About us
Established in 1998 as Concept in Media Ltd, our initial aim was to provide services to the film and television industry in Canada and the United States.
Around 2002 CIM diversified into additional areas of business which have since become standalone successes under the CIM umbrella. Our Sourcing and International Business division handles business for North American and overseas clients. We can handle communication and negotiation in English, French, Tamil, Malayalam, Turkish, Hindi, Gujarati and Tagalog.
Movies/Series Completed
Shooting Progress
Yet to Launch
Our Team
John Franklin (Founder and CEO)
John is a veteran of the film industry who joined the industry as a cameraman and grip technician after earning an Honors degree in Philosophy from India. Some of the entertainment industry’s most familiar names have worked with him and are on first name terms dating back to before CIM’s founding.
Mehul Kamdar (US Representative and Director)
Mehul “Mike” Kamdar and John became close friends while at college in India. An English and Liberal Arts grad and a full time Associate at a British Consulting practice in the US, Mehul has been associated with CIM from the company’s inception.
The Film and Television Industry – Our Main Business
CIM is now a familiar name in providing location scouting and management services in North America. We are also happy to consult for clients on budgeting, crew hires (both union and non union), regional subsidies that may be available, and to arrange equipment rentals as needed. We have security agencies associated with us to provide on location security when needed. While most of our work is for North American film and television companies, we have done work in the past for companies from India and Sri Lanka. The list of films that we have worked on is too long for a website. We are happy to provide references when needed.
A new area of interest for us is in bringing the latest technologies as developed in Canada and the US to overseas markets. This includes stunt props and safety equipment, the latest motion capture and special effects technologies, and equipment sales / rentals for both new and refurbished used cameras, and props.
Our Sourcing and International Trade Business
Both John and Mehul have extensive experience in International business. Before settling in Canada, John was the General Manager at Fargane Disticaret Sti, an Istanbul based Export and Import company dealing in clothing, accessories, leather and cosmetics. Mehul worked as a Manager with a chain of optical stores before coming to the US. Recent business that we have worked on includes sourcing Lentils and Chick Peas from Canada, packaged grocery products that we buy as production surplus from the US (including but not limited to pasta, canned fruit, canned vegetables, sauces, peanut butter, wheat flour, jams and soups), branded cosmetics and branded clothing. We can usually beat wholesale prices for all of these by up to 40% and offer ex-warehouse or FOB US deliveries.
We have been importing clothing, accessories and furniture from China and India into Canada, and are now working on offering these into other markets. Our sourcing partners are strongly established companies in Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chennai and Mumbai.
Our plans for the future include bringing innovative but new Canadian and US restaurant franchises overseas, and helping food industry entrepreneurs who may want to enter the Canadian market. We also have strong professional relationships with clothing designers who are experienced in designing for the film and television industry, and would like to explore bringing their talent to overseas production clothing markets.
Toronto – Our Home from 1998
While CIM was founded in Toronto in 1998 because a young John Franklin had moved there with his wife, this city that we love has grown into one of the world’s most important cities. Since CIM was established, we have watched Toronto grow into the world’s seventh largest financial center (overtaking Chicago, Boston and San Francisco), into the North American headquarters for film and television production (the Oscar winning and critically acclaimed film “Chicago,’ for example, was entirely filmed in Toronto), and for the technology, fashion and tourism and fine dining industries. As an established company in this vibrant city in one of the world’s most competitive and technologically advanced countries, CIM are well placed to help with alliances / business with all companies (Canadian and foreign) doing business here.
If you’re thinking about doing business in North America, we recommend doing it through Toronto. Talk to us. You will like it as much as we do.
News / Plans for the Future:
This is where we will be posting our plans for the future. These may change, and we invite you to please keep checking in, as we will have frequent updates about both what we are doing, and what we plan to do.
Full feature film featuring Hollywood and Indian actors: We are currently discussing a proposal to work on a multilingual feature film with Hollywood and Indian actors, to be filmed in the US / Canada and India. At present, we are in the very early stages of discussion with potential partners in India, and should take a decision on this soon
Opening a Hong Kong Office: CIM will open a Hong Kong office in the near future to help handle sourcing from China as well as for Chinese clients
Microwave and Eat Food from Malaysia: We are at an advanced stage of negotiations with a major Malaysian halal food producer to market their range of microwave and eat dishes in different markets. Products include Indian and Malay foods that are popular with working people in Malaysia and Singapore as a substitute for Western microwave and eat menus