Corus Entertainment launches Sundance Channel in Canada on March 1

From cinema to activism, Sundance Channel offers exclusive films and titles never seen before in Canada

TORONTO , Feb. 2 /CNW/ - Corus Entertainment sets the stage for a new film and entertainment experience next month when Sundance Channel ( Canada ) joins Corus' premier portfolio of specialty services on Monday, March 1 . Offering a home to movie enthusiasts, music fans, creative and socially engaged audiences, Sundance Channel gives Canadians a new way to look and talk about the world around them. Offering a lineup of award-winning, diverse and engaging titles, Sundance Channel features the best in feature films, festival-selected shorts, documentaries and innovative original series.

"We are very pleased to be launching Sundance Channel and introducing this world-renowned brand to Canadian audiences," said Paul Robertson , President, Television, Corus Entertainment. "The quality and diversity of Sundance Channel's programming gives viewers a wide variety of independent-minded films and original programming, creating a completely unique television destination for Canadians."

The schedule is built around six defined programming blocks anchored weeknights in prime time and on Saturday and Sunday nights:

On Monday nights, Sundance Stage focuses on film adaptations of stage plays and kicks off in March with the award-winning Canadian series Slings & Arrows followed by some of Hollywood and theatre's biggest names in American Film Theatre, including the films The Homecoming, The Maids, Rhinoceros and Luther.

The Tuesday night block, Critics Choice bows in with the ultimate Hollywood insider show In the House with Guber and Bart, featuring entertainment news and interviews hosted by legendary industry insiders Peter Bart (former editor-in-chief, Variety) and Peter Guber (producer Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple), offering insights, opinions and conversations from and with Hollywood's major players. Each episode is followed by a critically-acclaimed film chosen from festival selections from around the globe. March titles include Tom Gilroy's Spring Forward , which takes an intimate look at a manufactured father and son relationship and won a Toronto International Film Festival Discovery Award; Errol Morris ' off-centre documentary on pet cemeteries in the acclaimed Gates of Heaven, and the controversial Brother's Keeper, winner of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award.

Wednesday nights are dedicated to Sundance Series featuring the best of Sundance-produced original productions, with exclusive premieres including the world-travel treasure seeking eight-part series Man Shops Globe, about the buying excursions of Anthropologie's buyer-at-large, the eye-opening green series The Lazy Environmentalist, and the hard hitting Brick City, which documents efforts to renew and revitalize Newark , New Jersey, a city challenged by decades of urban decline.

Thursday nights are all about music with Sonic Screen, and features series such as Music Makers, 360 Sessions and London Live with performances by today's established and up-and-coming stars from Beck and Kanye West to Feist.

Weekends on Sundance Channel begin on Friday nights with Theatreland, an insightful documentary series on the London theatre scene. On Saturdays at midnight, Midnight Snack offers films that have earned a loyal cult following over the years such as Naked Lunch, Return of the Secaucus Seven and Brother from Another Planet. Asia Extreme rolls out on Sundays at midnight and features the new wave of innovative filmmakers from the Far East who are shaking up the world of genre movies with titles like Bloody Reunion, Divergence and Triad Election.

Additional information for Sundance Channel's programming lineup is outlined below:

IN THE HOUSE WITH GUBER AND BART

Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET /PT, beginning March 2

Peter Bart , editor-in-chief of Variety and Peter Guber, veteran film producer, host this new half-hour entertainment news series. Both are Hollywood insiders who provide lively and insightful opinions on pop-culture trends while interviewing directors, actors and filmmakers, who are often old friends. Guests include actors Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds), writer/producer Nancy Meyers (It's Complicated) and writer/director Tom Ford (A Single Man).

THE LAZY ENVIRONMENTALIST

Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET /PT, beginning March 3

The Lazy Environmentalist follows host Josh Dorfman as he enlightens and encourages the laziest and most wasteful to get involved in saving the planet. In this seven-part documentary series, each half-hour episode features Dorfman helping people in need of eco-makeovers, demonstrating that being eco-friendly doesn't need to be hard.

MAN SHOPS GLOBE

Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. ET /PT, beginning March 3

Keith Johnson is the buyer-at-large for Anthropologie, the women's lifestyle retail store, who travels the world searching for hidden treasures in Man Shops Globe. This original eight-part series captures Johnson's adventures in vibrant foreign cities. He spends six months of the year travelling, hunting for antique furniture, unusual decorative pieces and textiles to furnish and sell at Anthropologie stores and to inspire fellow artists and art lovers.

BRICK CITY

Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET /PT, beginning March 3

Brick City is a five-part documentary that follows the triumphs and struggles of everyday citizens in Newark , New Jersey. At once gritty and inspiring, the series' creators and directors Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin , along with executive producer Forest Whitaker , capture the community's effort to become a safer place to live. From the city's Mayor and Police Director, to developers and gang members, their stories paint a powerful portrait of a city at a tipping point.

THEATRELAND

Fridays at 8 p.m. ET /PT beginning March 5

This insightful eight-episode documentary covers six exciting months in one of London's thriving playhouses, the historic Theatre Royal Haymarket. The series goes backstage to explore the theatre from all angles from the stage hands and actors to the arrival of a new artistic director, Sean Mathias . Preparing for his first two productions, Mathias brings actor Patrick Stewart on board to star in Waiting for Godot with Sir Ian McKellen , while working on his next production - the first-ever theatrical adaptation of Truman Capote's iconic tale of a girl in New York City , Breakfast at Tiffany's.

GREEN PORNO

Shorts airing between programming

Green Porno, created, directed and narrated by Isabella Rossellini, is the unique series of shorts illuminating the mating rituals of the animal kingdom. Scientifically accurate and delightfully entertaining Season 1 explores sex acts of insects, while Seasons 2 dives into the ocean to investigate sex between sea creatures.

Sundance Channel is available in Canada based on a license agreement with Rainbow Media.

About Sundance Channel ( Canada )

Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Sundance Channel's diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries and original programs represent the best in smart, emerging culture and provides a new way to see and talk about the world. Sundance Channel. For a change. Visit the Sundance Channel website at www.sundancechannel.ca.

About Corus Entertainment Inc.

Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The Company's multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, W Network, CosmoTV, VIVA, Movie Central, HBO Canada , Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW, CKOI and Q107. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) and New York (CJR) exchanges. Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

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For further information: Lindsay Sutcliffe, Corus Entertainment, [phone], [email protected]; or Owen McCorquodale, Corus Entertainment, [phone], [email protected]