Ep. 44: The Pros and Cons of Co-Pros

On this episode of TIFF Long Take, Rob and Geoff chat with Diana Elbaum, prolific Belgian producer and founder of Entre Chien et Loup. She is one of the leading advocates of international co-productions, a model that has led to a number of recent Canadian successes like Room and Brooklyn (both co-pros with Ireland). In this episode, Elbaum explains why being a producer is not the glamorous life it’s made out to be, and how co-productions help smaller countries create thriving film scenes while allowing filmmakers to make more ambitious movies on limited budgets. She also discusses the headaches that come with co-producing, and how the declining popularity of European cinema amongst North American audiences has changed her job.