Montreal: Herve Fischer and organizers of Festival Telescience ’97 are introducing an international market program for tv documentaries on scientific topics. The inaugural market and the festival are being held at Cite des Arts et des Nouvelles Technologies in Montreal Oct. 25-28 and are organized in association with the apftq producers association, ACCT-Quebec and Science tv distribution.

The market schedule opens Oct. 26 and goes through to Oct. 28 with a number of prominent documentary industry figures participating, including Francois Sarano of Fondation Cousteau, Didier Lecat of Association Internationale des Televisions d’Education et de Decouverte, Associated Producers’ Elliot Halpern, cbc producer Michael Allder, Richard Elson of Montreal’s Imageries, Carol Ann Davidson of Discovery Channel (Canada) and Jacques Camerlan of TV5 Canada.

Also slated to attend are Zao Zhi Zhen, president of Wuhan tv (prc), representatives from pbs, Tele-Quebec and Donald Wear, president of Discovery Networks International – Discovery (usa).

Jerome Clement, president of La Sept/arte and France’s educational network La Cinquieme, and Robert Normand, president of Tele-Quebec, are scheduled to give a press conference on the morning of Oct. 28 when Clement will launch bps – Banque de programmes et de services numerises de la Cinquieme, La Cinq’s new Data Bank of Programs and Digital Services.

The market is offering producers and distributors a single display kiosk at a cost of $1,140 and is producing a 100-page reference catalogue with a planned distribution of 3,000 copies.

A closing night gala program includes a Festival Telescience Awards presentation and a short speech by Quebec Culture and Communications Minister Louise Beaudoin.