Category: In The News

Toronto – October 24, 2008

After a successful showcase at the 2007 L’Oreal Fashion Week, Canadian designer Nada Yousif’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection ‘ART ROCK’ takes centre stage again on Friday October 24th, 2008, at this years L’Oreal Fashion Week.

Combining “experimental or avant-garde influences” from music’s golden age of rock, Yousif’s collection ‘ART ROCK’ displays fashion’s more rebellious side. The collection focuses on shorter hemlines and masculine pieces for a woman ready to rock out and add a harder edge to a girly ensemble. ‘ART ROCK’ helps any modern woman to walk on the wild side while unleashing her urge to be edgy and beautiful.

“Each season follows whatever mood I am in or fantasy I have,” Nada shares her thoughts about her ‘ART ROCK’collection. “Currently I am rebelling.”

Nada Yousif is an expressive brand that demands attention. Focusing more on the three C’s found in each collection: Cut, Colors and Craftsmanship, Nada continues to grow in each area of fashion design. Nada Yousif is a driven, self-taught designer that draws from grace and elegance to inspire her style choices.

With honourable mentions from the prestigious Dumos Academy in Milan, Nada has made an international impression within her field. She is the epitome of originality and never conforms to one style or fad. She always pushes the design envelope finding inspiration in everyday life and incorporating it into every individual piece and collection. Her vision shines through every thread and stitch, as she handpicks fabrics that perfectly drape around the dips and curves of her creative soul.

Nada Yousif original designs have previously appeared on runways at L’Oreal Fashion Week and ET Canada’s Charity Fashion Show. Her work has also been featured in publications such as LouLou and Toronto Life. Nada’s creations will also appear in upcoming events including Fashion Cares on November 1st, 2008, and Fashion Takes Action Green Gala on November 8th, 2008.

Established in 2001, L’Oreal Fashion Week was created to showcase Toronto’s top fashion designers. This year, the show will run from Monday October 20th, to Saturday October 25th, 2008, at Nathan Phillips Square.
For more information, please visit www.nadayousif.com
To watch Nada Yousif’s 2007 Fashion Week showcase, please visit www.lorealfashionweek.ca, under the videos menu.

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Available for interviews, Nada Yousif

For media inquiries please contact:
Kevin Pennant [email protected]
Toronto: 416.596.2978
Los Angeles: 818.748.7517

Toronto – September 22, 2008

One cannot paint a picture, or make an image of a woman and not deal with the concept of beauty. For artist Sunny Choi, beauty encompasses a sense of freedom, balance and harmony. The Sunny Choi Gallery will be launching its first official opening exhibition, The Gatekeeper of Beauty, on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 from 6pm to 9pm. (1046 Queen Street West). The show will continue throughout October/November 2008.

The Sunny Choi Gallery showcases the paintings of Sunny Choi and other artists who are dedicated to representing images and ideas of beauty in the disciplines of painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and photography.

Internationally acclaimed and highly regarded as one of North America’s leading designers of women’s clothing for 20 years, Choi now brings her passion to her painting practice, by exploring images of timeless beauty.

Tracing back to her family roots in Korea, Choi’s works reflect the subtle balance between the strength and discipline of her father Major General Choi Hong-Hi, the former Korean ambassador of Malaysia (also a famous calligraphist, and founder of Tae Kwon Do) and the beauty, femininity and poise of her mother.

“I found that I have a continuous need to create beauty”, says Choi. “It’s with this principle of freedom, balance and harmony that I apply to my canvas.”

Before falling exclusively into the fashion world in the mid-80’s, Choi simultaneously continued her practice as a painter, exhibiting at the prestigious 21 McGill Gallery and at Hart House. Imperial Oil offered its cardholders the original painting of Oriental Man on Horseback and Oriental Woman on Horseback, in limited edition signed lithographs.

Now returning to a full-time painting career she says, “It’s been a wonderful 20 years, but I finally feel like I’m getting my freedom back.”

Sunny Choi received a Fine Arts Degree from the Seoul National University, and continued to study communication and design at Toronto’s Ontario College of Art. During her career as a designer, Sunny Choi established her fashion brand in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Barney’s and Nordstrom, dressing celebrities such as Alison Krauss, Susan Sarandon, Daryll Hannah, and Sharon Stone.

The Sunny Choi Gallery is a forum to showcase her work, along with other like-minded artists, bringing their creativity to private collectors, corporate collections, designers and architects. Furthermore, gallery director Jack Atkin offers consultation to all who have an interest in fine art, welcoming the first-time buyer and the seasoned client.

For more information, visit www.sunnychoigallery.com

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For media inquiries please contact:
Kevin Pennant [email protected]
Toronto: 416.596.2978
Toll Free: 1.866.393.8260

Toronto – September 12, 2008

As a university student in London, England, Samuel Babarinde encountered vision problems and needed glasses for schooling, but was not prepared for the sticker shock of what he thought were regular everyday spectacles. Forced to purchase them, the experience lit a yearning curiosity and an entrepreneurial vision – to save the public millions by undercutting the established prices of major competitors.

Babarinde’s curiosity led him to Canada, where after some research he launched SuperEyeSpex Optical, an online optical store coupled with an office showroom where customers can browse his selection of prescription and designer eyewear.

His plans caught the attention and loan approval of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), governmental organizations who provide small and medium-sized businesses with flexible financing, affordable consulting services and venture capital.

In an eight billion dollar industry, Babarinde is able to provide affordable prices by avoiding huge overheads like lease and expensive eye test machines. SuperEyeSpex Optical is the only online Canadian eye care company saving Canadians millions on designer prescription eyewear.

By offering discounted prices, SuperEyeSpex Optical sells complete prescription glasses starting as low as $60, saving customers over $300. Complimentary accessories include scratch resistance, single vision prescription lenses, hard cases, lens cleaners and cleaning cloths.

“Our main interest is to make our customers happy, simply by offering them exactly what’s asked for according to how they want it and also by donating eyeglasses to the less fortunate,” says Babarinde.

Putting his money where his mouth is, he is currently implementing his plan to donate over $250,000 worth of prescription eyeglasses to high school students in the Greater Toronto Area over the 2008-2009 school calendar year.

SuperEyeSpex Optical plans to expand their donations of eyeglasses beyond Canada to developing countries like India, Sudan, Kenya and Pakistan in great need of optical care.

SuperEyeSpex Optical is also the only Canadian optical company to offer a “Virtual Mirror” option. Customers can upload their picture online and virtually try on glasses in the comfort of their own homes. Furthermore, images can be rotated and resized to fit the specific contours of their face ensuring a perfect fit. Customers can also visit their showroom, which can be found in Mississauga.

Babarinde is a Computer Networking honors graduate of the London Metropolitan University in London England.

For more information, visit SuperEyeSpex Optical online at www.supereyespex.ca.

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Available for interviews,
CEO Mr. Samuel Babarinde

For media inquiries please contact:
Kevin Pennant [email protected]
Toronto: 416.596.2978
Los Angeles: 818.748.7517

Premieres Tuesday, April 22 at 9:00pm ET/PT

TORONTO – April 7, 2008

Working Over Time – the newest series from Primitive Entertainment to air on History Television – is a four-part program chronicling thousands of years of history from a point of view not often explored: that of the average Canadian. The irreverent, fast-paced series follows host Jeff Douglas as he travels across the country and back in time, providing a unique, hands-on exploration of the life of the common worker throughout Canadian history.

The series will air as a four-night event from Tuesday April 22 to Friday April 25th at 9:00pm ET/PT, as part of Worst Jobs Week on History Television.

“We wanted to take a fresh approach to Canadian history,” says Kevin McMahon, a producer for the series. “To make a show that told it from the perspective of the average folks who do the hard work of nation building and get none of the credit. We also wanted to capture the many different beauties of this land and have fun doing it! We think we have succeeded. We hope viewers will agree.”

Douglas travels all over Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia to Nunavut. He explores dozens of jobs that were necessary to help build our great nation, some of which haven’t changed much through the centuries. Along the way, he is guided by a cast of enthusiasts and experts, many of whom still pursue these historic and important occupations.

Douglas takes on all jobs, no matter how uncomfortable, disgusting or downright dangerous they might be. He goes hunting with the Inuit, log driving with lumberjacks, cattle branding with cowboys and skydiving with search and rescue workers. While many of the jobs require a great amount of training and skill – such as chopping down a tree while balancing on a springboard – many require nothing more than a penchant for danger and a strong stomach, like grave robbing for medical cadavers or working in a 19th century sewer.

“Shooting Working Over Time was to witness first hand, the humbling skill and sacrifice of our unsung forbears,” says Douglas. “This is our heritage. We are the legacy of a strong, intelligent people who came from all over the globe to an unforgiving land to, literally, hack out a new life for themselves and for we who would follow.”

“Jeff is an important part of History Television, and we are very excited to bring another one of his great series to the channel” says Michael Kot, Vice President of Factual Content. “His enthusiastic personality and his passion for history resonates extremely well with our audience.”

Douglas has numerous acting credits in film, theatre and television, but is perhaps best known for his role as Joe Canadian in Molson’s famous I Am Canadian commercial campaign. He can also be seen as the host of two other Primitive Entertainment series, Ancestors in the Attic and Things That Move on History Television.

Working Over Time is produced by Primitive Entertainment in association with History Television, with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. The show is produced by Kristina McLaughlin and Kevin McMahon, executive produced by Michael McMahon, and directed by David New and Brenda Kovrig.

About Primitive Entertainment
Primitive Entertainment is a leading Canadian production company based in Toronto and specializing in high-quality non-fiction films. The company, founded in 1990, is run by Kristina McLaughlin and brothers Kevin and Michael McMahon. Primitive Entertainment’s impressive roster of award-winning work includes: The Falls; McLuhan’s Wake; Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii; The Trouble with Boys; Cod: The Fish That Changed the World; I, Curmudgeon; and the series’ Things That Move. In addition to Working Over Time and the third season of Ancestors in the Attic, Primitive is currently producing Kevin McMahon’s new feature-length documentary, Waterlife for History Television and the Sundance Channel. Primitive recently completed Four Wings and a Prayer, a feature-length documentary co-produced with the National Film Board for the Documentary Channel and France 2; and a feature-length documentary by Alan Zweig entitled Lovable, for TVOntario and IFC.

About Canwest Broadcasting
Canwest Broadcasting operates two conventional television networks, Global Television and E!, and twenty-one of the country’s most popular specialty channels, including HGTV, Mystery TV, National Geographic Channel, Showcase, Slice™ and TVtropolis. Canwest Broadcasting is a division of Canwest Media Inc.

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Available for interviews:
Jeff Douglas, Host
Kevin McMahon, Producer

For full media access to a complete list of programming and high resolution images, please visit:
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For more information on Primitive Entertainment, please visit:
www.primitive.net

Jane Collins, Publicity Coordinator
History Television
416.967.2471
[email protected]

For media inquiries or to RSVP, please contact:
Kevin Pennant, Pennant Media Group
416.596.2978
1.866.393.8260
[email protected]

TORONTO – April 1, 2008

Designer, manager and head contractor Igor has appeared in every episode of the hit television series Restaurant Makeover since the beginning. Now in its seventh season, Igor has renovated over 80 restaurants. Fan groups on Facebook and the online foodie community Chowhound constantly ask, “where can we see more Igor?”

Igor is popular with viewers, not only for his skill with a jigsaw, but also for his sense of humour, rugged good looks and the blunt, pragmatic style he uses to keep the high-strung designers in check.

He was discovered by the Restaurant Makeover team after working on a project for Style at Home magazine that ended up on the cover. Igor was brought onto the show’s pilot episode as a contractor, but his experience, knowledge and dedication quickly led to him being promoted to leader of the construction crew.

“On our very first restaurant, I stayed overnight to do the kitchen floor tiles, when nobody else felt like they should do it,” says Igor. “So I’m the only one to survive every single restaurant makeover.”

His job has grown exponentially since then. Today, Igor organizes construction, runs the job and the crew, deals with suppliers and sponsors, organizes and delivers everything on location. This is no small task, especially when he is working around camera crews and dealing with designers whose grand plans don’t always fit in the space or the budget.

Born and raised in the Ukraine, Igor came to Canada in 1999, looking for better opportunities than what his home country provided. The married father of two fell into construction because it was one of the few jobs that allowed him time to settle into his new home and learn the language.

While he has a great deal of experience working in both residential and commercial spaces, Igor doesn’t prefer one space over the other.

“Residential and commercial are different, but at the same time, they’re not,” says Igor. “The idea is the same; it’s all about people. I like seeing strict safety rules and regulations moving into the residential world. I like to use a home-like design approach in commercial spaces. After all, we live in both worlds.”

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Available for interviews: Igor

For more information, please visit
www.igorknowsall.com

For media inquires, please contact:
Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant
[email protected]
Tel: 416.596.2978
Toll free: 1.866.393.8260

TORONTO – FEBRUARY 19, 2008

Actor, writer, comedian, ninja and all around Renaissance woman Renée Percy has taken her comedy online, storming YouTube with a video that has been viewed more than 4.7 million times. The Air Farce LIVE writer and Comedy Inc. performer’s video, Sure Lock: A True Poo Story is only 150,000 views from being the most watched comedy of all time on YouTube Canada.

“The video is just a funny look at an awkward situation and you’d be amazed by how many people have claimed the story to be their own!” says Percy. “There are even forums dedicated to discussing whether people would call this girl back or not.”

After quickly becoming the most watched comedy on all of YouTube during its first month online, Sure Lock: A True Poo Story was mysteriously pulled from the site with no explanation. Five days later, Percy received a letter from YouTube’s legal team stating their decision that “non-sexually graphic dramatized urination or fecal matter is approved for their site” and the video was re-posted.

“Hurray for non-sexually graphic poo!” Percy exclaims. “But come on YouTube, have you seen some of the things on your site? I mean our video is no 2 Girls, 1 Cup by any means.”

A long-time writer for Comedy Inc. – the edgy and inventive sketch comedy series – Percy will finally be appearing on camera this season as a full-time cast member. Season five of the award-winning show will begin airing this summer on CTV and The Comedy Network.

Since switching to a ‘live-to-air’ format this season, Air Farce LIVE has expanded their writing staff to outside writers for the first time in 29 years. Percy is proud to be their first female staff writer who has written some of the season’s most popular sketches such as Cougar’s Corner. The Canadian comedy airs Fridays on CBC.

As co-creator of the hit sketch comedy extravaganza Mardi Bra (Toronto Fringe Festival, Tim Sims Playhouse, Whistler Comedy Festival), NOW Magazine has described Percy as having a “zany, all-out quality that evokes everyone from Lucille Ball to Kathy Griffin”. Mardi Bra was coined by NOW as a “smart, sassy comedy that’s intelligent and physical yet timeless” and named it one of the Best Comedy Discoveries of 2004.

Percy has been acting professionally since the age of 13, when she landed her first role as a series regular on the hit television show Degrassi High. She has since appeared in the The Nincompoops (2006) and Ten Seconds (2007) as well as the feature films Run Robot Run and The Good Shepherd staring Christian Slater.

Performing stand-up on the stages of Yuk Yuk’s, Percy took her act across Canada for four years and in 2003, she was a recipient of the prestigious Phil Hartman Award for best overall comedian.

She has trained at the Etobicoke School of the Arts; the University of Toronto where she earned an Honours Specialist Degree in Theatre and Humber College where she won she won the prestigious Mark Breslin Scholarship. While completing the post graduate program, Comedy in Writing and Performance, Percy won awards for Best Standup and Best Academic Achievement. In other words, she is well trained and in debt.

Percy also has a second-degree black belt in Karate, and an extensive background in dance. She is 115lbs of solid comedy who enjoys fireman and chocolate (especially at the same time). Her saucy, sexy, quirky brand of humour is a hit with both male and female audiences. Known to some as “the skinny bitch”, Percy is by far the best comedian in her weight class.

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Available for interview, Renée Percy

For more information, please visit www.reneepercy.com

You can view Sure Lock: A True Poo Story at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aikg6OP3jwU

For media inquires, please contact:

Kevin Pennant
[email protected]
Pennant Media Group
T 416.596.2978

TORONTO/MONTREAL – February 1, 2008

Pulse of the Planet, the debut album from Montréal soul man Slim Williams is finally available in stores across Canada!

The soul and jazz infused album is a labour of love and life, chronicling the soul man’s journey from addiction to recovery. Hailed by Hour, The Montreal Mirror, Montreal Gazette, ICI, Magazine Influence and VOIR, this opus is testament of Slim’s rich musical repertoire. Pulse of the Planet is sophistafunk for the ears and the heart.

For those music lovers who originally purchased the album online, it will be a chance to get the soul and jazz infused double CD in their hands and marvel at the album’s exceptional artwork signed by PHI’s creative team.

Pulse of the Planet includes many songs that deliver a message of perseverance, faith and the belief in a better life while charting Williams’ own road to recovery from substance abuse. Among the album’s gleaming gems are such early favourites as the smooth pop-soul track “I Want You to Myself,” a song described by Montreal’s Hour as “the best song to come out of this city this year”; the first radio single, “Victorious”; and “Love The One You’re With”, a classic Stephen Stills composition.

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For more information, please visit:

www.slimwilliams.com
www.myspace.com/slimwilliams

Available for interview, Slim Williams

Review copies of Pulse of the Planet available upon request.
For media inquires outside of Quebec, please contact:

Pennant Media Group
Kevin Pennant
[email protected]
Tel: 416.596.2978

For media inquires within Quebec, please contact:

Le Groupe Milagro
Martine St-Victor
[email protected]
Tel: 514.914.4145

Phi
Renelle Desjardins
[email protected]
Tel: 514.844.7474 x105

TORONTO – December 3, 2007

Filmmaker Nicole Brooks turns her lens on political pioneer Lincoln Alexander, the first black member of Canadian parliament A Linc in Time. The film, currently in production, has been fully funded OMNI television and will premiere on the network in 2008.

“Working on this film has been a true privilege and an honour,” said Brooks, who is making her feature-length directing debut with A Linc in Time. “This is such an important story in Canadian history, an important story for all Canadians. We are so lucky that we are able to hear this story straight from Mr. Alexander himself, not to mention all the other influential people who have agreed to speak to us about this extraordinary man.”

Those influential people include former Ontario premier David Peterson; Alastair Summerlee, president of the University of Guelph, where Alexander served as the university’s chancellor; Pat Case, the Director of Human Rights and Equity Office at the University of Guelph; and Mary Anne Chambers, Ontario’s Minister of Children and Youth.

Inspired by his nickname, “Linc”, the film will ‘linc’ Alexander’s key life moments in order to paint a complete portrait of the man. A Linc in Time will show how Alexander’s defining early years led him to his groundbreaking career in Canadian politics and beyond. His path eventually led him to the post of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, a position which Alexander was the first visible minority to hold. Following that, Alexander spent 15 years as Chancellor of the University of Guelph.

Alexander has led an exemplary life that has broken many barriers for minorities and helped alter the face and profile of Canadian politics. The film will in turn rally viewers to not only learn of his life, but to also call to attention his dynamic role in Canada’s multiculturalism, demonstrating his enduring importance to our nation, and to African-Canadian history.

Personal memoirs recounted by the man himself will be interwoven with interviews from family members, friends and colleagues. In addition, archival footage, photographs and small dramatic vignettes will demonstrate and chronicle the remarkable series of historical events in the civil rights movement that parallel with the events that led to Alexander becoming one of the most groundbreaking and influential leaders in Canadian history.

Multi-faceted director and producer Nicole Brooks has always embraced the opportunity to depict original and creative works featuring all forms of diversity. As a director, her short film Spun Out premiered at The Female Eye, Toronto’s first film festival for women directors and her experimental drama The Sweetest Sounds made its debut at the Montreal World Film Festival. She also won the Best Music Video award from the Black Film and Video Network for Comin’ In, by spoken word artist True. Brooks also has extensive experience as a producer, producing ECHO (SunTV), segment producing for Living in Toronto (CBC), and served as story editor for the hit series Lord Have Mercy (Vision TV). She is currently working on her third season as Co – Producer of Vision’s Divine Restoration.

Also working on A Linc in Time are: celebrated photographer Michael Chambers; accredited composer and CBC personality Andrew Craig; technical advisor Claire Prieto, executive producer of ECHO ( SunTV) and a pioneer of African-Canadian film and television; and consultant Herb Shoveller, who wrote Alexander’s biography, Go to School, You’re a Little Black Boy: The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander: A Memoir.

“One of the best things about working on A Linc in Time is that everyone involved is so passionate about the project,” said Brooks. “People are involved because they believe this story needs to be told, and their passion will translate into a better film. This film is an opportunity for all of us to give back to a man who has given so much to us.”

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Available for interview,
Nicole Brooks
Lincoln M. Alexander
Herb Shoveller

For media inquiries, please contact:
Kevin Pennant
Pennant Media Group
[email protected]
416.596.2978