The goal of the Canada-France Series Lab is to encourage and facilitate the development of new relationships between Canadian and French producers and fostering the development of projects with strong international potential in a competitive environment and create new co-production opportunities.

From the media release:

“The Canada-France Series Lab will be a year-long initiative starting at Series Mania Forum 2023 and ending at the 2024 event. A selection of 15 producers from each country will be invited to participate in Series Mania Forum 2023 to meet their French/Canadian counterparts and form pairs. Four to five projects presented by these pairs will be selected by a jury of experts and invited to participate in a series of professional workshops. The first workshop will be held in person at the BANFF World Media Festival in June 2023. It will be followed by a virtual coaching cycle from September 2023 to March 2024. The program will end  at the 2024 edition of the Series Mania Forum with the projects’ presentation to potential international financiers.”

An informative webinar will be held on Monday, November 21st. Please register before November 18.

My take: Parlez-vous français? Do you have an idea for a series with strong connections between France and Canada? Something set in the colonial past perhaps? Maybe something set on Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the tiny bit of France directly off Newfoundland? This seems like a fantastic opportunity for series producers looking to build bridges to France, and through it, Europe.