EXCLUSIVE: Canada’s new-look Farpoint Distribution is hitting the Croisette for the first time with a 700-hour slate for MIPCOM.
This October’s confab marks the market debut of Farpoint Distribution after acquiring Craig McGillivray’s Toronto-based 10Star Media over the summer and pushing into the unscripted space for the first time.
Having been the sales arm of Farpoint Films since 2019, Winnipeg-based Farpoint Distribution will have feature films such as Ryan Cooper and Eva Thomas’ Aberdeen, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Gail Maurice (Bones of Crows) as a woman force to rise above hardships to save her grandkids.
Also on the slate are history programs such as Nazis: Threads of Evil and Season 2 of Super Channel supernatural series Ghosts Off Grid. Fara Heim is an upcoming eight-part expedition series for Viasat World and Super Channel about two Icelandic explorers from a small town who seek to discover if their ancestors, the Vikings, reached American centuries before Christopher Columbus.
“Farpoint’s True Crime output is one of the best, if not the best, in the industry, but we also have so many other unique programs that I’ll be bringing to this year’s MIPCOM,” said McGillivray, Farpoint Distribution President. “Broadcasters are looking for engaging, entertaining and quality-made programs that speak to international audiences and I’m confident our slate will resonate with them.”
The deal 10Star deal brought McGillivray’s large unscripted library, including the likes of Departures, Descending and Mantracker, into the Farpoint fold. It was brought with it an output deal with Canadian speciality net Super Channel.
Industry veterans McGillivray and Greg Rubidge had only launched 10Star in 2022, hitting the market as a producer distributor and financier. McGillivray previously worked at several major Canadian TV distributors, including Breakthrough Entertainment, Peacock Alley Entertainment and DHX Media. Rubidge is known as President of digital distributor Syndicado.
Farpoint Distribution has sales agents in Vancouver, Toronto and London, UK. Its parent, Farpoint Films, is known for titles including Finding Diamonds and Alter Boys for CBC Gem, The Swearing Jar, Seeking F.I.R.E., Ice Vikings, Wintertide, From The Vine, Sorry For Your Loss and Menorca.
MIPCOM begins a week today (Monday, October 21) and runs until October 24.