Screen
Suzan Ayscough

Canada’s Harold Greenberg Fund could be impacted by Astral Media takeover

20-Mar-2012
The future of the Harold Greenberg Fund — which provides vital development financing for Oscar contenders such as Monsieur Lazhar and In Darkness or hockey hit Goon — is unknown in the wake of Bell’s proposed C$3.38-billion acquisition of Quebec-based giant Astral Media.
Toronto critics honour Monsieur Lazhar, Tree of Life

11-Jan-2012
Other winners include Attack The Block and Take Shelter.
Telefilm Canada’s new “Success Index” more than just box office

24-Nov-2011
Telefilm Canada is poised to change the rules of the distribution game in 2012 with its new “success index”, it was announced at its third Annual Public Meeting, webcast live from Winnipeg, Manitoba on Wednesday.
Strategic Partners spotlights South Africa and Australia at busy co-production conference

21-Sep-2011
New partners, not deals, were atop the agendas of the 200 international delegates who attended the Strategic Partners co-production conference during the Atlantic Film Festival (Sept. 15-24), many on the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Entertainment One board explores potential sale options

15-Sep-2011
Less than one month after Toronto-based Entertainment One (eOne) announced an expansion into the US theatrical market, Canada’s largest production and distribution company is effectively up for sale.
TIFF co-founder Henk Van der Kolk sets up new festival in Panama

10-Sep-2011
TIFF co-founder Henk Van der Kolk has started work on the new International Film Festival Panama (set to kick off April 11-17, 2012).
Wiley joins eOne's revamped US theatrical division

24-Aug-2011
Canada’s leading entertainment company, Entertainment One, is launching into the specialised US theatrical market with a new division, eOne Films North America through an expansion of its Los Angeles-based eOne Films US.
Canada's NFB appoints Roddy McManus as head of animation studio

8-Jul-2011
He replaces David Verrall as of Aug 8.
New $20 million William F. White production centre opens in Toronto

28-Jun-2011
The 338,000-square-foot complex is in Toronto’s west end.
Inaugural 3D conference at Toronto’s Lightbox drew huge crowds

22-Jun-2011
A whopping 5,786 participants attended the inaugural Toronto International Stereoscopic 3D conference last week, including 3D directors Wim Wenders, Catherine Owens and IMAX co-inventor Graeme Ferguson.
Quebec producer Roger Frappier to remake his own The Grand Seduction in English

21-Jun-2011
Ken Scott to direct the $11m project.
Cinemavault secures deals on Somewhere Tonight

13-Jun-2011
John Turturro stars in the urban fable which will screen at the upcoming Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Telefilm Canada finances five new French-language films

31-May-2011
Filmmakers include Podz, Rafael Ouellet, Sébastien Rose.
Stephenson named Canadian Academy CEO

26-May-2011
Former Toronto International Film Festival executive director Helga Stephenson has been appointed interim CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, replacing Sara Morton.
eOne reports Cannes spree

26-May-2011
Entertainment One (eOne) has reported acquiring more than 50 films — including multi-territory buys Pompeii, Parker and The Big Wedding - at what filmed entertainment president Patrice Theroux said was “the best Cannes we’ve ever had.”
Splice makers win TFC award

26-May-2011
Vincenzo Natali and Doug Taylor, director and co-writer respectively of sci-fi thriller Splice, have been awarded the second annual Telefilm Canada (TFC) Golden Box Office Award and a prize of $40,855 (C$40,000).
AUE to spend $40 million on productions in Toronto

20-May-2011
First picture to shoot under deal will be $20m Your Perfect Angel by Donald Petrie.
Thomas Dekker to star in Rose By Name

19-May-2011
Nightmare on Elm Street star Thomas Dekker has signed on for Shawn Linden’s sophomore feature Rose By Name, which has begun shooting in Montreal.
Cinemavault acquires Sex, Dogz, & Rock n’ Roll

18-May-2011
Film combines animation and live-action
Cinemavault strikes Universal deals for War Games, Boca

12-May-2011
EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures International takes European territories on Boca and War Games from Cinemavault
Bye Bye Blackbird starts Canadian shoot starring Connor Jessup

9-May-2011
Jason Buxton makes his directorial debut with the story of troubled teenager.
Julia Ivanova, Rama Rau among winners at Hot Docs

9-May-2011
Hot Docs wraps with top prizes going to Family Portrait in Black and White and Dragonslayer
Cinemavault brings two new thrillers to Cannes market

9-May-2011
Toronto-based Cinemavault has acquired international rights to the crime-thriller A Violent State [pictured] and sci-fi thriller Recreator.
Marie-Claude Poulin and Pierre Even

6-May-2011
Montreal-based Item 7 partners Marie-Claude Poulin and Pierre Even have worked on independent features such as C.R.A.Z.Y. and The Hurt Locker. They are in pre-production gearing up to shoot Komona in the Congo jungle this summer.
Slew of deals signed for titles at Hot Docs festival

5-May-2011
A number of deals have been signed for feature documentaries showing at Hot Docs, now underway in Toronto.
Hot Docs festival and Blue Ice Film create $1million African doc fund

4-May-2011
Six to 10 grants of $10,000-$40,000 will be given annually.
Shoreline, Forward Motion mine Black Gold for Cannes

2-May-2011
Los Angeles-based Shoreline Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Black Gold – Struggle For The Niger Delta and Toronto-based Forward Motion has acquired all international rights.
VSC acquires Canadian rights to rakontur doc Limelight

28-Apr-2011
Nightclub documentary Limelight is in the spotlight again as Toronto-based Video Services Corp (VSC) acquired Canadian rights from Magnolia Pictures at Tribeca. The Canadian premiere is set for May 5 at Hot Docs in Toronto.
Don Carmody

28-Apr-2011
Screen sat down with the veteran producer on the set of his 100th feature, Silent Hill II, now shooting in Toronto.
Shooting on Charlie Zone commences in Halifax

4-Apr-2011
The $1m+ redemption thriller is scheduled to wrap on Apr 13 and stars Glen Gould and newcomer Amanda Crew. Myriad Pictures is handling international and US rights.
Federal government’s proposed budget commits $240m to Canadian moving pictures

24-Mar-2011
Buried deep in Canada’s proposed federal budget lies an unprecedented “commitment” to the Canada Media Fund, granting it the coveted “A” status to receive $102m (C$100m) annually for five years.
Hot Docs unveils 199 film line-up and talks ‘cluster funds’

23-Mar-2011
Announcing the 18th edition of Hot Docs executive director Chris McDonald told a packed press conference in Toronto today [22] that top brass would unveil “a major new international initiative” to “help finance and distribute films in a meaningful way.”
Samuel Jackson to star in noir thriller The Samaritan

18-Mar-2011
Andras Hamori of H2O Motion Pictures is producing and filming is set to begin in Toronto on Mar 20 and will continue in Rio de Janeiro through Apr 30.
Hot Docs’ co-production day to welcome a record nine delegations

15-Mar-2011
A record nine delegations from the UK, US, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, South Africa and the Nordic region will participate in Hot Docs’ International Co-Production Day on May 2 during this year’s festival in Toronto (April 28 to May 8).
Incendies, Barney's Version dominate Canada's Genies

11-Mar-2011
Canada’s divisive bilingual markets bellowed from the nation’s capital at this year’s Genie awards last night [10].
eOne US strikes new distribution deal with Palisades Tartan

4-Mar-2011
The American arm of Toronto-based eOne has forged a new deal with the US division of UK-based film and video distributor Palisades Tartan.
eOne, Image renew Canadian distribution deal

2-Mar-2011
Toronto-based eOne and California’s Image Entertainment have renewed their exclusive distribution agreement of Image product for theatrical, home entertainment, television and digital release in Canada, through 2015.
Dolan’s Laurence Anyways set to begin shoot in Montreal

23-Feb-2011
Lyla Films (Lafontaine) and MK2 (Nathanaël Karmitz and Charles Gillibert) co-produce the transgender love story.
Speedman and Reilly to star in bank robber love story Edwin Boyd

11-Feb-2011
Myriad Pictures holds international rights and eOne will distribute in Canada.
Cinemavault's War Games sells to Japan and Australia

11-Feb-2011
Ahead of its EFM premiere, Toronto-based Cinemavault has sold paintball action-thriller War Games to Australia (Transmission), Thailand (M Pictures),the Baltics/CIS (Noviy) and Japan (Nikkatsu).
Cinemavault acquires mobster biopic Boca

8-Feb-2011
Brazilian film won prizes at Rio International Film Festival.
Barney’s Version and Incendies lead Genie nominations

3-Feb-2011
The only surprisefrom the Academy Of Canadian Cinema and Television’s nominations for the 31st Genie awards is that Barney’s Version garnered 11 nominations while the multiple award-winning Incendies (pictured) received 10.
eOne Films Int'l to kick off sales at EFM on The Bengali Detective

1-Feb-2011
eOne Films International has acquired foreign sales rights to Philip Cox’s hit Sundance documentary and will introduce to buyers in Berlin.
TIFF’s new Rising Stars programme shoots to “bridge” Canadian talent to the world

29-Jan-2011
The Toronto International Film Festival is launching a Rising Stars programme at this year’s event (September 8-18) to showcase four as-yet-unidentified up-and-coming Canadian actors to the world.
HotDocs spotlights Italy, retro Reality and fetes Macartney-Filgate

20-Jan-2011
Toronto-based festival also refreshes programming teams
Toronto critics name Incendies best Canadian film

12-Jan-2011
Canada’s hopeful for the Oscars won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s (TFCA) Rogers Best Canadian Film Award on Wednesday [12], accompanied by a C$15,000 cash prize.
eOne has strong year in UK and Canada

6-Jan-2011
Market share in UK was 5.5%, while Canada was 6.2%.
Xavier Dolan's next feature amongst 11 French films greenlit by Telefilm Canada

17-Dec-2010
Dolan’s third feature, Lawrence Anyways, is a transgender love story, which will have a budget of $C8 million.
Incendies and Barney's Version among TIFF Canadian top 10

14-Dec-2010
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled its tenth annual Canada’s Top Ten films today [14] and the list of features includes previous award winners such as Incendies (pictured) and Barney’s Version as well as relatively unknown titles like director Ingrid Veniger’s colourful debut feature Modra.
Toronto critics heap praise on The Social Network

14-Dec-2010
Hot on the heels of top honours from the Boston and New York film critics, the Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) has awarded five top prizes to The Social Network.
Canadian films must do better, urges Telefilm Canada chair

9-Dec-2010
Ten years after industry leaders set a target of 5% local market share for Canadian films the goal remains elusive, Telefilm Canada (TFC) chair Michel Roy told shareholders last night [8].
Hot Docs 2011 to honor IFDA's Ally Derks with mogul award and revamp its forum

23-Nov-2010
The internationally-acclaimed documentary maven Ally Derks will receive the 2011 Doc Mogul Award at next year’s Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto (April 28-May 8).
Dogwoof acquires nine NFB docs including Up the Yangtze

18-Nov-2010
Leading UK theatrical distributor for socially conscious films, Dogwoof, has acquired distribution rights to nine documentaries from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), including the multi-award winning Up the Yangtze( EyeSteelFilm/NFB).
Cinemavault acquires 3D action film Hard Man

5-Nov-2010
The Toronto-based sales company has started pre-sales at AFM.
Cinemavault acquires paintball thriller At the End of the Day

4-Nov-2010
Italian English-language project is about a deadly paintball game.
Cinemavault acquires romantic comedy When Harry Tries to Marry

3-Nov-2010
Nayan Padrai makes feature debut on cross-cultural romcom.
Camera D'or winner Ano Bisiesto takes top prize at Nouveau Cinema Festival

25-Oct-2010
The 39th edition of the Festival du Nouveau Cinema wrapped Sunday [24] and bestowed its top prize, the Louve d’Or (Golden She-Wolf), to Michael Rowe’s Mexican experimental S&M picture Ano Bisiesto (Leap Year).
Villeneuve's Incendies takes Vancouver's top award

17-Oct-2010
Quebec took home the cash prizes at the 29th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) as Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies won the Best Canadian Feature Film award and a $20,000 cash prize as the 16-day festival ended.
You Don't Like the Truth to serve as evidence in resuming Guantanamo trial

15-Oct-2010
Film will also compete at IDFA.
Good Morning to the World wins Dragons & Tigers in Vancouver

8-Oct-2010
Japan’s Good Morning to the World directed by Hirohara Satoru won the 17th-annual Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema with a cash prize of C$10,000 at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).
Montreal's Nouveau Cinema Fest going multi-platform

7-Oct-2010
The 39th edition of Montreal’s Festival du nouveau cinema (FNC), Canada’s oldest film festival, will launch the country’s first simultaneous VOD screenings as well as a co-production website for the industry.
Tekken goes to eOne for France, Scandinavia

6-Oct-2010
Toronto-based Entertainment One has signed a distribution deal with Steven Paul’s Crystal Sky Pictures for all rights to Tekken in France, Scandinavia and South Africa.
Don Carmody shoots hockey drama Breakaway starring Rob Lowe

29-Sep-2010
Don Carmody, producer of the international box office hit Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D, is one of five producers on the cross-cultural hockey drama Breakaway starring Rob Lowe, which has begun principal photography in Toronto.
Montreal Nouveau Cinema to present more than 295 'eclectic' films

28-Sep-2010
Festival to open with Daniel Grou-Podz’s 10½.
Canada names Villeneuve's Incendies as Oscar submission

22-Sep-2010
Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed drama has been selected as Canada’s foreign language Academy Award submission.
Actress Molly Parker set for directorial debut

20-Sep-2010
The Canadian actress’s first feature, The Ballad Of Maura MacKenzie, will shoot in Newfoundland and Toronto late summer 2011.
King's Speech, Incendies big winners as Toronto ends

20-Sep-2010
The curtain closed on TIFF’s 35th edition with eight awards and $60,000 in prizes handed out during an awards brunch on Sunday [19].
Denis Villeneuve

16-Sep-2010
Quebec’s acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve talks to Screen during Toronto about his fourth feature, the multi layered tragedy Incendies.
Strategic Partners’ final co-pro panels line-up

14-Sep-2010
The Halifax co-production market will include panel discussions with Sergei Bespalov, Kearie Peak, Anne Marie La Traverse and Fraser Robinson.
Katrin Bowen working on hostage story

14-Sep-2010
Italy’s Buskin Film on board.
D Films in deal with Foundation Features.

13-Sep-2010
Canadian companies announce first-look development deal.
TIFF celebrates Bell Lightbox opening

13-Sep-2010
Five-storey complex houses five cinemas.
The Outlander co-pro team signs scriptwriter Spalding

13-Sep-2010
The Canada-British co-production team of The Outlander has signed Esta Spalding (Falling Angels) to write the script of what Xingu Film’s’ Alex Francis calls a “western thriller reminiscent of The Searchers set in the Canadian rockies.’’
Toronto's Handling says it's a 'fine year' for British cinema

12-Sep-2010
“It has been a very fine year for British cinema,” according to TIFF CEO Piers Handling, underlining the irony that just six weeks ago it was announced that the UKFC will close its doors, likely in 2012.
Universal picks up UK and Spain for Barney’s Version

12-Sep-2010
Universal Pictures International (UPI) has acquired distribution rights for Barney’s Version for the UK and Spain, producer Robert Lantos told Screen.
Martin Landau in talks for Canada black comedy Born Into This

11-Sep-2010
Oscar-winner Martin Landau (Ed Wood) and actor Devon Bostick (Adoration) are in negotiations with Canadian producers David Miller and newcomer Darren Portelli to star in the heartbreaking comedy, Born Into This, by first-time feature director Emmanuel Shirinian.
Denise Robert wins CMPA prize and gives cheque to Belanger

10-Sep-2010
Oscar-winning producer Denise Robert says that being the first woman to win the Canadian Media Production Association award makes her feel “honoured … like one of the boys! And I’ve been waiting for that for a long time.”
Vancouver's Greenstone sparkles with launch funding of $25m

10-Sep-2010
Financed partly through sunken treasure, the upstart Vancouver-based Greenstone Film Partners — named for the Queen Isabella Emerald — is launching its feature film production, distribution and international sales venture at TIFF, its CEO John Curtis told Screen.
Curtain rises on new-look Toronto

6-Sep-2010
2010 is a year of change for the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 9-19) with the opening of the event’s new headquarters. Suzan Ayscough speaks to festival co-directors Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey while Screen profiles select world premieres showing as galas and special presentations.
eONe Television head Barna to deliver SP market keynote

25-Aug-2010
Entertainment One Television president and Canadian television mogul Laszlo Barna will deliver the keynote address at the international co-production market, Strategic Partners (SP), taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia from September 16-19.
Toronto adds 37 more world premieres to lineup

24-Aug-2010
Festival announces a whopping 104 further titles today; Mavericks speakers to include Bruce Springsteen and Bill Gates.
Vancouver 2010 highlights to include Africa Today, Filmmaker's Day

24-Aug-2010
The Vancouver International Film Festival (Sept 30 - Oct 15) has unveiled its annual environmental series, Ecologies of Mind, hot on the heels of its new Life Above All: Africa Today program and a Trade Forum (Sept 28 - Oct 1) with an expanded documentary program and a new Filmmaker’s Day (Oct 2).
TIFF industry speakers include Dustin Lance Black, John Sayles

18-Aug-2010
New this year in industry offerings, TIFF launches the Filmmakers’ Lounge, an activity hub for all badge-holders.
Kafka, comedy and Keitel among Canadian line-up at Toronto

10-Aug-2010
At a standing-room-only press conference in Toronto on Tuesday [10], the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled a stellar line-up of 28 Canadian features.
Telefilm Canada invested C$11.3m in 22 features during fiscal 2009-10

10-Aug-2010
Federal funder Telefilm Canada invested C$11.3m in 22 regional English-language features during the fiscal year 2009-2010, including three that will debut in Toronto.
Toronto selections show the 'angst' of the modern world

27-Jul-2010
“Probing” is the word Piers Handling, CEO/director of the Toronto International Film Festival, used to describe current world cinema.

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Suzan Ayscough