Telefilm Canada announces its support of the 29th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival

“Tête-à-tête” and “Speed Dating” initiatives develop Canadian talent, industry

Montreal, September 8, 2010 – Telefilm Canada announced its support of the 29th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) today, which takes place from September 30th to October 15th, 2010. Telefilm Canada’s participation enables VIFF to deliver a first-class event to a growing audience of film aficionados and industry members.

“The Vancouver International Film Festival is a nationally respected film festival, bringing much-deserved attention to the filmmakers it showcases during its 16 days of programming while also offering valuable development and business opportunities to emerging and established filmmaking talent alike,” said Sheila de La Varende, National and International Business Development Director at Telefilm Canada. “We are proud to partner with the Festival and are pleased to see that Canadian titles are prominent in this year’s selection, including on opening night.”

This year’s opening night gala film will be the Telefilm-supported and much-talked-about Canada-Italy coproduction Barney’s Version. From Canadian director Richard J. Lewis, the film follows Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) as he reflects on his life, its highs and its lows, successes and failures. An adaptation of the wildly popular, critically-acclaimed Mordecai Richler novel of the same name, the film also casts Dustin Hoffman, Minnie Driver, and Canadians Bruce Greenwood, Scott Speedman and Rachelle Lefevre, among others.

In addition to supporting VIFF as a venue for building audiences for Canadian cinema, Telefilm is proud to have financed 19 or 56% of the 34 feature-length Canadian films screening at this year’s festival.

“Congratulations to the Vancouver International Film Festival on 29 strong years of building audiences for Canadian cinema and for maintaining its strong tradition of promoting regional filmmaking talent,” said John Dippong, Regional Director Business Development, Western Region for Telefilm.

Canadian Images Series

Presented by Telefilm, Carl Bessai’s Fathers & Sons will open VIFF’s Canadian Images Series, one of the biggest showcases of Canadian film in the world. Telefilm has supported many of the films in the series at the development, production and completion stages.  Local filmmakers and Telefilm representatives will be onsite to answer questions from the audience following the screenings.

The next generation of Western filmmakers continues to make its presence felt at the VIFF with feature-film débuts from Vancouver directors: Kaare Andrews (Altitude), Katrin Bowen (Amazon Falls) , Silvio Pollio (Guido Superstar: The Rise of Guido) and Sara McIntyre (Two Indians Talking).

VIFF 2010 CANADIAN SELECTIONS

*Film financed by Telefilm   ** Western Canadian filmmaker making directorial début at 2010 VIFF

Visit Telefilm’s Canadian film festival page for more information on VIFF’s full schedule and programs.

INDUSTRY INITIATIVES DURING VIFF

Telefilm is proud to sponsor the following industry initiatives at VIFF 2010. These activities support the development of the Canadian audiovisual industry by creating opportunities for filmmakers to expand their networks, to discuss projects and broker deals.

Telefilm Canada International Tête-à-tête Meetings

Telefilm is proud to present the seventh instalment of the Telefilm Canada International Tête-à-tête Meetings. Designed to foster Canadian co-production and international sales, this unique series of meetings provides an opportunity for experienced filmmakers to discuss current projects with international producers, distributors, commissioning editors and Telefilm representatives.

Speed Dating

Designed for emerging filmmakers, these sessions are the perfect opportunity to have one-on-one meetings with broadcasters, local senior producers and funding agencies to pitch projects, get feedback and forge new relationships that will help guide their career trajectories.

Panel Discussion: Fido – The Life of a Telefilm Project

Sponsored by Citytv and moderated by co-producer Kevin Eastwood, a panel of Telefilm creative experts will discuss Eastwood’s zombie-comedy project Fido as a case study to review best practices in working with Telefilm to bring a project to the big screen.

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.

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For information:
Élise Proulx
Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838 or 1-800-567-0890, ext. 2090
proulxe@telefilm.ca
www.twitter.com/telefilm_canada