Canada and Ukraine announce the third edition of #ucancoproduce

The third Conference on co-production in the film industry between Ukraine and Canada #ucancoproduce will take place on February 20, during the international film festival Berlinale and EFM. The event will be held on the initiative of the Ukrainian Motion Picture Association (UMPA), Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), with the informational support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency (USFA). Organizer – Media Resources Management (MRM).

The #ucancoproduce initiative is aimed at putting into practice the Agreement on the Joint Production of Audiovisual Works between Canada and Ukraine ratified in 2020. Despite the ongoing war, Ukrainian producers continue to work and look for new content production opportunities, including with partners from Canada. Government institutions and independent companies producing audiovisual content in Canada are also determined to cooperate with and support Ukraine.

The program of the third Conference includes presentation of new cooperation opportunities with Canada in 2023, the peculiarities of cooperation for Ukraine, the production opportunities, and current projects of Ukrainian producers. Also, during the event, for the first time will be presented the results of the industry's work and unique cases of production and distribution of the military year 2022.

Speakers taking part in the discussion: Julie Blondin (National Director, Business Affairs and Coproduction, Telefilm Canada), Victoria Yarmoshchuk (Executive Director of Ukrainian Motion Picture Association, Deputy representative of Ukraine at Eurimages, CEO of FILM.UA Group), Polina Tolmachova (Member of the Council for State Support of Cinematography), Tommy Lupinacci (VORTEX Media), Сanadian and Ukrainian producers (TBA).

"International coproduction is currently very important for Ukraine. Thanks to joint production, the industry will ensure its sustainability and place in the international context of audiovisual content. We are grateful that our partners understand this and support us. We will look for cooperation opportunities in difficult circumstances. We are sure of finding win-win arrangements – we have something to offer the world. I think new interesting coproduction films and series will appear shortly" – Victoria Yarmoshchuk, Executive Director of Ukrainian Motion Picture Association, CEO of FILM.UA Group, Deputy representative of Ukraine at Eurimages.

"These conferences open doors and encourage both Canada and Ukraine producers to connect, explore and collaborate on possible joint projects under the Canada-Ukraine treaty, which came into effect in January 2021. In the ongoing situation in Ukraine, we are making a conscious effort to inspire content creation between our two countries through coproduction opportunities" – Francesca Accinelli, Interim Executive Director and CEO of Telefilm Canada.