Producers’ Forum: Connect with Canada

Sheila de la Varende, the director of national and international business development at Telefilm Canada, shares some insight into what attendees can expect from the Connect with Canada session during the MIPTV Producers’ Forum.

From kids’ programming to factual to, increasingly, one-hour dramas, Canada is a major co-producer on a worldwide scale. In order to help companies from around the world link up with Canadian firms, the MIPTV Producers’ Forum will feature a Connect with Canada matchmaking session on Tuesday morning. The event will be held at the Canada Pavilion, which is organized by Telefilm Canada.

"Co-productions are a key component of Canadian film and television production," notes Sheila de la Varende, the director of national and international business development at Telefilm Canada. "They are a favored method of penetrating new markets and facilitating project financing. Canadians are very active in the co-production area, and this is an area of priority for Telefilm."

De la Varende lists the many advantages that the Canadian media sector can offer international partners, including "a wealth of experienced co-producers across the country, who have created high quality, world-class productions that have achieved commercial and critical success in many markets."

She goes on to add that many Canadian producers have "demonstrated remarkable energy, resourcefulness, understanding of international markets—making them valued, sought-after partners." Moreover, that experience and understanding spreads across numerous genres.

Telefilm Canada facilitates co-productions on behalf of the government through official co-production agreements that "enable Canadian producers and their foreign counterparts to pool their creative, artistic, technical and financial resources to co-produce films and television programs that enjoy the status of national productions in each of the countries concerned." Those productions then receive tax credits and are eligible for funding from the Canada Media Fund (CMF). Telefilm Canada’s co-production agreements mean that Canadian producers can develop content with partners in 53 countries, de la Varende says. "The volume of Canadian production activity is close to an average of C$535 million a year," based on 2008 data.

The two-hour Connect with Canada event, de la Varende says, will feature "an experienced matchmaker on call and close to 60 Canadian companies registered under the Pavilion. Connect with Canada is about sparking conversations, developing new international partnerships and working globally on world-class content that reaches audiences at home and abroad."

De la Varende expects strong interest in the session, given that the difficult worldwide economy has made co-productions essential for many shows. "The challenges of financing content today are driving more interest in co-production from a global perspective. The economic downturn coupled with audience fragmentation and the power of the Internet mean that producers can no longer rely solely on traditional financing models—they need to look beyond their borders for new ways to finance content across platforms. Canada’s vast and successful track record in co-production makes this country a very sought after partner in this field."

France, the U.K. and Germany are among the territories that Canada’s media sector already has strong ties with, and de la Varende sees increasing interest from Australia, Israel, Ireland, South Africa, Brazil, Israel and Eastern Europe.

"Also of interest is the fact that the current financing environment is also stimulating more multilateral co-productions—more than two partners—and complex financing structures. With their wealth of experience in bringing world-class content through co-productions to the big and small screens, Canadian producers are uniquely positioned in the North American market to capitalize on this increased interest in co-production. This shift in approach to international financing is creating new and meaningful cross-border co-production partnerships where producers share control and editorial content on stories for the big and small screens that reach universal audiences."

Telefilm Canada is playing a major role in facilitating these partnerships, hosting pavilions at key content markets. "The Canada Pavilions are a crucial resource for Canadians doing business with the world and for international producers looking for information on potential co-producers and the Canadian financing landscape," de la Varende says.

In addition, Telefilm Canada operates a “Partnering with Canada” micro-site, accessible from its website. "This is a one-stop shop for anyone looking to learn more about partnering with our country for co-pros, co-ventures or film-production services. A USB key with access to the micro-site is distributed on site at each Canada Pavilion."

In 2008, Telefilm invested about C$1.2 million to support Canadian companies at international markets. These investments continue to pay off, de la Varende notes. In 2008, aggregated sales and presales for Canadian film and TV at international markets reached close to C$14 million. On‐going and working negotiations at international markets created an additional C$71 million in likely sales, for a total of C$85 million, up 21 percent from the previous year.

In addition, co-production and co-venture partnerships increased by 20 percent over the previous year, with 65 Canadian companies involved in 115 deals with 21 different countries, reported to be worth over C$23 million

Ultimately, de la Varende says, "Canada is a trusted, experienced co-production partner. Furthermore, our experience has demonstrated that it is important to involve Canada early in the development process to yield best results and smooth operations."

Asked about tips she can offer international producers looking at opportunities in Canada, de la Varende responds: "We’d like to suggest that international producers and distributors do their research and ask questions to better understand the Canadian production and financing landscape." And visiting the Canadian Pavilion, she says, is a great way to start.

The Connect with Canada Producers Matchmaking session takes place on Tuesday, April 13, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Canada Pavilion.