Edwin Boyd film gets U.S. distribution deal

A U.S. distributor has picked up Canadian heist film Edwin Boyd in a deal announced Thursday.

Nathan Morlando's movie about the real criminal gang who robbed banks in 1950s Toronto won Best Canadian First Feature at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

IFC Films has acquired Edwin Boyd's U.S. distribution rights. Myriad Pictures had already signed on to distribute the film in the rest of the world.

Scott Speedman stars as the titular bank robber who became a pop culture hero for his charm, good looks and ability to elude the police. Kelly Reilly, Kevin Durand and Brian Cox also star in the film, which has not yet announced its Canadian release date.

Telefilm announces funding

Meanwhile five new English-language films have won production financing from Telefilm Canada.

Among them are a Canada-France co-production helmed by Laurent Cantet, who directed 2008 French hit The Class, and an Ontario and Nunavut-shot feature by Michael McGowan, whose credits include Score: A Hockey Musical and One Week. Nova Scotia-based Shandi Mitchell, author of Under This Unbroken Sky, will also direct her debut feature.

The projects that received funding are:

• Foxfire, directed by Laurent Cantet: A group of teen girls unite to form the Foxfire gang in a working class town in the 1950s.
• The Disappeared, directed by Shandi Mitchell: Six men are cast adrift in two lifeboats in the North Atlantic.
• Still, directed by Michael McGowan: An elderly New Brunswick couple struggle to stay together as the wife shows signs of dementia.
• The Boy Who Smells Like Fish, directed by Analeine Cal y Mayor:  The story of a lonely boy befriended by new girl who walks into his life.
• Cottage Country, directed by Peter Wellington: A murder farce set in cottage country.