Mike Medavoy doesn’t know what he’s going to say yet.

At Playback press time, Medavoy, the keynote speaker for Symposium ’97, was bound for Telluride before heading north to the 22nd annual Toronto International Film Festival. But he’s thinking about it, his Monday morning speech at the Rogers Industry Centre. Also on his mind is the world premiere of Phoenix Pictures’ Swept From The Sea which will make its debut the same night.

But while Medavoy is ‘quite pleased’ to be the tiff keynote, the principal reason for the Toronto trek is promotion for Swept From The Sea. ‘Toronto has become, after Cannes, the most sought after, the most well-attended festival in the world. I want to see friends and do some business.’

Swept From The Sea is the third film out of Phoenix, the l.a.-based production company Medavoy and partner Arnold Messer opened in November 1995. Its history to date consists of producing The Mirror Has Two Faces and The People vs Larry Flynt, both more based in the real world than the u.s./u.k. coproduction, a raw, beautiful 19th century tale based on Joseph Conrad’s short story Amy Foster.

Should a Pitch knock-off be in the works at this year’s festivities, Medavoy no doubt makes the list of unsuspecting producers on which to pounce.

As senior vp of production at United Artists, 1974-78, his producing credits include One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky and Annie Hall. Added to the cache of cofounding Orion Pictures (1978-90) are Platoon, Amadeus, The Terminator, Dances With Wolves and Silence of the Lambs, followed by Philadelphia, Basic Instinct, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Legends of the Fall, all under his tenure as chairman of TriStar from 1990-95. All told, seven best picture Oscars and 15 best picture nominations.

It’s the thirtysomething years of experience in feature film production Medavoy will draw from for Monday’s address, which he says could be on one of two topics, or a melange of both: nationalism in films and/or the strengths and weaknesses of the independent film company.

Born in Shanghai and raised in Chile, the 55-year-old producer came to the u.s. when he was 17. ‘The theme of the immigrant interests me, coming to a place where you think differently. Given my background, I’ve never succeeded as one nationality. I come in with a perspective on the various approaches that are possible and I’m not sure I really understand the whole concept of nationalism in films. I’m going to think about that.’

Also potential lecture fodder: ‘Why there aren’t more clearly Canadian films made.’ It’s ironic considering how much production is done in Canada, says Medavoy, who’s worked on films with Norman Jewison and produced Legends of the Fall within the Alberta borders.

The strengths and weaknesses of the independent production company may make the final cut come Monday, but if the interview’s evolution is an indication, it’ll be difficult to wrestle him from the nationalism agenda.

‘I’d say I’m cognizant of the tremendous power Hollywood has and with that power comes responsibility. I understand that filmmaking is, in itself, a whole national issue, but my sense is that you can’t stop the airwaves. I think I want to talk about the freedom allowed by a whole global village.’

A q&a will follow his speech.

Directed by Beeban Kidron (Used People, Great Moments in Aviation, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar), Swept From The Sea is the story of two cast-outs trapped in a windswept coastal Cornwall village. Rachel Weisz stars as Amy Foster, a quiet girl the locals consider simple who falls in love with Vincent Perez who plays the sole survivor of a Ukranian shipwreck.

On the Phoenix agenda after the launch of Swept is the release, with TriStar, of Oliver Stone’s U-Turn which will open later this fall. Slated for release early in the new year is Apt Pupil, Bryan Singer’s much-anticipated follow-up to The Usual Suspects, which is currently in post-production. Farther down the line is the first film in 19 years from Badlands director Terence Malick, The Thin Red Line, based on the novel by James Jones. The film is in preproduction and will be shot in Australia and Guadalcanal with Sean Penn, John Travolta, Nick Nolte and George Clooney.