The Motion Picture Theatre Associations of Canada believes there is not enough dialogue between Canadian producers and exhibitors. But it hopes to change that at the 17th edition of ShowCanada, its annual exhibitor/ distributor conference and trade show, slated for April 30 to May 3, by bringing in producers to hype their wares.

‘There’s been little information about what’s in the pipeline,’ says Adina Lebo, executive director of MPTAC and ShowCanada chair, ‘and this is an attempt to have information sooner on what’s in development, what’s going into production and what’s ready for the screens.’

Lebo believes that producers can also benefit greatly from theatre owners’ feedback.

‘The exhibitors are the people who are closest to the audience,’ she says. ‘ShowCanada 2003 will give [producers] an opportunity to talk to people who are in immediate contact with the audience as to what the audience wants.’

The conference, being held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, will be launching a program entitled Producers at ShowCanada. The initiative features producer-oriented sessions May 2 and 3, and producers are also invited to seminars on upcoming Canadian films organized by Telefilm Canada and participating distributors. These seminars will provide market demographics and monthly box-office breakdowns from Howard Lichtman, president of marketing consultancy The Lightning Group, to help plan the best time to release films.

There will also be screenings, aimed at drumming up exhibitor interest, of highly anticipated Canadian films including Mambo Italiano, a comedy from Montreal producer Cinemaginaire and distributor Equinox Films.

Lebo feels that the kind of dialogue ShowCanada offers is more important than ever for producers, with funding access now hinging heavily on box-office potential. While MPTAC is all for the growth of Canadian production, it does not believe that will come through legislating the number of homegrown productions appearing on Canadian screens.

‘You can’t legislate people to put down their $12 to go see something,’ she offers.

Instead, Lebo sees marketing as the key and points to lessons from Hollywood as well worth heeding.

‘The marketing and promotion – and assembly of elements for that task – starts basically as the film is being shot, and we can take advantage of promotional possibilities right through the shoot up until the actual release,’ she explains.

Although Telefilm has committed to increased marketing support, Canuck productions’ marketing budgets remain nowhere near those of the Hollywood machine, so the Canadian industry has to compensate by marketing smarter. Lebo points to the interest-piquing online campaign of Artisan Entertainment’s The Blair Witch Project as a perfect example of ingenuity triumphing over grandiosity.

The ShowCanada trade show floor traditionally sees a lot of business conducted between distributors and exhibitors and also includes the participatation of theatre suppliers such as manufacturers of projectors, screens and seats and concession companies.