Lucky Number Seven

It wasn’t until I was making a new connection and telling my story yesterday that I realized it was Contentum’s seventh anniversary. What an amazing time to be in our business! Special thanks to A&E, AMI, Discovery Channel, Efram Films, Frantic, GRB Media Ranch, HGTV, Hulu, Isopure, Magnolia,  NHL, OWN, Short Street, Texas Crew Productions, TVF, Two Six West, and UNESCO. I’d also like to say that I am so thankful to revisit old relationships with Chad G, Harriet L, Jeff L, Kyle B, Michael K, Nicola M, Scott L; develop new ones with Dan F, Jeff T, John R, Mark K, and Pavlo C; and burnish the long standing ones that make me excited to do this job every day.

Farpoint Ups Its Ranks

From Playback

Farpoint Films has acquired fellow Winnipeg-based prodco Scotfree Productions.

Effective Wednesday (Jan. 29), Scotfree owner Scott R. Leary (Cruise Ship Killers, pictured right) is Farpoint’s chief content officer and joined its ownership group.

As well, Farpoint’s head writer and partner Chris Charney (pictured left) has been appointed president. In this role, Charney is responsible for Farpoint’s production and post-production strategies, including the series and films under its exclusive deal with Super Channel.

Previous president Kyle Bornais has now moved into the role of CEO.

“This is a result of the strong working relationship I’ve had with Farpoint over the past 15 years and allows me to take on an official role in leading the young and dynamic team that Farpoint has assembled,” said Leary in a statement.

In June 2024, Farpoint Distribution acquired Toronto-based sales and production company 10star Media.

Cutting Class Media Debuts Distribution Slate

From Realscreen

Cutting Class Media

Toronto-based Cutting Class Media has debuted its distribution slate with 10 new and previously announced titles.

The media company, led by Joshua Bowen and Carly Sacks, is shopping its slate of animated and live-action projects at local and global markets such as Realscreen, NATPE and Prime Time.

The animated titles include the 10 x 12-minute series peopleWatching, the comedy feature Matters Beyond, the Lakeside Animation 10 x 10-minute children’s series Beastly Crimes, the adult action-comedy series Not Safe for Work and the 6 x 5-minute children’s series Oh and Go.

Also on the animation slate is a feature film coproduction between Russia’s MetraFilms and Lakeside Animation, Tied Up. It is directed by Oscar-nominated Russian animator Konstantin Bronzit and Dmitriy Vysotskiy. The film follows everyday items that have been discarded as trash that decide to seek paradise.

Rounding out Cutting Class’ animation slate is Lakeside Animation’s 10 x 5-minute The Dollop Animated Series, based on The Dollop podcast, and the 6 x 15 to 22-minute horror anthology Red Iron Road.

In its live-action slate, Cutting Class has two documentaries: The CBC-commissioned feature What We Carry and the medium-length Cutting Class original Continue Playing?, which follows a once professional gamer who overcomes homelessness and depression to become an ultra-endurance athlete.

According to the release from Cutting Class, additional details and titles are to be revealed later in the year.

WALTER THE MATERIALIZER - Thank you, Festival de Santa Cruz!

We inform you that your film, Walter the Materializer, was awarded an Honorable Mention and shown to the public, the film received 6 and a half minutes of standing ovation, we want to congratulate you for this, your film is emotional and real, and touched us all.

Best regards

Festival de Santa Cruz Team

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS SEASON 02 PREMIERS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th ON TSN AT 7:30PM ET

Watch trailer here

S-Media is excited to announce the season premier of Breaking Down Barriers S02 on Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation with a special episode celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) tournament and its profound impact on hockey within Canada’s First Nations communities.

This season, the series will continue to share inspiring stories, including features on the Black Girls Hockey Club, the PWHL’s exciting outlook for its sophomore season, The Carnegie Initiative, the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Program, the NHLPA’s First Line initiative promoting mental health awareness, and so much more. A massive thanks to our partners who provide us the platforms and resources to tell these incredible stories: Canadian Tire, TSN, Hyundai and the NHL.

SUMMERHILL MEDIA GREENLIGHT

Collar of Duty Kids takes young viewers into the lives of amazing kids who've been matched with extraordinary service animals. It's all about these brand-new partnerships and the adventures they get up to. If you are thinking just dogs, you're in for a surprise because we are talking about creatures from parrots to pigs! Collar of Duty Kids is produced by Summerhill Media Inc. (There's Something You Should Know, Collar of Duty) in association with Fifth Ground Entertainment.

Rezolution wins 13 Canadian Screen Awards!

Crave/APTN’s Little Bird led television honors at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, winning 13 awards including: Best Drama Series; Best Direction/Drama Series; Best Supporting Performer/Drama for Braeden Clarke; and Best Lead Performer/Drama Series for Darla Contois.

Cara Connor's Straight for Pay Monthly Show MOVES

Congrats to Canadian Screen Awards Nominees

Congratulations to Adrian Callendar for Secrets of the Underground Railroad, Rezolution for Little Bird, and Saloon Media for Canada’s Drag Race and Statue Wars. Well deserved!

NEW YORK TIMES - STRAIGHT FOR PAY REVIEW

From the New York Times, March 26, 2024. Cara Connors is a queer millennial comic whose debut hour shifts from her divorce from a man to a very funny description of lesbian breakups (lots of gratitude in both directions). She says she’s terrified of waking up, opening her phone and seeing this news: “Elon Musk is bisexual.” Her face goes dark. “Now I have to welcome him into the community?” Then she imagines the headline with her hands: “Jeff Bezos, gender-fluid.” She erupts in a baritone: “I can’t do it.” Connors seems to search for reasons to lose her bearings. It’s where she is funniest. Bounding around the stage with “the energy of a mom at a wedding who has had too much to drink,” she offers some dutiful jokes (like the Standup 101 opening analogy of how she appears to others: “I know I look like if they let Timothée Chalamet start eating again”) and a couple that peter out when they should build. But she makes up for the rawness of joke writing with a frenetic charm and a powerhouse voice that shifts from giggly to laid-back to demonic in a flash. It’s a promising debut. ~Jason Zinoman

Stephen Friedman's Dream Has Come True - INTRAVEL

"I’m super excited to partner with INSIGHT TV on this venture, we are approaching this very differently as this isn’t just a TV channel it’s so much more! Through this epic collaboration with INSIGHT TV, Jungle Creations, Steller.co, and more, INTRAVEL is all set to unveil an unparalleled adventure across the globe, redefining the very essence of travel content and acting as an all in one hub for travel brands, tourism boards, and more. The foundation for this channel is good storytelling connecting all of us to this fascinating place we all call home. It’s a very exciting time and welcome to INTRAVEL." ​ 

HALF A DOZEN YEARS AGO....

As the anniversary of year six (!) is here, I’d like to thank the folks the clients and I worked with in 2023: A&E/UK, Bell Media, Blue Ant Media, Discovery Channel, Comedy Dynamics, Corus, DLT Entertainment, Gag Reflex, Frantic, Hearst, HGTV, History Channel, Hulu, INSP, Isopure, Magnolia, Motortrend, One Tribe TV, OWN, PBS, RIVR Media, Texas Crew Productions, Unconventional Entertainment, Vail Valley Foundation, and West One International.

Red Arrow Industries' First Time Buyer's Club Season Two Pick Up!

FIRST-TIME BUYER'S CLUB is an authentic and in-depth look at the exciting but complex journey of becoming a homeowner for the very first time, no matter the stage in life. Teacher-turned-realtor Amina Stevens aims to educate and inspire clients who are intimidated by the overwhelming housing market. By providing her expertise and support, Amina is a trusted partner and confidante as she guides her clients through every stage of the home-buying journey. Each and every sale also furthers Amina's ultimate mission and passion with her work -- the building of wealth and the reduction of housing disparity in the Black community. By investigating each client's unique situation, Amina takes pride in helping her clients break through the myths about home ownership so they can one day realize their dreams.

Cara Connor's Special - Straight for Pay available 3/12/24

A singular new voice, poised to take the comedy world by storm, Straight for Pay, blends Connors’ unique brand of high-energy, self-effacing comedy with a well-crafted charismatic, on-stage persona. Connors delivers an exuberant hour of full-body laughs, and plenty of thought-provoking material, in her breakout debut comedy special.

Her acclaimed solo show, Straight for Pay, recently completed a 35-city tour, headlining show at the New York Comedy Festival, and a successful debut run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, garnering rave reviews from The Boston Globe, Austin Chronicle, Paste Magazine, and more. With The Comics Comic critic Sean McCarthy calling her: “Part Sandra Bernhard, part Kristen Wiig, part intangible undeniable charm.”

BIG TIME DECENT'S LEGENDS OF THE PONY EXPRESS FOR INSP COMING 3/10/24

Heroic Pony Express riders face deadly terrain, hostile Native Americans, and dangerous outlaws as they race from station to station to transport vital mail across 2,000 miles of untamed frontier. Though many of them are little more than boys, their life-and-death adventures become the stuff of legends. The often-overlooked station keepers who tend the horses and care for riders along the way face just as much danger as the riders in their isolated and unprotected cabins. In just 18 months of operation, the Pony Express makes 400 runs with only one lost delivery. Along the way, it unites the country and becomes an iconic part of America's western lore.

CARA CONNORS' EDINBURGH FRINGE FEST REVIEWS

From TheComicsComic.com “Part Sandra Bernhard, part Kristen Wiig, part intangible undeniable charm, this LA-based comedian by way of Toronto has an energy she may describe as the first mom on the dance floor at the wedding reception. It’s go go go.”

From Chortle “Cara Connor’s show - like so many others – is all about identity. And the identity that defines her appears to be that of Looney Tunes character.”

Somewhere for Us “It's true that Cara’s exuberance, and the way that they shift from topic to topic, sometimes within the same sentence, is enough to give some whiplash. But for many others, this rapid-fire, over-the-top performance is an important part of the humour and the charm.”

CLICK POSTER FOR TICKETS

FIVE YEARS!

I can hardly believe it’s been five years since starting this business – partly because of the covid time-warp, and mostly because I love the work. That said, this 'half decade' has been filled with growth, year after year. I am so proud of all the clients, new and old. And I am sending many, many special thank yous to the organizations we worked with this past year: A&E, Banijay/Beyond, Blue Ant Media, Brunico, HGTV, HGTV Canada, History, History Canada, Hulu, INSP, Magnolia, Motortrend, NBC Universal, Netflix, PBS, RIVR Media, ROKU, RTR Media, Sharp Entertainment, Weather Channel, WestOne International, and WETV. Hopefully I will see you soon at MIPTV, Real Screen Dana Point, or the Banff Media Festival. Until then…

Secret Agents of the Underground Railroad - Adrian Callendar

Producer, Writer, Director Adrian Callendar’s Nature of Things: Secret Agents of the Underground Railroad is now available for streaming on CBC Gem and will be apart of Hot Docs Cinema on February 23rd. Check out the trailer here, or buy tickets to the screening here.

STRAIGHT FOR PAY REVIEW - PASTE MAGAZINE

There’s a lot of pressure on a stand-up comedian’s debut album to properly introduce them to us, sight unseen; you need to be confident in your ability to sell jokes based on your voice and your voice alone. Luckily for LA-based comedian Cara Connors, her voice is one of their strongest suits, bolstering her record Straight for Pay, which was taped at the Hideout Chicago.

Read more here

UNDERKNOWN STUDIOS LAUNCHES

From C21: Creators of social media phenomenon What If launch TV arm in Cannes

The creators of What If are launching a TV arm of their company Underknown at Mipcom next week, with a slate led by the digital science show that has more than 65 million followers across social media. The Canadian digital-first media company will be making its TV production debut as Underknown Studios at the Cannes market.

Partnering with Carl Hall's UK sales house West One International, Underknown aims to bring a new generation of factual entertainment audiences to broadcasters and platforms via its digital franchises and brands.

At Mipcom, Underknown Studios will showcase its factual web series brands, which regularly add more than 400 million watch minutes each month, as reworked and reformatted TV shows as the company expands its online offering into longform programming.

The firm's programming slate is led by What If, which asks hypothetical questions that get audiences talking around the world. It is currently in production on 52 one-hour episodes of the show.

Underknown Studios is also creating original TV content, the first example being History in Living Colour (6x60'), in which visual historian Jordan Lloyd uncovers the fascinating unknown stories behind history's most incredible photographs. West One International will raise finance and distribute Underknown Studios' content globally. The development slate has been created by Connor Boals (formerly of CNN's Great Big Story) and Cameron Macdonald (previously of Frantic Films).

West One MD Hall is joining the Underknown Studios team as a consultant, as are TV industry veteran Ken MacDonald (ex-Discovery Canada) and Melissa Campbell (of Contentum).