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Rock Demers and Bernard Pivot to Receive Special Lifetime Achievement
Awards at BANFF 2001
(Cannes, France, April 2, 2001) Rock Demers, Canadian film
producer extraordinaire, and Bernard Pivot, an icon of French
television and journalism will be presented Special Lifetime Achievement
Awards at BANFF 2001 for their extensive and exceptional contributions
to film and television. Banff Television Foundation president and
CEO, Pat Ferns, and executive vice president, Jacques Bensimon,
made the announcement of these two very special awards today at
a MIP-TV reception in Cannes, France. The Special Lifetime Achievement
Awards are the highest honours bestowed by the Banff Television
Festival executive committee and board of directors. Only two
others have been given out in the Festival's 22-year history.
"These two exceptional television and film personalities are
admired around the world for their body of works which have been
hailed for their creative excellence," commented president
Ferns. "We are pleased to pay tribute to Rock Demers and Bernard
Pivot whose films and television programs are superb reflections
of the Festival's values of innovation and excellence."
Rock Demers, founder and president of Productions La Fête,
is the celebrated Canadian producer from Québec and distributor
of non-violent family films, which have delighted and entertained
young people around the world for more than two decades. Many of
these films were produced in cooperation with foreign partners on
the five continents. In 1980 he launched the popular Tales for
All collection which includes family classics such as The
Dog Who Stopped the War, Bach and Broccoli, and Vincent
and Me, a 1992 Emmy-award winner as best film for young people.
The Tales for All collection has earned more than 170 awards
for Demers' company. Demers has also produced several feature films
and numerous documentaries including Pierre Elliott Trudeau:
Memoirs which won a Prix Gémeaux in 1994. His other ambitious
and successful projects include Armistead Maupin's More Tales
of the City (1997) in association with Britain's Channel 4,
Showtime, and Hallmark, Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (1998-1999)
in association with Showtime, and Nuremberg (1999-2000),
which recently earned two Golden Globe nominations. A co-founder
of the Montreal Film Festival, Demers was also instrumental in the
creation of the Cinémathèque Québécoise.
Bernard Pivot is well known as the producer and host of the popular
literary television program Bouillon de culture, telecast
on France 2, in Quebec on TV5, and on the education network TFO-TVOntario.
He is also a columnist for the newspaper Journal du Dimanche
and a pioneer in the development of popular literature for television.
Pivot began his journalistic career in 1958 as a writer and editor
for the newspaper Figaro littéraire. He later served
as head of the newspaper's Literary Department. From 1970 to 1973
he directed and hosted Europe 1's radio show Chronique pour sourire.
Then came producing and hosting of the popular literature television
program Ouvrez les Guillemets for O.R.T.F.-1st channel. In
1974, he was a columnist for the magazine Le Point and a year later
founded his own magazine Lire where he served as chief editor until
1993. Among his many roles, he also wrote for RTL from 1983 to 1984.
Pivot is well known for his role as producer and host of the most
popular and most successful literary television program in France
(and in Europe), Apostrophes on channel ANTENNE 2 from 1975
to 1990. For almost two decades, Apostrophes has been a flagship
on French television.
Rock Demers and Bernard Pivot join past Special Lifetime Achievement
Award recipients John Mortimer (1998) and Jeremy Isaacs (1988).
Both awards will be presented on Tuesday, June 12 during the special
Tribute Hour celebrations. Rock Demers will accept in person.
BANFF 2001 takes place June 10- 15th. It is an intimate, accessible
Festival featuring production seminars, pitching opportunities,
master classes, new media sessions, all devoted to innovation and
excellence in content creation.
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