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Small screen hits the big time with Canadian International Television Festival’s second year
Wednesday November 12th 2014In the inaugural year of the Canadian International Television Festival, David Heath embarked on what seemed an improbable mission.
He wanted television viewers to get off the couch and head to the theatre to watch TV on the big screen. Moreover, he wanted them to watch only Canadian-made shows.
“It really bugged me that we had over 60 film festivals and not one TV festival,” says Heath, a veteran television industry executive. “You have major directors and stars flocking to this golden age of television, which is arguably producing better work than what you see on the big screen. So why don’t we celebrate that?”
Heath, who has had a number of roles in the industry, including former programming manager of TMN, The Movie Network and programming director with the digital TV group at Rogers Media, teamed up with John Galway, another industry veteran, to form the non-profit organization. They wanted to do for TV what the Toronto International Film Festival did for film: provide a showcase where fans can interact with their favourite shows and stars.
Last year a modest contingent of 1,200 fans showed up at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for a low-key event that admittedly didn’t register Comic-Con numbers. And no one thought to dress up like Rick Mercer or the cast from Heartland.
But apparently, binge-watching the History channel’s Vikings in a theatre has more appeal than some might think. Somehow, Heath’s festival made it to the second year. And he has come back with a supersized version, up from three days to 10, starting Friday and running until Nov. 23.
“What do people do on a Sunday night? They watch their favourite shows in a group setting,” says Heath. “But this takes it to another level.”
This year, fans will get an advance look at Corner Gas: The Movie and talk to the stars. There will also be a Republic of Doyle fan event where viewers can say farewell to the CBC series and get a chance to meet Allan Hawco and Krystin Pellerin.
The CBC’s Book of Negroes, based on the award-winning Lawrence Hill book, will also have a Canadian debut at the festival. Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. are expected to attend the showing.
But this will not be the world premiere. The series already had a showing in October at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Being the new kid on the block, Heath will have to grow the festival before he starts demanding that Canadian shows premiere here before anywhere else. This isn’t TIFF. But it is a significant start for the largely volunteer organization.
Certainly, the idea of a festival to celebrate TV is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television. The Banff World Media Festival also has TV content, though it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
In some ways, the Canadian International Television Festival apes the American PaleyFest, which connects TV creators with fans in a much more intimate way, with screenings and panels that discuss the breadth of what is happening in the industry while celebrating the history of the medium.
The CITF will concentrate on made-in-Canada TV.
This isn’t such a wacky idea when you think that film and TV production are at record highs in Ontario. Production contributed $1.15 billion to the economy in Ontario. And the vast majority of that comes not from film, but from domestic TV production, including Space’s Orphan Black and CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries.
Heath says the idea for a festival germinated several years ago after he saw fans lining up at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of CTV’s Flashpoint as the stars walked the red carpet.
“I thought it was fabulous that people would have that reaction to a Canadian show and it made me wonder why we didn’t do that more often.”
Heath was also helped by advances in HD technology that meant TV shows could much more easily make the leap to a large-screen format.
He garnered the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the CBC, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association. And since luring viewers from their big screen TV’s could be a challenge, tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance.
“We are really the most unique market in the world because we are so close to the United States, but yet we have a very distinct culture,” says Heath. “So it’s really about time we started celebrating our own in Canada.”
Source: Toronto Star
Front Page, Industry News
Small screen hits the big time with Canadian International Television Festival’s second year
Wednesday November 12th 2014In the inaugural year of the Canadian International Television Festival, David Heath embarked on what seemed an improbable mission.
He wanted television viewers to get off the couch and head to the theatre to watch TV on the big screen. Moreover, he wanted them to watch only Canadian-made shows.
“It really bugged me that we had over 60 film festivals and not one TV festival,” says Heath, a veteran television industry executive. “You have major directors and stars flocking to this golden age of television, which is arguably producing better work than what you see on the big screen. So why don’t we celebrate that?”
Heath, who has had a number of roles in the industry, including former programming manager of TMN, The Movie Network and programming director with the digital TV group at Rogers Media, teamed up with John Galway, another industry veteran, to form the non-profit organization. They wanted to do for TV what the Toronto International Film Festival did for film: provide a showcase where fans can interact with their favourite shows and stars.
Last year a modest contingent of 1,200 fans showed up at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for a low-key event that admittedly didn’t register Comic-Con numbers. And no one thought to dress up like Rick Mercer or the cast from Heartland.
But apparently, binge-watching the History channel’s Vikings in a theatre has more appeal than some might think. Somehow, Heath’s festival made it to the second year. And he has come back with a supersized version, up from three days to 10, starting Friday and running until Nov. 23.
“What do people do on a Sunday night? They watch their favourite shows in a group setting,” says Heath. “But this takes it to another level.”
This year, fans will get an advance look at Corner Gas: The Movie and talk to the stars. There will also be a Republic of Doyle fan event where viewers can say farewell to the CBC series and get a chance to meet Allan Hawco and Krystin Pellerin.
The CBC’s Book of Negroes, based on the award-winning Lawrence Hill book, will also have a Canadian debut at the festival. Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. are expected to attend the showing.
But this will not be the world premiere. The series already had a showing in October at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Being the new kid on the block, Heath will have to grow the festival before he starts demanding that Canadian shows premiere here before anywhere else. This isn’t TIFF. But it is a significant start for the largely volunteer organization.
Certainly, the idea of a festival to celebrate TV is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television. The Banff World Media Festival also has TV content, though it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
In some ways, the Canadian International Television Festival apes the American PaleyFest, which connects TV creators with fans in a much more intimate way, with screenings and panels that discuss the breadth of what is happening in the industry while celebrating the history of the medium.
The CITF will concentrate on made-in-Canada TV.
This isn’t such a wacky idea when you think that film and TV production are at record highs in Ontario. Production contributed $1.15 billion to the economy in Ontario. And the vast majority of that comes not from film, but from domestic TV production, including Space’s Orphan Black and CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries.
Heath says the idea for a festival germinated several years ago after he saw fans lining up at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of CTV’s Flashpoint as the stars walked the red carpet.
“I thought it was fabulous that people would have that reaction to a Canadian show and it made me wonder why we didn’t do that more often.”
Heath was also helped by advances in HD technology that meant TV shows could much more easily make the leap to a large-screen format.
He garnered the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the CBC, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association. And since luring viewers from their big screen TV’s could be a challenge, tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance.
“We are really the most unique market in the world because we are so close to the United States, but yet we have a very distinct culture,” says Heath. “So it’s really about time we started celebrating our own in Canada.”
Source: Toronto Star
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Front Page, Industry News
Small screen hits the big time with Canadian International Television Festival’s second year
Wednesday November 12th 2014In the inaugural year of the Canadian International Television Festival, David Heath embarked on what seemed an improbable mission.
He wanted television viewers to get off the couch and head to the theatre to watch TV on the big screen. Moreover, he wanted them to watch only Canadian-made shows.
“It really bugged me that we had over 60 film festivals and not one TV festival,” says Heath, a veteran television industry executive. “You have major directors and stars flocking to this golden age of television, which is arguably producing better work than what you see on the big screen. So why don’t we celebrate that?”
Heath, who has had a number of roles in the industry, including former programming manager of TMN, The Movie Network and programming director with the digital TV group at Rogers Media, teamed up with John Galway, another industry veteran, to form the non-profit organization. They wanted to do for TV what the Toronto International Film Festival did for film: provide a showcase where fans can interact with their favourite shows and stars.
Last year a modest contingent of 1,200 fans showed up at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for a low-key event that admittedly didn’t register Comic-Con numbers. And no one thought to dress up like Rick Mercer or the cast from Heartland.
But apparently, binge-watching the History channel’s Vikings in a theatre has more appeal than some might think. Somehow, Heath’s festival made it to the second year. And he has come back with a supersized version, up from three days to 10, starting Friday and running until Nov. 23.
“What do people do on a Sunday night? They watch their favourite shows in a group setting,” says Heath. “But this takes it to another level.”
This year, fans will get an advance look at Corner Gas: The Movie and talk to the stars. There will also be a Republic of Doyle fan event where viewers can say farewell to the CBC series and get a chance to meet Allan Hawco and Krystin Pellerin.
The CBC’s Book of Negroes, based on the award-winning Lawrence Hill book, will also have a Canadian debut at the festival. Oscar winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. are expected to attend the showing.
But this will not be the world premiere. The series already had a showing in October at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.
Being the new kid on the block, Heath will have to grow the festival before he starts demanding that Canadian shows premiere here before anywhere else. This isn’t TIFF. But it is a significant start for the largely volunteer organization.
Certainly, the idea of a festival to celebrate TV is not unique. Two big festivals in Monte Carlo and New York also celebrate television. The Banff World Media Festival also has TV content, though it is not dedicated exclusively to TV.
In some ways, the Canadian International Television Festival apes the American PaleyFest, which connects TV creators with fans in a much more intimate way, with screenings and panels that discuss the breadth of what is happening in the industry while celebrating the history of the medium.
The CITF will concentrate on made-in-Canada TV.
This isn’t such a wacky idea when you think that film and TV production are at record highs in Ontario. Production contributed $1.15 billion to the economy in Ontario. And the vast majority of that comes not from film, but from domestic TV production, including Space’s Orphan Black and CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries.
Heath says the idea for a festival germinated several years ago after he saw fans lining up at a downtown Toronto theatre to watch the finale of CTV’s Flashpoint as the stars walked the red carpet.
“I thought it was fabulous that people would have that reaction to a Canadian show and it made me wonder why we didn’t do that more often.”
Heath was also helped by advances in HD technology that meant TV shows could much more easily make the leap to a large-screen format.
He garnered the support of the industry, including Bell Media, the CBC, the Canada Media Fund and the Canadian Media Production Association. And since luring viewers from their big screen TV’s could be a challenge, tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance.
“We are really the most unique market in the world because we are so close to the United States, but yet we have a very distinct culture,” says Heath. “So it’s really about time we started celebrating our own in Canada.”
Source: Toronto Star
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