The ‘My Name is Emily’ producer has been selected for the seventh edition of the Producers Lab Toronto and was nominated by the Irish Film Board.
Orpen Lynch is also set to present a case study on Irish-Canadian co-production ‘Unless’, directed by Alan Gilsenan.
The networking programme is organised by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Kennedy is one of 24 producers from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand who will participate in the lab, which launches alongside the Toronto International Film Festival from September 6th-9th 2016.
Participants were selected by the event's five partners according to their significant experience in co-production, and will present new projects with international market potential, and will discuss funding information and co-production deals. This comes following the announcement of a €150k Development fund by BAI and Canada Media Fund (CMF) in April of this year. In addition Ireland has enjoyed a wealth of recent co-productions such as Whit Stillman’s ‘Love & Friendship’ and Alan Gilsenan’s ‘Unless’.
Gilsenan's project was facilitated by the networking platform, having originally been presented at the Producers Lab in 2011. ‘Unless’ will also enjoy its world premiere at TIFF 2016. The Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch will present the project's genesis in a case study together with his Canadian partner Jennifer Kawaja from Sienna Films to this year's participants.
The Producers Lab is financially supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme in association with Screen Australia, the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), the participating EFP member organisations, Eurimages and Telefilm Canada.
The participants of the Producers Lab Toronto 2016 will take part in various networking events, from 1:1 meetings, funding sessions on the different possibilities in Canada, Down Under and Europe through different financing models to the case study on ‘Unless’.
Irish producer Tristan Orpen Lynch comments on the impact that the Producers Lab 2011 had on the film's development:
"Producers Lab Toronto 2011 was extremely helpful for us in setting up our Irish-Canadian co-production feature film ‘Unless’. From meeting great Canadian Producers at Sienna Films and all the funding agencies to also being able to advance the project creatively, the experience provided a great framework for the start of the collaboration. It is fitting that the completed film will now have its World Premiere at TIFF 2016."
The Producers Lab is praised for enabling trans-Atlantic co-productions, boasting an intensive exchange between participants who are still in regular contact with one another and in talks on seven prospective co-productions.
