one-of-a-kind experience working with the NFB’s Oscar-winning Animation Studio.

Award winners of the 18th Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM)

The Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (Montreal International Documentary Festival or RIDM) will close tomorrow, Sunday November 22, after presenting 143 films and numerous parallel activities and events. The award winners for the 18^th annual RIDM were announced this evening during the closing ceremony at Concordia University’s Alumni Auditorium (H110).

GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE

Presented by TV5, the Grand Prize for Best Canadian Feature is awarded to Jean-François Lesage’s Un amour d’été, the jury particularly appreciated this “ode to coexistence and joie de vivre that freezes time. A subtly political declaration celebrating the happiness that comes from being together; a nocturnal interlude whose deep appeal to the senses is underscored by remarkable imagery.”

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announces Special Award Winners

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce six Academy Special Award winners for the 2016 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS: Ivan Fecan, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Ana Serrano, Mark Starowicz, Karen Walton and the Performing Arts Lodges (PAL Canada).

"Each of these outstanding Academy Special Award winners has made innovative and stellar contributions to our Canadian screen-based industries," says Academy Chair Martin Katz. "We are extremely proud to celebrate them and their ongoing achievements at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards."

These Academy Special Awards - as well as additional ones to be announced in the coming weeks - will be presented during 2016 Canadian Screen Week (March 7 - March 13, 2016).

The Directors Guild of Canada presents the 14th Annual DGC Awards

The Directors Guild of Canada handed out 19 awards tonight honouring the best work created by Members this past year in a star-studded, elegant event. Three special career acknowledgments were also handed out during the evening, including the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award to filmmaker David Cronenberg.

Arisa Cox and Sean Cullen co-hosted the Awards Gala which was held at The Carlu in Toronto. Presenters included this country’s hardest working filmmakers and actors; Jerry Ciccoritti, Jason Priestley, Catherine O’Hara, Helen Shaver, Dan Levy to name just a few.

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a national labour organization that represents over 3,000 key creative and logistical personnel in the screen-based industry covering all areas of direction, design, production and editing. The DGC negotiates and administers collective agreements and lobbies extensively on issues of concern for members including Canadian content conditions, CRTC regulations and ensuring that funding is maintained for Canadian screen-based programming.

19th Reel Asian Film Festival – full programming announced

REEL ASIAN CELEBRATES 19TH YEAR

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), presented by National Bank, celebrates its 19th annual edition from November 5 to 15, 2015 with high-profile guests from around the world, screening venues in Toronto, North York, and Richmond Hill, and a special exhibition by acclaimed Canadian filmmaker and artist, Randall Okita. This year, Reel Asian will present 72 films from over 10 regions including Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the United States.

Ontario VQA Wine + Fall Harvest Tasting

Last night, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and Wine Country Ontario hosted the Ontario VQA Wine + Fall Harvest Tasting at the Burroughes Building on Queen Street West.

Twenty-two Ontario wine producers sampled a total of 24 wines to go along with eight food stations representing local chefs, cheeses and foods. The wine and some of the food was available for purchase at the site.

Each winery presented a single wine, mostly in the $15-20 range. The one winery that sampled a higher-end product was Norman Hardie from Prince Edward County. Their table poured their Unfiltered Niagara Pinot Noir ($39) which was noticeably denser and richer than the others. Still, the other Pinot Noirs from Henry of Pelham, Coyote's Run, Rosehall Run and G Marquis (Magnotta) were tasty and fresh, as well as being excellent values.