Rob Merilees with actress Allie MickelsonFriday, September 5------The Canadian Film and Television Production Association announced yesterday that Canadian producer Rob Merilees is the recipient of the third annual CFTPA Producer’s Award. The award includes a cash prize of $10,000 CAD and was presented at the 5th Elementt Restaurant (The Match Club) at the opening of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) .

Merilees’ most recent project, Stone of Destiny, is already drawing high praise and was selected to make its North American premiere at the Closing Night Gala of TIFF on Saturday, September 13th.  Stone Destiny is based on the true story of four students from the University of Glasgow who hatch a Christmas Eve plan in 1950 to repatriate the Stone of Scone (an ancient coronation stone) from Westminster Abbey where it has been held for more than 700 years. The film is written and directed by Charles Martin Smith, and stars Robert Carlyle, Billy Boyd, Brenda Fricker, Charlie Cox, and Kate Mara.

Rob Merilees is well known to Canadians for his work on films including  The Butterfly Effect 3, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Sleepwalking, The Cleaner, Just Friends, Capote, Mr. Ripley’s Return, The Snow Walker, Saved!, I Fought the Law (a.k.a., Dead Heat), Here’s to Life!, Bar None,  and Curiously Dead.

The CFTPA is a non-profit trade organization that works on behalf of almost 400 companies engaged in the production and distribution of English-language television programs, feature films, and interactive media products in all regions of Canada .