National Film Board of Canada Ramps Up Activity at MIPTV

MONTREAL, April 13: The National Film Board of Canada
(NFB) will participate at MIPTV and MIPDOC this year with over 20 new titles,
including the feature documentary Faith Without Fear, which
will be screened at the market on Monday.

The special screening of Faith Without Fear will be
presented on April 16 at 5 p.m.
In the documentary, which will be aired soon in North America, Irshad Manji,
the controversial author of The Trouble with Islam, journeys through the Middle East, Western Europe
and North America on a mission to reconcile her faith in Allah with life in the
21st century.

Also among the 20 new titles on NFB’s slate are Breaking
Ranks, a documentary about the plight of four American
soldiers seeking sanctuary in Canada as part of their resistance to the war in Iraq; Damage Done, featuring cops who say no to the war on drugs and
whose mantra is “legalize, regulate and tax”; Toxic Trespass, Barri Cohen’s investigation into toxic chemicals
and what they are doing to the health of our children; as well as Shadya, a story about a young karate champion who wants
to succeed on her own terms but is still committed to her life within the
Muslim community.

Following The Danish
Poet’s Oscar win—the 12th
for the NFB—other Oscar-winning titles will be showcased at MIPTV,
including Ryan, Bob’s Birthday, Every Child, Special Delivery, Le Château de
Sable, Strange Invaders, My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts, The Cat Came
Back and George and Rosemary.

In addition, for the second year
in a row, the NFB is the Canadian content partner in MIPTV’s Content 360, the
international co-production challenge for innovative, interactive content and applications for mobile and
broadband. NFB will offer a 5,000 euros co-production development deal for the
winner in the category “Innovative New Forms of Socially Responsive Media.”
This year, over 80 submissions were received from around the world, and the
three finalists—from Canada, Australia and the U.K.—will pitch their
projects at MIPTV to an international jury chaired by the NFB’s director of
English programming, Tom Perlmutter. The NFB will also award 2,000 euros to the
winner of the MIPDOC Co-Production Challenge for best pitch, and is also
supporting the International Trailblazer’s initiatives sponsored by the
Sundance Channel that are designed to recognize creativity and innovation in
the documentary field.