VisionTV teams with APTN on supernatural drama series Rabbit Fall

VisionTV will partner with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) to fund production of the six-part drama series Rabbit Fall, Canada’s multi-faith and multicultural broadcaster announced today at the Banff World Television Festival.

The six half-hours, produced by Angel Entertainment of Saskatoon, Sask., star Andrea Menard (Moccasin Flats) as a small-town police officer who discovers that malevolent supernatural forces are at work in her picturesque community.

APTN will premiere the series this fall; VisionTV’s broadcast window will commence May 1, 2008. SCN and SaskFilm are also providing financial assistance.

Said Mark Prasuhn, VisionTV’s Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Programming: “VisionTV has enjoyed a longstanding friendship with both APTN and SCN. We share with them a strong commitment to the development of programming that reflects Canada’s diversity, and are delighted to support what promises to be a unique and compelling new series.

“We have also been for many years an active supporter of independent production in Saskatchewan, and are pleased to continue opening up opportunities for the province’s many talented film and television professionals.”

Joan Jenkinson, VisionTV’s Director, Independent Production, says the network has made the creation of culturally diverse drama programming one of its prime objectives.

In 2005, VisionTV partnered with the National Screen Institute – Canada to launch the DiverseTV program, which offers visible minority and Aboriginal writers the chance to develop drama projects for broadcast. Two DiverseTV projects, the MOW Rising Sun: The Asahi Baseball Story and the series The Mahalia Story, are currently in development.

Said Jenkinson: “Investment in Rabbit Fall offers a wonderful opportunity to further our commitment to diverse drama. The talented creative team at Angel Entertainment has developed a very exciting concept: a blend of crime drama and the unexplained, with strong characters and powerful themes. We feel privileged to be part of this project along with APTN and SCN.”

Said Angel Entertainment’s Bob Crowe, on hand to seal the deal on the first day of the Banff festival: “From the outset, [producer] Wally Start and I were driven to make this series unlike anything else on Canadian television. Our creative team has risen to the challenge, and we’re very gratified that APTN, VisionTV and SCN have backed our vision for Rabbit Fall.”

Jean LaRose, APTN Chief Executive Officer, says joint efforts such as this have far-reaching benefits.

Said Mr. LaRose: “I am always quite encouraged when the productions supported by APTN find new and exciting venues beyond our own that allow the work of our production community to be seen by greater audiences. APTN is always seeking new opportunities to ensure that our stories are heard by wider audiences and shared with all Canadians.”

Rabbit Fall will be filmed in Saskatoon and a variety of northern locations in Sasksatchewn. For more information, please visit www.angelentertainment.ca.

VisionTV, an S-VOX company, is Canada’s multi-faith and multicultural broadcaster, dedicated to programming that celebrates diversity and promotes understanding and tolerance among people of different faiths and cultures. Visit VisionTV on the Web at: www.visiontv.ca.

APTN is the first national Aboriginal television network in the world with programming by, for and about Aboriginal Peoples. Visit APTN on the Web at www.aptn.ca.