Sales coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival are just beginning to register, but early deal-making and distribution leads say Canadian films are off to a good start.

Overall sales generated at the festival are in the us$12 million range, says the Sales Office’s Kelley Alexander, who has seen ‘an unprecedented amount of business’ in American, Canadian and foreign titles over tiff’s Sept. 4-13 run.

At press time, buzz has Guy Maddin’s Twilight of the Ice Nymphs picked up in the u.s. by Zeitgeist Films and Trimark close to signing for Vincenzo Natali’s Cube, with competition from New Line and Miramax arm Dimensions. Justine Whyte, project manager at the Canadian Film Centre, confirms only that u.s. and foreign interest has been generated in the film and they are in the process of finalizing with a world sales agent.

‘A high six-figure deal’ was reeled in on Mina Shum’s Drive, She Said with an international sale to Beyond Films, says producer Stephen Hegyes. The Australia-based company not only came after the film quickly with a strong offer, but has the wherewithal to invest the time and money to secure theatrical releases worldwide, he says. Bids for American distribution are in play.

On the heels of its us$500,000 deal with MGM Classics, Alliance Independent Films has closed Israel (shb) and Italy (Mikado) on Thom Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden, reports Charlotte Mickie. Benelux is pending, and there is strong interest from the larger independents in France, Germany and Scandinavia. She expects to have most territories closed by mifed. A French sale on The Hanging Garden is in the works, she says.

Following up on tiff sales leads is the task at hand for numerous companies. All stress that placing low-budget indie films with the right distributor – capable of garnering theatrical releases and committing the p&a budget required to draw in audiences – is more important than just landing a deal.

‘It’s a matter of finding a distributor who can carry the weight of a specialized film. You have to match them like a marriage,’ says Norstar’s Marina Cordoni, who has a few serious American offers on the table for its u.k. copro Regeneration but anticipates it will take a couple of weeks to finalize.

Deals in Italy and Spain have closed and offers are pending in France, Scandinavia and Benelux. Asian companies are holding out to see what happens with American distribution, says Cordoni, before making offers.

As for going prices, ‘there is a global acquisitions halt,’ she says. Territories like Korea and the u.s. are flooded with product and prices are at a low.

While most territories for Kari Skogland’s Men With Guns were sold at the Cannes market, the u.s. is still open and Cordoni is in talks with small specialized distribs. ‘We are coming into another blockbuster season and there are so many films vying for screen time that American companies are nervous about paying out minimum guarantees,’ she says.

After two sold-out public screenings of Clement Virgo’s The Planet of Junior Brown, Evergreen Releasing’s Dean Oros is seriously talking with six u.s. companies, including Miramax, Sony Classics and Strand Releasing. Internationally, he’s following up with Australian, Japanese and Italian companies, all indicating strong interest.

‘We aren’t trying to do a quick deal, we want the best deal, so there’s no hurry,’ he explains. Oros views tiff as a vehicle to initiate business, hook up with acquisition reps and make new contacts, then talk sales post festival.

His plan is to go to mipcom and start lining up broadcaster interest around Junior Brown so when he’s close to making all-rights deals with theatrical distributors he can offer the added value of tv sale interest already piqued.

Although Films Transit’s Jan Rofekamp says docs are not high-profile product at tiff, he is negotiating a Japanese theatrical release for Maya Gallus’ Erotica. Crucial to Rofekamp’s strategy to garner a theatrical release for the film is generating widespread attention on the festival circuit. Following the tiff screening, Berlin programmers expressed interest, he says.

Festival exposure enhanced the profile of Sturla Gunnarsson’s Gerrie & Louise and the film is now in consideration with Turner Network, with 10 territories closed just before and around the time of the festival, says Rofekamp.

A Sundance and Berlin screening is a possibility for Bruno Pacheco’s City of Dark after programmers attended the tiff screening of the doc, says the National Film Board’s Joanne Le Duc. Tim Southam’s Drowning In Dreams is heading towards a cable tv deal in the u.s., with high international interest also sparked for tv rights. u.k. and u.s. tv leads are being followed up for Shereen Jerrett’s Kid Nerd.

l.a.-based Curb Entertainment screened Quentin Lee and Justin Lin’s Shopping for Fangs twice at tiff and have passed a copy to key execs, the filmmakers report. Two Japanese distribs have also laid down offers, and he is currently following up American distribution leads at the Independent Feature Film Market.

Pitch filmmakers Spencer Rice and Kenny Hotz landed a Canadian video deal with Video Services Corp. An American video deal is also being negotiated, they say.

Three ‘small to medium-sized’ American distribs have requested tapes of Josh Levy and Andrew Hayes’ Hayseed to show other members of their acquisition teams, report producers Martha Kehoe and Laura MacDonald. With a late screening at tiff and screening tapes not available yet, they are still handling calls from acquisition reps who haven’t seen a copy. ‘The Canadian response has been less enthusiastic, but the Canadians will wait for the American lead,’ she predicts.

Kitchen Party producer Christine Haebler is in the midst of negotiating several offers for American and international rights, and at press time anticipated closing deals over the next few days. Director Gary Burns has also signed with the ICM Agency in the u.s.

The international sales tally includes October Films’ $6-million deal for Robert Duvall’s The Apostle, and acquisition of Trey Parker’s Orgazmo; Michael Moore’s The Big One to Miramax; Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s debut film Insomnia, picked up in the u.s. by First Run Features and zdf for Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Jaime Humberto Hermosillo’s Esmeralda Comes by Night to Fine Line; and an undisclosed sale of David Mamet’s The Spanish Prisoner.