AN INCREDIBLE INTERNATIONAL STORY: "STORY STUDIO" WRAPS IN IRELAND AND RETURNS TO CANADA

Released: July 31, 2000

[REGINA, SK CANADA]- Incredible Story Studio, the one-of-a-kind show where kids' stories are made into MOVIES, recently wrapped the first leg of its Season 4 shoot in Galway, Ireland. The series will move back to Regina, Saskatchewan Canada for the duration of the summer.
Fuelled by the Disney Channel's keen interest in Europe, the "made in Canada" series is now a truly international production with stories and principal photography conducted in Canada and around the world. Working in tandem with Incredible Story Studio, Disney's "Next Generation Talent Search," conducted in the U.K. and France last year, attracted more than 150,000 story entries from kids. Incredible Story Studio looks forward to expanding the story collection to German kids next season.

As the series worldwide popularity grows, so does its roster of international child authors, as Incredible Story Studio now features stories written by kids living in Canada, the U.K., France, Martinque and Taiwan. Each half-hour episode is hosted by the Studio Boss, the kid movie mogul with mega moxie and features two kids' stories adapted into 10 minute, live action TV dramas.

The eight international kid authors chosen to be a part of Incredible Story Studio this season include: Alex Allievi of Carlisle U.K.; Céline Niezgoda of Tombaline, France; Laura Penfold of Surry, U.K.; Hannah Lee of Bottesford Scunthorpe North Lincs, U.K.; Morgane Giardina of La Ciotat, France; Chloe Smith of Bottesford Scunthorpe North Lincs; Chloé Guyon of Villeurbanne, France, and; Bastien Ringès of Trinite, Martinique.

Child author Hannah Lee was on set to see her story filmed and was recruited for a speaking part. "It was an amazing experience," she said, more than a little overwhelmed.

The wildly popular series that airs on YTV and SCN in Canada, is now broadcast to more than 125 million homes worldwide. It's a hit on the Disney Channel in the U.K., France, Germany and the Middle East, Discovery Kids in the U.S. and Latin America, Nickelodeon in Australia, SABC in South Africa, CETV in China, KEBS in Korea, NHK in Japan, Noga in Israel, TnaG and TG4 in Ireland and Singapore Cable Vision.

With filming just complete in Galway, Ireland, Producer/Co-Creator Virginia Thompson says, "Ireland worked as an excellent backdrop to produce the European stories. It was great working with Merlin Films and a top notch cast and crew. Season 4 has such diversity. It's very exciting to see the series grow to this level."

Virginia Thompson and Robert de Lint are series creators, Kevin DeWalt is Executive Producer, Virginia Thompson and Mark Reid are producers, Rob de Lint is co-producer.

Virginia Thompson and Robert de Lint founded Vérité Films in 1994 to develop Incredible Story Studio. They developed the series by pitching the concept of "kids telling their own stories on TV" to over 6000 school kids across Canada, producing the series pilot, and writing the scripts for the first six episodes of the series. Vérité Films entered into a co-production with Minds Eye Entertainment to produce the series and have been living and working in Regina, Saskatchewan for the past four years.
Established in 1986, Minds Eye Entertainment is a fully integrated production, post-production and distribution entity with offices in Canada and the U.S. As Western Canada's largest film and television production company, Minds Eye Entertainment has been instrumental in contributing to the country's thriving motion picture industry. Its award-winning feature films, television series, shorts and documentaries have been sold in more than 100 countries.

Merlin Films Group specializes in the development, financing, production and distribution of high quality product for the international media marketplace and is recognized as Ireland's leading film financier. Merlin Films, the motion picture division of the group, is a leading producer of feature films for worldwide distribution. Merlin Films Group has an ongoing commitment to maintaining its leadership position within Ireland and continue to provide quality entertainment to audiences through all mediums. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Merlin also has offices in Shannon, London and Los Angeles.

Incredible Story Studio is a Canada-Ireland co-production produced with the financial participation of the Canadian Television Fund Equity Investment Program, the Canadian Television Fund License Fee Program, YTV, SCN, Minds Eye International, The Shaw Cable Children's Programming Initiative, The Shaw Cable Television Broadcast Fund, Independent Production Fund, The Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit, Government of Canada - Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit Program, and Saskatchewan Post Secondary Education & Skills Training. SaskFILM has provided development assistance. Incredible Story Studio is distributed internationally by Minds Eye International.