"I think it had the most remarkable response to anything I've ever done," says Jan Miller, producer of the Atlantic Film Festival's Strategic Partners conference, held Sept. 13-15, during the first weekend of the fest. That's a bold statement, considering Miller, who started the popular conference six years ago, founded the National Screen Institute in the '80s and has taught the art of pitching to countless emerging filmmakers all over the world.

Miller says the feedback from this year's conference, which focused on the U.K., Ireland and the U.S., was that it was "amazingly" productive.

With 121 delegates and nine guests, Strategic Partners is geared toward established producers who are ready for, or already into, coproduction. Miller and her team played matchmaker all weekend, pairing up production folk who wanted to meet.

"I actually believe that deals are going to come out of this," says Miller. "[Canada is] at the forefront of coproduction, but what is hugely evident is that we have to look at ways beyond the traditional coproduction structure for financing. As far as I know, there has never been a place where the coventuring is nurtured alongside the coproduction, which is what we're committed to."

After leaving the NSI, Miller, who is now president of Lowenbe Holdings, felt the next move for her was to develop something international. She moved to Halifax and, inspired by events like Sharing Stories and Cinemart, decided Canada needed an international coproduction conference and approached then-AFF executive director Gordon Whittaker about what would later develop into Strategic Partners. After researching the idea with a small investment from the festival, Miller found that producers in Canada were more than agreeable to a homegrown event to bring producers together with other film types.

"The festival had wanted it to be separate," says Miller, but "they came around to recognizing the value of having it attached to the event."

Miller says there is still tweaking and refining to be done with the conference, mostly with the panels.

-www.atlanticfilm.com