microcosm of the film industry, doc producers have been traditionally long on ideas and short on funds. But the global village that’s emerged in the last half-decade spawned hope, maybe even optimism, in filmmakers adapted to scraping their own pockets to put productions together.

In the words of producer Linda Frum, because of international sales, ‘there may come a time when the words `documentary’ and `profit’ appear in the same sentence.’

But however tempting is the potential return of tapping the global market, the available, expanded marketplace in which to sell documentaries isn’t fundamentally changing project development for every producer. For some, sales outside of Canada are an afterthought; others are thinking international sales from first draft. Case-in-point: Ms. Conceptions and The Choirmaster, two Canadian documentaries nominated at this year’s Banff Television Festival.

International sales for Ms. Conceptions, the internationally acclaimed tale of pregnancy circa 1990, span four continents. Total sales are in excess of $85,000 since its release at mip-tv in April.

It’s been a whopping surprise to have interest from so many places, says George Matta of Mundovision, distributor of Ms. Conceptions. Even the countries that don’t support artificial insemination or tolerate single parenthood are clamoring after the film. ‘It’s the `look at those crazy North Americans,’ factor,’ Matta says.

‘The breadth of sales continues to amaze us,’ says author Frum, who acted as coproducer on the doc with director/producer Ric Esther Bienstock of Good Soup Productions.

Selling to the international community played a significant role in project development from day one, says Frum. The topic was chosen with an eye to it having universal appeal to its core target, the Western world.

The primary cast was Canada-based while the supporting cast came from London, New York and Toronto. The film captured subjects with diverse origins and tangibly different accents. ‘The wisdom is that if you shoot widely, you’ll appeal to more people,’ says Frum.

At the other end of the spectrum is The Choirmaster, a film in which cast and setting don’t venture outside the small town of Kingston, Ont.

Produced by 90th Parallel Productions and cbc Witness, The Choirmaster chronicles the life of John Gallienne, the choirmaster of a North America-renowned choir who sexually abused his choirboys for 16 years. The project was put in motion with a phone call last summer from Mark Starowitz, executive producer, documentaries for cbc, which funded 100% of the production.

Last month’s pickup by Channel 4 in Britain is a pleasant surprise, but in no way did the possibility of international sales influence project development, says producer Gordon Henderson of 90th Parallel.

The boys’ experiences are the core of the film, although the parallel story of how Kingston itself was seduced by Gallienne’s talent and charm provides an equally compelling subplot.

Says Henderson: ‘It would have been ridiculous to have Kingston play a smaller role and add extraneous information so that maybe we could sell it in Ohio.

‘I wonder whether focusing on the international market doesn’t weaken your product. As Canadians, we want to tell our own stories, and if we can make them to get the volume of audience here, we won’t have to depend on foreign sales to make it work.’

While it may not have been built for the world at large, The Choirmaster has garnered attention not only from the Brits, but from the committee behind the U.S. International Film and Video Festival, which at press time had just awarded the film the Gold Camera Award for documentary at the ceremony in Chicago.