Village Gamer

Bong of the Dead, an independent movie by writer, producer and director Thomas Newman keeps getting better and better news. Film festivals and distributors are lining up to get a piece of flesh from this zombie film and they don’t come any bigger than the Cannes Film Festival. Newman received notice that the film Bong of the Dead will be added to the Cannes 2011 program. Newman hit the Indy home run but the good news didn’t stop there.

The king of pot comedy Tommy Chong said of Bong of the Dead, “This is a sure winner”. Tommy Chong is still being courted to appear at the May 15, 2011 movie premiere in Vancouver at the Rio Theatre so fans will want to stay tuned and hurry up and get some of the few remaining tickets. There will be prizes and giveaways so don’t miss out!

For 3 solid years Thomas Newman has been plugging away relentlessly on his dreams by creating his film all by himself in his basement. The movie was originally shot on location 3 years ago with a small crew compiled of close friends and family. He then took the footage which was shot over the course of only 15 days on one camera and went to work editing, mixing music and enhancing over 365 shots by hand.

If you are in France during the Cannes Film Festival, be sure to check out what all the hype is about as the film will be premiering there on May 12th and 14th. Conversely, if you reside in or near Vancouver, then hop over to the Rio Theatre on East Broadway and catch the film’s Vancouver 6:30pm premiere on May 15th.

Rogers Media, in partnership with iVillage, is thrilled to announce that iVillage.ca is here for Canadian women. iVillage.ca launched today, providing Canadian women with a one-stop online destination for engaging content, community and a ground-breaking multimedia campaign. The new iVillage.ca offers Canadian women content, community and the chance to pick up one of over 250 prizes.

iVillage.ca is all about passion and what better way to launch than with The iVillage Passion Project – an interactive program that invites Canadian women to share their passions for the best things in life; for things like family, fashion, fitness, celebrity, work and relationships. It’s also a chance to watch other women – including CityLine’s Tracy Moore and Sportsnet’s Martine Gaillard – talk about the things that matter most in a collection of over 50 vibrant original videos.

Watching videos also gives viewers a chance to WIN one of over 250 prizes – instantly – plus score daily entries into a grand-prize sweepstakes, where one lucky participant will pick up a trip for four to Universal Orlando^® Resort. To collect bonus entries, users are invited to add their passions to the dynamic iVillage Passion Wall. Editorial about all-things-passion will live throughout the site during the months of May and June and is sponsored by Pantene^® Pro-V^®, COVERGIRL^® NatureLuxe, Pampers^® and Olay Regenerist.

“Rogers Media is thrilled to launch iVillage.ca in partnership with iVillage,” said Jason Tafler, Chief Digital Officer of Rogers Digital Media. “We are proud to bring a Canadian perspective to such a prominent brand. With iVillage.ca added to our list of more than 250 digital products, we will continue to provide Canadian women with trusted, top-tiered online content.”

iVillage.ca will feature original content, alongside top features from iVillage.com and stories from popular Rogers Media brands such as Chatelaine, CityLine and sweetspot.ca. The community-driven site will also connect women to their much beloved iVillage.com discussion boards and feature new discussions for Canadian women about issues important to them.

iVillage.ca is proud to bring a slate of A-list experts and contributors to the table for launch, including one of Babble’s top 10 Canadian mommy bloggers, Catherine Connors (Her Bad Mother) who will write an exclusive weekly column titled “Straight Up from Her Bad Mother” Home Heist‘s Cheryl Torrenueva who comes on board as the iVillage.ca home expert; and Lianne Phillipson-Webb, author of SproutRite, who will dish out weekly nutrition advice for the family.

“We’re delighted to welcome the new iVillage.ca site, which beautifully reflects iVillage’s brand mission as a trusted community and valued resource for women,” said Jodi Kahn, Executive Vice President, iVillage. “Rogers is the perfect partner to bring iVillage to Canada given their strong female brands.”

Ode To A Post-It Note has been named the best Branded Entertained Online Film & Video by the 15th Annual Webby Awards. The film was produced by Vancouver’s Meditating Bunny Studio Inc. and commissioned by 3M Canada.

The film begins with a cluttered office desk plastered with to-do lists scribbled on Post-it Notes. One brave Post-it Note escapes on an incredible journey of self-discovery to find his father, which brings him to St. Paul, Minnesota where he tracks down Art Fry, the inventor of Post-it Notes.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WelIo6EOPvA]

“The Webby Awards honour the very best of the Internet,” said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of the Webby Awards. “Jeff Chiba Stearns’ achievement for Ode To A Post-it Note is a testament to the skill, ingenuity and vision of its creators.”

Producer Jeff Chiba Stearns, of Meditating Bunny Studio Inc., and executive producer Sherry Browne, of 3M Canada, are honoured to be among the winners of the annual Webby Awards which will presented in New York City on Monday, June 13, 2011.

The Webby Awards are infamous online and around the world. They’re considered the Internet’s highest honour and winners are chosen by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (which includes such members as David Bowie, Beck, Arianna Huffington, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, and Richard Branson). The 15th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries.

“3M Canada is very honoured that Jeff Chiba Stearns is receiving this award for his work on Ode To A Post-it Note,” commented Sherry Browne, Marketing Manager at 3M Canada. “This animated film has touched the hearts of people around the world, especially those who are fans of Post-it products”.