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Triple Honours Awarded as Prime Time in Ottawa Conference Closes
Ottawa, February 20, 2009 -- The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) is delighted to announce this year’s winners of the CFTPA-Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award, the CFTPA Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the CFTPA Mentor of the Year Award. The awards were presented today at the closing luncheon of the annual 2009 Prime Time in Ottawa conference.
“These awards are given every year to three very special independent Canadian producers,” says Guy Mayson, President and CEO, CFTPA. “On top of the high-quality programming and films we produce, how we produce and how we work with the others in the industry are also keys to success. Congratulations to this year’s winners.”
The CFTPA-Kodak Lifetime Achievement Award goes posthumously to William Vince, who died last year of cancer at the age of 44. Vince was best known as the producer of the Oscar-winning movie Capote (2005). Over his 20-year career, he established an international reputation as a successful producer with wide-ranging experience in all aspects of international feature film production. His life and career were a testament to the value of hard work, dedication, discipline, passion and compassion. Vince founded Infinity Features in 2000 and was working on two feature films-- Push and the Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus -- before his death Lyn Vince, his sister, and Miles Vince, his eldest son, received the award on behalf of the family.
“I am honoured to accept this award on behalf of Bill and our family and the William Vince Foundation, which we have created to continue Bill’s legacy,” says Lyn Vince. “The Foundation will honour Bill’s lifelong commitment to helping people to help themselves.”
David Paperny is this year’s winner of the CFTPA Entrepreneur of the Year Award. His company, Paperny Films, has been selected as one of the top non-fiction production companies in the world with an impressive list of 25 original documentaries, and 20 long-running series during his career. Last fall, Paperny won a Gemini for Best Biography Documentary Program for Confessions of an Innocent Man, a story about the false conviction and torture of westerners in Saudi Arabia.
"It's very humbling to be recognized by my peers in this way and I am very honoured," says David Paperny, President, Paperny Films. “It’s been a thrilling adventure since launching the company in 1994.”
And, Kim Todd, President, Original Pictures Inc. is this year’s CFTPA Mentor of the Year recipient. Todd has produced movies, miniseries and series television which have been broadcast in Canada, the United States, and around the world. In spite of her busy schedule throughout her career, Todd has always taken the time to share her expertise with young filmmakers. She has mentored ten producer interns. Through the CFTPA Internship program she has mentored Len Pendergast, Fontana Coy, Joe Thornton and most recently Rhia Alcantara. Six others were mentored through Film Training Manitoba.
“What I have learned from these dynamic young people is at least equal to anything I have taught them,” says Todd. “Mentorship keeps our industry alive and vital and I am very happy it is a CFTPA priority.”
About us:
The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 companies engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media products in all regions of Canada. More specifically, it promotes the general interests of its members provincially, federally, and internationally; negotiates and manages labour agreements with guilds and unions; administers copyright collectives; trains new industry entrants through various internship programs; and undertakes a number of other specific initiatives that help increase awareness and enhance communication within the Canadian and international production communities.
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For further information contact:
Anne Trueman, Director of Communications and Media, CFTPA
T: (613) 233-1444 x 227, C: (613) 851-4538