As part of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) (September 10-20), New York-based Film Consultant Colin Brown, Managing Partner and Director of International Operations at MAD Solutions, has been one of the guest speakers at the 10th anniversary edition of the International Financing Forum (IFF), the annual co-financing event that took place on September 13th.

Moderated by Matt Mueller, editor of Screen International, Colin discussed the art and science of film financing and project packaging in a staged discussion with Lianne Halfon, the celebrated producer who teamed up with actor-director John Malkovich and producer Russell Smith to create Mr. Mudd, the production company behind such films as Ghost World, Juno, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Labor Day and Young Adult. The event also has been attended by Film Analyst Alaa Karkouti, CEO of MAD Solutions.

"If cinema is in the business of manufacturing delight, then to what degree can that process be quantified? That is one of the key questions that we be examining at a time when data analytics is finally coming to film financing and project packaging in an attempt to assist - and accelerate - the process by which producers bring their ideas in front of receptive investors and industry gatekeepers," explained Colin. "We want to explore the degree to which technology really can solve some of the Catch 22 situations that producers find with regard to securing cast and financing."

IFF is a two-day event that includes one-on-one meetings, an industry panel discussion, roundtable meetings and producers' networking receptions. Selected international and Canadian producers are brought together with international sales agents, distributors, funders, agents and executive producers to do business in brokered meetings and benefit from exclusive networking opportunities. Now celebrating its 10th year, IFF has introduced hundreds of projects to the international marketplace with over 60 successfully financed to date, including Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children, Denis Villineuve's Incendies, David Michôd's Animal Kingdom, Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut Coriolanus and Haiffa Al-Mansour's Wadjda, among many others.

In addition to his association with MAD, Colin is currently the Editorial Director of Slated, the pioneering film financing and networking website headquartered in Los Angeles. He also teaches at New York University, at both its renowned film school, the Tisch School of the Arts, and at the SternSchool of Business. He is a faculty board member of NYU's Cinema Research Institute, an initiative designed to support and mentor innovative new business models for filmmaking.

During his career as a film and business journalist - most notably as the longstanding Editor-in-Chief of Screen International - Colin won numerous awards. As a film critic, he has served on the juries of numerous prestigious film festival juries including the Sundance Film Festival.