Telefilm set for matchmaking event in Cannes

Most people going into a speed-dating event would be wary of gold diggers.

But Telefilm Canada hopes participants at its matchmaking event at one of the world's most prestigious media markets will come away with a steady flow of cash as well as long-term relationships.

Next week's inaugural edition of the Connect With Canada speed-dating event will hook up 40 Canadian TV producers with their counterparts in other countries to help land co-production and distribution deals.

'It's really about putting the right people together when they're looking for specific territories or specific partners in terms of developing international activities.' Sheila de La Verende, Telefilm

About 130 foreign companies have registered for the event, which takes place at the MIPTV trade fair in Cannes next Tuesday.

"It's sort of targeted speed-dating," says Sheila de La Verende, the director of national and international business development at Telefilm Canada, the federal agency that helps promote and develop the country's audiovisual industry.

Canadian and foreign companies have been matched in terms of international sales and co-production objectives for the two-hour event. Each will have 30 minutes with each other although de La Verende noted, "if the seduction works it may be hard to draw them away."

Telefilm worked with MIPTV organizers to create the event. MIPTV wanted a focus on Canada because of its established reputation as a reputable and dynamic co-production partner and the vitality of its two language markets.

"It's really about putting the right people together when they're looking for specific territories or specific partners in terms of developing international activities," de La Verende noted in a telephone interview from Telefilm's Montreal headquarters.

Canada's reputation

She noted that one of Canada's strengths is the diversity of its products.

"We have a long history of very strong, very exportable animation," she said. "We have good traction in the international marketplace in terms of documentaries."

Original comedies and dramas such as the cop show Flashpoint have also performed well.

Canadians will not only work traditional markets such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany but will also be able to explore new contacts in emerging markets such as Asia.

"It promises to be a very active market," de La Verende said of the overall event, which runs April 12-16 and will be followed by the Cannes Film Festival in May.

"Last year, MIPTV was the most successful in terms of business dollars generated in the markets that we participate in internationally," de La Verende said.

"In 2009, there were $5.2 million in sales or potential sales generated." She also noted that every dollar invested by Telefilm at MIPTV generates $11 in sales.

Canada's position as a pioneer and a leader in co-productions is no small thing in the current entertainment landscape, de La Verende says.

"It's even more important today with financing costs that are higher, with also the appetite for global entertainment and audiences that are more demanding," she said.

'The way to compete globally is to do more and more co-productions.' Jeff Stecyk, Partners in Motion

Jeff Stecyk, chief operating officer and general manager of Regina-based Partners in Motion, is looking forward to the speed-dating event.

"I think it's a good idea," he said. "The way to compete globally is to do more and more co-productions so that's a major part of this matchmaking."

He said the advantage of such events as MIPTV and August's MIPCOM event, which is also held in Cannes, is that it puts all the major players in one spot.

"It's really an event that allows us to achieve multiple goals," he said.

Partners in Motion has already scored a number of international successes with its programming, which includes Crime Stories, The Re-Inventors, and Disasters of the Century, which have been shown in Canada on History Television.

Stecyk said Crime Stories is seen in about 150 countries and 30 languages. Stecyk said he's also received an offer to market The Re-Inventors in France and the company is finalizing a deal with global broadcaster AETN International.