Canadians are among the most experienced coproducers in the world, with Montreal-based companies at the heart of the action year in, year out. It’s big business, with well over $1 billion worth of film and tv projects coproduced with Canadian partners in the past five years.

In the first seven months of this year, Canada and its partners have produced 24 film and tv projects with cumulative budgets of $173 million, says Deborah Drisdell, Telefilm Canada coproduction manager.

Last year, official coproduction dollars totaled $227.8 million (53% Canadian participation), down slightly from the record $328 million in ’94.

Again this year, a majority of projects have been coproduced with France – 15 of 24 – with the u.k. following with four projects.

Canada has 36 coproduction treaties with 44 countries and is currently in negotiations with South Africa. A treaty could be signed as early as this fall, says Drisdell.

According to Drisdell, Canadian producers have overcome the negative kind of ‘creative compromises’ historically associated with coproduction. She says more projects fall into the ‘market-driven’ category, and adds: ‘We can access the American market as very few other countries in the world can.’

Besides the industrial and market benefits in dealing with Canadians, Drisdell says certified coproductions qualify as 100% Canadian content and have access to most public and private funding.

The next Canada France Mixed Commission on Coproduction is set to take place in France following the Oct. 7-11 mipcom program market.

Drisdell says ‘a conscious effort in 1994 and 1995 to rebalance feature film coproduction between Canada and France’ has succeeded with the advent of more minority Canadian feature film projects.

In the French-track market, with the exception of a handful of telefilms, coproduced series are virtually non-existent.

‘The French-language broadcasters in Quebec have generally not been supportive of coproduction,’ says Drisdell. ‘At the last Mixed Commission in ’94, the French producers actually asked to meet with the broadcasters to try and work with them. Unfortunately, it is much easier (in tv) to deal in the English-language market.

‘Some aspects are becoming more complicated because we’re getting into trilateral coproduction, resulting in more diversification with newly active partners like the Czech Republic,’ she says.

1996 partnerships

Montreal producers and their French partners with official live-action coproduction entries in ’96 include: Films Stock International and erp, Cinemaginaire and Films du Lendemain, Productions Millestar (Transfilm/e.g.m.) and Compagnie des Images, Cinepix Film Properties and FIT Productions, Filmline International and Gaumont Television, Verseau International and Septembre Productions, Aska Film and Hamster Productions, and PRH (Roger Heroux) and PM Audiovisuel.

Other partnerships forged this year include: Cine-Groupe, France’s Films de la Perrine and Germany’s Ravenburger; Productions La Fete and the Czech Republic’s Kratky Film; Hysteria Productions (Rene Daalder) and the u.k.’s Screen Partners; Productions D’Amerique Francaise, Russia’s Gambit Production SP and Poland’s Lenfilm Studios; and Productions du Regard, Switzerland’s Films de la Cassine and France’s Societe Dschoint Ventschr A.G.