Earlier this month, The Partners’ Film Company ended its 10-year relationship with Montreal commercial production company La Fabrique d’Images. Soon after, the Toronto spot producer struck a mutual representation deal with Jet Films in Montreal and hooked up with the recently relaunched Critical Madness Productions in Winnipeg.

The new deals leave Partners’ roster with solid representation throughout central Canada, (including a strong relationship with White Iron of Calgary), but it does not have partnerships on the East or West Coasts.

Partners’ head Don McLean says the parting with Fabrique was amicable.

‘We have decided to take our directorial group over to Jet [for representation in Quebec],’ says McLean. ‘We’ve said good-bye to La Fabrique, but believe me, with no ruffled feathers.’

Fabrique president and executive producer Denis Martel says the split with Partners’ was ‘very, very cool. Don is a great man. I am very appreciative for all the things we have done together.’

Wasting no time, Martel says Fabrique is in negotiations with two Toronto commercial producers and a new deal is imminent.

Under the Jet agreement, the Montreal house will represent Partners’ roster in Quebec while Partners’ will push Jet’s directors in Ontario. Both companies will also work to facilitate the other’s productions when visiting their respective cities.

The Jet roster includes directors Curtis Wehrfritz, Francois Gingras, Gabriel Pelletier, Guillaume de Fontenay, Herman Weeb, Jean-Francois Pothier, Louis-Pascal Couvelaire, Martin Talbot, Mireille Veillet and Sylvain Archambault.

‘[Montreal is] a tough town for a Toronto company to go into and set up and shoot. You really need help down there to organize a production,’ McLean says.

The part of the deal that sees Partners’ pushing the Jet roster in Toronto may turn out to be the most difficult aspect of the agreement. According to McLean, his company had little success marketing Fabrique’s roster in Toronto.

‘I don’t think we ever got a job for one of their directors, and there are some really first-class directors down there. They don’t seem to see much demand in this market,’ McLean says.

Although McLean can offer no guarantees things will be different with the Jet roster, he says, ‘we will certainly try [to market Jet directors in Toronto].’

Despite this, Jet cfo Richard Speer believes there is a place in Toronto for his directors.

‘I think Quebec directors have a different sort of edge than what’s being offered now in Toronto. Fly-ins could be from Quebec, not only from the States,’ he says.

Speer says the ‘open-ended deal’ will be re-evaluated, possibly within six months, ‘to see what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong.’

For now, Jet is pleased it has taken the next step in the relationship it has developed with Partners’. ‘I have a very good feeling. I think Mr. McLean is an icon for the industry,’ says Speer.

As for the Critical Madness agreement, which sees the Winnipeg shop representing Partners’ roster in Manitoba but not vice versa, McLean explains he is married to a Manitoban and has always had ‘a soft spot for Manitoba.’ After receiving a phone call from Critical Madness owner Jeff Peeler, McLean decided to do business.

‘He seems like a nice guy, so we made a deal with him,’ McLean explains. Although the Partners’ executive understands ‘you can count the amount of production that comes out of Manitoba on a couple of fingers,’ he also observes ‘they do have government work.’

Peeler is excited about the new relationship.

‘For the handful of projects in this market that require an out-of-town director, we have a direct link to some of Canada’s best,’ he says. *

-www.partnersfilm.com