Vancouver reviews film regs

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has launched a new task force to review the city's filming regulations and bylaws, with Brightlight Pictures CEO Shawn Williamson at the helm.

"Film and television productions are a significant economic and cultural benefit to the city," Sullivan told reporters on Oct. 3. "As mayor, I want to let the world know that Vancouver is not only a fantastic place to invest, but we're also film and television production friendly."

Williamson will chair the task force, which includes representatives from the industry, neighborhoods and the police department.

He notes that the current guidelines and bylaws are 20 years old. "Sustainability is what this is all about. We will look at ways to be more effective and minimize the impact in our communities. Working with and educating the community is key," says Williamson.

Early wins at VIFF

Midway through its two-week run, the Vancouver International Film Festival had handed its Dragons & Tigers Award to Todo Todo Teros by Filipino director John Torres, citing the experimental feature about the underbelly of modern-day Manila for its "energetic melding of the personal and the political."

The VIFF jury also gave honorable mentions to Faceless Things by South Korea's Kim Kyong-Mook and Geo-Lobotomy by Kim Gok and Kim Sun, also from South Korea. The award is presented to a first-time filmmaker in the Asian-themed Dragons & Tigers program.

Big money at Banff

Attendees at this year's Banff World Television Festival inked deals totaling $720 million, according to organizers, roughly $43 million of which was signed during the four-day event in June. The others were "facilitated or initiated" at the festival.

The numbers mark an almost five-fold increase over those of 2005 and are based on a survey of 400 delegates who attended Banff in June.

"The results of this latest survey are unequivocal evidence that Banff is a vital, viable and important component of the global television industry," says festival CEO Robert Montgomery.

First Light reps Image, Archive

First Light has been selected to represent both Image Bank Film and Archive Films - putting the Toronto stock footage company in front of two of the world's leading sources of rights-managed 35mm footage, newsreels and vintage film.

"We're really excited that First light is adding such scope and prestige to the footage collections that we represent," says CEO Lisa Dempsey.

Archive Films features newsreels, educational film and recent news and event coverage. Image Film Bank is owned by Getty Images and specializes in rights-managed 35mm cinematography.