TIFF has brought Ontario Creates’ long-running International Financing Forum under the umbrella of its official market, with 51 projects taking part.
Over the course of three days, TIFF: The Market’s International Financing & Project Market will set the stage for established producers from Canada and around the world to meet top industry decision-makers and start conversations with potential collaborators. A total of 51 projects — 40 features, six series and five immersive or innovative — will be the focus of a programme of activities (September 11-13) designed for producers with track records not just from Canada, the UK, Australia, Italy and Ireland but places like the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Iraq and Taiwan.
If the programme sounds familiar, that is because TIFF: The Market has brought government agency Ontario Creates’ highly regarded and long-running International Financing Forum under its official umbrella. “Ontario Creates has been doing this for 20 years and developed a successful programme,” says Geoff Macnaughton, TIFF vice president, market programming and theatrical, and programmer of Primetime. He adds that conversations with the provincial government agency began years ago, when the idea of the official TIFF market was being developed.
“Prior to even getting federal seed funding, we were in close talks with them,” he says. “For us, it’s important that Ontario Creates is a big presenting partner and sponsor. They are essentially the foundational partner of the programme.”
Voices of experience
The TIFF: The Market team took the lead in sourcing what would ultimately be more than 325 submissions for this year’s roster, working closely with their counterparts at Ontario Creates, who brought their expertise and network to bear with regard to Ontarian producers in particular. “Submissions had to be in advanced development and come from experienced producers that we knew were ready for the opportunity,” says Macnaughton. “They needed to have proof of at least one confirmed level of investment, and the main project producer must have at least one credit on a project that has been distributed internationally or screened at a major festival.”
Participants were also required to bring a market-ready script, pitch deck, financing plan and “competitive” budget that suit the project’s intentions.
“We wanted to ensure that the projects going through this programme have the best shot of being made,” adds Macnaughton.
Among this year’s selections are Canadian drama The Gain starring Marlee Matlin and Jacob Tremblay and produced by Jason James, whose caper All Night Wrong premiered this year at SXSW London; industry veteran Deepa Mehta’s comedic Sherlock Holmes interpretation Sher starring Jeremy Irons and produced by Mehta’s longtime collaborator David Hamilton; and Canada-UK-Germany-Pakistan co-production Salt And Shame from Shehrezade Mian, the Pakistani producer of 2022 TIFF selection Concrete Valley.
The International Financing & Project Market runs three days over opening weekend. “Each day will kick off with networking opportunities, and two of the days will feature more of a closed-room, practical conversation offering direction in relation to the changing landscape,” says Macnaughton. “The rest of the days are structured around key meetings curated by the TIFF: The Market team as well as a self-directed one‑on-one B2B meeting block.”
Macnaughton acknowledges the programme’s obligations mean participating decision-makers — who can be producers looking for co-production partnerships, financiers or sales and distribution executives from the US and Canada — will sometimes be pulled away from covering TIFF’s buzzy schedule of opening weekend festival premieres.
“It’s a balance,” he notes. “If you push the project market element to later dates, then you’re pulling from fewer experts and decision-makers. Our strategy was to lock 60 different decision-makers but not have them over-committed. We could have invited 20 decision-makers doing 20 meetings each, but our goal was to get more decision-makers and fewer commitments, knowing they have so many other things to do while they’re in Toronto.”
For participants who end up finding international partners, TIFF: The Market staff and Ontario Creates president and CEO Karen Thorne-Stone’s team understand what steps are required to navigate co-productions with Canada.
Range of benefits
All the participants, which include Laura McNicholas, producer of Irish Halloween comedy The Mount, whose Spilt Milk premiered at Tallinn Black Nights in 2024 and won the audience award at Glasgow the following year, will benefit from a suite of services. “Everyone that goes through [International Financing & Project Market] gets access to benefits, just as a talent development or producer alumni would,” says Macnaughton.
“We’re here to do anything we can to help after the programme,” he continues. “It’s great to see long-lasting relationships [take shape], whether it’s producer and sales agent, or producer and distributors. It might not be the relationship that gets this particular project made, but I’ve heard about lots of participants who set up a deal [for a subsequent project] that came together through a relationship fuelled through our development programmes and curated networking opportunities.”
This year’s class follows in the footsteps of a storied roster of projects that have gone through the Ontario Creates programme. Since 2006, close to 150 projects have been fully financed. Among the releases are 2016 TIFF and Telluride premiere Maudie starring Sally Hawkins as Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, 2021 action sci-fi Night Raiders, and 2024 TIFF and SXSW entry 40 Acres starring Danielle Deadwyler.
“One of our favourite stories is when a project or an individual comes through our development labs or B2B initiatives, and down the road they premiere their first or second feature at TIFF,” says Macnaughton. “Those stories show the full impact that TIFF can have on a producer or a project. With the market, and specifically with this programme, we have an early way of supporting these producers and projects. It’s kind of a full-circle experience.”
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