The 26th Annual Vancouver Film + TV Forum Ends on a High Note

Vancouver, B.C. - New Filmmaker's Day, October 1st, at the Rogers Industry Centre ended on a high note with a full house hosted by award-winning film and TV creatives: director Catherine Hardwick (Red Riding Hood), cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel (Drive), co-creator/exec. producer/writer Lee Aronsohn (Two and a Half Men), director Ed Gass Donnelly (Small Town Murder Songs) and director Jason Eisner (Hobo With a Shotgun). From learning the tricks of the trade in prepping for a shoot to being entertained and engaged with tales from the trenches of the sit-com world, New Filmmakers' Day was inspiring and educational and enthusiastically received by all delegates.

According to Helen du Toit, Creative Director of The Forum: "The 2011 Forum was hugely successful on all fronts - inspiring and informed guest speakers, well attended panels and, most importantly, wonderful networking opportunities. We're getting really positive feedback from the community and we're happy that we struck a good balance between the creative and business sessions. A big thanks to all our sponsors for making our event possible."

The Roger's Industry Centre was abuzz from Tuesday, September 27th through Friday September 30th, with local film professionals eager to learn from and meet with industry leaders and innovators, on Networking Day, Factual Day, Film Day and TV Day. Networking was front and centre throughout the thematic streamlined programming with Speed Dating Sessions for emerging producers back by popular demand. A total of 54 delegates had the opportunity to pitch their projects to 13 local senior production executives. For the mid to senior level producer, 50 Telefilm Canada International Tête-à-tête Meetings were scheduled with 16 participating broadcasters and industry executives. At the Roundtable Discussions 46 participants networked with Robin Mirsky, Executive Director, Rogers Telefund, Melanie Friesen, Western Board Member, Astral's Harold Greenberg Fund, Tracey Friesen, Executive Producer, Pacific and Yukon Region, NFB, Catherine Warren, Board Member, Communications Chair, Bell Fund, and Alexandra Cunningham, Executive Producer, Prime Suspect.

On Film Day, Michael Arndt, screenwriter of Toy Story 3 and Little Miss Sunshine held the audience captive as he provided a close analysis of the climaxes of Star Wars, The Graduate, and his own script, Little Miss Sunshine. TV Day was inspirational with award-winning TV writers Graham Yost (Justified) and Alexandra Cunningham (Prime Suspect) providing insider tips on how to create a successful TV series. Factual Day enlightened as J. Joly, CEO, Overinteractive Media and Tessa Sproule, Executive in Charge of Digital Programming, CBC shared their direct insights and successes around cutting-edge social media, gamefication and social TV initiatives. Over-all attendance for the entire event remained strong and at par with last year.  

Social / networking events included a reception to celebrate and promote the BC industry's progress in establishing strong business relationships with China, hosted by the Honourable Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development; the 30th Anniversary reception for our public broadcaster Knowledge Network; and the finale reception on New Filmmakers' Day hosted by Kodak and Citytv.  The Vancouver International Film Festival acknowledges the generous support of Telefilm Canada and our major corporate partners Rogers Communications and Visa Canada.

For more information: (604) 685-3547

email:

web: viff.org/forum