Canadian producer Niv Fichman (Blindness, Silk) will be on hand as the senior resource instructor at Trans Atlantic Partners International Coproduction: Focus Europe and Canada (TAP), scheduled for June and September in Berlin and Halifax.

The two-part training program for Canadian and European producers is a joint initiative of Halifax's Strategic Partners and Germany's Erich Pommer Institut.

'Trans Atlantic co-productions are vital to the future of financing films in a very difficult economic environment,' said Fichman in a statement. 'It's my hope that by learning from our experiences in the past, we can streamline existing financing structures, and create new production models for the future.'

TAP offers an intensive training programme designed to help producers navigate the complexities of international co-production while providing an opportunity to network with leaders in the Canadian and European industries.

Fichman will present a case-study analysis of Silk, a European-Canadian co-production directed by Francois Girard. In his 30 years in the business, Fichman has amassed more than 200 production credits, including last year's highest-grossing Canadian film Passchendaele.

TAP Module 1 runs June 13-18, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Module 2 takes place September 15-20, 2009 in Halifax, Nova Scotia during the 12th annual Strategic Partners coproduction conference.