Canada is known for its coproduction treaties and funds, but what hoops do you have to jump through to get hold of the cash? Clive Whittingham asks the experts.

When it comes to coproduction funds and tax credits, you’d be forgiven for thinking Canada is the land of milk and honey, where all the golden-paved roads lead to pots of money.

There are tax credits and media funds in each province; the Canadian Media Fund (CMF), which can double licence fees; and bodies like the Rogers Documentary Fund and the Bell Broadcast & New Media Fund, which have been set up to offset the country’s media consolidation.

Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the CMF, which launched in 2010 and has an annual budget of C$370m (US$340m), says: “People find the Canadian system complex, but we found that coproductions are a compelling way to get content into the market. Money is tight all over the world and the copro approach to content is on the rise.”

The financial advantages are obvious. Maija Leivo, exec producer at Parallax Films, based in White Rock, has used the CMF to coproduce two seasons of Ancient Megastructures with UK prodco Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP) for National Geographic Channel, and Battle Castle with London-based Ballista for History in Canada and Discovery UK.

“DSP approached History in Canada. They weren’t able to fully finance the project as Canadian broadcasters cannot pay foreign producers anywhere near what they’re required to pay Canadian producers,” Leivo says. “You can put the money on-screen and get the opportunity to make something you wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.”

It’s also an opportunity to access skills and talent on both sides of the Atlantic. Pioneer Productions in London worked with Handel Productions in Montreal on Journey to the Edge of the Universe for Discovery Channel in Canada, National Geographic Channel in the US and internationally, and France 5.

Pioneer MD Kirstie McLure says: “There is a huge amount of creative talent in Canada. The CGI is of an excellent standard and there’s a mini Hollywood in Toronto that’s great to produce drama. Also, any project that arrives on a desk in the US with money attached moves one rung up the ladder, so Canada can be a way to get US commissions.”

But it’s certainly not a case of pitching up and being handed the money for nothing. Coproductions, particularly ones trying to access funds via one of Canada’s 55 international treaties, are complicated to put together.

Thirty-six-year TV veteran Peter Raymont, exec producer at Toronto-based White Pine Pictures, says: “There’s definitely more admin and on the creative side you’re adding another partner who wants creative input. If you’re metaphorically getting into bed with somebody you have to be very careful, and there are some copros that have gone off the rails amid creative differences.

“It helps if you’re coproducing with somebody you know, so it’s not like a first date. It can go badly if you jump into bed straight away.”

Don’t think it’s cheap either. Unlocking Canadian funds can enable you to put more money on screen, but the process is in itself expensive. Lilla Hurst, from UK media consultancy Drive, advises against entering into coproductions for low-budget productions.

“You need to put aside 25% of the money you receive to cope with all the extra costs coproduction can bring – so it’s not cheap,” Hurst says. “For companies doing it for the first time it’s worth spending that money on somebody legally qualified because it’s incredibly complicated.

“You have people getting excited about coproduction because they think they’re doubling their money for nothing. In fact, you’re halving your money. You may get more into the budget but an awful lot of it is not being spent on the production. Unless the budget is more than £500,000, think twice.”

It’s a point echoed by McLure at Pioneer, who says producers should prepare for a lengthy and expensive audit with legal fees to match. Then there are the logistical issues of working with a partner thousands of miles away, and trying to satisfy different broadcasters with different needs in different countries.

“Hassle is an under-statement,” says Leivo at Parallax. “I don’t mean to be discouraging but it’s not for the faint of heart. You need to do audits and you’ll need two insurance policies, depending on the relationship. You have to submit the budget breakdown, the breakdown between the two countries, all of your financing contracts and so on.”

UK consultancy Rights TV also advises producers to watch out for money lost in currency conversions from British pound to Canadian and often US dollars. Consultant Jenny Spearing says: “You’ll usually have a finance plan and a budget that’s using at least three currencies. There are a lot of exchange rate fluctuations that can hit you.”

And non-compliance can have drastic consequences. Projects are assessed at their conclusion, which as McLure at Pioneer points out, isn’t the ideal time to find out you’ve breached a rule somewhere and won’t be getting paid after all.

“For a treaty coproduction, you must hire Canadian and British creative talent and if you happen to hire an American, or an editor who happens to be Italian, you can be in real trouble,” she says. “You will have to show everybody’s passports – it’s very thorough. You have to comply to the nth degree and if you don’t it can mean endangering the tax credits paid at the end. You could leave yourself with a very awkward financial hole in your production.”

For Alan Handel, who founded Handel Productions in 1985 and has since carved a niche in the treaty copro area, none of these problems cannot be overcome, and the rewards are worth the effort. Handel recently worked with London-based Arrow Media on Jumbo: The Plane That Changed the World for BBC2 in the UK, Discovery in Canada and Smithsonian Channel in the US – all of which asked for a different length programme.

“You have to be realistic about the fact you have to potentially deliver more than one version,” he says. “The key is to talk to the broadcasters early on and, if possible, get them talking to each other so you can get a version that’s as close as possible to satisfying them all. It’s far from insurmountable.”

Distribution rights to the completed product is another important issue.

Handel says: “It can close off avenues. The model that has emerged over the past few years, where American broadcasters want to pay for and own it, precludes treaty coproduction with Canada. But a number of broadcasters in the US and elsewhere are aware of the value and additional money that can come to the table, so they’re quite open to coproduction. Sometimes the budget goes beyond what they would like to put up themselves in order to own it.”

So what are the tips from the experts for those thinking of entering into this world of dangling cheques and piles of paperwork?

“The first piece of advice is find the right coproducer, and I can’t stress that enough,” Creighton says. “You can spend a lot of time delving into the complexities of the Canadian system but if you find the right relationship they will be well versed in all that.”

“Initially, you have to be drawn to the subject matter of the film and think whether a Canadian broadcaster is likely to be interested in the subject,” Raymont adds. “Then it’s about getting to know the producer. Travel is essential. Skype has helped enormously but you still have to sit across the table from someone and get to know them, face to face.”

For Leivo, the key is bringing unique, individual advantages to the table. “The best copros work when both parties bring something the other one can’t access,” she says. “It doesn’t always make sense if both producers have access to the same broadcasters.

“It is very much like a relationship. People say they’ll bring money from there, we’ll bring it from here, we’ll work it out. It can be like getting married after knowing each other for six weeks – nobody has asked the tough questions like who is going to do this, what is that going to look like, what do we do when somebody doesn’t live up to the other’s expectations?”

Rosemary Klein, head of kids and factual at Rights TV, adds: “Talk to some experienced producers; find out their experiences and about what’s gone wrong. Establish what you’re willing to give up and what your bottom line is.”

Handel advises talking with several Canadian producers before settling on one you’re really happy with, while McLure at Pioneer says expertise on the business affairs side is crucial.

But play by the rules and you too could find a pot of Canadian dollars at the end of the rainbow.