21 Astral Media-Supported Films Selected for the 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival

21 Astral Media-Supported Films Selected for the 30th Annual Toronto International Film Festival(R)

Including Gala Presentations of Water and Where the Truth Lies

TORONTO, Aug. 5 /CNW/ - Astral Media is pleased to have 21 of the
Canadian feature and short films that it has supported through its networks The Movie Network and Super Ecran and its production fund Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund/Le Fonds Harold Greenberg, selected for the 30th annual Toronto International Film Festival(R). Astral Media is also pleased to confirm that 15 out of 16 Canadian English-language feature films selected for this year's Festival were supported by The Movie Network, while Super Ecran supported five out of six French-language Canadian feature films selected for the Festival.

"We are thrilled to have 21 Canadian films which were supported by Astral
Media at this year's Toronto International Film Festival and congratulate each of the respective filmmakers on their achievement," says John Riley,
President, Astral Television Networks and Astral Télé Réseaux. "As the largestprivate supporters of and investors in Canadian feature film through our pay-TV networks and production fund, we are committed to the development andproduction of homegrown films and are very proud to have contributed more than$60 million toward Canadian original series, feature films, variety shows anddocumentaries in the past year."

The Canadian films supported by Astral Media, through script development, pre-licencing, equity investments, exhibition and promotion, include the Festival's Opening Night World Premiere Gala Presentation of Deepa Mehta's Water and the North American Gala Presentation for Atom Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies.

Water, the final film in Mehta's trilogy, follows the story of an eight-
year old child bride in India. The film represents an equity investment and
pre-buy for The Movie Network and Super Ecran and has Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund as an equity investor. Starring Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas and John Abraham, Water is a David Hamilton Production.

Where the Truth Lies, based on the novel by Rupert Holmes, follows a
former comedy duo who offer an ambitious writer different versions of an
unsolved murder. The Movie Network and Super Ecran are a major equity investor and pre-licensor of this film. Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund supported Where the Truth Lies through script development and equity investment. Starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman and Rachel Blanchard, the film is produced by Robert Lantos and Serendipity Point Films.

Additional Astral Media-supported films selected for the 30th Toronto
International Film Festival(R) include:

Feature Films
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- Beowulf and Grendel - Directed by Sturla Gunnarsson
- Equity investment and pre-buy by The Movie Network and Super Ecran
- Script development and equity investment by Astral Media The
Harold Greenberg Fund

- C.R.A.Z.Y. - Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
- Equity investment and pre-buy by Super Ecran and The Movie Network
- Equity investment by Astral Media Le Fonds Harold Greenberg

- Eve & The Firehorse - Directed by Julia Kwan
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Script development and equity investment by Astral Media The
Harold Greenberg Fund

- Familia - Directed by Louise Archambault
- Pre-buy by Super Ecran
- Script development and equity investment by Astral Media Le Fonds
Harold Greenberg

- Fetching Cody - Directed by David Ray
- Acquisition by The Movie Network
- Script development by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- The French Guy - Directed by Ann Marie Fleming
- Acquisition by The Movie Network

- Horloge Biologique - Directed by Ricardo Trogi
- Pre-buy by Super Ecran
- Equity investment by Astral Media Le Fonds Harold Greenberg

- Lie with Me - Directed by Clement Virgo
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Script development by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico - Directed by Michael Mabbott
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Equity investment by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- Lucid - Directed by Sean Garrity
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Script development and equity investment by Astral Media The
Harold Greenberg Fund

- La Neauvaine - Directed by Bernard Emond
- Pre-buy by Super Ecran
- Equity investment by Astral Media Le Fonds Harold Greenberg

- Saint-Martyrs-Damnés - Directed by Robin Aubert
- Pre-buy by Super Ecran

- A Simple Curve - Directed by Aubrey Nealon
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network

- Six Figures - Directed by David Christensen
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Script development by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- These Girls - Directed by John Hazlett
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network and Super Ecran
- Script development by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- Three Needles - Directed by Thom Fitzgerald
- Equity investment and pre-buy by The Movie Network and Super Ecran

- Tideland - Directed by Terry Gilliam
- Equity investment and pre-buy by The Movie Network and Super Ecran
(The Movie Network also co-financed the companion original
documentary Getting Gilliam by Vincenzo Natali with CBC. Getting
Gilliam will premiere on The Movie Network in conjunction with the
theatrical release of Tideland)
- Equity investment by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

- Whole New Thing - Directed by Amnon Buchbinder
- Pre-buy by The Movie Network
- Equity investment by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund

Short Films
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- Big Girl - Directed by Renuka Jeyapalan
- Recipient of Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund training grant
sponsorship of the Canadian Film Centre 2005 Short Dramatic
Programme

The Festival's Canadian films were announced on Tuesday, August 2 at theToronto International Film Festival's press conference in Toronto. For further information on these and other Festival films, please visit
http://www.tiffg.ca/content/mediacentre/newsreleases.asp.