Sophie Dupuis’ Chien de garde will represent Canada in the race for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. A filmmaker from Val-d’Or, Québec, Chien de garde is Dupuis’ first feature film. The gritty family drama stars Jean-Simon Leduc, Théodore Pellerin, Claudel Laberge, Maude Guérin, and Paul Ahmarani. Since its theatrical release, it’s been screened in competition at some 20 international film festivals and picked up three Iris Prizes at the most recent Gala Québec Cinéma for best lead actress, best new actor, and best editing. Read the full story here.
Bell Media’s French-language production partners took home 11 awards at the 33rd Gémeaux Awards Gala. Canal D claimed six awards for Expo 67, Mission Impossible, Claude N’est Pas Mort and Fugitifs. VRAK followed with two awards for Le Chalet and Med, and Canal Vie received an award for Maigrir Pour Gagner: Le Defi Du Quebec. RDS won a statuette for 25 ans D’Émotions and Super Écran for Marche À L’Ombre. Find the full list of winners here.
Bell Media says Emmy Awards viewership in Canada bucked U.S. trends with Monday night’s broadcast drawing its highest ratings since 2014. Citing Numeris data, the network said 1.8 million people tuned into the show on CTV, with viewership up 10 per cent over last year. In the U.S., the awards show drew a record-low audience of just under 10.2 million people, down from 11.4 million the past two years.
W5 returns for a 53rd season this Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, the CTV GO app, and CTVNews.ca. In the premiere episode, W5 host and managing editor Kevin Newman delivers “Hot Wheels” – an investigative look at new and shocking car theft techniques. W5 also looks into the specialized fraud schemes that result in stolen vehicles being shipped in containers overseas from Canadian ports. Also this week, W5 correspondent Avery Haines reveals the disturbing backstory to the 2012 police investigations into three disappearances from Toronto’s Gay Village that eventually led to the arrest of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
Gusto Worldwide Media’s newest original series Fresh Market Dinners premiered Tuesday. The 10-episode, half hour series follows host Amanda Herrera as she scours regional farmer’s markets for local produce and artisanal products.Travelling to each market in her retro teardrop trailer, Herrera creates wholesome dishes in her outdoor kitchen using the fresh ingredients she’s sourced. Each episode features a different farmer’s market experience, against the backdrop of various Ontario towns.
Discovery’s original Canadian series Mighty Trains returns with an all-new season, airing Sundays at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, beginning Oct. 14. Each one-hour episode tells the stories of six exceptional trains and their scenic locomotive routes through Canada, Ecuador, India, New Zealand, Sweden, and Spain. Produced by Discovery Canada’s in-house production company, Exploration Production Inc. (EPI), Mighty Trains is set to air in more than 100 countries around the world, spanning the U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and throughout Asia. Discovery has confirmed production is already underway Season 3.
Nelvana and Sony Pictures Animation have announced the second-season renewal of hit animated comedy Hotel Transylvania: The Series. Disney Channel in the U.S. and their global territories, and Corus-owned TELETOON Canada are set to broadcast the new episodes. The series’ first season premiered on Netflix in the U.S. in June and will continue to roll out globally this fall.
Nelvana has greenlit three new productions including digital-first, live-action series Miss Persona, and two new animated series, P.U.R.S.T Agent Binky and The Remarkable Mr. King, based off the popular Corus-owned Kids Can Press titles. Nelvana, which holds global distribution and merchandising rights to all three properties, will introduce the series to the international market at global TV market MIPCOM in October. Miss Persona (52 x 3 minutes) will launch on the Corus-owned Treehouse Direct YouTube channel on Sept. 21, before debuting on Treehouse’s linear channel in Jan. 2019. New CGI-animated series P.U.R.S.T Agent Binky (52 x 11 minutes), for kids four to seven, will air in Fall 2019 on Treehouse in Canada, while The Remarkable Mr. King (39 x 7 minutes), aimed at kids two to five, will air in Fall 2019 on Treehouse.
Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund says it closed its fiscal year (ending Aug. 31) with support for 94 Canadian film projects through the fund’s Script Development Program, representing an investment of more than $1 million. A full list of projects supported in 2017/18 can be found here.
Saban Capital Acquisition Corp. has entered into a merger acquisition agreement with Toronto-based Sim Video International, a leading provider of production and post-production solutions, and Panavision. The merger will see the creation of a global provider of end-to-end production and post-production services to the entertainment industry. Under terms of the business combination agreement, Panavision and Sim will become wholly-owned subsidiaries of Saban Capital which will change its name to Panavision Holdings Inc. and continue to trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The transaction reflects a valuation for the combined entity of $622 million (inclusive of debt). Upon closure of the merger, anticipated in the first quarter of 2019, Kim Snyder, president and CEO of Panavision, will serve as the new company’s chairman and CEO. Bill Roberts, CFO of Panavision, will serve in the same role for the combined company.
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