On September 9, 2012, CFC saw over 2,000 attendees come through its gates for the CFC Annual BBQ. CFC founder and Chair Emeritus Norman Jewison and the CFC’s Chief Executive Officer, Slawko Klymkiw played host to a large gathering of both Canadian and International talent in celebrating the creative spirit that has enabled Canada’s talent to shine at home and abroad. Under sunny skies, CFC alumni and guests celebrated Canadian filmmaking talent, their achievements at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and enjoyed live performances generously sponsored by Slaight Music featuring Stacey Kay with Bill King and The Abrams Brothers, and DJ services by DJ Floh Back Productions.
Introduced by John Carmichael, MP for Don Valley West, the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, was in attendance to make a special announcement. The Government of Canada is investing up to $3.5 million in the Canadian Film Centre to help strengthen Ontario’s entertainment industry by growing digital media capacity and bringing innovative technology and media content to consumers in Canada and around the world. The contribution through FedDev Ontario’s Prosperity Initiative will allow the CFC to launch a series of programs and services to increase Ontario’s digital entertainment cluster capacity.
In addition, Slawko Klymkiw, and Corrie Coe, Senior Vice-President, Independent Production, Bell Media announced a new, three-year sponsorship of the CFC’s flagship TV program. Now known as the Bell Media Prime Time TV Program, this program is recognized within the industry as an essential source of trained writers and newly developed projects for the television marketplace.
The CFC Annual BBQ is one of our biggest fundraisers in support of accelerating the careers of Canada’s brightest talent. Through donations and our exclusive raffle, $190,000 was raised to fund CFC’s highly respected programs in film, television, screen acting, music and digital media.
Guests in attendance included: The Honourable Michael Chan Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Caroline Bennett, MP for St. Paul’s, plus filmmaking and acting talents, Jason Priestly, Atom Egoyan, Rob Stewart, Rick Mercer, Yannick Bisson, Keith David, Sarah Rafferty, Ricardo Chavira, Colin Mochrie, Scott Thompson, Sook-Yin Lee, Gabrielle Miller and Peter Mooney.
