Frances-Anne Solomon's acclaimed movie A WINTER TALE, starring Peter Williams and Leonie Forbes, makes it's Canadian Television Premiere on Bravo!

Toronto – December 11th 2009

Following a string of successful North American festival premieres, theatrical releases, and international awards Frances-Anne Solomon’s acclaimed feature film A Winter Tale comes to television audiences across Canada. The film, which features a talented ensemble cast led by Canadian star Peter Williams, rising Toronto actor Michael Miller, and famed Jamaican actrsss and Gemini nominee Leonie Forbes, will have its Canadian television premiere on Bravo! Canada on December 17th at 9pm.

Written, directed and produced by Frances-Anne Solomon, A Winter Tale tells the moving story of a Black men's support group that forms at a local Caribbean takeaway restaurant after a young boy is killed by a stray bullet. With a plot that sensitively explores the psychological effects of the universally relevant issues of urban "Black on Black" violence, the film beautifully captures the day-to-day emotional struggles of this group of men, and a community under seige.

Over the past 18 months A Winter Tale has travelled the world, garnering rave reviews and international recognition through film festivals and cinema releases in Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, New York, Los Angeles Africa, the Caribbean, and the UK.

Most recently it won recognition at Fespaco (Africa's Oscars held biannually in Burkina Faso, West Africa). Other awards include Outstanding Canadian Feature Film Award at the ReelWorld Film Festival, as well as the top awards at the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, the Zuma International Film Festival (Nigeria), and many others.

A Winter Tale was developed through a collaborative improvisational process by Vancouver-based theatre director Michele Lonsdale Smith and Frances-Anne Solomon, working together with an extraordinary team of experienced and emerging Canadian and international actors, including Trinidad and Tobago's Dennis "Sprangalang" Hall, and Canada's Valerie Buhagiar.
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SELECTED REVIEWS OF A WINTER TALE:

Caribbean Release - 2008

Television stars in Antigua for debut of acclaimed film - 19 May 2008
The Trinidad Guardian -Online Edition Ver 2.0 - May 18, 2008
A Caribbean filmmaker - May 18th 2008
`A Winter Tale` To Open In Trinidad & Tobago - May 12, 2008
Winter Tale cast arrives for premiere - May 9 2008
Tale of Racism and Healing - May 3 2008
‘A Winter Tale’ impresses Jamaica audiences - April 13, 2008
'A Winter Tale' tells of manly chill - Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - April 9 2008
Peter Williams finds 'Wright' role in 'A Winter Tale - April 6, 2008'
'A Winter Tale' makes Jamaican debut - Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - April 6 2008
Peter Williams finds 'Wright' role in 'A Winter Tale' - Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - April 5 2008
'Winter' in April - Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - April 5 2008
‘Winter Tale’ makes TT debut - Trinidad News, Trinidad and Tobago - April 1 2008
Leonie Forbes - On becoming myself - Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - March 30 2008
A Winter Tale, starring Leonie Forbes, heads to Jamaican theatres - February 28, 2008
Trinidadian Migrant`s Film Makes BAM Screening Again - February26, 2008

Canada Press
Film examines poverty, gun crime - The Guardian - Etobicoke, 07 February 2008
Something to talk out - Toronto Sun, 04 February 2008
Watching and talking about violence in Toronto - February 5, 2008
A Winter Tale Tells Our Story - Community Contact - August 30 2007
Stepping Up in A Time Of Sorrow - Montreal Gazette - August 29 2007
Capsule Reviews of Selected 2007 WFF Films - Montreal Gazette - August 24 2007

World Premiere of A Winter Tale
Expose - A Winter Tale is pure fireworks
A Winter Tale: An Interview with Frances-Anne Solomon - April 9 2007
This Weekend "A Winter Tale" opens at Rainbow Cinema Woodbine ...
A Winter Tale - The Movie - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flickr: Photos from frances-anne solomon
A Winter Tale by Frances-Anne Solomon’s Vox :::::: VUVOX
Today@York: A Winter Tale screening - Confronting violence through ...
More News: Free screening of A Winter Tale will be followed by an ...
The Movie that is creating a buzz in Toronto, A Winter Tale
Weather is right for A Winter Tale
WE FILM - A WINTER TALE

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Frances-Anne Solomon is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, director and producer. She is the president and artistic director of the two companies she founded: Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales, and has also worked as a film and television drama producer for the BBC.

Recent projects include A Winter Tale (for Telefilm Canada/CHUM Television); Heart Beat (Bravo!) which profiles Caribbean musical creators; Literature Alive, a multi-facetted multimedia project profiling Caribbean authors; and the Gemini-nominated Lord Have Mercy!, Canada's landmark multicultural sitcom, for Vision TV, Toronto1, APTN and Showcase.

Peter Williams, Jamaican-Canadian film and television star, plays Gene in A Winter Tale. Williams' film credits include Catwoman, Chronicles of Riddick and Stargate SG-1.

Leonie Forbes has graced the silver screen in major Hollywood pictures, performed in dozens of theatrical productions, and has worked as a radio broadcaster and programmer in Jamaica. Her selected credits include:Old Story Time, Arawak Gold, Champagne and Sky Juice, and Smile Orange. Her film and television credits include: Shattered Image, Milk and Honey, Passion and Paradise, What My Mother Told Me, and Children of Babylon.

A Winter Tale @ ReelWorld: 7 Burning Questions

Everything you've been wanting to know about catching A WINTER TALE @ the ReelWorld Film Festival, AND MORE...

1. Our Website is live, and our Trailer is online now!

2. When and Where can I see A Winter Tale?

We are proud, honoured and excited that
A Winter Tale has been chosen to launch the
2007 ReelWorld Film Festival in April.

Screening Dates, Times and Prices are below:

Wed, April 11th, 2007 7:00 pm
Gala Screening
Scotiabank Theatre (formerly the Paramount)
259 Richmond Street West
T: (416) 368-5600
Tickets: $20

Sat, April 14th, 2007 4:00 pm
Rainbow Cinemas Market Square
80 Front Street East (@ Jarvis)
T: (416) 494-9371
Tickets: $9.00

3. Where can I buy tickets to the screenings?

Purchase advanced tickets on-line:

Reel World Film Festival

or at the Manulife Centre

5. What else should I know?

Leonie Forbes, who stars in A Winter Tale is being honoured by the Festival with an Award for Outstanding Achievement. She'll receive her award at the closing Ceremony on April 15th.

Leonie will be celebrated at the Festival's Brunch with Brilliance on Sunday, April 15th, 2007, 11:00 am. She will be interviewed about her career & life during an intimate 1hr "RealSpeak" on Saturday, April 14th at 6.30pm.

For details of these events, check out the ReelWorld website.

7. Anything else?

It's also wonderful that we've been nominated for an Award for Outstanding Canadian Feature (Frances-Anne Solomon), and for Outstanding Original Screenplay (Frances-Anne Solomon & Michelle Lonsdale-Smith). The Awards will be announced at the Closing Gala, April 15th.

See y'all there!

Snow for "A Winter Tale"!

People, I give you: Yesterday. Proof positive the universe is benign!

You may remember that we have been waiting a full year for snow to fall so that we could put Winter back into A Winter Tale.

Over the next few days we will be busy doing just that.

Peter Williams in tha house

This week we began shooting pickups & recording ADR for the feature film "A Winter Tale". These events brought my friend Peter Williams from Vancouver - he plays the lead.

To all the cast who participated this week: Peter Bailey, Nicole Stamp, Ryan Ishmael, p! Barrington (so sorry for "abandoning" you in Parkdale bro), and Valerie Buhagiar, as well as our tiny crew: Thank you for coming out.

For one day (Tuesday) there was snow, but it melted before we had a chance to point a camera at it. For those not in the know, our film needs SNOW to justify the title and complete a central conceit of the film, which is about a group of characters under seige in the cold (a metaphor many immigrants to Canada can identify with strongly). Thanks to Global Warming, 2006 broke all records, and there was no snow during principal photography.

But snow is promised in the coming weeks ...

In other newz: Warm thanks to all who have emailed or called in kind compliments about our series Literature Alive. They are much appreciated.

Here's one from writer Rachel Manley:

Dear Frances,
I have long thought your enterprise a most worthwhile and essential one, not just for the Caribbean in diaspora, but for the Caribbean at home...We are, after all, one. And what strengthens us anywhere strengthens us everywhere. It also strengthens Canada as you deftly collect what Martin Carter calls "our scattered skeleton" and fold us into this country's unique mix - their "mosaic."

If you missed the premiere of Rachel's film on Bravo! two weeks ago, here is a clip from it:



In The Shadow of My Fathers: Rachel Manley, was directed by Lana Lovell.

You can buy copies of all our shows from our estore

Leda Serene Films & CaribbeanTales celebrate a productive year!

We've had a busy year at Leda Serene Films and CaribbeanTales. Over the past 18 months we've produced:
The multi-facetted LiteratureAlive project including
- 20 documentaries - Literature Alive Seasons 1 and 2, produced in association with Bravo!, CLT, BookTV, CIFVF, and OMNI.
- 5 audio Books by Caribbean-Canadian authors, with support from the Trillium Foundation
- 5 radio programmes, in association with CBC's Radio's "The Arts Tonight"
- Our educational website - LitereatureAlivOnline.ca, produced with support from The Department of Canadian Heritage, Canadian Culture Online Program
In addition we also produced:
- 8 newsletters - caribbeantales.ca, with support from the Gateway Fund
- a theatre play - A WinterTale produced by CaribbeanTales, directed by Michele Lonsdale Smith
- a feature film - a WinterTale, for CHUM/Telefilm, a Leda Serene Films production, directed by Frances-Anne Solomon
Many, many thanks to everyone who worked with us to make this posible. For information about these and other projects, or to buy our products please visit ledaserene.ca, caribbeantales.ca, literaturealiveonline.ca.

Photo: The CaribbeanTales Team at the recent launch of LiteratureAliveOnline and our Audio Books series, at the Multicultural History Society, Queen's Park Crescent, Toronto.