With international attendance at natpe (Jan. 13-16 in New Orleans) at an all-time high this year – international registration is up at least 20% and venues are larger – the ever-eager-to-mingle Canadians have stepped up their presence accordingly. The National Film Board is test-piloting a booth this year, and Atlantis Releasing has broken away from the Canadian Pavilion altogether to exhibit in its own 1,600 square feet.

Sari Buksner, vp international sales and development for The Multimedia Group of Canada, estimates that as many as three-quarters of natpe attendees are u.s. affiliates looking to pick up syndicated product, so it’s clear that natpe won’t be straying too far from its origins. But international buyers and decision-makers – specifically from Asia, Europe and Latin America – are spending their valuable time and cold cash to be there, so the Canadian contingent is following suit.

‘When you’re talking numbers like the numbers natpe draws, being on the periphery is not bad,’ says Mary Jane Terrell, the nfb’s u.s. marketing manager. ‘It’s a three-ring circus, but for me it’s a great opportunity to see the cablers and international public broadcasters.’

On the other side of the coin, British Columbia Film president Wayne Sterloff says most of the dozen or so companies under his umbrella are steadfastly looking to befriend the Americans on their home turf. ‘So many British Columbians work with Americans as line producers,’ says Sterloff, ‘and now they understand the system enough, and are trusted enough, to become coproducers.’

This year B.C. Film has taken back the duty of organizing a booth for natpe from the British Columbia Motion Picture Association (which put together the junket last year) and Sterloff says they’ve doubled the booth space over 1996. ‘Companies were saying they absolutely had to be there. Interest was two to one over mip.’

tv movies, features released for tv, and miniseries are prominent in the offerings of a number of Canadian companies – Alliance, Sullivan, Norstar and Evergreen Releasing included – but there are some new series up for grabs.

Nelvana is bringing the initial 13 episodes of Sam and Max, a half-hour animated comedy for kids of all ages about a pair of undercover cops who just happen to be a rabbit and a dog. Norstar will be looking for a continental European deal for Iron Eagle: The Series, a project based on the original movie which the company hopes will begin production in April.

There’s sure to be a good ol’ fashioned natpe buzz around the Atlantis booth when the company trots out Gene Roddenberry’s Battleground Earth, the latest big-budget, sci-fi/action franchise from the creator of that eternal cash cow, Star Trek. Atlantis is producing with l.a.’s Tribune Entertainment and Ted Riley, president of Atlantis Releasing, expects much of the u.s. syndication market to be sold prior to the hordes descending on New Orleans.

Riley says Atlantis, with a full slate of syndicated product (including Psi Factor and Sinbad), holds a unique position at natpe for a Canadian company. While most Canadian companies work primarily around the market’s outposts, Atlantis’ focus holds true to the original intent of the market.

‘natpe, for us, is a syndication market only,’ says Riley. ‘Our efforts are streamlined to support our syndicated product, to work in tandem with our syndication partners.’

u.s. tv execs are also getting pitched this week on Total Recall: The Series, a spin-off from the original feature which Alliance will distribute and coproduce with Team Entertainment Group. The one-hour, sci-fi/action series heads into production in April. Team retains u.s. distribution.

Telescene’s director of creative affairs Anita Simand says this natpe will be ‘huge’ for her company in terms of dramatic series. Telescene was recently greenlit by Fox Television Group to produce 26 episodes of Student Bodies (a half-hour live-action sitcom with animated sequences), and production is underway on The Hunger, a half-hour horror/anthology series for Showtime in the u.s. and TMN-The Movie Network here in Canada.

The Multimedia Group is also toting new Quebec drama under its Dramavision division. The company is preselling Prisma’s Paparazzi (a $9 million, 10-episode, one-hour series built around the lives of celebrity photogs) and is expecting big things from Platinum, a Canada/u.k. series codeveloped by Prisma and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Picture Company. Featuring music composed by George Martin (The Beatles’ producer), the 13-part, one-hour series about an indie record label launches with a two-hour tv movie.

Multimedia’s Buksner says natpe is ripe with international coproduction opportunities and provides unequaled access to cable. ‘All of the major cable companies go, and a lot of those companies have worldwide services. So you might meet someone from the u.s. who’s looking to buy for a number of territories. Most of the American cable companies don’t send as big a delegation to mip or mipcom.’

It’s obvious that major Canadian producers are managing to find a spot for themselves in the natpe melee outside of syndication, because Canadian participation is stronger than ever.

‘Today, there are still opportunities for Canadian production companies, but in my opinion, if you look at the overall potential of the marketplace, syndication is less important to Canadian companies,’ says Nelvana president Michael Hirsh, a delegate for 20 years. ‘One of the main reasons for everyone to attend natpe is not just seeing the American stations, but at least half the business you can do there is international.’

Norstar’s Linda Grinbaum, vp of international sales, echoes that sentiment, stating that the u.s. component of the market is not as important to her as the international: ‘We’re in l.a. and New York on a regular basis. We’re [at natpe] to look at potential acquisitions, coproductions and coventures. There are key Latin buyers who prefer to talk to North Americans at natpe and reserve the mip markets for the Europeans.’

Another reason for natpe’s growth, according to Canadians, is its timing. As Monte Carlo holds less appeal for many producers, natpe provides a much-needed window between mipcom and mip-tv. ‘Plus,’ says Sullivan’s Trudy Grant, ‘it ends up in a new fiscal year for a lot of organizations, therefore they’re cash-rich and looking to buy.’

Even companies which don’t expect to post any American sales at all in New Orleans are finding it increasingly necessary to be present, as evidenced by Salter Street Films. Says Deborah Carver, marketing manager: ‘Our u.s. sales are achieved through visits rather than at markets. Other than the international presence, what natpe offers us is a chance to broaden our knowledge of the u.s. market.’