Incendo has entered into an exclusive agreement with New York-based distributor FilmRise that will see the Montreal-based co acting as a sales agent for all FilmRise’s TV titles in Canada.

The deal was negotiated by FilmRise CEO Danny Fisher, head of sales Melissa Wohl of Fox, and Incendo’s SVP and managing director Michael McLaughlin.

The first project handled via the new partnership is the scripted Germany-Australia coproduction Manifesto, which has been sold to TMN/HBO Canada and will begin airing this fall. The project, which stars Australian actor Cate Blanchett performing a series of 13 manifestos, is produced and directed by German filmmaker Julian Rosefeldt.

FilmRise also holds North American rights to the Carsey-Werner library, which includes U.S. sitcoms such as the original version of Roseanne, That ’70s Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life and Grace Under Fire, which it distributes through a partnership with Amazon Prime Video in Canada.

Fisher told Playback Daily that in the past FilmRise had been focused primarily on U.S. rights but that Amazon’s arrival in the Canadian market increased the distributor’s ability to sell digital rights north of the border. The newly minted partnership with Incendo marks FilmRise’s entry into Canada on the TV side, said Fisher, adding that Canada is a key market in the company’s expansion efforts. “Now, when we’re buying North American rights, we’re trying to get Canada in every deal because of our Canadian partnerships with Incendo and Amazon Prime,” he said.

Fisher added that Incendo and FilmRise are now exploring a reciprocal scenario, whereby FilmRise would sell Incendo’s TV catalogue in the U.S., though no formal deal has been done yet.

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