Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language will represent Canada in the nomination process for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. Directed by and co-written by Rankin, alongside Pirouz Nemati and Ila Firouzabadi, Universal Language was produced by Sylvain Corbeil’s Montreal-based Metafilms. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival where it won the inaugural Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award, is set in a re-imagined Winnipeg (by way of Montreal and Tehran). Described an “absurdist city symphony,” Universal Language will have its North American premiere at TIFF on Sept. 10. Read more here.
Angelina Jolie will be presented with the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media. Previously bestowed upon Pedro Almodóvar, Mira Nair, and Alanis Obomsawin, the award is presented by “culturalpreneur” and gender empowerment philanthropist Anne-Marie Canning and recognizes leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema. Jolie will be honoured at the 2024 TIFF Tribute Awards on Sunday, Sept. 8, alongside Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Durga Chew-Bose, David Cronenberg, Clément Ducol and Camille, Jharrel Jerome, Mike Leigh, and Zhao Tao, with Sandra Oh serving as the inaugural Honorary Chair of the fundraising gala.
Global Edmonton is celebrating the station’s 50th anniversary this week. The station first signed on-air as ITV (Independent Television) on Sept. 1, 1974, introducing itself to audiences by airing 1969 musical comedy Hello, Dolly! Starting Aug. 30, and all weekend long, Global Edmonton will feature on-air celebrations, marking the station milestone with reporters and anchors sharing their favourite stories, along with photos from the archives. Over 90 station alumni will gather in-studio for a special cake cutting. Read more here.
Noovo Info is launching new noon-hour national news show Noovo Info 12, airing Monday to Friday, beginning Sept. 9. Anchored by Marie-Christine Bergeron, the show will feature current affairs stories and analysis of the political, economic and legal news from Quebec and around the world. It will also feature a segment dedicated to all things digital and what’s being talked about online. From a virtual studio in Quebec City, Jean-Simon Bui will also deliver daily updates on what’s happening in the Capitale-Nationale region.
CBC/Radio-Canada has announced details of its coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The network will broadcast more than 140 original hours of coverage, with an additional 2,000 hours of live streaming coverage available across its platforms. CBC’s broadcast schedule features three live shows daily, including: Petro-Canada Paris Prime hosted by Scott Russell (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT); Toyota Paralympic Games Primetime hosted by Russell and Stef Reid (8 p.m. local) and Canadian Tire Paralympics Tonight (11:30 p.m. local) hosted by Devin Heroux and Roseline Filion. CBC’s daytime and prime time coverage will be offered with described video. Commentary and analysis will be provided for Para aquatics by Signa Butler and Summer Mortimer, and for Para athletics by Rob Pizzo and Stef Reid.
Rogers Communications has outlined plans to launch TV channels for HGTV, Food Network, Magnolia, Discovery ID, Discovery, and Bravo. The move follows Rogers’ coup earlier this year that saw the cable provider scoop brand and content licencing rights to Warner Bros. Discovery’s suite of English-language U.S. lifestyle and factual brands from Corus Entertainment and Bell Media. It also inked a multi-year deal to become the English-language TV content rights holder to NBCUniversal’s Bravo channel in Canada. Bravo is now available via cable providers, and its offerings soon available to stream on Citytv+ through Amazon Prime Video Channels. The channel largely carries unscripted reality content like The Real Housewives of New York City, Top Chef, and Vanderpump Rules. Starting Jan. 1, Rogers will launch TV channels for HGTV, Food Network, Magnolia, Discovery ID, and Discovery. Content from Cooking, OWN, Motor Trend, Animal Planet, and Discovery Science will be available on demand and via Citytv+. Read more here.
Global has announced premiere dates for its fall 2024 schedule. The network’s new slate of scripted programming launches with a special sneak preview of Matlock, starring Oscar- winner Kathy Bates on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/PT before settling into its regular day and time on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Canadian-produced mystery, Murder in a Small Town, starring Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk, debuts Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a 90-minute episode, landing in its regular day and time on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The latest addition to the NCIS franchise, NCIS: Origins, starring Austin Stowell as a young Agent Gibbs, premieres Monday, Oct. 14. Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. also come to Global with Poppa’s House, Monday, Oct. 21 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
Corus Entertainment’s drama networks Showcase and W Network have announced fall premiere dates for new and returning programming. Showcase fall programming begins Sunday, Sept. 8 as star-studded, limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist makes its Canadian debut. Featuring Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Taraji P. Henson, Don Cheadle and Terrence Howard, the series is based on the acclaimed iHeart true-crime podcast and follows the infamous story of how an armed robbery on the night of Muhammad Ali’s historic 1970 comeback fight changed not only one man’s life, but ultimately transformed Atlanta into the “Black Mecca.” On W Network, Hallmark Channel’s Fall into Love programming event returns Saturday, Sept. 7, ushering in fall with six brand new movie premieres. The hotly-anticipated Outlander, Season 7 premieres Monday, Nov. 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
T+E’s all-new original documentary series My Haunted Hometown (8×60’; HD) is an unsettling and immersive look inside homes, bars, stores and other locations across Canada and the U.S. plagued by vengeful spirits. The series goes beyond typical ghost stories by taking viewers inside real-life haunted venues, with its residents serving as the tour guides. The series premieres during T+E’s nationwide free preview event, Sept. 2 to Nov. 3, with new episodes airing every Friday leading up to October and T+E’s highly-anticipated Creep Week event.
Prime Video has announced that upcoming docuseries The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal will premiere with all four episodes on Sept. 20. Directed by Mike Downie, the series chronicles the triumphs, trials and deep bonds of brotherhood that defined The Tragically Hip’s rise from basement shows to arena rock legends. After its World Premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 5, the series will tour additional Canadian film festivals, including AIFF, VIFF & CIFF.
OUTtv has commissioned a new male-stripper reality competition series Willam’s Dark Room Duel hosted by drag icon Willam Belli (RuPaul’s Drag Race, A Star is Born, Iconic Justice). The series will feature multi-talented male-strippers going head-to-head in a series of themed challenges and performances. Judging alongside Belli will be drag artist Meatball Queen (Dragula, Sloppy Seconds Podcast) and legendary male entertainer Rhyheim Shabazz. Entering production in October, casting is now open.
Paramount+ has launched the Paramount+ app on PlayStation 5 consoles in Canada. Users can download the app and subscribe to obtain access to Paramount+ content including all seasons of Yellowstone (Season 5, part 2 drops Nov. 10), the upcoming Season 2 premiere of Frasier (Sept. 19) as well as the highly-anticipated Landman, co-created by Taylor Sheridan, with a cast including Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Jon Hamm, and Michael Peña. Paramount+ will also be home to forthcoming original series Dexter: Original Sin, featuring Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, and Patrick Gibson as well as political espionage thriller The Agency, starring Michael Fassbender and Richard Gere.
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and CBC have unveiled the group of performers who will make up the 2024 cohort of the CBC Actors Conservatory, Sept. 3 – Feb. 28, at CFC’s Toronto campus. Eight actors with a range of experience in film, television, and theatre have been selected to participate in the full-time, six-month immersive screen acting program, including Theresa Cutknife, Anna Morreale, Eva Foote, Emidio Lopes, Aldrin Bundoc, Taelor Lewis-Joseph, Ed Pinker and Arianna Laya-Garcia.
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF) is the new home of Women In View, the non-profit dedicated to strengthening gender representation and inclusion in film and television both on screen and behind the scenes, and the Canadian leader of the 50/50 by 2020 initiative. The announcement comes as SJIWFF plans an organizational expansion that includes the creation of Canada’s first gender equity in film institute. SJIWFF will fold in Women In View as the foundation of a future research arm of the new institute. The festival will share more details in the lead-up to its 35th anniversary edition, Oct. 22-26.
Out On Screen is introducing free youth program The Future is Queer at the annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) in September. The inaugural program includes screenings of two short film programs and one feature film, one workshop on gender expression, and post-screening discussions with Out In Schools and The Cinematheque. In 2023, the Out In Schools program reached 11,576 youth and 1,310 educators across 123 presentations and three rural tours. Its presentations use age-appropriate 2SLGBTQIA+ films acquired through VQFF and facilitated group discussion to engage youth and adults in understanding marginalized identities and experiences.
