Toronto - Industry Programmes at the 33rd
Toronto International Film Festival continues its commitment to
develop and support the Canadian film industry via innovative networking and career development programmes.
Introduced last year,
Meet With
features special guest speakers from all facets of the industry to discuss
valuable business fundamentals and industry standards in informal and intimate information sessions. Returning
to the Festival for its ninth consecutive year,
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! is a live pitch competition with a
$10,000 CAD prize to assist with project development. In its fifth year,
Talent Lab welcomes 24 emerging
filmmakers to build networks in a creative environment with some of the most esteemed filmmakers and artists in
the world. The third annual
Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) Producer's
Award acknowledges the vision and entrepreneurship of an independent Canadian producer with a Canadian
feature at the Festival. The Ontario Media Development Corporation's
International Financing Forum (IFF) is a
feature film co-financing event that brings together selected international and Canadian producers developing
English-language projects. Filmmakers will be able to network at
Match Club, the hub for all Sales & Industry
and Guest Relations Office delegates.
Doc Corner, held within Match Club, offers a relaxed venue for all
documentary Industry delegates, sales agents, buyers, producers and directors. For more information on
Industry Programmes' dynamic lineup at this year's Festival, running September 4 to 13, 2008, please visit
tiff08.ca/industry or contact us at
[email protected].
MEET WITH
Meet With... will offer daily sessions at the Match Club from Friday, September 5 to Thursday, September 11, 11
a.m. to 12 p.m., providing attendees with a unique opportunity to gain insight into the fundamentals of the
business and craft of filmmaking from seasoned industry professionals. Match Club is open from Thursday,
September 4 to Thursday, September 11, 2008.
Meet With
topics will include The Shifting Landscape of Theatrical Distribution in Canada; Alternative
Distribution Channels; Case Study: The Omnibus; and Focus on Argentine Producers.
Meet With
guest
speakers include Sebastián Aloi, President/Producer, Aeroplano S.A.; John Bain, SVP Distribution, Maple
Pictures; Paul Barkin, Producer/President, Alcina Pictures; Janet Brown, COO, Cinetic Rights Management; Matt
Dentler, Head of Marketing and Programming, Cinetic Rights Management; John Galway, President, Astral
Media The Harold Greenberg Fund; Jennifer Jonas, Producer, Toronto Stories; Michael Mosca, Senior Vice-
President & COO, Les Films Équinoxe; David Weaver, Co-Director, Toronto Stories; and Shane Smith,
Executive Producer, In-Flight Entertainment, Spafax.
Meet With... is open to all Sales & Industry and Guest pass holders.
TELEFILM CANADA PITCH THIS!
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! returns to the Festival for its ninth consecutive year. In a live pitch environment,
six participant teams have six minutes to pitch their feature-film idea to an audience of over 250 industry
professionals. The winner will be selected by a jury of international industry experts. The prize is $10,000 CAD to
assist with costs related to project development. It will be hosted by Ennis Esmer, who starred in
Young People
Fucking (TIFF 2007).
This year's
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! finalists are John Christou and Jeff Barnaby for
Blood Quantum;
Michael Mosca, Franca Visconti, Lori Elberg and Tanya Bershadsky for
The Cinderellis; Pat Mills for
Don't Talk
to Irene; Eva Madden for
Forever 15; Lanan Adcock and Daniel Perlmutter for
Friends of the Museum; and
Shernold Edwards for
Horn. This year's Pitch Coaches are Anne Carey, producer,
This is that; Joe Pichirallo,
producer,
The Secret Life of Bees; Robin Smith, founder, KinoSmith; and Howie Wiseman, writer,
Barney's
Version.
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! will take place on Tuesday, September 9, 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the
Sutton Place Hotel, stop 33 (955 Bay Street). Open to Sales & Industry and Guest pass holders.
TALENT LAB
Don McKellar (
Blindness, Childstar), one of the most prominent figures on the Canadian film scene, joins the two
previously announced Talent Lab governors - celebrated French director Olivier Assayas (
Chacun son cinema;
Paris, je t'aime; Clean) and internationally renowned British producer Stephen Woolley (
Breakfast on Pluto, The
Crying Game). The critically acclaimed British director Terence Davies (
Of Time and the City) and Iranian
filmmaking prodigy Samira Makhmalbaf (
The Blackboard, The Apple) are two of the guest speakers in the
Talent Lab artistic development programme.
The following
Short Cuts Canada selections come from
Talent Lab alumni:
Green Door by Semi Chellas
(Talent Lab 2004),
The Earring by Sheila Pye (Talent Lab 2005),
Passages by Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre (Talent
Lab 2007),
Pat's First Kiss by Pat Mills (Motofilm for Talent Lab 2007),
A Small Thing by Adam Garnet Jones
(Talent Lab 2006),
The Workout by Sami Khan (Talent Lab 2008) and
Spoiled by Sherry White (Talent Lab
2007) and
Cattle Call by Matthew Rankin (Talent Lab 2007).
CFTPA PRODUCER'S AWARD
The
Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) Producer's Award acknowledges the
vision and entrepreneurship of an independent Canadian producer with a Canadian feature at the Festival. Last
year's recipient, producer Niv Fichman, will chair the 2008 jury and award a Canadian producer a $10,000 CAD
cash prize. The
CFTPA Producer's Award Presentation is held on Thursday, September 4 at 4 p.m. at the
Match Club (5th Elementt restaurant, 1033 Bay Street).
INTERNATIONAL FINANCING FORUM
The Ontario Media Development Corporation's
International Financing Forum (IFF) is a feature film cofinancing
event that brings together selected international and Canadian producers developing English-language
projects to do business in a relaxed atmosphere of brokered meetings and networking opportunities with
international sales agents, distributors, funders, agents and executive producers. IFF 2008 will take place on
Sunday, September 7 (afternoon only) and Monday, September 8.
IFF 2007 brought producers together with representatives from William Morris Independent (USA), Kinowelt
International (Germany), Miramax (USA), Endeavor Talent Agency (USA), Bavaria Films (Germany), the BBC
(UK), CAA (USA), Echo Lake Entertainment (USA), Film 4 (UK), HBO Films (USA), Ingenious Media (UK),
Maximum Films (Canada), Paramount Vantage (USA), Trust Film Sales (Denmark), Warner Independent (USA),
The Film Department (USA), Love Streams agnès b. Productions (France), HDNet Films (USA), Fortissimo
Films (Hong Kong/Netherlands), Cinetic Media (USA), 120db Films (USA), Aver Media (Canada), Backup Films
(France) and Cinema NX (UK).
MATCH CLUB
Match Club is a meeting space and lounge, the hub for all Sales & Industry and Guest Relations Office
delegates, and the nexus for the international and Canadian film industries. International consultants are
available on-site to help set up meetings and offer assistance as required.
Held within
Match Club are daily
Meet With... events that provide the opportunity to attend an intimate and
informal session on the hottest topics in today's film industry. Please note that seating is limited and reservations
are not accepted. Match Club is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, September 4 to Thursday, September 11, at
5th Elementt restaurant (1033 Bay Street), located just north of the Sutton Place Hotel. Match Club is open to all
Sales & Industry pass holders as well as all Guest pass holders. For more information, please contact
[email protected].
DOC CORNER AND DOC ROUNDTABLES
Doc Corner, held within Match Club, welcomes all documentary Industry delegates, sales agents, buyers,
producers and directors. It is perfect for networking and holding casual meetings. Doc Corner is open 12:30 p.m.
to 5 p.m.
Doc Roundtables sessions are held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, September 7 to Wednesday, September 10.
At
Doc Roundtables, filmmakers can meet leading industry figures - distributors, festival programmers, sales
agents and consultants. This year, participants will include Matt Dentler from Cinetic Rights Management; Ira
Deutchman from Emerging Pictures; Tom Quinn from Magnolia Pictures; Josh Braun from Submarine
Entertainment; and Mark Ankner from Endeavor Independent.
Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! is supported by Telefilm Canada.Talent Lab is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Motorola.Talent Lab participants receive support through the RBC Emerging Artist Bursary.Thanks to Skillset and NOW Magazine for their support.Match Club is generously sponsored by Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund and Telefilm Canada.The OMDC's International Financing Forum is presented in partnership with Telefilm Canada, UK Trade&Investment and Canadian Heritage.
Special thanks to our major industry sponsors Bell and RBC, and major government supporters, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and Telefilm Canada.
Bell Lightbox
Currently under construction in downtown Toronto, Bell Lightbox is soon to be the world's leading destination for
film lovers. This major new cultural institution on the Canadian and international landscape will be structured
around five state-of-the-art cinemas celebrating film from around the world. Bell Lightbox programming will give
context to films through innovative cross-media exhibitions, lectures, and film-related learning opportunities for
all ages. Designed by innovative architecture firm KPMB, Bell Lightbox's fluid design encourages exploration,
movement and play within its soaring atriums.
The campaign to build Bell Lightbox is generously supported by founding sponsor Bell. The Government of
Canada and the Government of Ontario each have contributed $25 million to realize Bell Lightbox. A gift of more
than $22 million has been confirmed from the Reitman family - acclaimed filmmaker Ivan Reitman and his
sisters Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels - and The Daniels Corporation, who together form the King and John
Festival Corporation. The project is also supported by RBC as Major Sponsor and Official Bank, Visa†,
Copyright Collective of Canada, NBC Universal Canada, The Allan Slaight Family, The Brian Linehan Charitable
Foundation, CIBC, and many other individuals and corporations. The Board of Directors, staff and many
generous individuals have also contributed to the campaign. The total amount raised to date is $147 million,
three quarters of the total campaign of $196 million. For more information on the Bell Lightbox campaign, visit
belllightbox.ca
We are a charitable, not-for-profit, cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the
world through film. Our vision is to lead the world in creative and cultural discovery through the moving image.
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For information, contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or email
[email protected]