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Four Senses greenlit for Season 3 on AMI

From a media release:

Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today that its cooking show with an accessibility twist, Four Senses, is returning for a third season and will begin production this fall.

Four Senses is a unique cooking show produced by AMI in partnership with Varner Productions Limited that unites blind and sighted chefs in the kitchen. Hosts Christine Ha and Carl Heinrich are back for season three to share new recipes and experiences with a fresh group of celebrity guests. Each 30-minute show will also include nutrition guidelines for optimal eye health and accessibility tips and tools for independence in the kitchen.

Season three begins production in Toronto at Pie in the Sky Studios on October 2 and is being directed by Emmy and Genie award winner Arlene Hazzan Green. Celebrity chefs and guests will include: CHFI morning show host, Erin Davis, Laura Calder of French Chef at Home, Chef Corbin Tomaszeski from Restaurant Makeover, Claire Tansey of Chatelaine and the return of Frank Ferragine (aka Frankie Flowers).

New this year, the show takes to the road, heading out east to Prince Edward Island, back through rural Ontario and then west to Kelowna, British Columbia. Along the way, Christine and Carl will have the opportunity to catch lobsters and harvest oyster beds in PEI, visit with renowned Canadian Chef Michael Smith at the Inn at Bay Fortune, travel the Butter Tart Trail in Wellington North, herd sheep, and visit an accessible goat milk farm in the Okanagan.

In keeping with AMI’s mandate of making accessible media for all Canadians, Four Sensesfeatures embedded description, where hosts and guests describe their surroundings and actions for audience members who are blind or partially sighted, as well as closed captioning for those with hearing loss.

Season three of Four Senses will air on AMI-tv in January, 2016.  Check your local provider or visit AMI.ca for the AMI channels in your area. The first two seasons of Four Senses are currently available to stream online with the accessible AMI-player.

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D360 and CBC strike documentary distribution deal

From a media release:

Distribution360 has announced it will represent over 50 documentary and factual titles from Canada’s national public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada. Launching in the international marketplace at MIPCOM this October, the deal will see D360 sell titles from acclaimed CBC brands including the International Emmy® Award winning the fifth estate and The Nature of Things. 

The new slate brings exciting growth to D360’s library, adding programming that will resonate globally with viewers in the categories of Current and World Affairs, Science and Technology, Crime and Investigation, and Wildlife and Nature. Titles include Return to Ukraine, Jellyfish Rule!, The Sextortion of Amanda Todd and Safe Haven For Chimps. 

CBC TITLES

Return to Ukraine (1×60’) – Current and World Affairs
Canadian-Ukraine immigrant Alex Shprintsen returns to his place of birth to explore how the country’s past is defining its current conflicts.

Jellyfish Rule! (1×60’) – Science and Technology
No brains, no backbone, no problem! 600 million years ago jellyfish ruled the oceans and now these mysterious and magnificent creatures may be taking them over once again, only this time, they’re doing it with our help. Discover how overfishing and other man made changes — like global warming, pollution and coastal development — are transforming our oceans in ways that allow “jellies” to thrive.

The Sextortion of Amanda Todd (1×60’) – Crime and Investigation
Haunted by a revealing photo on the Internet, Amanda Todd became a victim of blackmail and sexual extortion that ultimately drove her to her death. With never-before-seen video and online chats, this documentary looks at the real story of this young girl and how a new breed of online predators threaten youth.

Safe Haven for Chimps (1×60’) – Wildlife and Nature
The touching story of how some very special chimpanzees find sanctuary and a new family when they retire from life in a lab. Featuring an interview with world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall.

A complete list of titles can be found on the newly relaunched Distribution360 website at Distribution360.com.Make sure to visit us at MIPCOM booth P-1.A51.

Distribution360, a marblemedia company, is a dynamic and innovative rights management business positioned to monetize content across all existing and emerging platforms around the World. With a focus on kids and factual programming, our mandate is to take maximum advantage of all opportunities in the digital economy and to achieve the best possible returns for the programs and properties that we represent.

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Super Channel renews Tiny Plastic Men for Season 4

From a media release:

Super Channel, Canada’s only national English pay television network, is pleased to announce the funding of 15 new feature films, documentaries and series,supported through the Super Channel Development Fund.

The diverse list of projects includes 11 feature films, 3 documentaries and one returning series.

Among the feature films is horror thriller, Jacqueline Ess, produced by Raven Banner Entertainment’s James Fler, Andrew T Hunt, and Michael Paszt, and executive producers Clive Barker and Mark Miller.  Based on the short story by Clive Barker, the film is written and directed by Jovanka Vuckovic and stars Lena Heady (Game of Thrones). Jacqueline Ess tells the story of a beautiful woman with the ability to horrifically change people’s body shapes simply with her mind. Her ability gives her the power to grant men the ultimate sexual experience, albeit one that always proves fatal. It’s a captivating tale of sex, power, and the extremes that await us at the limits of desire.

Also included among the features is Goalie, produced by Daniel Iron at Foundry Films. Directed by Adriana Maggs and written by Jane Maggs and Adriana Maggs, the story revolves around Terry Sawchuk who is left to fend for himself in a rocky childhood, after his brother dies. He takes on his brother’s mantle of goalie – and later finds a new family with his first NHL team, the Detroit Red Wings. Although he is the best the league has ever seen, his insecurity and alcoholism ultimately drive away the only family he has ever had.

Indian Horse produced by Christine Haebler and Trish Dolman of Screen Siren Pictures, with Roger Frappier of Max Films, is a wise and moving story based on the novel by Richard Wagamese. Written by Dennis Foon and directed by Stephen Campanelli, the film tells the story of Saul Indian Horse as he struggles to break free of the horrors of the Canadian residential school system and redeem his dignity as an Aboriginal man, by immersing himself into the unlikely world of semi-professional hockey.

The Keeper, also from Screen Siren Pictures, written by Graeme Manson (Orphan Black) and directed by Zach Lipovsky, is a taut psychological thriller set in 1920 on a remote island off the stormy Pacific coast that focuses on the tumultuous and tangled relationship between two men — one an experienced but cloistered lighthouse keeper, the other a former soldier with a haunted past — and a beautiful woman who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck.

Super Channel is also proud to support the documentary features Manic and Healer Heal from Bob Moore at EyeSteelFilm. In Manic, screenwriter and director, Kalina Bertin, looks back at her own father – a man known alternately as a cult leader, a scam artist, a prophet, and a father of 15 children around the world. His manic state lives on through his kids after his untimely murder, but as the filmmaker begins to ask- is he even dead? Healer Heal, written and directed by Mia Donovan, is an exceptional story about the critical journey being taken by a doctor facing his own mortality. Once known as “The Pied Piper of Acupuncture in America”, Dr. Mario Wexu was an eccentric genius who dedicated his life to creating innovative therapies for the very thing that almost destroyed him: drug addiction.

Receiving funding for a hilarious fourth season is the Canadian Screen Award nominated comedy series, Tiny Plastic Men produced by Mosaic Entertainment’s Camille Beaudoin, Jesse Lipscombe and Eric Rebalkin. From screenwriters and stars Chris Craddock, Mark Meer and Matt Alden, the series follows three nerdy man-boys working as prototype testers at an off-beat toy company that makes anything but conventional toys. Testing these weird and often dangerous toys is the easy part. It’s the eccentric bosses, hostile co-workers, and odd-ball guests that make the job… interesting.

For a list of the funded projects, as well as information on criteria, eligibility and the submission process for the next round of funding, please visit: http://www.superchannel.ca/producers/development-fund/

The next deadline for the Super Channel Development Fund is October 9, 2015.

 

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Production Begins on CBC Comedy Special HumanTown

From a media release:

Buck Productions, the Coup Company, and CBC announced today that production has begun on the half-hour special HumanTown (@Human_Town), a sketch comedy that depicts everyday life in the deranged and eccentric town of HumanTown. The special is currently shooting in Hamilton, ON.

HumanTown is a story-driven sketch comedy that focuses on life in the bizarre town of the same name. Viewers follow the eccentric citizens, some of whom embrace the absurdity of their town while others continue to struggle with the ever-growing surrealism. Unlike most sketch shows,HumanTown is not an assortment of unrelated sketches. Events in one sketch often impact characters and environments in future sketches, creating a continuous universe for viewers to follow and invest in.

HumanTown took home $500,000 in production financing from CBC ComedyCoup, the disruptive studio model for independent content creators that helps develop, market, and build audiences for original TV comedy projects. HumanTown received the production financing in December 2014 and the project has since been in development.

HumanTown is a six-man comedy troupe based in Vancouver, comprising of Miles Chalmers, Daniel Doheny, Jack Heyes, Ki Kwiatkowski, Liam MacLeod, and Kane Stewart. The group met on their first day of high school in 2003, and for 12 hilarious years has been creating their own comedy content. HumanTown was a finalist in the NexTV WebSeries and Indie Film Competition; a finalist in Bite TV’s Webseries pitch competition; winners of The Comedy Network’s Exposed competition; and have now taken home the grand prize from CBC ComedyCoup.

HumanTown is executive produced by Sean Buckley (Coopers Christmas, Running Mates, Defendor, Pretend We’re Kissing). Showrunner and director is Vivieno Caldinelli (This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Hotbox, Picnicface). The series is written and co-created by Miles Chalmers, Daniel Doheny, Jack Heyes, Ki Kwiatkowski, Liam MacLeod, and Kane Stewart. HumanTown is produced by Buck Productions in association with CBC.

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CFC and Entertainment One launch Television Adaptation Lab

From a media release:

In their shared commitment to creative storytelling, the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and Entertainment One (eOne) are pleased to announce the creation of the CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab, a unique initiative that aims to workshop and develop pilot scripts based off of underlying literary works and creative properties with strong adaptation potential for a television series.

Set to begin in Toronto in spring 2016, the CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab will focus on the creative concept process, exploring the television form and sharing best practices in adapting content.

Throughout the Lab, selected properties and creators will receive support in developing pilot scripts, on an individual basis, with top-level professionals and international experts, as well as access to a select number of case studies to explore different approaches and opportunities for adapting material to television. With a hands-on approach, the Lab is designed to help participants gain perspective and insights into the adaptation process, while considering which course of action might best serve their properties and set them on an accelerated course for series development.

The CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab is open to Canadian content creators who own the rights to their creative properties, including comedy, theatre, stand up, novels, novellas, graphic novels, short stories, zines, web series, video games –material of all types, originating from anywhere in the world, that has the potential to be adapted into an exciting television series. The Lab is designed to support Canadian creatives and provide them with an opportunity to potentially secure a series deal with eOne, theworld’s leading independent studio.

Applications for the CFC / eOne TV Adaptation Lab open today, and the deadline to apply for the 2016 Lab is January 11, 2016. For more information on the Lab and to apply, please visit: cfccreates.com.

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