‘Do you want to hear a genuine Hollywood fantasy story?’ asks Chris Teeter, coordinator of the Canadian Music Café. ‘Last year, Molly Johnson got up on stage and sang three songs. At the end of the third one, an American music supervisor… went out to Queen Street West where he could get a cell phone signal, made a call and placed her in the closing credits of a film.’

That movie was You Kill Me, the noir comedy that starred Ben Kingsley and Téa Leoni and opened wide across North America in July.

Not every act has met with the same success as Johnson at the Café, now in its third year, but the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian music industry are excited about the showcase, which looks to pair composers and bands with movies, TV and commercials. It runs at the Rivoli, on Toronto’s trendy Queen Street West, from Tuesday through Thursday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Attending the Café to scout talent are such industry figures as Jennifer Hawks, the music supervisor for DreamWorks SKG Studios; Denise Luiso, the SVP of music for Paramount Pictures; industry consultant Bob Hunka, whose credits include working with Dolly Parton and Jeopardy; music supervisor John Bissell of, among others, Ugly Betty and Ladder 49; Alicen Catron Schneider, VP of music creative services at NBC Universal Television; and Gary Z. Calamar, the Grammy-nominated producer and music supervisor for Six Feet Under, who now oversees the music for Entourage, House, Weeds, Dexter and Cavemen.

Featured acts include the famous (Jarvis Church and Oh Susanna), the semi-famous (Chris Colepaugh and Simon Wilcox) and the obscure. (Nearly everyone else. Have you heard of Camouflage Nights, Die Mannequin or United Steelworkers of Montreal?)

Deal-making is a priority. Each act performs for half an hour in the small, intimate environment of the Rivoli. Then, as the stage is cleared to set up for the next performer, the music supervisors and producers can sit down with artists and management to have a nuts-and-bolts conversation. ‘You can hopefully make deals right then or at least create a relationship that can lead to future talks,’ comments Teeter.

It’s likely that the American music professionals who attend this industry-only series will also be surprised by some of the performers. That’s just fine, according to Teeter. ‘Our first year, in 2005, we went with bigger artists like Ron Sexsmith and Chantal Kreviazuk. A lot of the music supervisors and producers said they could see Ron or Chantal in L.A. anytime. What they want to see are acts that are on the verge making it big up here.’

The process of selecting the acts for the Café is democratic and leans towards political correctness. ‘We want to provide a snapshot of what’s happening in Canadian music right now,’ says the affable Teeter. ‘We try our best, given the applications, to have artists from Victoria to St. John’s, encompassing as many genres, from hip-hop to singer-songwriter. We balance male and female musicians. It’s important for us to be as accurate as possible in reflecting the Canadian scene.’

It’s up to Teeter to listen to all of the entries and winnow down the applications to a list of 40 to 45 artists. Making the final selection of 15 are his producers, the Canadian Recording Industry Association, the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, the Canadian Independent Record Production Association and the Canadian Music Publishers Association.

The choices reflect the diversity of talent, with much weight placed on indie labels. Of the majors, only EMI is represented in a major way this year. Sony BMG, for example, doesn’t seem to be represented at all.