Heading out of the 1998 Banff Television Festival’s Market Simulation, a&e and pbs are both courting Norflicks’ David Wesley and Pixcom’s Andre Barro for their doc series The French In America. Pitcher Glen Salzman of Montreal-based Cineflix is in negotiations with the cbc to develop the 13-part, half-hour series Dogs With Jobs and Discovery Canada is interested in taking a window.

pbs has shown the most active interest in French in America, says Wesley, and a deal with the u.s. pubcaster ‘looks likely.’ An American sale will seal the financing on the $2.5-million to $3-million series, which maps the trail of the French communities that settled North America and the Caribbean in the 1500s through to present-day descendants. History Television and tfo have committed to development. Britain is still open and Wesley plans to follow up with Channel 4 and the bbc.

Discussions with Animal Planet in the u.s. are underway for Dogs With Jobs, says Salzman. The doc series, created and penned by Merrily Weisbord, profiles working canines around the world and is shot from the pov of the critters themselves. The budget is $200,000 per episode. A distribution deal with Mediamax for international sales is in place. Production is skedded for late fall, early winter.

The remaining pitchers at the Market Simulation session all report tangible leads but no signed deals.

Michael Blakstad, chairman of Workhouse tv in the u.k., headed west in search of a Canadian coproducer for his half-hour animated series Little Pod’s Mission. He returned home in talks with four potential Canadian partners, all of which he says fulfill his wish list – companies with animation, science and kids’ programming experience.

The us$150,000 per half-hour show, aimed at kids aged seven to 11, explores the secrets of the universe. Blakstad’s plan is for the animation and shooting to take place in Canada. While broadcasters in Canada and the u.s. have shown interest, no deals have been made, he says.

Aiming for a development deal on the two-hour factual drama The Process, Andre Singer, ceo of Cafe Productions in the u.s., says serious talks are underway with hbo and initial discussions with the bbc at Banff are being followed up. Singer says he would like to sign deals with both broadcasters, saying the combination is ‘an ideal partnership.’ NHK Norway has already taken a prebuy.

The behind-the-scenes thriller about the Oslo peace process is based on the book The Process by Uri Savir. Estimated budget is £1.3 million.

Showtime, hbo and Lifetime have all requested scripts for the SDA Productions/Lifeboat Productions tv movie The Stork Derby, the true story of a Toronto lawyer who left $1 million in his will to the woman in the city who had the most babies in the 10 years following his death. The $3-million project has been licensed to Citytv and sda president Andre Picard is also following up leads with bbc and Channel 4.

During the Market Simulation, John Pattison and Steven Westren’s zany comedy pitch Puppets Who Kill sparked instant interest from the cbc and The Comedy Network. Post-Banff, Westren’s agent, Tina Horwitz at Toronto-based Credentials, will say only that negotiations are underway with several players.

The winners of the 1997 National Screen Institute Drama Prize, Susan Terril and Katherine Baulu, came to Banff to take part in the nsi’s Pitching Workshop. The trip appears to have paid off. Their pitch for Party Girls was chosen by tvontario’s Rudy Buttignol and bbc’s Paul Hamann as the winner of the Two In A Room pitching competition.

The doc is a quirky look at the women submersed in the house-party culture, selling everything from lingerie to Tupperware.

Also, coming out of Banff, Rajiv Maikhuri, exec producer of Renaissance in Flames, reports that Franco Zeffirelli is interested in directing the four-hour historical miniseries to be coproduced by SAI Films and Avanti Pictures in Canada and SAI Picture Company in the u.k.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sir Derek Jacobi are considering signing on for lead roles in the drama, based on the true story of the monk Savonarola who seized control of Florence during the Italian Renaissance, culminating in the Bonfire of the Vanities which saw priceless works of art go up in flames. Jeanne Harco is the creator/co-writer on the project, to be produced by Leigh Beidghly and Maikhuri.