Village Gamer

WordFest has announced the full Festival line-up for the 16th annual WordFest, which runs from October 11-16. Outside of the more than 60 events during the six day festival, WordFest is also hosting two special events in November featuring Adrienne Clarkson (November 1) and Wade Davis (November 9).

On Tuesday, November 1, WordFest presents Adrienne Clarkson at the Central Library, John Dutton Theatre (616 Macleod Trail SE in Calgary) at 7pm. The event will feature the former governor general of Canada presenting her new book, Room For All of Us, followed by a signing. Clarkson’s book is a collection of personal stories that explore the immigrant experience. Tickets are $15.

On Wednesday, November 9, WordFest returns to the Central Library, John Dutton Theatre to present bestselling author and adventurer Wade Davis at 7pm. Wade Davis, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, will present his latest book, Into the Silence: the Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest. Tickets are $15.

Jo Steffens, Festival Director, revealed the list of 76 writers showcased in the Festival with an eager response from readers, local writers, sponsors, supporters, volunteers, media and WordFest patrons. WordFest will feature 17 Albertan writers, 64 Canadian artists and writers from Australia, Germany, Mexico, Scotland, St. Lucia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“I am really excited about this year’s line-up, there’s an exceptional group of Canadian and Albertan writers and some very strong emerging and first-time novelists,” said Steffens. “WordFest is introducing new programming this year, including more free events in addition to annual favourites.”

“This year WordFest is sharing the power of words in new ways. The Festival is showcasing a radio play based on the work of Jessica Westhead and a text-based installation on outdoor billboards. With this mix of talent, genres and themes there is really something for everyone,” said Steffens.

Annual WordFest favourites are included in the line-up of events this year, including Poetry Bash, Lattes, Love and Laughter and the Evening Showcases. New events such as Alberta (Un)Bound, Persuasion, Word Powered Art and Franklin Family Fun Day! show the breadth of WordFest programming that includes industry events, poetry and diverse multilingual programming. Read the rest of this entry »

Learning Tree International, Inc. will be presenting five informative sessions at Showcase Ontario 2011, providing key insights on the best in public and private sector business training practices and solutions. Showcase Ontario takes place this September 7th through 9th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and will offer participants access to career-focused education sessions, world-class speakers and a dynamic exhibition.

Defining Clear Project Goals with Larry Barnard
Wednesday, September 7, 9:00a.m. – 12:00p.m.
Description:This interactive session will help create clear goals for projects, and explain how to use these goals to ensure successful projects and achieve smooth project closure.

Managing Emotional Intelligence with Larry Barnard
Two Sessions: Wednesday September 7, 1:00pm – 4:00pm & Thursday September 8, 9:00am – 12:00p.m.
Description: This session will help participants learn to combine strong interpersonal skills with technical skills, and to apply Emotional Intelligence to motivate and engage teams, foster cooperative working relationships and improve overall effectiveness.

Planning for Project Success with Larry Barnard
Thursday, September 8, 1:00p.m. – 4:00p.m.
Description: This intensive mini-course will discuss strategies for planning for project success, as well as common project pitfalls to avoid.

Cloud Computing Overview: Evaluating the Opportunities with Boles Sykora
Friday, September 9, 10:00a.m. – 1:30p.m.
Description: This half-day event features live demonstrations of current cloud computing products such as Salesforce.com, Microsoft Azure, Google & Amazon EC2 to help you evaluate the options, benefits and decisions involved with incorporating cloud computing.

The Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS), presented by the Canada Media Fund, unveiled programming for the 8th annual event, which takes place this November 1st and 2nd at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure. Once again, MIGS is bringing together industry experts to create a educational event of unparalleled quality with presentations in six key areas of the business.

“One of the key objectives of MIGS is to expand the knowledge of developers so they will go back to work with their heads full of new and innovative ideas,” says Marie Claude Bernard, Director of MIGS. “With this year’s collection of inspiring speakers and our series of amazing events, the eighth edition of the MIGS is sure to be a great success.”

Participants will have the opportunity to hear the following experts:

* Arts & VFX:

• Alex Alvarez – Founder, President and CEO of Gnomon School of Visual Effects
• Hiroshi Matsuyama – CEO of CyberConnect2
• Raphael Lacoste – Art Director at Ubisoft

* Audio *NEW this year:

• Amaury LaBurthe – CEO and Assistant Professor at AudioGaming
• Jean-François Guay – Audio Expert and Programmer at Ubisoft
• Mona Mur – Composer
• Paul Weir – Audio Director, Composer and Audio Designer at Eidos

* Business:

• Jesse Divnich – Vice-President at EEDAR
• Marc Jackson – Managing Director at  Seahorn Capital Group
• Raphael van Lierop – Founder and Creative Director of HELM|Studio

* Design:

• Alex Epstein – Screenwriter
• Craig Morrison – Creative Director and Executive Producer at Funcom
• Nels Anderson – Lead Designer at Klei Entertainment

* Production:

• Andrée-Anne Boisvert – Associate Producer at Playdom
• Patrick Hsieh – Producer at Playdom
• Keith Fuller – Production Consultant for Fuller Game Production, LLC
• Scylla Costa – Development Director at Bioware

* Technology:

• Jeff Timanus – Software Developer for Google Canada
• Mike Ruangutai – Technical Director for  GameSpy Technology
• Renaud Bédard – Programmer at Polytron Corporation

Telefilm Canada will be holding the first of a three part panel discussion luncheon on September 9th in the Filmmakers’ Lounge at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. A Toronto International Film Festival partner event, the Question and Answer session will be hosted by Telefilm Canada Executive Director Carolle Brabant and moderated by Tom McSorley, Executive Director of the Canadian Film Institute, with opening remarks by Atom Egoyan, director of Chloe and The Sweet Hereafter.

The future of Canadian cinema is here and it is now. This panel discussion brings together filmmakers who’ve just made that elusive first feature. Whether it’s making the transition from shorts to features, the exciting opportunities of making films with digital media, or the aesthetic possibilities afforded creators by new technologies, these young directors will discuss how they got here and where they intend to go.

Directors who will be participating in the panel are as follows:

• Simon Davidson, The Odds, Canada First!
• Guy Édoin, Wetlands (Marécages), Canada First!
• Anne Émond, Nuit #1, Canada First!
• Ivan Grbovic, Romeo Eleven (Roméo Onze), Canada First!
• Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas, Amy George, Canada First!
• Nathan Morlando, Edwin Boyd, Special Presentations

There will also be panels held on September 12th and 14th, but details have not yet been released.

Merging Media Productions and the Canadian Media Production Association – British Columbia have announced that British Columbia Film, will once again sponsor the Merging Media Pitch 360 Development Award of $10,000. This prize will be awarded to the winner of the best cross-media project presented at the Merging Media Conference and Masterclass 2011 on October 27th and 28th. Funding for British Columbia Film is provided by the Province of British Columbia.

Developers and producers based in British Columbia who are working on cross-media or transmedia projects which include TV, film or web series elements, are encouraged to apply for the Masterclass and Pitch 360 program. Just eight companies will be selected to attend “Pitching the Multi-Platform Project” – Merging Media 2011’s exclusive Masterclass conducted by Starlight Runner Entertainment’s Caitlin Burns, followed by pitch training sessions.

These sessions will comprise one-on-one mentoring and pitch coaching by industry specialists from New York, Los Angeles and Toronto, to help participants fine tune their presentations. The final pitches will be presented on the main conference stage on October 28th before an international jury of potential co-producers, broadcasters, collaborators, investors and distributors. Deadline for submissions is September 30th and space is limited, register soon to avoid disappointment.

Eligibility and Guidelines:

• Project must be owned by the company or individual pitching;
• Company or individual must be British Columbia resident or BC incorporated;
• Project must have at least one conventional media element (eg. TV, film, webseries) and at least one more interactive element (eg. mobile, game, interactive site etc.);
• Pitch will be seven minutes, followed by a ten minute Q & Aperiod;
• Projects need not have a funding trigger (eg. CMF, broadcaster, distributor, etc.);
• In addition to fictional story narratives, factual/documentaries, reality projects, lifestyle and arts/entertainment projects are also accepted;
• A development agreement will be signed and the $10,000 award MUST go towards the development of the project.

Selection Criteria:

Eight “Pitch 360” participants will be selected based on:

1. Innovation and creative potential
2. Marketability and concept viability
3. Cross media integration
4. USA/international market appeal

Pitch 360 Jury

1. Curt Marvis, President of Digital Media, Lionsgate Studios
2. Brian Seth Hurst, Opportunity Management Company, LA
3. Chris Harris, Shaw Media, Toronto
4. Mark Bishop, marblemedia, Toronto
5. Greg Schenz, Endgame Entertainment, LA
6. Seth Shapiro, New Amsterdam Media, LA

The registration fee is $50 per person (paid upon acceptance only). Each team is permitted to register up to three people for the Masterclass only. Teams will be informed by mid October if they have been selected.

The BCIC-New Ventures judges have made it official and today announced the 10 Finalists for the the 2011 competition as well as the Top 5 for the Agritech competition. The BCIC-New Ventures Competition is open to any B.C. resident, team or business with an innovative technology product or service that has not yet secured significant financing from external investors.

Each of the competitors have paid $200.00 entry fees and participated in business-related seminars and events which began in April, along with 4 stringent elimination rounds began with pitching their idea, and then moved on to passing a feasibility test and developing a condensed business plan. The final round will take place on September 8th and 9th, when the award finalists will pitch to a live jury. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on September 22nd.

In alphabetical order by company name the Top 10 BCIC-New Ventures companies are:

• Awesense Wireless Inc.
• CapTherm Systems Inc.
• FundRazr
• MineSense Technologies Ltd.
• Polymer Research Technologies Ltd.
• Precision NanoSystems Inc.
• RewardLoop
• Secodix Corporation
• semiosBIO Technologies Inc.
• Wifarer Inc.

Competitors entered in the Agritech stream will be evaluated by a separate panel of jury members and the Top 5 finalists of the stream will vie for 2 prizes: the $30,000 Shildroth First Prize for Innovation in Agritech Prize and the $20,000 Shildroth Second Prize for Innovation in Agritech .

In alphabetical order by company name the Top 5 Agritech companies for 2011 are:

• BlueION Water Technologies Inc.
• Diacarbon Energy Inc.
• GreenScene AgriTek Inc.
• KOK Technologies
• semiosBIO Technologies Inc.

Just as the film festival draws celebrities and influencers from around the world to the streets of Toronto, NKPR’s popular gifting suite, the IT Lounge, is kicking off with a renewed focus on the global and local reach of its initiatives and charitable campaigns.

This year’s IT Lounge, held from September 8 to 14, connects diverse brands such as Canada’s RW&CO and Italy’s Coccinelle to raise funds and awareness not only for international charity partner Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ), but locally for Camp Oochigeas, where children with cancer rediscover the magic of childhood.

Founded by Oscar-winning director and screenwriter Paul Haggis, APJ is improving the lives of Haitian children by supporting an education model that will give thousands access to schooling, as well as hot meals, clean water and medical care. The APJ board includes Hollywood heavy-hitters such as James Franco, Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Nicole Kidman, Olivia Wilde, Gerard Butler, Josh Brolin, Diane Lane, Charlize Theron and Maria Bello.

IT Lounge doesn’t overlook those who need support close to home, with participating brands also donating to local charity Camp Oochigeas – a privately funded, volunteer-based organization that provides kids with cancer and kids affected by childhood cancer with a unique opportunity for growth through challenging, fun, enriching and magical experiences.

Though Natasha Koifman, president and founder of NKPR Inc., is quick to admit the film festival is her favourite time of year, it’s not just because of red carpet calls and gala events. “Working with our partners to raise funds and awareness for a number of different causes gives us a unique opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of children and their families on both a global and local scale.”

Located in the heart of the cinematic action at 312 Adelaide Street West, NKPR headquarters will once again transform into a can’t-miss pop-up shop loaded with star-worthy finds that all give back. Don’t miss out on the always fun and functional IT Lounge media centre, this year created by interior designer and décor expert Karen Sealy, owner of Sealy Design Inc., featuring HD LG Optimus Pads provided by Rogers.

This year feature brands include a wide range of global and local faves such as RW&CO., Fila, Coccinelle, Stila Cosmetics, Ardell Lashes, Goody, Simply You Jewelry, Kobo, G.M. Collin skin care, House of Marley, Stratusphere Living, ConScent/Parental ConScent, Baker Street, FIJI Water, SKYY Vodka.

Previous guests of the IT Lounge include Edward Norton, Catherine Deneuve, Fefe Dobson, Queen Latifah, Tim Robbins, Jason Bateman, Olivia Wilde and Ryan Gosling.

In addition to hosting the IT Lounge (September 8 to 14), NKPR will be at the helm of key festival events uptown, downtown and all over town, including:

• September 9 and 10: TORO After Dark Lounge, at Ame (19 Mercer St.). TORO After Dark will celebrate Artists For Peace and Justice on September 9, with a fundraiser hosted by Academy Award-winning director Paul Haggis, with Jon Hamm and George Stroumboulopoulos. On September 10, A-listers and industry insiders will enjoy fresh festival programming at the late-night lounge.

• September 10: Artists for Peace and Justice Academy Lunch. Located at a private estate in the Annex, this intimate backyard lunch will raise funds for the APJ Academy for children in Haiti. The event will feature special guest performances by Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam) and Régine Chassagne (Arcade Fire).

• September 10: HELLO! Canada Red Carpet & Gala. Canada’s only celebrity news magazine commemorates five glamourous years with a celebration of the greatest Hollywood style icons featured in HELLO! Canada at an invitation-only cocktail reception at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton.

NKPR will also spread social good using social media. The agency will donate $2 to APJ and to Camp Oochigeas – with proceeds split equally – for every new Twitter follower received between August 25 and September 14. Follow NKPR at natashankpr on Twitter to make your contribution to the campaign.

“Through the generosity of the brands who’ve participated in the IT Lounge over the past three years, and previous Artists for Peace and Justice fundraising events held during the film festival, we’ve been able to help make a difference in the lives of children around the world,” says Koifman, who also serves as Chair of the APJ Canada Board and as Advisory Board Member for Camp Oochigeas. “Mobilizing our social media community to help spread awareness for our causes is a natural evolution in our fundraising efforts.”

NKPR has helped raise more than $200,000 to both local and global charities through the IT Lounge, fundraising events, and online charitable campaigns like their “Follow For A Cause” initiative.

Be sure to visit NKPR’s all-film-festival, all-the-time microsite which will track fundraising efforts, feature daily contests, the latest news from the red carpets, exclusive IT Lounge images and updates from NKPR’s social networks.

Telefilm Canada is enhancing its participation in the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with two new initiatives created to promote Canadian talent. A first for this year, 12 films to be shown at the Festival were promoted to the New York industry as part of Telefilm’s Eye on TIFF initiative, in which festival Co-Director Cameron Bailey took part.

Telefilm is also proud to announce that renowned Canadian director Atom Egoyan will launch its new Talent to Watchinitiative, which will spotlight the creative talent of the country’s emerging and established filmmakers, with Canadian and international media in attendance.

Back again for a 12^th consecutive year is festival favourite Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!, which encourages industry support for new feature film ideas. Two additional activities will keep Telefilm in contact with its clients: Copro 101 information sessions will explore the ins and outs of co-producing with Canada, while Meet and Greet sessions provide opportunities to meet Telefilm’s top executives in one-on-one sessions.

“We’re enthusiastic about these two new initiatives that reaffirm Telefilm’s commitment to innovate and to promote the Canadian industry,” said Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director Carolle Brabant. “TIFF makes it possible, year after year, to support the industry’s growth by captivating international audiences, by forging ties within the industry, and by celebrating both up-and-coming and veteran talent.”

Director Atom Egoyan added: “Canadian filmmakers have always relied on the visibility and attention they can draw at film festivals.  This is a bold and vital initiative that fully understands the crucial role of promising young talent. ”

“We’re delighted to partner with Telefilm Canada on these exciting new projects,” said Cameron Bailey, Co-Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “Eye on TIFF is helping to build profile for our best emerging talent, and is sure to open up new foreign sales opportunities for Canadian films. Our work will go a long way towards helping TIFF achieve one of its core missions: building audiences for Canadian filmmakers.”

Talent to Watch
Dates: September 9, 12 and 14, 2011
Time: 12:00 to 12:45 pm
Location: The Filmmakers’ Lounge, Hyatt Regency Hotel
Photocall: 12:00 pm
Talent to Watch spotlights the creative talent of our country’s emerging and established filmmakers. Don’t miss our “In conversation with…” sessions at the Filmmakers’ Lounge, which promise to take an insightful and perhaps even critical look at why Canadian cinema is applauded around the world. Atom Egoyan, one of Canada’s most renowned directors, will attend the first session, The New Face of Canadian Cinema, and will deliver opening remarks. Panellists will be announced shortly.

Telefilm Canada’s Eye on TIFF
This event was held in New York City on August 23^rd as an exclusive pre-festival mixer for Canadian film teams and the New York acquisitions, festival and exhibition community – a chance for some key decision-makers to sneak a peek at what Canada has to offer at TIFF 2011. TIFF Co-Director Cameron Bailey and Telefilm Canada Executive Director Carolle Brabant were co-hosts for the occasion.

TIFF Rising Stars
Dates: September 8 to 11, 2011
Telefilm is a partner in TIFF Rising Stars, a new initiative designed to discover the next generation of made-in-Canada talent. At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF Rising Stars will showcase four Canadian actors who have proven themselves ready to expand into international careers. Sarah Allen, Katie Boland, Sarah Gadon and Keon Mohajeri will receive intensive professional development and mentoring from casting directors, agents, managers, producers and filmmakers.

Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!
Date: September 13, 2011
Time: 12:00 pm
Location: TIFF Bell Lightbox
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! returns to TIFF for the 12^th consecutive year. Six participating teams have six minutes each to pitch their feature film ideas to a live audience of over 200 industry professionals. The winning team is selected by a jury of international industry experts and receives $10,000 CAD from Telefilm to further develop their projects.

Talent Lab
Telefilm is a partner in Talent Lab, an intensive four-day professional development program that provides emerging talent with an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the world’s best film creators. Talent Lab leads participants in group discussions on a range of topics focused on the creative aspects of filmmaking, sharpening the skills and confidence of a new generation of filmmakers.

Meet and Greet with our executives
Dates: September 9, 11, 12 and 13, 2011
Telefilm’s Meet and Greet is a series of 15-minute one-on-one meetings with some of Telefilm’s top executives during TIFF, in order to discuss topics in their respective areas of expertise.

Copro 101
Dates: September 10, 12 and 13, 2011
Time: 9:30 to 10:30 am
Location: Filmmakers’ Lounge, Hyatt Regency Hotel
Marielle Poupelin, Deputy Director, Coproduction Certification, and Sandra Karr, National Director, Business Affairs, will lead hour-long discussions on the ins and outs of coproducing with Canada. Whether you’re a visitor interested in doing business with Canada, or a Canadian seeking international partners, these group sessions will introduce you to the world of coproduction.

Rock Hippo Productions announced today that its exhibition at Germany’s Gamescom last week in Cologne was a major success. The company estimates that tens of thousands of fans visited the Rock Hippo booth to play MicroVolts and Brawl Busters. The company also released photos of the winners of two huge competitions held during the convention. The winners of the daily Brawl Busters competitions took home Alienware gaming keyboards while the winners of the daily MicroVolts tournaments took home Alienware gaming mice.

Between August 25th and 28th, Rock Hippo will exhibit its two free-to-play games, MicroVolts and upcoming Brawl Busters, at Fan Expo Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Booth 1445. Players who visit the Rock Hippo booth at Fan Expo Canada will have a chance to play the new action brawler, Brawl Busters, which just recently went into Closed Beta phase. In addition, visitors can participate in the special promotion for the company’s recently released third person action shooter, MicroVolts, to receive in-game currency and pick up all kinds of gaming swag.

“Gamescom was a huge success for us. We were able to show off our games to so many of our fans and give out some great prizes. We want to congratulate the winners of our tournaments who took home some awesome Alienware gaming gear,” said Howard He, President and CEO of Rock Hippo Productions. “We aren’t done yet. We are now looking forward to meeting the gamers at Fan Expo Canada this weekend, which is celebrating its 17th year, and we are proud to be part of such a popular convention which celebrates everything from gaming to anime and comics and more.”

The National Post and mobile game developer XMG Studio Inc. are teaming up once again to challenge Canadian college and university students to race the clock and develop an addictive game app in just 48 hours. From September 30^th to October 2^ndstudent developers from coast-to-coast are invited to carry on the legacy of gifted Great Canadian Appathon coders, and take a chance at coding the next hit game for mobile platforms.

At the first GCA in April 2011, approximately 300 students on 100 teams spent the weekend working to develop the next great mobile game and take a share of the $45,000 prize pool. In the end, more than 50 games were completed and submitted including the winning superhero-themed game “Super Punch”. The game developers at XMG Studio are currently working with the three finalists from Edmonton, BC and Montreal, to polish their games “Super Punch”, “Valley Raid” and “Plasmium” and publish them.

“We’re excited to announce GCA² over the weekend of September 30^th.” says Ray Sharma, founder and CEO of XMG Studio, the Toronto-based game developer. “We were very impressed with the quality of the submitted games from the initial GCA and can’t wait to get knee-deep in code with that young Canadian developer talent. It’s a great way to socialize, network and play around with the latest APIs.”

The GCA² will start at 5:00 p.m. (local time) on September 30th, 2011 and continue for 48 hours, ending at 5:00 p.m. on October 2^nd, 2011. Individuals or teams of up to four people will be able to work around the clock in coding hubs set up at a variety of university and college campuses across the country. During the time of the event, sponsors will be on-site at some campuses to give away prizes and recruit for job openings. Following the event, the winning games will be chosen and winning teams will be honoured at the “Grand Finale” in Toronto.

To stay informed about the event, including supported platforms, team registrations, rules and regulations, campuses already signed-on or information on how to get your campus involved, please visit the Great Canadian Appathon web site.