PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO 2016 presents a thrilling variety of projects EFP, OMDC and TIFF reveal line-up for co-production platform at TIFF

The seventh edition of PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO is set to launch alongside the Toronto International Film Festival® from September 6 to 9, 2016, organized by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and the Toronto International Film Festival®. 24 producers from Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have been chosen once again to discuss project ideas, funding information, and co-production deals on both sides of the Atlantic and Down Under. The successful networking platform has facilitated the development of several trans-Atlantic co-productions, such as the Canadian-Irish co-production Unless by Irish director Alan Gilsenan, which was originally presented at the Producers Lab 2011 and will celebrate its world premiere at TIFF's 2016 edition. The Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch will present the project's genesis in a case study together with his Canadian partner Jennifer Kawaja from Sienna Films to this year's participants. The Producers Lab is financially supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme in association with Screen Australia, the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), the participating EFP member organisations, Eurimages and Telefilm Canada.

The participants of the PRODUCERS LAB TORONTO 2016 will take part in various networking events, from 1:1 meetings, funding sessions on the different possibilities in Canada, Down Under and Europe through different financing models to the case study on Unless. Its Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch comments on the impact that the Producers Lab 2011 had on the film's  development: "Producers Lab Toronto 2011 was extremely helpful for us in setting up our IrishCanadian co-production feature film Unless. From meeting great Canadian Producers at Sienna Films and all the funding agencies to also being able to advance the project creatively, the experience provided a great framework for the start of the collaboration. It is fitting that the completed film will now have its World Premiere at TIFF 2016." As in the past six years, the intensive exchange provides a perfect starting point for creating trans-Atlantic co-productions, shown by the fact that the 24 participants from last year are still in regular contact with one another and are having concrete talks on seven prospective co-productions, involving 12 different participants from Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. With its pioneering initiative, EFP has prepared the ground for bilateral negotiations in order to provide easier access to the respective markets.  

The participating producers, who were selected by the event's five partners according to their significant experience in co-production, will present new projects with international market potential. Hélène Cases from France, Producer on the Move 2012, who will pitch the new project The Mercy Seat by director Alix Delaporte ("The Last Hammer Blow"), and Amir Hamz from Germany, who attracted international attention with the mystery-drama Der Nachtmahr (2015) and is now preparing the production of Immortality, are two of the ten European producers taking part in the event. Canadian participants include Paul Scherzer, among others, an alumnus of the TIFF STUDIO, who has produced award-winning festival faves like the French-Tunisian-Canadian coproduction Challat of Tunis (2014) or multi-talented Tim Doiron, who not only produces together with his Wango Film partner April Mullen films like the action thriller 88 (2015) and the horror comedy Dead Before Dawn (2012), but also stars in them and is responsible for the script.
 
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