Cinema Canada (Sep 1981)

Saguenay closes TORONTO —The distribution company Saguenay Films Ltd., now insolvent, is being closed on Aug. 28 by president-founder Martin Bockner. The contractual arrangements which Saguenay had with American distributors have been terminated, with Crow International moving to Ambassador and Group I going to Frontier. Bockner, a 36-year veteran of the film business with over 20 years in executive positions, is currently taking responsibility for winding up the operation. Canadian directors lead in top grossers TORONTO-As of November 1980, 11 of the 13 top-grossing Canadian films had been directed by Canadians. So reports Lew Lehman, president of the Directors Guild of Canada, “We had been after the Canadian Film Development Corp. for a long time to release the figures,” Lehman: told Cinema Canada. Contact NI The Guild has long opposed the wholesale importation of foreign directors to work on Canadian shoots, maintaining that the best results can be obtained by native producers. The CFDC figures, just recently furnished to the Guild, seem to back up this claim. Kaczender back, Chanel for release MONTREAL — After having overseen the post-production on his film Chanel Solitaire, George Kaczender is back in Montreal, testing the waters. The film, starring MarieFrance Pisier and based on the life story of Coco Chanel, cost $7 million and is a Franco-English co-production, involving American producer Larry Span gler. A Sales of the film reportedly . went well at the Cannes festival, and Kaczender is now weighing the benefits of remaining in Canada or moving permanently to France. The period film, the largest he has ever undertaken, has good advance reports,according to sources. The one and the only distributor that can guarantee you exposure in the 22 largest cities in Quebec. COMPAGNIE FRANCE FILM 1405 Alexandre deSeve MONTREAL, P.Q. H&L 2V5 (814) 526-5971 ContactezM. Pierre RenéouM.Rolland Brousseau WZ iegevelti i epuis ince 1934 Le seul et unique distributeur qui vous assure une présence efficace dans les 22 plus grandes villes du Québec. Levitt-Pickman reach for Lucky Star NEW YORK-The Lucky Star by Max Fischer will open at the Sutton VI in New York City on Nov. 6, reports Harry Abramson of Levitt-Pickman Film Corp. which has picked up the U.S. rights. "The film needs special handling, and we’re prepared to see that it getsit,” says Abramson, who has also distributed The Europeans and Lovers and Lies. ‘What an independent distributor can offer is care, good planning, and follow-up. We'll see that a film like The Lucky Star doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s essentially a critics’ film, and we'll do our best to see that it reaches them.” The Lucky Star, produced by Télémétropole, Claude Léger and Pieter Kroonenburg, was well received at the Cannes festival 1980, winning a popular French award. World sales had been handled by I.C.M. Marketing which closed shop last year. André Fleury of Télémétropole concluded the distribution arrangement with Levitt-Pickman. Jazz greats gathered as Mann shoots docu TORONTO — Imagine the Sound, a feature documentary concentrating on the work of jazz pioneers Archie Shepp, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and Paul Bley, will premiere at the Edmonton Jazz Festival the week of August 16. The pic, which was shot in Toronto by Ron Mann, who also co-produced with Coda magazine publisher Bill Smith, will follow the Edmonton preem with Eastern Canada bows at the World Film Festival in Montreal and Toronto's Festival of Festivals. . In Montreal, the film will be a part of the “Cinema of Today and Tomorrow” category, and in Toronto it is being filmed outside the various fest series as a Special Event. ; According to Ron Mann, there have been talks with the New York and London fests, but no word, Director Mann is excited about the film’s prospects. "This is the first time anyone has put the most verbose, the most articulate of these musicians on film. People came from Italy and Vancouver to watch the shoot. All the musicians created new material for the film.” Mann hopes for a theatrical 514-656-7403 except windows! Call Caroline Farrah (N.F.B. Workshop) release by the distributor, International Telefilm, perhaps with concerts by the principal musicians in conjunction with openings. At the same time, though, “the historical value of the film makes its shelf-life perpetual. There is simply no other footage on a lot of these players.” Imagine the Sound was shot in 16mm and blown up to 35mm, but this didn’t stop the producers from using some top-line tech talent. Director of photography was Robert Fresco and Sonya Polonsky, who served as first assistant editor on Raging Bull, cut the film. Sandy Kybarots of the CBC handled the art direction. Emile D’Antonio, the noted American documentarist (Millhouse, Point of Order, In the Year of the Pig), acted as creative consultant. China docu sells well TORONTO—The CBC has picked up a 6-hour documentary on China, shot by Canadians earlier this year during a 3 1/2 month stay in that country. Don Duprey,.an executive producer on the series, which was made by DF.S. China (cont. on p. 14)