The National Screen Institute-Canada is launching a new program aimed at increasing the marketing and deal-making savvy of Canadian producers hitting the international festival circuit.

A partnership with Toronto-based Cultural Enterprises International, the Going To Market workshops will be held prior to international festivals/markets and are tailored to the specifics of the particular event, offering insider information and tips on how best to work the individual market as well as providing more general pointers on film marketing skills and sales techniques.

The program is intended to set Canadian writers, directors and producers above the crowd at international markets, says nsi executive director Cheryl Ashton, through specific, festival-related intelligence.

cei principals Mireille Watson and Catherine Hurley are facilitating the new nsi initiative. Watson describes the workshops as in-depth festival preparation seminars. In addition to providing detailed overviews and backgrounders of the festivals themselves, the workshops will feature a lineup of guest speakers from within each festival as well as from other areas of the film and television industry.

In coming weeks, nsi plans to announce the slate of international festivals the workshop series will target over the next year. Watson anticipates the workshops will be held throughout Canada, roughly a month before the international festivals begin. She says the plan is to keep registration fees minimal and work with sponsors.

A pilot version of the Going To Market workshop is set for this month’s Banff Television Festival.