Tag Archives: Canada in a Day

Preview: History’s doc series Bud Empire rolls up on pot sales as Canada heads toward legalization

I don’t—and have never—smoked marijuana. Growing up, I didn’t know anyone who did and when it was offered I declined. As a result, I don’t have any skin in the game as Canada inches closer to the legalization—voting on Bill C-45 is scheduled for June —of recreational marijuana in this country. But tuning in to History’s latest original series, Bud Empire certainly educated me in the drug and what being able to sell it as an entrepreneur.

Debuting Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the specialty network, the seven-part Bud Empire—narrated by Will Sasso—introduces viewers to Bob Kay, the owner of Be Kind, the Okanagan’s original Compassion Club. Episode 1, with its guitar-driven soundtrack, introduces Kay as he reveals B.C.’s Okanagan Valley is dotted with pot grow-ops mixed in with other crops. It’s a $5 billion industry and Kay aims to be “the King of Weed.” That title comes with challenges in the form of robbery, extortion, violence and Kay potentially being arrested for selling.

But Bud Empire isn’t about the furtive exchange of money for pot in a shadowy alley or groups of stoners lounging in a room filled with smoke; the program explores not only Kay’s family life (including his creatively-named kids) but how he’s running and, hopefully, expanding his business. This could be a series about any entrepreneur wanting to sell a product; the hook is that Kay sells marijuana. Kay welcomes salespeople into Be Kind, analyzing and sampling their weed and deeming if it’s up to his high standards and worthy of being in his store. Watching bunches of twenties exchange hands over bags of pot is certainly something to see.

Kay works a grey area of the law but he believes what he and others are doing is really helping; medical marijuana helps alleviate chronic pain and other ailments. Still, rules in Kelowna, B.C., could put him out of business and in jail.

Produced by Screen Siren Pictures Inc. and HLP + Partners, Trish Dolman (Canada in a Day)—Bud Empire‘s executive producer and director—offers a wonderful, educational and heartfelt peek into the life of man eking out a business in a rapidly-changing landscape.

Bud Empire airs back-to-back episodes on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on History.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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CTV announces The Amazing Race Canada’s summer return

From a media release:

CTV is bringing the heat with a dynamic 2017 summer schedule anchored by three brand-new series from some of the biggest names in television: WORLD OF DANCE, THE F WORD, and STILL STAR-CROSSED. Summer on CTV also features an all-star showcase of returning favourites including THE AMAZING RACE CANADA, SAVING HOPE, MASTERCHEF, and AMERICANNINJA WARRIOR, along with a one of a kind, crowd-sourced summer event special, CANADA IN A DAY, and the hottest music celebrations including THE 2017 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS and THE 2017 IHEARTRADIO MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS.

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA (Season 5)
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO, beginning July 4

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA is back for a fifth season with brand-new teams and exciting, nail-biting challenges. Hosted by Olympic Gold Medallist Jon Montgomery, the series pits fresh teams of two with a pre-existing relationship against each other in the biggest race this country has ever seen.

CANADA IN A DAY
Premieres Sunday, June 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO

CANADA IN A DAY is a CTV Event Special created entirely from videos made by Canadians over the course of 24 hours (September 10th, 2016), reflecting the thoughts, hopes, and lives of everyone that lives in this amazing country. Premiering as Canada gets set to celebrate the 150th anniversary of confederation, CANADA IN A DAY is a unique snapshot of who we are and what we were doing in one, 24-hour period, resulting in a memorable TV event and time capsule of Canada.

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On September 10, Canadians to make history with CTV’s Canada in a Day

From a media release:

In advance of Canada Day celebrations this weekend, CTV confirmed this morning that it has chosen Saturday, September 10, 2016 as the day when Canadians from across the country and around the world will reveal what it means to them to be Canadian as part of the ground-breaking project CANADA IN A DAY. As previously announced, CANADA IN A DAY is a two-hour event broadcast revealing the lives and culture of our country as demonstrated by footage shot and submitted by Canadians.

Inspired by Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-nominee Ridley Scott and Academy Award-winner Kevin Macdonald’s highly successful Life in a Day, CANADA IN A DAY will capture one day in the life of our country, and will air on CTV as part of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017. CTV also confirmed today that the project’s website, CanadaInADay.ca, is now live.

From countless individual moments and stories, one film will be crafted by director Trish Dolman (Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson; LUNA: SPIRIT OF THE WHALE) to capture Canada on a single day – engaging people across the country, and Canadians around the world, to share – in any language – their hopes and fears, their personal stories and, in doing so, what it means to be Canadian. From the ordinary to the extraordinary, footage submitted may be included in the final film project set to air on CTV or featured on the film’s online archive at CanadaInADay.ca.

How it Works:

  • CANADA IN A DAY is open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or landed immigrants across the country, or Canadians living abroad.
  • Participants can film as much or as little footage as they want during the 24-hour period on Saturday, September 10, 2016.
  • Canadians have until midnight on Saturday, October 22, 2016 to submit their footage online at CanadaInADay.ca.
  • CANADA IN A DAY is looking for people to be creative, honest, and real, filming themselves and the people or places that mean the most to them. Participants should capture their passions, loves, fears, hopes, and dreams.
  • Canadians are encouraged to film and submit videos in their own languages.
  • To help Canadians decide what they want to film, there are four main questions they can ask themselves:
    What do you love?
    What do you fear?
    What do you hope for?
    What does Canada mean to you?

Participants can answer the above questions directly to camera, or showcase their answers with a visual response.

For more information, including video submission requirements and tips from director Trish Dolman on how to create a great video, people are encouraged to visit CanadaInADay.ca. Canadians can also sign up to receive alerts and updates during the countdown to the Saturday, Sept. 10 film day.

Celebrity ambassadors supporting the project and helping to bring awareness to the CANADA IN A DAY Saturday, Sept. 10 film day include Russell Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Karine Vanasse, Rick Hansen, Jacob Tremblay, Patrice Bernier, Jason Priestley, Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir, Benjamin Hollingsworth, Giacomo Gianniotti, Jessica Lucas, Roger Frappier, Chan Hon Goh, and more.

CANADA IN A DAY is inspired by the original award-winning Ridley Scott film, Life in a Day. Shot in 2010 and released in 2011, Life in a Day was the remarkable story of one day on Earth. The project garnered more than 80,000 submissions around the world, and contained more than 4,500 hours of deeply personal, powerful moments shot by contributors from Australia to Zambia – from the heart of bustling major cities to some of the most remote places on Earth. Since then, several countries have launched their own In a Day films, including Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain, India, and Japan.

CANADA IN A DAY is produced by Screen Siren Pictures Inc. in association with CTV, with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund, Bell Fund, Creative BC, FIBC, and the Government of Canada. Executive producers are Scott Free Films, Trish Dolman, and Christine Haebler, with Trish Dolman and Michael Ghent producing for Screen Siren Pictures Inc. Switch United is the web producer and Innovate by Day is the Social Media producer.

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CTV orders Canada in a Day, a new crowd-sourced event celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday

From a media release:

CTV today announced it has ordered the two-hour event broadcast CANADA IN A DAY, from Vancouver-based Screen Siren Pictures, to premiere in 2017 in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Based on the highly successful Life in a Day series of films from Academy Award® and Golden Globe®-nominee Ridley Scott and Academy Award-winner Kevin Macdonald, CANADA IN A DAY will allow viewers to experience a day in the life of Canada. Comprised entirely of footage shot by Canadians across the nation on a single day later this year, the event special will make its broadcast television debut on CTV.

Canadians will be asked to participate in the nationwide event this fall that will see citizens from across the country shoot and submit video in any language that captures a moment in their life, on that day. From these stories, viewers will learn what it means to be Canadian via a video snapshot of who we are as a nation. The filming date, as well as details on how to submit footage, will be announced in the coming months. Leading up to the film day, CTV and Screen Siren Pictures will launch an extensive campaign that will engage celebrity and community ambassadors as well as organizations across Canada, to help bring as much awareness as possible to the project.

Celebrated filmmaker and director Trish Dolman (Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson; LUNA: SPIRIT OF THE WHALE) will curate the video submissions and then craft a two-hour event broadcast to capture Canadians as they really are during one moment in time.

CANADA IN A DAY is inspired by the original award-winning Ridley Scott film, Life in a Day. Shot in 2010 and released in 2011, Life in a Day was the remarkable story of one day on Earth. The project garnered more than 80,000 submissions around the world, and contained more than 4,500 hours of deeply personal, powerful moments shot by contributors from Australia to Zambia – from the heart of bustling major cities to some of the most remote places on Earth. Since then, several countries have launched their own In a Day films, including Britain and Japan.

CANADA IN A DAY is produced by Screen Siren Pictures Inc. in association with CTV, with the financial participation of the Canada Media Fund, Bell Fund, Creative BC, FIBC, and the Government of Canada. Executive producers are Scott Free Films and Christine Haebler with Trish Dolman and Michael Ghent producing for Screen Siren Pictures Inc. Switch United is the web producer and Innovate by Day is the Social Media producer.

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