International TV, film deals up in 2009: Telefilm

Canadian TV and films landed an estimated $108 million in international sales in 2006, an improvement of more than 27 per cent from the previous year, according to Telefilm Canada.

The total, which includes sales, presales and expected sales from Telefilm's industry fairs at international festivals and TV conferences, ispresented in its 2009 International Markets Report.

Telefilm invested $1.1 million in industry fairs at the Berlin Film Festival, Cannes Festival, Hong Kong FilmMart and Mipcom in 2009. The report concludes that many of those initiatives, including its Perspectives Canada screenings of films that don't land a slot at the prestigious festivals,have paid off.

It estimates $54.7 million in sales and, $35.9 million in pre-sale contracts at these events, with the remaining revenue coming from expected sales.

The federal agency says the economic downturn had depressed film and TV sales in 2008, when Canadian producers sold about $85 million in programming.

The recovery was well underway by May, when filmmakers attended the industry fair at Cannes, Telefilm said. That festival, at which Quebec's Xavier Dolan got a warm reception for I Killed My Mother, resulted in deals for nearly 99 titles, the report said.

That included about $50 million in co-production agreementsfor future ventures.