Looking to boost coproductions between Canada and Europe, the Toronto International Film Festival will host the new Producers Lab Toronto this fall. .

The three-day event, a collaboration with European Film Promotion and the OMDC, will join select producers from Canada and Europe in a series of pitching sessions, roundtable meetings and case studies to exchange ideas and discuss potential future copro projects.

‘More than ever [producers] need to partner, particularly if you’re looking to make films that travel outside of Europe or of a linguistic territory. Canada is a natural partner because we’re the gateway to North America,’ OMDC’s manager of industry initiatives James Weyman tells Playback Daily.

He says the program also builds on the OMDC’s strategy to have a broader reach into Europe, including territories that Canada may not have worked with yet, pointing out that EFP is connected to every film commission in the European Union.

The initiative is backed by the EU’s new Media International Programme, and will accommodate 12 producers from Canada and 12 from Europe.

Canuck participants — who will be picked by TIFF and the OMDC — must have a valid producer credit on a film that’s been released in Canada and a proven track record in international coproduction. Producers can begin applying on Monday through the OMDC’s website. The group of 24 participants will be announced in July.

Producers Lab Toronto will run from Sept. 10-12.