SCREEN FOREVER Set to Welcome Canadian Delegation – Today, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) announced that applications are open for Canada Connect, the third iteration of the ‘Global Connect’ initiative. SPA has partnered with the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) to accelerate co-production financing and partnership opportunities between the two well-established markets brimming with promise.
Canada Connect will be a curated and competitive co-production market and part of the SPA Connect Market. Australian producers selected to participate will be joined by leading Canadian screen industry practitioners with projects and business ideas that complement and align with their projects.
After the success of UK Connect in 2023 and Ireland Connect earlier in 2024, the 2025 Canada Connect initiative is slated to grow with an up to 30-person strong delegation made up of Australian and Canadian producers, which is significantly larger than the previous two iterations. The delegation will also include key executives from the Canadian screen sector, which will be confirmed in the coming months.
Hosted on Queensland’s iconic Gold Coast, the delegation will have the enviable opportunity to connect and build their networks through exclusive B2B activities on 5 May, the day before SCREEN FOREVER 39 begins.
During the main conference from 6 – 8 May 2025, all selected delegates will also benefit from bespoke 1-1 introductions to further international relations between screen businesses in Australia and Canada. They will also be available for meetings with other delegates as part of the SPA Connect Market.
“We’re excited to welcome another international delegation to Australia’s premier screen industry event, SCREEN FOREVER. SPA has a long-standing relationship with the CMPA, and we are pleased to be working alongside them to bring a curated delegation together to foster two-way cultural exchanges and new working relationships,”
– said SPA CEO Matthew Deaner.
“Since the Australia / Canada co-production treaty was established in 1990, over 70 co-productions have been recorded across genres including animation, documentary, drama, and feature film, and through Canada Connect, we hope to add to this. We want to thank our friends at the CMPA for partnering on Canada Connect. We look forward to meeting the Canadian delegation and providing a creative environment, facilitating the sharing of important and unique stories,”
– said Mr Deaner.
“While the distance between our two countries is great, our media production sectors have never been closer. We share a passion for stories that reflect the people and places of our two vast countries, and this is reinforced by recent collaborative projects from Australian and Canadian producers. We are excited to build on this at Screen Forever in 2025,”
said Reynolds Mastin, President and CEO, Canadian Media Producers Association.
Given the opportunities on offer, SPA anticipates a high volume of applications to participate in the initiative. SPA encourages all interested in participating to submit their applications as soon as possible.
Recognising the importance of Indigenous storytelling and shared experiences, both SPA and the CMPA will make positions in the program available for Indigenous practitioners.
Canada Connect applicants from Australia must hold a valid SCREEN FOREVER 39 registration. This does not apply to Indigenous applicants.
Applicants must be available to be on the ground on Queensland’s Gold Coast from 5 – 8 May 2025.
Applications for Canada Connect are now open and close at 5.00pm AEDT, 13 January 2025. More details on Canada Connect can be found on the SPA Connect Market page of the SCREEN FOREVER 39 website.
Link to Canada Connect webpage HERE.
Link to SCREEN FOREVER 39 website HERE.
Media Release – SPA
Link to SPA HERE
TV Central Screen Australia content HERE
SCREEN FOREVER Set to Welcome Canadian Delegation
