Village Gamer

DigiBC will be hosting another town hall meeting at the BC Showcase in Robson Square on the evening of Thursday, February 6th. Introduced in 2010, the IDMTC legislation is set to phase out in 2015 pending a review by the BC government in 2014. Your DigiBC Committee on Public Policy is actively discussing and working to ensure the program not only continues, but is expanded to meet the current and long-term needs of our evolving industry. Read the rest of this entry »

The new year will open in high style for Canadian cinema as the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) has selected Canada as country of honour for the Festival’s 25th anniversary edition. This focus on Canada marks the dazzling renewal of the Telefilm Canada-PSIFF partnership launched in 2013, one that promises to be very fruitful for Canada’s film industry. Canadian filmmakers Louise Archambault (Gabrielle), Shawney Cohen (The Manor), Craig Goodwill (Patch Town), Bruce LaBruce (Gerontophilia), Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction), Richie Mehta (Siddharth), Sébastien Pilote (Le Démantèlement) and Wiebke von Carolsfeld (Stay) will be in the spotlight in Palm Springs. The Festival runs from January 3 to 13, 2014. Read the rest of this entry »

Game Connection’s “Selected Projects” is once again giving independent developers the unique opportunity to pitch their games in front of some of the gaming world’s most influential people. Until January 10th, 2014, developers worldwide can submit their projects with a chance of taking home the ultimate accolade of “Best Project” at Game Connection America, March 17-19 at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco. Read the rest of this entry »

The SIGGRAPH 2014 Mobile Pavilion in Vancouver is the place where the mobile, embedded, and low-power industries come together: the leading IP companies, top app developers, device manufacturers, and mobile operating-system developers. With the unparalleled capabilities of modern mobile devices, this market is enjoying unprecedented growth and generating access to untapped revenues for organizations that are committed to this technology. Read the rest of this entry »

Norman McLaren, one of the most famous animation filmmakers in the world, would have been 100 years old in 2014. McLaren brought an energy and vision to animation filmmaking that live on to this day. To celebrate his centenary, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership are inviting artists from around the world to respond to a call for projects entitled McLaren Wall-to-Wall. The selected artists will create four out of a total of eight video works that will be projected onto building façades in Montreal’s cultural district, the Quartier des Spectacles, from April 11 (McLaren’s birthday) to June 1, 2014, as a tribute to this animation filmmaker who holds an incomparable place in the history of world cinema. Read the rest of this entry »

Three partner organizations, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), Telefilm Canada and Quebec’s Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), have joined their efforts so that audiences across Canada can take part this year in The Shortest Day Short Film Celebration, an event started by the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image (CNC) in France that has now spread to some 20 other countries. This free event, dedicated to the promotion and screening of short films, is a first for North America and is presented with the support of the CNC. It offers an entertaining way of welcoming the winter solstice—the shortest day of the year—on December 21. Read the rest of this entry »

Hilary Duff is joining forces with Duracell this holiday season to help thousands of children spending this special time of year in the hospital. The popular singer and actress has teamed up with the brand to encourage Canadians everywhere to power good and support a worthy cause. Duracell’s ‘Powering Holiday Smiles’ campaign will donate 20,000 batteries to hospitals across Canada in order to power lifesaving medical devices and the thousands of playroom toys and games that children and their families will be using this holiday season and beyond. In addition, for every pack of Duracell Quantum AA-16 batteries that Canadians purchase from November 22^nd to December 27^th, 2013, Duracell will donate $1 to Children’s Miracle Network (minimum of $25,000).  Read the rest of this entry »

After seven fantastic years, Vancouver Film School has decided to evolve its annual Game Design Expo into a new initiative — The VFS Speaker Series. Launching in 2014, this year-round speaker series will cater to a wider audience by focusing on games, sound design, animation, and digital design. It will be more frequent, more accessible, and offer the possibility of online streaming so speakers and attendees from around the world can join the conversation. These events will pave the way for a future of industry networking opportunities. More details will be released in the coming months. Read the rest of this entry »

Join the Canada Media Fund (CMF) for a discussion about the current state of television as part of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) Let’s Talk TV initiative. Share your thoughts with webcast hosts Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, and Stéphane Cardin, Vice President, Industry and Public Affairs, about the Canadian television industry during this bilingual online event. Intended for producers, broadcasters, and content creators, the webcast will cover questions in three important areas of the television industry. Click on the following topics to find the questions that will guide the discussion during the webcast: Content, technology, and viewer experience.  Read the rest of this entry »

Nominations opened today for the 5^th Annual Canadian Videogame Awards (CVAs) as the show makes the move to Toronto, a city that is known for its thriving digital economy. The show will celebrate Canada’s spot on the world stage as a leader in interactive entertainment. This industry contributes $2.3 billion to Canada’s GDP and employs over 16,500 men and women in studios right across Canada. The show will also be broadcast nationally on City TV through the Rogers Network. Tickets for the event will go on sale to the general public in March. Read the rest of this entry »