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Front Page, Industry News
The Canadian International Television Festival launches Nov. 16
Tuesday July 16th 2013When David Heath arrived at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of the cop drama Flashpoint last December he saw a line of fans waiting at the red carpet to greet the stars.
For the television industry veteran, it was confirmation that he was on the right track in creating a festival that would celebrate the Canadian small screen.
“In the theatre there were people crying behind me because it was the last show; the fans were going crazy. It was a great event,” says Health, a long-time TV industry executive and producer. “We see this kind of thing happening all the time in the film world. But why not for Canadian television?”
Taking a page from the Toronto International Film Festival, Heath announced Wednesday that he is launching the Canadian International Television Festival. It will take place Nov. 16 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where the film festival is headquartered.
Whether fans will consistently turn out to watch the small screen on the big screen is another question.
But certainly Heath and co-founder John Galway, another industry veteran responsible for helping develop projects such as the movies Barney’s Version and Away From Her, are tapping into what is most certainly a new golden age of television, where the distinction between small and large screens is becoming far less relevant.
“In the past, certain talents wouldn’t be seen on the small screen, but now you have the Spielbergs and Scorseses doing television. I think it’s time we treated television as an art form in the way other visual arts are treated,” said Heath.
HD technology also means that television shows not shot on film will stand up to the test of the larger format.
“A decade ago, with standard definition, this wouldn’t have been possible,” says Heath.
The idea of a festival to celebrate television is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television, but the CITF will concentrate on Canadian-made TV.
The Banff World Media Festival also has some television content, but it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
Meanwhile, the lines between TV and film are getting increasingly blurry, as some other well known festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, recently showed cable TV series Top of the Lake as part of the mix.
Details are still being worked out for the Toronto festival, which organizers hope will become an annual event. And that includes the length, says Heath.
The “pilot” version may be only for that one November day. Unlike other festivals there will not be an awards component, but there will be seminars and appearances by TV stars, and opportunities for industry types and fans to mingle.
“We want to show the creative development process that goes into a television show,” he says.
The festival has been timed for the middle of the fall and winter TV schedule, but it won’t compete with the industry “upfronts” that cater to media and advertisers.
The festival has the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association.
Source: The Toronto Star
Front Page, Industry News
The Canadian International Television Festival launches Nov. 16
Tuesday July 16th 2013When David Heath arrived at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of the cop drama Flashpoint last December he saw a line of fans waiting at the red carpet to greet the stars.
For the television industry veteran, it was confirmation that he was on the right track in creating a festival that would celebrate the Canadian small screen.
“In the theatre there were people crying behind me because it was the last show; the fans were going crazy. It was a great event,” says Health, a long-time TV industry executive and producer. “We see this kind of thing happening all the time in the film world. But why not for Canadian television?”
Taking a page from the Toronto International Film Festival, Heath announced Wednesday that he is launching the Canadian International Television Festival. It will take place Nov. 16 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where the film festival is headquartered.
Whether fans will consistently turn out to watch the small screen on the big screen is another question.
But certainly Heath and co-founder John Galway, another industry veteran responsible for helping develop projects such as the movies Barney’s Version and Away From Her, are tapping into what is most certainly a new golden age of television, where the distinction between small and large screens is becoming far less relevant.
“In the past, certain talents wouldn’t be seen on the small screen, but now you have the Spielbergs and Scorseses doing television. I think it’s time we treated television as an art form in the way other visual arts are treated,” said Heath.
HD technology also means that television shows not shot on film will stand up to the test of the larger format.
“A decade ago, with standard definition, this wouldn’t have been possible,” says Heath.
The idea of a festival to celebrate television is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television, but the CITF will concentrate on Canadian-made TV.
The Banff World Media Festival also has some television content, but it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
Meanwhile, the lines between TV and film are getting increasingly blurry, as some other well known festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, recently showed cable TV series Top of the Lake as part of the mix.
Details are still being worked out for the Toronto festival, which organizers hope will become an annual event. And that includes the length, says Heath.
The “pilot” version may be only for that one November day. Unlike other festivals there will not be an awards component, but there will be seminars and appearances by TV stars, and opportunities for industry types and fans to mingle.
“We want to show the creative development process that goes into a television show,” he says.
The festival has been timed for the middle of the fall and winter TV schedule, but it won’t compete with the industry “upfronts” that cater to media and advertisers.
The festival has the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association.
Source: The Toronto Star
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Front Page, Industry News
The Canadian International Television Festival launches Nov. 16
Tuesday July 16th 2013When David Heath arrived at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of the cop drama Flashpoint last December he saw a line of fans waiting at the red carpet to greet the stars.
For the television industry veteran, it was confirmation that he was on the right track in creating a festival that would celebrate the Canadian small screen.
“In the theatre there were people crying behind me because it was the last show; the fans were going crazy. It was a great event,” says Health, a long-time TV industry executive and producer. “We see this kind of thing happening all the time in the film world. But why not for Canadian television?”
Taking a page from the Toronto International Film Festival, Heath announced Wednesday that he is launching the Canadian International Television Festival. It will take place Nov. 16 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox where the film festival is headquartered.
Whether fans will consistently turn out to watch the small screen on the big screen is another question.
But certainly Heath and co-founder John Galway, another industry veteran responsible for helping develop projects such as the movies Barney’s Version and Away From Her, are tapping into what is most certainly a new golden age of television, where the distinction between small and large screens is becoming far less relevant.
“In the past, certain talents wouldn’t be seen on the small screen, but now you have the Spielbergs and Scorseses doing television. I think it’s time we treated television as an art form in the way other visual arts are treated,” said Heath.
HD technology also means that television shows not shot on film will stand up to the test of the larger format.
“A decade ago, with standard definition, this wouldn’t have been possible,” says Heath.
The idea of a festival to celebrate television is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television, but the CITF will concentrate on Canadian-made TV.
The Banff World Media Festival also has some television content, but it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
Meanwhile, the lines between TV and film are getting increasingly blurry, as some other well known festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, recently showed cable TV series Top of the Lake as part of the mix.
Details are still being worked out for the Toronto festival, which organizers hope will become an annual event. And that includes the length, says Heath.
The “pilot” version may be only for that one November day. Unlike other festivals there will not be an awards component, but there will be seminars and appearances by TV stars, and opportunities for industry types and fans to mingle.
“We want to show the creative development process that goes into a television show,” he says.
The festival has been timed for the middle of the fall and winter TV schedule, but it won’t compete with the industry “upfronts” that cater to media and advertisers.
The festival has the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association.
Source: The Toronto Star
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