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Exclusive: Witchcraft Motion Picture Company is adding to its growing slate of films since launching last year. Rod Blackhurst (director of Netflix’s Amanda Knox)and Noah Lang of Witchcraft have acquired the rights to the thriller Empire of Dirt written by Noah Harald.

Blackhurst is attached to direct Harald’s script which follows “a female ex-soldier turned Emt who, certain of her son’s innocence in the wake of his overdose death, ventures deep into the underbelly of opioid country in relentless pursuit of truth and vengeance.”

“This is a film about motherhood, pain and strength set against the backdrop of a city ravaged by a drug epidemic where justice seemingly only comes at a premium,’’ said Blackhurst and Lang in a statement. “Noah Harald’s script about a middle aged woman of...

Ahead of Lifechanger's world premiere at this year's Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, the film's first official trailer and poster have been revealed, hinting at a transformation of sorts for potentially more than just one character. The film touts an impressive cast, including Lora Burke, Jack Foley, Elitsa Bako, Sam James White, Rachel Vanduzer, Steve Kasan, and Bill Oberst Jr., and we have a look at the trailer and poster:

Press Release: Toronto, On – The trailer and first poster for the upcoming horror film Lifechanger have newly been released online. The film will have a World Premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival on July 20th, then an International Premiere at London’s Frightfest the following month (on Aug. 25th & 26th). Directed by Justin McConnell, the film follows “a murderous shape-shifter on a blood-soaked mission to make things right with the woman he loves”. The film stars Lora Burke (from...

United Kingdom born filmmaker Adam Mason took time to answer a few questions on his body of work. From one of his earliest features (Dust, 2001) to his latest ("Empire of Dirt"), Mason talks about some of the highlights in his career and some of his collaborations, in this interview. Fans of his film are encouraged to have a quick read as Mason talks about what is coming up next for him and his filmmaking career. (Mike Allen) Just to get readers up to speed, I wanted to talk about a bit about your background and your previous films. You graduated from film school, in the United Kingdom and quickly went into your first production, Dust (2001). What was it like shooting your first film? (Adam Mason) My first movie was actually called The 13th Sign and we shot that back in 1999. It was completely awful. As was Dust, the second feature I did right after.

Despite not being nominated for Best Director, Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle managed to pull off what we thought was the impossible (our Leora Heilbronn has pegged the drama as the film that should win, but favored Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy as the best bet) winning Best Motion Picture at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards (a.k.a Canadian Oscars). If the out of synch supposed “live” telecast wasn’t bad enough (all awards including the winning film were announced almost one hour prior to on twittersphere), the show’s producers gave Gabrielle winning producers Luc Déry and Kim McCraw the equivalent of end of toilette paper roll in terms of time.

The voters also choose Gabrielle‘s Gabrielle Marion-Rivard as Best Actress in a Leading Role, while the heavily favored Enemy grabbed five awards, Best Direction for Villeneuve, Best Original Score for the excellent Danny Bensi/Saunder Jurriaans pairing , Best Editing,...

With the dust fully settled on the Academy Awards, we point our attention northward with tonight’s 2014 Canadian Screen Awards. Many of the television winners have already been announced in glitzy fashion during this Canadian Screen Week, but with baited breath, we’re more keen on seeing how the film award honors will pan out. Last year’s Tiff saw Denis Villeneuve bring not one (Prisoners), but a pair of feature films and it is the offbeat, doppelgänger delight Enemy that should reap in the top awards of the evening. Here are my predictions of who will win, who should win, and who should have been nominated in each of the most anticipated film categories.

Best Motion Picture:

The nominees are: Enemy, The Dismantlement, Empire of Dirt, The F Word, Gabrielle, The Grand Seduction, Maina, Tom at the Farm

Screenie voters tend to favor Canada’s yearly submission for the...

Sundance Institute has revealed the latest batch of 11 films available through digital platforms and storefronts via the Institute’s Artist Services programme. Separately, Vimeo On Demand has announced the first 13 on-demand titles it acquired in Toronto.

Artist Services platforms include iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Microsoft Xbox, Sony Entertainment Network, SundanceNOW, Vudu and YouTube.

Titles include Dear Mandela, Happy Sad, The Light In Her Eyes (pictured) and Reporter.

Four months after Vimeo On Demand announced it would offer $10,000 advances for 30-day exclusive digital windows on world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff), the on-demand service has unveiled the first 13 titles.

The Tiff films premiering on Vimeo On Demand in 2014 are: Asphalt Watches, Cinemanovels, Empire Of Dirt, Brazilian Western (Faroeste Caboclo), People In Places (Gente En Sitios), Ladder To Damascus, Little Feet, Palestine Stereo, Standing Aside Watching, The Animal Project, This Is Sanlitun, A Journey (Une Jeune Fille) and Wild Duck.

The films will...

Just a day following the conclusion of Tiff’s Canada’s Top Ten festival, many of the same films were heralded in this morning’s Canadian Screen Awards nominations. Leading the noms was Enemy, Denis Villenueve’s adaptation of Jose Saramago’s celebrated novel The Double. Its astounding 10 nominations include best picture, actor (Jake Gyllenhaal), supporting actress (former Tiff rising star and current Cronenberg muse Sarah Gadon), and director (Villeneuve).

Other Canada’s Top Ten overlapping nominees include multiple nominations for wunderkind Xavier Dolan’s nod to Hitchcock, Tom at the Farm (with eight nominations including best picture), doc Watermark, Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Gabrielle (which surprisingly was snubbed for best director), and the recently locked The F Word (which garnered a best actor nod for Daniel Radcliffe but astoundingly not a nomination for its charming lead actress Zoe Kazan).

Films that were expected to be part of Canada’s...

The Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced the Canadian Screen Awards nominees.

“We are exceedingly proud today to reveal the nominees for the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards,” said Academy chair Martin Katz.

“This was a year marked by a record-breaking number of submissions, reflecting a robust level of activity in the screen-based industries in Canada which we will celebrate during Canadian Screen Week, March 3-9. Congratulations to all.”

David Cronenberg will receive the lifetime achievement award. For the full list of winners invcluding television, digital and special awards click here.

The feature nominees in full:

Best Motion Picture

The Dismantlement (Le Démantèlement) – Bernadette Payeur, Marc Daigle

Empire Of Dirt – Jennifer Podemski

Enemy – Kim McCraw, Luc Déry, Miguel A Faura, Niv Fichman, Sari Friedland

The F-Word – Andre Rouleau, David Gross, Macdara Kelleher

Gabrielle – Kim McCraw, Luc Déry

The Grand Seduction – Barbara Doran, Roger Frappier

Maïna – Karine Martin, Michel Poulette, Yves Fortin

Tom At The Farm (Tom À La Ferme) – [link...

The Academy Of Canadian Cinema & Television has announced its nominees.

“We are exceedingly proud today to reveal the nominees for the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards,” said Academy chair Martin Katz. “This was a year marked by a record-breaking number of submissions, reflecting a robust level of activity in the screen-based industries in Canada which we will celebrate during Canadian Screen Week, March 3-9. Congratulations to all.”

David Cronenberg will receive the lifetime achievement award. For the full list of winners invcluding television, digital and special awards click here.

The fearure nominees in full:

Best Motion Picture

The Dismantlement (Le Démantèlement) – Bernadette Payeur, Marc Daigle

Empire Of Dirt (pictured) – Jennifer Podemski

Enemy – Kim McCraw, Luc Déry, Miguel A Faura, Niv Fichman, Sari Friedland

The F-Word – Andre Rouleau, David Gross, Macdara Kelleher

Gabrielle – Kim McCraw, Luc Déry

The Grand Seduction – Barbara Doran, Roger Frappier

Maïna – Karine Martin, Michel Poulette, Yves Fortin

Tom At The Farm (Tom À La Ferme) – [link...

A few years ago actor Peter Stebbings took a shot at directing and produced the hugely enjoyable quasi-superhero movie Defendor (review). Stebbings has been busy working in front of the camera for the last few years but recently he also managed some time to return to the director's chair with a very different drama, one that doesn't include masked heroes but rather a different type of hero.

Empire of Dirt stars newcomer Cara Gee as Lena, a hardworking single mother trying to deal with her rebellious teen daughter Peeka (Shay Eyre). Lena loses her job, she follows up on an opportunity that leads her to a strip club but she finally gives up on big city life when Peeka sniffs glue and lands her [Continued ...]...

Top brass at the 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) have announced a new programme on Canadian Cinema as well as the traditionally strong roster of foreign-language films eligible for the Fipresci Award in the Awards Buzz section, and Modern Masters.

The festival will screen 45 of the 76 official foreign-language Oscar submissions under the umbrella of Awards Buzz.

“We’ve selected Canadian films for a special focus at this year’s festival for many reasons, not the least of which is the wealth of talent emerging from its relatively small, indigenous film industry, and the depth and richness of story and character portrayal its films exemplify,” said festival director Darryl Macdonald.

“Whether it’s established auteurs like Denis Coté, Denis Villenueve and Atom Egoyan, gifted actor-directors like Don McKellar and Sarah Polley or newly emerging talents like Chloé Robichaud, Craig Goodwill and Sébastien Pilote, Canadian creative ingenuity is on abundant display in its films. All of this...

Double Dutch International has acquired worldwide distribution rights excluding Canada to Peter Stebbings’ addiction drama Empire Of Dirt and worldwide rights to Terry Miles’ family drama Cinemanovels. Both titles premiere in Toronto on Friday [6].

Empire Of Dirt (pictured at left) stars Tiff 2013 Rising Star Cara Gee as a former addict and single mother trying to make ends meet in Toronto. Mongrel Media holds Canadian rights.

Cinemanovels tells the story of a daughter trying to mount a film retrospective of her estranged father’s work. Apa represents Us rights.

“Both films deal with familial themes that are timely, poignant, and universal,” said Double Dutch president Jason Möring. “We are thrilled to be able to bring these stories to the domestic and international market.”...

Remember Peter Stebbings' last film, "Defendor"? Featuring Woody Harrelson in a wacky costume, the movie won people's hearts and was a smash hit at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival.

Vancouver-born Stebbings is back with "Empire of Dirt," which is set to premiere at this year's Tiff.

"Empire of Dirt" focuses on an impoverished single mother who's trying to save her teenage daughter from the streets. Also, the mother returns home and attempts to reconcile with her own mother.It's an interesting tri-level generational story, full of heartbreak and poignant moments.

Three native female protagonists -- Jennifer Podemski ("Take This Waltz"), Luke Kirby ("Take This Waltz") and fresh faces Cara Gee and Shahiyela Pourier-Eyre -- take on the lead roles.

[Click to Zoom:]

Podemski, who also produced the film, brought the script to Stebbings while he was editing "Defendor."

You can check out "Empire of Dirt" at Tiff.

Denis Villeneuve will have two films in the festival as it emerged on Wednesday [7] that Canadian Features world premiere Enemy starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a man and his doppelganger [pictured] has joined the previously announced Prisoners, also starring Gyllenhaal.

The Canadian Features selection includes Michael Dowse’s Goon follow-up The F Word, Xavier Dolan’s Tom At The Farm and Chloe Robichaud’s Sarah Prefers To Run as well as work from Jeff Barnaby, Bruce McDonald and Bruce Labruce.

“The scope of this year’s feature films is as broad as Canada’s filmmaking community and demonstrates the deep versatility of our filmmakers,” said Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock. “From clever, biting satire to intimate social commentary, powerful dramas and even a truly magical comedy, the settings and themes vary, but the perspectives are always uniquely Canadian.”

The City Of Toronto and Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film will be given to one of many outstanding...

Empire of Dirt

Jennifer Podemski and Luke Kirby are set to star in "Defendor" director Peter Stebbings’ second feature "Empire of Dirt".

The story follows a single mother (Cara Gee) struggling to make ends meet as she tries to save her teenage daughter (Shahiyela Pourier-Eyre) from the streets. Podemski plays the single mom's mother, while Kirby is an ex-boyfriend. [Source: THR]

The Anna Nicole Smith Story

Agnes Bruckner ("Private Practice") will play former Playboy pinup Anna Nicole Smith in Lifetime's telemovie "The Anna Nicole Smith Story".

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron will produce the true story tale of the small town Texan girl who transforms herself into Anna Nicole Smith. [Source: The Live Feed]

Terrence Malick's Next

Set photos have revealed Holly Hunter can be spotted sharing a scene with Natalie Portman in Terrence Malick's currently shooting latest project.

Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale also star in the film about...