Creative BC and the Rogers Group of Funds have announced new support for domestic creators in British Columbia that will encourage the development of motion picture projects in the documentary series and factual series formats. The new $800,000 Rogers + Creative BC Documentary and Factual Development Fund will be delivered over two years, launching in Jan. 2020. The fund is the first partnership in Canada at the provincial level between the Rogers Group of Funds and another funding entity, with each partner contributing $400,000. More details will be released in December.
Lisa Steele, Alika Maikau, and Cynthia Lickers-Sage
imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is now a Qualifying Festival for the Best Live Action Short category for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. imagineNATIVE is the first and only Indigenous film festival in the world to become Academy Award qualifying, and one of the few qualifying festivals in Canada. The announcement means the winner of imagineNATIVE’s annual Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Best Short Work, the festival’s prize for short narrative works, will be eligible to submit for the Best Live Action Short category at the Oscars. This year’s winner was Moloka’i Bound by Alika Maikau (Hawaiian).
Bell Media’s The Harold Greenberg Fund has announced this year’s selections for its Manitoba Shorts Program. The initiative, developed with Manitoba Film & Music, is designed to finance short films from Manitoba filmmaking teams, furthering the careers of writers, directors, and producers as they move towards feature filmmaking. The following short film projects will each receive $20,000 in combined financial contributions: Broken Glass from writer/director Sage Daniels and producer Sonya Ballantyne; Devotion from writer/director Rowan Gray and producer Jessica Gibson; Lover Boy’s Little Dream from writer/director Ritvick Mehra and producer Gerard Jacinto; and Wolf in Dude’s Clothing from writer/director Solmund MacPherson and producer Drew Scurfield.
Lisa de Wilde
TVO kicked off its eighth annual fundraising gala Oct. 23, the start of a year-long celebration leading up to its 50th anniversary next September. The event honoured Lisa de Wilde, who is stepping away after 14 years as the network’s Chief Executive Officer. The evening included remarks from Min. Rod Phillips, Barry and Laurie Green, and the honourable Bill Davis, recognizing de Wilde’s impact on Ontario’s public broadcaster.
Dawna Friesen
Global News’ Remembrance Day coverage will include a commemorative edition of Global National featuring segments broadcast live from the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Global News will also air Remembrance Day news special No Stone Left Alone, hosted by Dawna Friesen, airing at 10 a.m. PT/CT/ET, 11:30 a.m. MT and 11 a.m. AT. The 30-minute presentation will include stories woven together from No Stone Left Alone events across Canada, and feature students sharing their reflections of fallen soldiers’ stories. The special will also air across the Global News Radio network with audio commentary by national host Charles Adler, airing on 980 CKNW Vancouver, 770 CHQR Calgary, 630 CHED Edmonton, 680 CJOB Winnipeg, 640 Toronto, 980 CFPL London, and 900 CHML Hamilton. In addition to No Stone Left Alone, Friesen hosts Canada Remembers – a live, commercial-free, network news special at 8:30 a.m. MT and 10:30 a.m. ET/CT.
Food Network Canada has an unprecedented 90+ hours of new seasonal programming on its schedule. A new season of Holiday Baking Championship debuted Nov. 4, followed by Canadian original series The Big Bake: Holiday (7×60). New series include Santa’s Baking Blizzard, starting Nov. 28; and The Great Food Truck Race: Holiday Hustle and Holiday Wars on Dec. 1. The network’s seasonally-themed baking competition series, The Big Bake, features celebrity guest judges Duff Goldman (Kids Baking Championship), Nancy Fuller (Farmhouse Rules), and cookbook author Joy Wilson.
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, along with Lambur Productions, has announced that production is underway on a new live-action Canadian original adaptation of The Hardy Boys (13x60min). Based on Edward Stratemeyer’s children’s books, the mystery-drama features the principal characters in their teen years. Production for the teen series will shoot in Greater Toronto and Hamilton through Jan. 2020. Slated to premiere on YTV in Canada and premium streaming platform Hulu in the U.S. next year, the hour-long series stars an all-Canadian main cast including James Tupper (Big Little Lies) as Hardy boys’ father ‘Fenton Hardy,’ Rohan Campbell (Mech-X4) as ‘Frank Hardy,’ and Alexander Elliot (Detention Adventure) as ‘Joe Hardy.’
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