MONTREAL: Cinar Corporation, a Canada-based entertainment and education company involved in the development, production, post-production and distribution of nonviolent, quality programmes and products for children, will attend the Mipcom trade fair in France this year with a new energy.

It will arrive at the fair with new episodes of its successful franchises, including Arthur, produced with WGBH Boston and Caillou, an animated series.

Cinar is led by a new president and CEO Stuart Snyder and has recently acquired a strong management team, fresh strategies as well as new programming.

A Cinar release claims that within six months of Snyder's appointment, the company has aggressively re-established itself in the creative and development business seeking out new brands and franchises that have the potential to be profitable entities for the company and its partners.

Cinar is also said to be in the process of developing some projects in coordination with children's programming leader Alice Cahn who recently partnered with them as a creative consultant. The company recently announced its decision to broaden its entertainment offering through the establishment of a live entertainment division. In the area of programming, Cinar has expanded its properties to include the kids and teens demographics with the two new series being offered at Mipcom.

Snyder was quoted as saying in the release, "This year's Mipcom is a benchmark for Cinar. Buyers will see that we have grown beyond 'edutaining' preschool animation to include viable live action and animated programming for children of all ages. They will also see that Cinar now has the capabilities to build and promote these key properties as brands, simultaneously leveraging licensing home video and educational resources to the consumer."

Commenting on the alliance with Cahn, Snyder said, "Alice is one of the true innovators and visionaries in our industry today and we are thrilled that she is working with our team. Her ability to acquire and develop programming of the highest quality is exemplified by the standards she has set for herself and those around her."

New Cinar programmes at Mipcom
The Strip : This includes 13 half-hour live action and animation episodes, targeting kids and teens. It is a Shaftesbury Films Inc/Cinar production.

Postcards from Buster: This includes 40 half-hour episodes. A spin-off of Emmy-award winning series, Arthur, this programme follows the adventures of Arthur¹s best friend Buster and his airline pilot father as they fly the fictional Latin rock group Los Viajeros on a concert tour of the United States. The series promotes cultural understanding and literacy, language, and communication skills, with a special emphasis on non-native English speakers. It is a WGBH Boston, Marc Brown Studios, and Cinar Corporation production.

New episodes of existing programmes/ Movies
Arthur : Includes 10 new half-hour episodes

Caillou : Includes 10 new half-hour episodes

Caillou's Holiday Movie : Is a 70-minute animation

Mona the Vampire : Includes 13 new half-hour episodes.