Canadian properties are definitely hot at the festival. The mgm deal for The Hanging Garden has all heads turning towards newcomer Thom Fitzgerald and he’s fielding numerous calls from American agents looking to sign him. Miramax was also interested in his project.

Word is that Erotica is set to close a deal and Kitchen Party and Cube will likely be making announcements over the next few days.

But another first-time feature filmmaker, vp of original programming at mtv Jeremiah Bosgang, is proving you don’t have to actually have your film in the Toronto festival to be a festival hit.

When Halina Marie, of Toronto’s I.D. Blonde, who’s repping his project Good Money, failed to get the film into tiff, she decided to take matters into her own hands and set up a series of screenings at Deluxe in tandem with the event. To lure buyers to the screenings she had been stuffing all the boxes in the press and sales office with flyers publicizing the autobiographical comedy, written, directed and starring Bosgang and chronicling his rise from a Brooklyn apartment superintendent to a Hollywood programming exec at nbc and Fox.

The sales and press office – flooded with requests from buyers looking for more info on the film – was none too pleased, says Marie, and they called her up and told her she was banned from filling boxes with promotional material.

This hasn’t hurt prospects for landing a distributor. CFP Acquisitions, Norstar’s Peter Simpson, numerous European companies, Columbia TriStar Home Video and Sullivan Entertainment have all shown interest, says Marie. Good Money has even been invited to the inaugural New York Comedy Film Festival.

The hilarious romp features the entire cast of Seinfield (Bosgang was the nbc exec in charge of the sitcom before it became a hit). Other Hollywood types in the cast are Conan O’Brien and Andy Richter as lame kiddy show performers, Dick Cavett as a bisexual casting director and the late Brandon Tartikoff as a hack tv producer.

The film was shot by Kevin Rafferty, the cinematographer on Roger and Me. If anyone else is interested in a screening cassette they can call Marie, 924-7662

Bosgang and Marie are also scouting for short films at tiff. He’s developing a short film program for mtv, and although details are still sketchy, it will likely be a half-hour weekly show. He is in talks with Marie to acquire films for the program.

*Young Mistro

Toronto director Ambrose Roche is shopping a feature, Young Mistro, at the festival and has wielded a verbal agreement (no signed deal yet) from Hong Kong actress Maggi Cheung to star. Cheung has two films at tiff – Chinese Box and The Soong Sisters. Confirmed cast so far include Matthew Ferguson (Lilies), Tamara Podenski (Dance Me Outside) and Kari Vaananen (Drifting Clouds) from Finland.

It’s a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old whose parents get divorced and he goes to work in a nightclub.

Roche has deals pending with a Hong Kong and l.a. investor and Toronto’s Cinema Esperanca is on board to distribute. The budget is $2 million and he’s looking for international presales.