The Canada-France Series Lab is a joint venture by Series Mania Forum, Telefilm Canada, and the CNC, in partnership with the French Embassy in Canada, the Embassy of Canada in France and the Canada Media Fund and Ontario Creates. Its main goal is to encourage and facilitate co-productions of audiovisual fiction series between Canadian and French producers. The Canada-France Series Lab offers them new meeting opportunities and fosters the development of projects with strong international potential in a competitive environment.
The 2024-2025 edition is made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Alberta Film Commission, the Alliance des producteurs francophone du Canada, the Black Screen Office, the Canadian Media Producers Association, the Indigenous Screen Office and l’Union syndicale de la production audiovisuelle.
The Canada-France Series Lab is a joint venture by
In partnership with
In collaboration with
2024-2025 edition
For its second edition, the Canada-France Series Lab will take place online and in person from September 2024 to March 2025. The program is opened to pairs of French and Canadian co-producers who are developing an audiovisual fiction series together and wish to be supported in its creative and financing structuration and presentation to the global market. On the agenda: professional workshop in Canada (September 29 – October 2, 2024), online mentoring and training sessions (September 2024 – March 2025), pitch session and meetings with decision-makers at the Series Mania Forum (March 25-27, 2025).
“A prestigious and intense program which offers the possibility of discovering the actors, opportunities and challenges of the co-production of series between France and Canada.”
— Tatiana Maksimenko, producer, Effervescence Fiction, participant in the first edition of the Canada-France Séries Lab
jury
The four projects have been selected by a jury of five experienced Canadian and French industry professionals composed of:
– Aude Albano, Producer and Head of Series, Pathé (France);
– Christina Fon, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Scripted Content, Shaftesbury (Canada);
– Cynthia Kennedy, International TV Executive and former Vice President, Distribution, Québecor Media (Canada)
“I am very grateful to have been part of the selection process along with such great jury members. I wish the selected projects all the best for their further development process and cannot wait to see them come to life.”
— Aude Albano, Producer and Head of Series, Pathé and member of the jury
“Shaftesbury has produced over 30 international co-productions, and it has proven to be one of the most productive ways to get shows made. Being part of this jury allows Shaftesbury to continue to hear new voices and be actively involved in this great France/Canada partnership.”
— Christina Fon, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships & Scripted Content, Shaftesbury and member of the jury
“I am impressed by the diversity and originality of the projects selected for this year’s Canada-France Séries Lab, as well as the passion and enthusiasm of the producers. We look forward to seeing their development and evolution when they are presented at Séries Mania next March.”
— Cynthia Kennedy, International TV Executive, and member of the jury
SELECTED PROJECTS
DUEL ON THE OCEAN
Genre : Drama, Action, Environmental
Format : 6 x 46 min
Series created and written by : Pierre CATTAN & Rostaim YAVARI
Produced by : Pierre Cattan for Small Bang (France) and Ryan Lindsay and Daniel Fortin for Kontent House Productions (Canada)
Captain Philomène Kyros challenges billionaire Bob Wolton to a zero-carbon cargo race between Le Havre and Montreal. Low-tech versus AI, which model for the future of maritime commerce? Soon, the stakes go far beyond the race.
MORNING, PARIS!
Genre : Comedy, Romance
Format : 8 x 30 min
Series created and written by : Quentin LEE
Produced by : Quentin Lee for Margin Films (Canada) and Thomas Buchwalder for Cactus Films (France)
Morning, Paris! is a half hour romantic comedy series about an ambitious fashion design assistant, who is slighted by her boss, accepting an unlikely proposal from a security guard, who has a crush on her, to break into Paris Fashion Week by hook or by crook.
NANCY
Genre : Drama, Historical
Format : 8 x 60 min
Series created and written by : Laura KEIGHTLEY, Sharon BUCKINGHAM, and Heidi LASI
Produced by : Heidi Lasi for Pelee Entertainment, Sharon Buckingham for TSB Productions, Laura Keightley for Create to Elevate Productions (Canada) and Alida Klung and Didier Falk for Will Production (France)
In the 1920s and 1930s, Nancy Cunard, the child of the titled scion of the Cunard Shipping Line and heiress to her mother’s fortune, breaks ranks with the aristocracy and embarks on her roller coaster life as a poet, publisher, journalist, race activist, and social justice warrior.
ONCE UPON A LIE
Genre : Crime
Format : 6 x 60 min Series created and written by : Marion CECINAS (France) and ROB STOCKMAN (Canada) Produced by : Andrew McCann Smith for Play Media (Canada) and Thibaud Sonntag for Henri Flèche Productions (France)
In 1980s France, a struggling Canadian writer creates a lucrative penpal scheme, posing as a group of seductive “fairies” to ensnare lonely men. But as the lie grows and his grip on reality slips, he must protect the fragile world he’s built—or risk losing the only identity he has left.
SARA’S CHOICES
Genre : Drama
Format : 4 x 52 min
Series created and written by : Morgane BECERRIL and Laurent LÉVY
Produced by : Théo Laboulandine pour Melocoton Films (France) and Eric Idriss-Kanago and Daniela Mujica for Yzanakio (Canada)
Sara, a French spirited young geneticist, fights to find remedy for a rare disease, using the case of the young 6 years old Titouan. As a race against time unfolds, a prominent Canadian scientist attempts to seize the fruits of her research, threatening to jeopardize everything.
key dates
- September 29 – October 2, 2024 : Toronto workshop
Our newly selected pairs of Canada-France co-producers are kicking off their mentoring program with an in-person workshop in Toronto.
On the agenda:- learn everything there is to know about international co-production;
- take a dip into the thriving local screen ecosystem – including visits to the Cinespace and Pinewood studios;
- and connect with top-notch Canadian TV executives such as Bell Media, the CBC and Lionsgate Canada.
Thanks to our local partners, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates, Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), Canada Media Fund and the Embassy of France in Canada which made our workshop possible.
- October 2024 – March 2025, online: individual mentoring consultations with experts and meetings with stakeholders
- March 25-27, 2025, at Series Mania Forum, Lille, France: pitch sessions and meetings with potential partners and buyers
PRELIMINARY PHASE
The preliminary phase of Canada-France Series Lab took place at Series Mania Forum 2024 during which seventeen Canadian and French producers took part in three days of matchmaking sessions and talks with industry experts to learn more about the Canada-France coproduction and try to find their co-production partner.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES AND PRODUCERS SELECTED TO THE PRELIMINARY PHASE
FRENCH COMPANIES
- HENRI FLECHE PRODUCTION – Thibaud Sonntag, producer
- MELOCOTON FILMS – Théo Laboulandine, producer
- RNB FILMS – JC Louis, producer, creator and director
- SMALL BANG – Pierre Cattan, producer and Rostaim Yavari, writer
- SWAN & LES FILMS DU CYGNE – Alexandre Charlet, producer
- WILDCATS PRODUCTIONS – Odile McDonald, producer
- WILL PRODUCTION – Didier Falk, producer
CANADIAN COMPANIES
- BAROQUE FILMS – Nicolas Canuel, producer and Luc Boulanger, creator and writer
- FAE PICTURES – Shant Joshi, producer
- FAMILIAR FILMS – Jessica Landry, producer
- MARGIN FILMS – Quentin Lee, producer and creator
- PELEE ENTERTAINMENT – Heidi Lasi, producer
- PLAY MEDIA – Andrew McCann Smith, producer
- REIGN FILMS – Magali Gillon-Krizaj, producer
- VITALITY MEDIA PRODUCTIONS – Jeffery Kopas, producer
- YZANAKIO – Daniela Mujica, producer and Eric Idriss-Kanago, producer
- ZAZIE FILMS – Dominic Desjardins, producer
CONTACT
If you have any questions regarding the programme, please contact us at ca-fr.serieslab@seriesmania.com
Note that this page will be updated on a regular basis.
