As one of the five countries most represented at mip-tv, with 85 stands and 139 participating companies, Canada is proving an emerging presence on the world market.

In addition to following up sales on its Little Miracles series, 13 episodes for which an unnamed u.k. company was bidding with an option for the next 26, Breakthrough Films and Television was down at mip-tv putting its feelers out on a handful of doc-style series and two features it has in development.

Class Act is a Fame-style docudrama on the Randolph School for Performing Arts. The 13 half hours, coproduced with Ron Singer from Hatasa for Life Network, focuses on the teenage students who come from around the world to study at the small Toronto-based school, intertwining their personal lives with their academic pursuits. Niomi Wise is confirmed to direct.

Feeling the Squeeze is a docudrama series on women in the "sandwich generation" for wtn. The 26 half hours, coproduced with Barri Cohen who directed the demo, focuses on middle-aged baby-boomer women crunched between the responsibility for their kids, their parents and their careers.

The idea, says exec producer Ira Levy, is to follow six sample women (i.e., single mom, blue collar worker, white collar worker, mom with big family...) for a year to witness the day-to-day grind of their lives.

Paradise Falls is a night-time serial drama that Levy describes as, "Twin Peaks meets Peyton Place with a dash of Scream."

Taking place in a fictional cottage town in the Muskokas, the 52-part, half-hour series for Showcase tells the dark story of three competing families vying for power.

Written by Alex Galatis and produced by Paula Smith, Paradise Falls, which will be officially launched at mip-com, is distributed by u.k.-based Target Distribution. But, Levy says there's already been presale interest from Channel 4 and 5 in the u.k.

Finally, Breakthrough has two features in the works.

Steal This Life for cbc is directed by Steve Surjik, with sister team Jackie and Catherine May of Toronto-based Working Dog Pictures attached as coproducers and writers. Sarah Polley is slated to star and Alliance Atlantis Communications is distributing.

Once Upon a Dragon, the Dudley the Dragon movie, is a live-action feature produced with Kevin Tierney of Montreal-based Ardglasson Productions and written by Galatis. A director is yet to be announced. aac has distribution.

Next door to Breakthrough under the Telefilm umbrella, Cite Amerique International was looking for presales on Zig Zag, 26 x 15-minute episodes that combine puppets and animatronics, a first of its kind for the Montreal-based company that came out strong in the recent eip funding for drama decisions.

Set in the North Pole, where gigantic glaciers, drifting ice floes, deep fjords and mysterious caves make for wild Nordic adventures, the pre-school series is produced by Louise Richard. It goes into production in June and will be launched at mip Junior.

Also part of the Telefilm group, Tube Studios, which recently wrapped a deal to take over Behaviour Studios in Montreal, turned heads at the market with another northern-set kids series, Nunavut, with 26 x13-minute episodes currently in development with the cbc and TeleQuebec. Based on the designs of Canadian artist Marc Tetro, the series, produced by Roddy McManus and Dominique St-Louis and written by Matthew Cope, combines digital animation with a very unique 2D look.

A story of a little boy on his way to becoming a shaman, the series takes place in a traditional Arctic setting in a non-specified time, and portrays traditional Inuit culture.

"Not being a distributor," says McManus, "means we can basically work with anyone. Broadcasters and networks in the u.s. particularly want to work with the studios directly, which gives us an advantage."

Finally, Portfolio Entertainment launched its first primetime adult drama, An Officer and a Baby, based on the true story of a baby kidnapped by a woman impersonating a hospital nurse. The mow has been picked up by Endemol for international distribution. Portfolio also unveiled three non-fiction series in development: The Home Inspector, a 26-part, half-hour home-buyer's magazine program; Blue Planet Diver, a 13-part, half-hour ocean exploration series, and Weddings and Honeymoons.

Breakthrough: www.itseemslikeyesterday.com

Cite Amerique: www.cite-amerique.com

Tube: www.tubeimages.com