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.
® Toronto International Film Festival is a registered trademark of the Toronto International Film Festival Inc.
France
Hélène Cases
Lionceau Films
e.g. Angele & Tony, 2011 by Alix Delaporte
nominated by: UniFrance films
United Kingdom
Camilla Deakin
Lupus Films
e.g. Ethel & Ernest, 2016 by Roger Mainwood
nominated by: British Council
Slovak Republic
Mira Fornay
Mirafox
e.g. My Dog Killer, 2013 by Mira Fornay
nominated by: Slovak Film Institute
Germany
Amir Hamz
Bon Voyage Films
e.g. Der Nachtmahr, 2016 by AKIZ
nominated by: German Films
Hungary
Anna Jancsó
Librecine
e.g. Little Soldier, 2016 by Stella Corradi (short)
nominated by: Magyar Filmunió/ Hungarian National Film Fund
Croatia
Anita Juka
4 Film
e.g. You Carry Me, 2015 by Ivona Juka
nominated by: Croatian Audiovisual Centre
Ireland
Kathryn Kennedy
Kennedy Films
e.g. My Name Is Emily, 2015 by Simon Fitzmaurice
nominated by: Irish Film Board
Estonia
Katrin Kissa
Homeless Bob Production
e.g. The Temptation Of St. Tony, 2009 by Veiko Õunpuu
nominated by: Estonian Film Institute
Sweden
Petter Lindblad
Snowcloud Films
e.g. Siv Sleeps Astray, 2016 by Catti Edfeldt & Lena Hanno Clyne
nominated by: Swedish Film Institute
Switzerland
Christof Neracher
Hugofilm Productions
e.g. Aloys, 2016 by Tobias Nölle
nominated by: Swiss Films
Coral Aiken
Aiken Heart Films
e.g. The People Garden, 2016 by Nadia Litz
Katie Bird Nolan
Babe Nation Creations
e.g. Ways To Water, 2016 by Kit Weyman
Tara Boire
boomerang films
e.g. Together Alone, 2014 by Mateo Guez
Tim Doiron
WANGO Films
e.g. 88, 2015 by April Mullen
Borga Dorter
Gearshift Films
e.g. The Waiting Room, 2015 by Igor Drljaca
Nicole Hilliard-Forde
Motel Pictures
e.g. The Other Half, 2016 by Joey Klein
Kim McCraw
micro_scope
e.g. Endorphine, 2015 by Andre Turpin
Thomas Michael
Fella Films
e.g. Backcountry, 2014 by Adam Macdonald
Paul Scherzer
Six Island Productions
e.g. Coconut Hero, 2015 by Florian Cossen
Glen Wood
ViDDYWELL FiLMS
e.g. Two 4 One, 2015 by Maureen Bradley
Australia
Tania Chambers
Feisty Dame Productions
e.g. Kill Me Three Times, 2014 by Kriv Stenders
Australia
Alex White
Whitefalk Films
e.g. Florence Has Left The Building, 2014 by Mirrah Foulkes (short)
New Zealand
Fraser Brown
FB Pictures
e.g. Orphans & Kingdoms, 2014 by Paolo Rotondo
New Zealand
Nadia Maxwell
Overactive Imagination
e.g. Here Be Monsters, 2012 by Nic Gorman (short)
TIFF
Communications Department
proffice@tiff.net
+1 416- 934 3200
OMDC
Suzan Ayscough
OMDC Head of Communications
sayscough@omdc.on.ca
+1 416- 642-6619
Screen Australia
Scott Dawkins
Communications Manager
Scott.Dawkins@screenaustralia.gov.au
+61 2 8113 5886
New Zealand Film Commission
Jasmin McSweeney
Head of Marketing
jasmin@nzfilm.co.nz
+64 21 630 368
Associated EFP member organisations:
British Council, Croatian Audiovisual Centre, Estonian Film Institute, German Films, Irish Film Board, Magyar Filmunió, Slovak Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Swiss Films, UniFrance Films.
European Film Promotion e.V.
Friedensallee 14-16
22765 Hamburg / Germany
fon +49 40- 398 403-0
fax +49 40- 390 6249
°efp President
Markéta Santrochová
Czech Film Center
°efp Managing Director
Sonja Heinen