Telefilm and OMDC congratulate Splice for hitting over $ 1.1 M at the Canadian box office after one week in theatres

Montreal and Toronto, June 11, 2010 — Telefilm Canada and the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) would like to congratulate Splice, a Canada-France coproduction which received support from both organizations, for exceeding the million dollar mark after just one week in Canadian theatres. Opening last Friday, June 4, Splice has already generated box office sales of $1.12 million across 170 screens in Canada. Having opened across over 2600 screens in North America, Splice is the second largest release of a Canadian film in history and the largest ever for a Telefilm or OMDC-financed project.

“We are very proud to see Splice do so well after just one week in theatres. The film earned stellar reviews following its premiere at Sundance earlier this year and has been on everyone’s must-see list ever since,” says Stephanie Azam, Telefilm’s National Feature Film Executive. “For Telefilm, the success of Splice reaffirms our commitment to supporting films that represent a diversity of genres,” she concluded.

“Our congratulations to the filmmakers, especially Steve Hoban and his very talented team at Copperheart Entertainment for this great success,” says Karen Thorne-Stone, OMDC President and CEO. “We were very proud to have supported this feature through OMDC’s Film Fund.”

Directed by Vincenzo Natali and produced by Steven Hoban, Splice stars accomplished Canadian filmmaker and actress Sarah Polley, Academy Award winner Adrien Brody and French newcomer Delphine Chanéac. The film also has some of the industry’s biggest names behind it including executive producers Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Hobbit) and Joel Silver (The Matrix Trilogy, Sherlock Holmes). Splice is distributed in Canada by E1 Entertainment.

Geneticists Elsa and Clive, partners in and out of the lab, are experts in splicing together DNA from different animals to create new hybrids. Wanting to push their experiments even further, they decide to combine animal and human genes in a hybrid that would revolutionize science and medicine. The result is the mesmerizing, strangely beautiful, but ultimately dangerous Dren.

About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian products that appeal to domestic and international audiences. Telefilm also administers the Canada Media Fund. Visit www.telefilm.ca.

About OMDC
Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) is an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture that facilitates economic development opportunities for Ontario’s cultural media industries including book publishing, film and television, interactive digital media, magazine publishing, and music industries. Visit www.omdc.on.ca.

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For more information:

Eva Hartling 
Senior Advisor, External Communications
Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838, ext. 2090
hartlie@telefilm.ca
www.twitter.com/telefilm_canada

Sharon Wilson
OMDC Communications
416-642-6616
swilson@omdc.on.ca