Mipcom 2018 preview magazine by MIPMarkets

Country Of Honour

2018

country of honour 2018

PREVIEW September 2018

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WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA

ISSA RAE

THE PIER

CBS International

Actor, Writer, Producer

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Great ideas can come from anywhere Which is why we’ll go anywhere To find the stories that haven’t been told And to tell them like no one else can We connect the best creative talent And create timeless shows Irresistible entertainment From every corner of the world For every corner of the world The place creatives call home

Find out more at www.fremantle.com

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EDITO

WELCOME to this MIPCOM 2018 Preview magazine where you can read about the major themes being discussed in Cannes in a few short weeks. MIPCOM is the largest gathering of the global entertainment content industry, bringing together producers, creators, distributors, studios, independent production companies, investors, talent and thousands of programmes from every genre. As we come together in Cannes, the question that is being asked is how the entertainment industry will develop in the face of changing viewing habits, rivalry between traditional broadcasters and the SVOD giants, consolidation and the use of data... to name but a few of the elements that make up the new entertainment ecosystem. Reflecting the state of the industry, this year’s central theme at MIPCOM is ‘The Big Shift: Transitioning To A Reshaped Media Landscape’. We’ll be looking at how traditional broadcasters are striving to compete with the online platforms, discussing how new technology such as blockchain will impact entertainment, showcasing the ‘love’ factor that is driving success in the format business, examining the continued demand for high-end drama and continuing in our commitment to support diversity and equality behind and in front of the camera with the Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch and the MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards. Throughout MIPCOM’s conference programme, you will hear from top thoughtleaders and talent including actor, producer and MIPCOM Personality Of The Year Issa Rae; BBC Studios’ CEO Tim Davie; ITV’s CEO Carolyn McCall; AMC Networks’ president and CEO Josh Sapan; Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel; Twitter’s vice-president and global head of content partnerships Kay Madati; celebrity chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver; and critically-acclaimed creators Alex Pina, Lorenzo Mieli and Eric Newman. With over 110 countries represented, MIPCOM is the home of the global television industry and this year we will be showcasing China as our Country Of Honour. It will give you the opportunity to discover the latest programmes coming out of China, learn about the trends in the Chinese TV market and meet with existing or future partners in the Chinese production and broadcasting sector. Television is about entertainment and MIPCOM is where great shows are launched. This year is no exception, with the World Premiere TV Screening of CBS’ Ben Stiller-directed Escape To Dannemora; the MIPCOM Pre-Opening Screening of new Russian drama Trigger and the World Premiere TV Screening of Movistar+/Telefonica’s original series The Pier from creators Alex Pina and Esther Martinez Lobato — both brought to Cannes by Beta Film; and the Asian World Premiere TV Screening of Nippon TV’s Way Too Kawaii!. You can find out about these shows, the hot MIPCOM topics and how industry leaders see the future in this MIPCOM Preview. Enjoy the read and we look forward to seeing you in Cannes. Laurine GARAUDE Television Division Director Reed MIDEM

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 6

• September 2018

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CONTENTS

10 NEWS

PREVIEW September 2018 www.mipcom.com

67 FEATURES

China is Country Of Honour; MIPCOM Personality Of The Year; Media Mastermind Keynotes; Women In Global Media Power Lunch; Talent Behind The Camera; Production Funding Forum; What buyers want; Japanese content goes global; UHD screenings; and more...

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Paul Zilk

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT Publishing Director Martin Screpel Publishing Manager Amrane Lamiri Printer Riccobono Imprimeurs, Le Muy (France). MANAGEMENT & SALES TEAM Director of the Entertainment Division Jerome Delhaye Director of the Television Division Laurine Garaude MIPCOM Conference Director Lucy Smith Director of Market Development Ted Baracos Programme Director Tania Dugaro Director of the Buyers’ Department Benedicte Touchard Marketing Director Bastien Gave Executive Producer, Conferences Amandine Cassi TV Division Sales Director Geraud de Lacombe Head of Entertainment UK Paul Nickeas Director UK Sales – TV Division Matt Colgan Director UK Sales Music & TV Division Javier Lopez SVP Sales & Business Development Robert Marking VP Sales Louis Hillelson Sales Director Manual da Sousa Director of Visitors Sales North and Latin America Matthew Rosenstein Sales Manager Noah Buchwald Sales Manager Hugo della Motta Sales Director Sylvain Faureau Sales Director Aude Dionnet Sales Regional Director Nathalie Gastone Senior Sales Projects Director Fabienne Germond Sales Managers Paul Barbaro, Nancy Denole, Samira Haddi, Cyril Szczerbakow, Hicran Lefort Head of Sales, Buyers Yi-Ping Gerard Sales Manager, Buyers Eve Gualbert-Galvis Sales Executive, Buyers Laetitia Rouis-Carrero Australia and New Zealand Representative Natalie Apostolou China Representatives Anke Redl, Tammy Zhao CIS Representatives Alexandra Modestova English Speaking Africa Representative Arnaud de Nanteuil Germany Representative Marc Wessel India Representative Anil Wanvari Israel Representative Guy Martinovsky Japan Representative Lily Ono Middle-East Representative Bassil Hajjar Spain Representative Maria Jose Vadillo South Asia Representative Adam Ham South Korea Representative Sunny Kim Taiwan Representative Irene Liu Reed MIDEM, a joint stock company (SAS), with a capital of €310.000, 662 003 557 R.C.S. NANTERRE, having offices located at 27-33 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo - 92100 BOULOGNEBILLANCOURT (FRANCE), VAT number FR91 662 003 557. Contents © 2018, Reed MIDEM Market Publications. Publication registered 3rd quarter 2018. ISSN 2104-2179. Printed on PEFC Certified Paper

The new MIPCOM Production Forum brings producers together with investors

72 A win-win situation

Film commissions are an increasingly important part of the funding jigsaw

79 The battle lines are drawn Traditional broadcasters are squaring up to the SVOD giants

MARKETING DIRECTOR Mathieu Regnault EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Julian Newby Deputy Editor Debbie Lincoln Sub Editor Joanna Stephens Contributors Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng, Gary Smith Editorial Management Boutique Editions Head of Graphic Studio Herve Traisnel Graphic Studio Manager Frederic Beauseigneur Graphic Designer Carole Peres

67 Meet the investors

34 PRODUCT NEWS Multiplatform content from around the world on sale in Cannes

85 Aim to be different

As demand for drama shows no sign of slowing, what stands out?

94 Spreading the love

What are the hot unscripted formats on the buyers’ lists?

103 The art of inclusion

How well is the industry doing to ensure diversity in front of and behind the camera?

60 W ORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

CBS Studios International’s Escape At Dannemora; Movistar+’s The Pier; Sreda Production Company’s Trigger; and Nippon TV’s Way Too Kawaii!

113 Power to the people

Blockchain is poised to become the transparent ledger of transaction

120

CONFERENCES & EVENTS PROGRAMME

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• September 2018

117

YOUR MIPCOM EXPERIENCE

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neWS: COUNTRY OF HONOUR

China is MIPCOM Country Of Honour After a period of rapid change in the international television industry, the Chinese delegation is braced to showcase its latest content in Cannes IT HAS been almost a decade since the last China Day event was held at MIPCOM. During that time China’s film and television industry has evolved rapidly in terms of content development and filmmaking, marketing in the industry in line with international counterparts, vigorous development of new media and booming international co-operation. With over 2,000 broadcasting institutions and more than 8,000 film and television production agencies, China produces 15,000 episodes of TV series annually that have created a total transaction volume of over yuan 80bn, reaching an audience of 1.3 billion TV viewers, and 514 million internet viewers. “China has now emerged as a major producer and consumer of films and television dramas all over the world. We have both confidence and capacity to play a leading role at MIPCOM, present a greater Chinese story and work with the rest of the world to usher in a better future,” said Ma Li, director general of the International Co-operation Department of the National Radio and Television Administration, People’s Republic of China. So what are the main activities for Chinese companies at this year’s MIPCOM as part of the Country Of Honour programme? “As the Country Of Honour, China will present ‘1+5’ events with the theme ‘China: The Source of Great Stories’. ‘1’ stands for the China Pavilion.” Over 50 leading film and television organisations and companies from China will participate, including production companies, new media platforms and film and television industry associations. There is also a public space to present China’s Tea Culture. Delegates are welcome to visit the booth, not only

to drink Chinese tea, but also to enjoy Chinese dramas, create friendships and hold discussions on future co-operation. ‘5’ stands for five exchange events focusing on international co-productions, new media markets, China’s animation and fresh TV and film content. China is also sponsoring the MIPCOM Opening Night Party, providing a feast of Chinese culture for global partners. “This year, the China Pavilion will present a great variety of quality original works including TV dramas, films, documentaries, animations and TV formats. Meanwhile, we will also display Sino-foreign co-productions and share our experience of co-operation through forums and other promotion events,” Ma Li said, adding: “We are looking forward to working closely with experts from across the world to together explore the treasure that is Chinese culture.” China has become much more active in producing films together with Hollywood for the global markets and this strategy is becoming evident in television and online production as well. China’s film and television industry is diverse and open — as of 2018, China has signed film co-production agreements with 21 countries; TV co-production agreements with New Zealand and the UK; and an audio-visual co-production agreement with India. In recent years, quality co-productions through international co-operation include: Kung Fu Yoga (film), co-produced with India; Born In China (film), co-pro-

duced with the US; Panda And Little Mole (animation), co-produced with the Czech Republic; Big Paciﬁc (documentary), co-produced with New Zealand; Confucius (documentary), co-produced with the UK; and Treasures Of The Earth (documentary), co-produced with the US. Ma Li added that all of them are well received among audiences worldwide. “After signing co-operation agreements with mainstream media in countries along the Silk Road and setting up ‘China TV Theater’, over 1,600 quality ﬁlms and television dramas such as The Ordinary World, Feather Flies To The Sky and Ode To Joy are broadcast in more than 100 countries, aiming to tell wonderful Chinese stories that enable countries along the Silk Road to know more about China and facilitate people-to-people exchange,” she said.

Ma Li, director general, International Co-operation Department, National Radio and Television Administration, People’s Republic of China

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 10 • September 2018

COUNTRY OF HONOUR EVENTS Events organised by The State Council Information Oﬃce of the People’s Republic of China and National Radio and Television Administration of the People’s Republic of China, include the following:

SUNDAY OCTOBER 14 MIPJUNIOR Country Of Honour - China Outstanding Animation Showcase 14.00 Salon Renoir, JW Marriott hotel

MONDAY OCTOBER 15 MIPCOM China Night MIPCOM Opening Night Party 19.30 InterContinental Carlton hotel Fresh TV China 17.30 Esterel Theatre, Palais des Festivals

TUESDAY OCTOBER 16 Coproducing with China 14.45 Auditorium A, Palais des Festivals China, Big Data and Content 15.45 Auditorium A, Palais des Festivals

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news

ACTOR and producer Issa Rae is MIPCOM 2018 Personality Of The Year. With her unique flare and infectious sense of humour, Issa Rae’s content has attracted over 23 million views and over 200,000 YouTube subscribers. In addition to making Glamour Magazine’s ‘35 Under 35’, Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ and Entertainment Weekly’s ‘Breaking Big’ lists,

Personality Of The Year

her hit series The Misadventures Of Awkward Black Girl was the recipient of the Shorty Award for Best Web Show. Rae’s first book, a collection of essays, is a New York Times Best Seller and her latest project, Insecure, a half-hour comedy show for HBO, premiered to rave reviews and earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe. “Issa Rae is one of most brilliant creative minds in Hollywood. She is shaping the present and future of on-screen storytelling through her authentic comedic writing and her uncompromising commitment to inclusion,” said Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk, who will present her with the award at a gala dinner at the InterContinental Carlton hotel. “In recognition of her generation-defining influence on the entertainment industry, we are honoured to welcome her to Cannes as the MIPCOM 2018 Personality Of The Year.” On Wednesday, October 17 at 11.30, the day of the gala dinner, Issa Rae will give a MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals. Issa Rae

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 12 • September 2018

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NEWS: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES

Industry leaders fill a packed Cannes keynote programme MIPCOM delegates will hear a wide variety of views and opinions on the global media industry as a number of industry heavyweights take to the Cannes stage during the four-day event CAROLYN McCall, DBE, CEO at ITV, will outline the company’s new vision — ‘More Than TV’ — and its plan to grow both its UK and global production activities, during her MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote. “ITV will do so by working with hugely talented and creative teams around the world to meet the growing global demand from broadcasters and platform owners for brand defining content,” she will tell the MIPCOM audience. Formerly CEO of European short-haul airline easyJet, McCall joined ITV in January 2018 when she launched a review of the company’s strategy with a view to “deliver growth and ensure that the business is well positioned for the future”. The overall aim is to “ensure that ITV is a structurally sound integrated producer broadcaster where the ambition is to maintain total viewing and increase total advertising revenue… and

Carolyn McCall

it will create value by developing and nurturing strong direct consumer relationships, through programmes and experiences”. Ari Emanuel is CEO of Endeavor, a global leader in entertainment, sports and fashion. Operating in more than 30 countries, Endeavor is the parent of a number of subsidiaries, a number of them leaders in their respective sectors, including WME, IMG and UFC. After co-founding Endeavor in 1995, Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell orchestrated the biggest-ever talent agency merger in 2009 when Endeavor joined forces with William Morris to form WME, which represents artists and experts across books, digital media, film, food, music, television and theatre. Additional acquisitions over the past two years have included The Miss Universe Organization, mixed martial arts organisation

UFC, and Professional Bull Riders. An accomplished sportsman himself in numerous fields including wrestling, Emanuel famously struggled academically as a result of dyslexia. “What happens when you’re dyslexic is you gain all these other tools,” he has said. “My greatest asset has been tapping into the personal strengths of those around me and utilising people to their best ability. That’s how you build great teams.” Following his keynote, Emanuel will receive the MIPCOM Variety Vanguard Award for 2018. Author, poet and famously owner of the world’s largest collection of antique lightning rods, MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote speaker Josh Sapan is also CEO of AMC Networks. Sapan has for some years been at the centre of what is widely referred to as the current — and seemingly never-ending — ‘golden age of television’. This is ev-

Ari Emanuel

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 14 • September 2018

Josh Sapan

ident from the innovative titles that have come out of AMC during his tenure, including The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, Mad Men, The Night Manager and Breaking Bad. Vanity Fair recognised Sapan as “one of the Impresarios of Cable’s Golden Age”. As well as guiding AMC’s evolution from a classic movie channel into successful global brand, under the AMC umbrella he has also driven the growth of BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv. “We were a cable channel company,” he has said. “Today we’re a content company.” Sapan also oversaw the launch of AMC Studios, whose first series, The Walking Dead, is the highest-rated series in cable history and the number one drama on television among adults 18-49 for six straight seasons.

• Carolyn McCall gives the first 2018 MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote at 11.30 on Monday, October 15; Ari Emanuel concludes Monday’s Media Mastermind Keynote programme at 17.00. Josh Sapan takes to the Cannes stage on Tuesday, October 16 at 11.15. The keynotes are held in the Grand Auditorium in the Palais des Festivals

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MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE

‘We are open for business’ As CEO BBC Studios, Tim Davie is responsible for developing the BBC’s international brand and editorial strategy, a role in which he counts himself as “incredibly blessed”. He spoke to Julian Newby ahead of his Media Mastermind Keynote IN DECEMBER of last year it was announced that the BBC’s principal production arm, BBC Studios, and BBC Worldwide, were merging, effective from April of this year. The move is designed to strengthen the BBC’s commercial position, to streamline its activities and to ensure that the company can raise extra revenues on the international market through secondary sales and merchandising. BBC Studios as a commercial production company is now also free to produce content for broadcasters other than the BBC, bringing it in line with such rivals as ITV and All3Media. And the person assigned to watch over all of that is Tim Davie. Davie came to the BBC from the consumer sector — first with P&G and then PepsiCo. He joined in 2005 in a marketing and communications role and then moved to audio and music, before becoming acting BBC director-general and then CEO of BBC Worldwide in 2013. Since April, in his new role he heads up the UK’s most awarded production house and Europe’s biggest distributor. Davie said the merger was aimed at bringing the BBC into line with a changing industry. “We’re in a world where it’s all about how do you most effectively generate IP and create world-beating content, and in that context you can see a world in which scale is becoming more of a material factor,” he said. “I happen to believe that scale isn’t the only factor, you need to understand what business you’re in and be very clear of your offer. But there is absolutely no doubt that as you look at a market that’s fast-moving and global, you want to remove any barriers to make sure that you are able to act fast internally — and as you can see

across the industry, more and more we are seeing vertical integration. The way that we want to operate is to balance both in-house production and a thriving relationship with the indies. You’ve got to get that balance right.” The move also takes into account a changing global TV landscape. “We’ve been in an age where choice has been limited by distribution. Once that’s been unlocked by the internet, across numerous industries, you get a much purer indication of consumer choice,” Davie said. “And what gives me confidence there, is that in that situation you have to double down on unmissable content. Everyone is saying it and I think we’re in a good position to be very, very fo-

cused on the finest British talent in order to deliver that.” This is an age that is “quite brutal on content that isn’t delivering”, he said, “and if you haven’t got the best — if you’re not best-inclass it really is troublesome. But the good news is that as a studio, we’re not just focused on scale and size for its own sake, but it is about choosing the very best producers and content makers.” During his keynote Davie said delegates are likely to see some of the “quality content” of which he is “most proud”. Flagship titles at MIPCOM include drama series Les Miserables and MotherFatherSon, starring Richard Gere. And his message to the Cannes audience will be: “First, we are

Tim Davie: “Very focused on the finest British talent”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 16 • September 2018

open for business, and second, we are creating landmark creative work, so I will be showing what that looks like. Because in this industry, you can make great speeches but essentially it’s about great work. It’s about sitting down at the end of the day and watching something that you think ‘Wow that is something else!’. And this industry, for all its change, it is still powered by creative work that can excite an audience. And in some way we’ve just got to show how that works.” • Tim Davie’s Media Mastermind Keynote is on Monday, October 15 at 16.15 in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals

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NEWS: MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES

‘It’s about what’s happening now’ Kay Madati is Twitter’s head of content, overseeing the company’s eﬀorts to establish media partnerships around the world. So how did it go from 140 characters to this? Madati spoke to Julian Newby ahead of his MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote AS VICE-president and global head of content partnerships at Twitter, Kay Madati is responsible for leading the teams that develop strategies to exploit con-

tent and programming initiatives across Twitter. And while some might see it as a giant leap — from 140-character messaging platform to global media player — the former BET and Facebook executive said it’s all part of the evolving nature of global media. “The content/media landscape has been in perpetual evolution, and within it multi-platform consumer-oriented content experiences have become critical to growing fandom, driving community, and igniting passionate conversations in and around publisher content initiatives,” he said. “We see this as a natural extension of our partners’ business models —

both on the audience reach value proposition, but also on the monetisation value proposition.” Traditionally, media outlets have grown alongside the popularity of their content. While in the era of social media, the audiences have come first, and the content has followed. Does this mark a fundamental difference between heritage media and the media of the future — and does it signify how the market for content will develop in the future? “The challenge isn’t whether ‘if you build it, will they come’ or vice-versa, but rather, ‘How do content providers tell compelling stories that engage audiences or users in a mobile-first continually evolving multi-platform device/ platform paradigm?’,” Madati said. “We believe the answer is found in the opportunity to capitalise on innovation and creativity around new distribution formats to significantly enhance and complement traditional content consumption experiences for our audiences and users.” He added: “Twitter’s partner-led premium content programming efforts are specifically designed to deliver the content that our audience wants to watch and talk about in the moment.” Twitter currently has over 950 global content partners that deliver live and on-demand video content in Kay Madati

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 18 • September 2018

sports, live news, politics, entertainment and many other content categories. “As we look to the future, you can expect expanded efforts in new and existing content categories like esports, music, lifestyle, food and culture, to name a few,” Madati said. “I believe we are just scratching the surface on content opportunity, and I’m excited about the uncharted territory that our content business presents for audience and revenue growth for both Twitter and our partners.”

“We are just scratching the surface on content opportunity” Preferring to “stay focused on our lane” rather than consider any other platforms as direct competition, Madati said that Twitter’s USP is all about “what’s happening now, and everything we do around video partnerships is to serve the public conversation in real-time. If that remains the true north star to our strategies, we will continue to be an indispensable content partner to our publishers.” After a few years away, Madati said he and his colleagues are “thrilled to be back at MIPCOM” and aside from his keynote presentation, is “hoping to meet with existing and potential partners to discuss what’s next for video partnerships in 2018 and beyond”. He added: “We’ve just started exploring additional discovery opportunities and we’re going to continue to invest in video and are conﬁdent in the upside opportunity it presents for audience and revenue growth. I’m proud of all that we’ve accomplished with content in the last year, and I’m even more thrilled about what lies ahead for our content partnerships in the near future.” • Kay Madati’s Media Mastermind Keynote is on Tuesday, October 16 at 17.30 in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals

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news

‘I have a really unusual job…’ Jamie Oliver is in his 20th year as a TV chef. In that time his work has expanded into books, restaurants and campaigning on social issues. In Cannes this year he will reﬂect on his career and look to the future during a MIPCOM Media Mastermind Keynote session. He spoke with Julian Newby ahead of his Cannes appearance

BORN in Clavering, Essex in the southeast of England in 1975, Jamie Oliver came to prominence in his mid-20s. Having started helping out in the kitchen of his parents’ pub at the age of eight, his true culinary career began as pastry chef at the London restaurant of “the godfather of Italian gastronomy” Antonio Carluccio. But it was at The River Cafe over to the west of the city where his career really took off. He featured as part of The River Cafe team in a 1997 television documentary about the famous restaurant on the River Thames. With his lively confidence he stood out from the rest and two years later his own series, The Naked Chef, launched on the BBC. Books, further TV series and restaurant chains followed and today a flourishing business exists bearing his name. In TV alone Oliver has an estimated global TV audience reach of 64 million, with more than 35 titles broadcast in 182 territories through 185 broadcasters. So was building this empire as easy as it looked to his audience? “There have definitely been challenges along the way,” he said ahead of his MIPCOM keynote. “I think the restaurant industry has always been a tough one. But for some reason, us restaurateurs keep going and keep working around new fashions, trends and challenges, like the economy and labour. It can be very tough, but it’s an amazing industry.” Alongside his businesses, Oliver has spearheaded a number of social campaigns, for example helping to train disengaged young people into the catering industry, and successfully changing school meals across the UK towards a health-

ier diet for millions of children. Many witnessed his passion in a famous episode of one of his series, in which he broke down crying with frustration while trying to establish his childhood obesity campaign in the US. “Caring about something only guarantees one thing — and that’s a bumpy ride,” Oliver said. “I think humans are quite predictable, and often we don’t change until the pain of not changing becomes worse than change itself. It doesn’t matter if you’re proved right or wrong — or if you’re in the US or UK — it’s all the same, you’ve just got to crack on. Everyone judges things on a scale of win or fail; on or off; light and shade — but in reality it’s not like that. Every conversation and campaign is progress — it’s moving things up and on. I’m happy to be a small part of what I consider to be progress within the world of public health, food, farming, child health — the lovely important stuff.” But being a campaigner didn’t come naturally to him. “I was never particularly political,” he said. “But I do think that you evolve depending on what you’re exposed to. If you can see how things are unjust — if you know we can do so much better, and give kids so many more opportunities — then it changes you. I have a really unusual job that puts me in very unusual positions. But I’d like to think my response and my drive to make change is ultimately a human response, and a kind one.” FremantleMedia International recently put its distribution might behind a new series, Jamie Oliver Productions’ Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food, focusing on fast meals with just five ingredients. Initially commissioned for the UK’s Channnel 4 in 2017, it has already sold to over 120 territories internationally. Yet despite his global success, Oliver’s style remains very British. “I think being British has always been about being open-minded and actually being quite international,” he said. “Modern Britain is made up of layer upon layer of immigration from different countries and cultures. I’ve always felt comfortable fitting in with different cultures, especially in terms of food. I think fitting in, having fun, sharing, learning and finding the exciting part of any unfamiliar culture is what it’s all about, really.” And if he had the last 20 years again, would he do anything differently? “Of course there are thousands of things we’d all do differently if we had the chance. But for me, probably the only answer that stands true is spending more time with family and friends. In the end that’s all that matters — any mistakes are there to teach you. As my Nan would say: ‘To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive’.” • Jamie Oliver’s Media Mastermind Keynote is on October 15, at 12.10, in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 20 • September 2018

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World Screen Trendsetter Awards

Meet the names behind television’s golden age THE TALENT Behind The Camera panel, in partnership with World Screen, hears from, three creators who are among those who are driving today’s golden age of television. They will discuss their many responsibilities as they write, produce, supervise other writers, manage talent and maintain relationships with studios, channels and platforms. Alex Pina is co-creator of La Casa De Papel, Netflix’s most-watched foreign-language series ever. The Spanish showrunner is also creator of eight-hour Movistar+/Telefonica original series El Embarcadero/ The Pier, which gets its World Premiere TV Screening at MIPCOM this year. He recently signed an exclusive deal with Netflix. Pina said he finds it difficult to explain how La Casa De Papel hooked so many viewers. “There seem to be many factors: the outstanding visual aspect, iconic almost, in which red is the only primary colour. Every episode is carefully written,” he said. “The camera design is very compelling. Acting and direction are spot on. Besides, we should probably add the scepticism, which has been rising in many countries. In the air, there is disappointment regarding gov-

Lorenzo Mieli

ernments, regarding central banks, regarding capitalism, leading to a collective frustration in the 21st century. Many other factors may have existed as well: originality, for example. When we translated the genre into a series, we were able to define more powerful characters, with much more complex evolving arcs. The series became more emotional. There is a feminine point of view; we transformed the genre — usually aimed at a male audience — when we defined tough, strong-minded female characters.” Eric Newman is the showrunner and executive producer on the critically acclaimed Netflix series Narcos, which is debuting its fourth season later this year. Newman transitioned to television after a 25-year career as a film producer, with credits including Children Of Men (2006), Zack Snyder’s reimagining of Dawn Of The Dead (2004), and The Last Exorcism (2010). “If you told me when I began my career in 1994 that some day in my future I would be writing and producing a television show, first I would have thought you were crazy, but more significantly I would have thought I had really failed,” Newman said. “I

got into the entertainment business to make movies. Television in those days was a distraction, a pale alternative to the splendour of movies and held little interest for me. It had to be movies.” But all that changed for Newman in 2013. “To be able to tell the stories that I wanted to tell, in the only way I felt I could tell them, was in the long-form style of television. I tried it first with a show called Hemlock Grove and I learned a lot during that process. Narcos had been a film project I was developing based on an idea I had many years before. I realised that with Netflix expanding into the Latin American market there was an opportunity to tell a story set in South America with Spanish-speaking actors. To make it real and authentic. Being able to spread it out over many episodes gave us the chance to paint a broad picture about a complex subject. It has been the best professional experience of my career.” Newman and Pina are joined on stage by Lorenzo Mieli, creator of acclaimed series The Young Pope and My Brilliant Friend, which he adapted from the Neopolitan novels by Elena Ferrante.

Eric Newman

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 24 • September 2018

Alex Pina

“My fellow producer and friend Domenico Procacci had acquired the rights for his Italian prodco Fandango. When I read the books I totally fell in love with them, so I called him and offered to co-develop and co-produce the show with the aim of scaling the project up to a full international standard. We had just delivered The Young Pope in the US, and Domenico understood that Wildside’s momentum in the market, together with FremantleMedia’s financial strength and distribution potential would allow the show’s ambition to grow enormously. So we closed a deal and have been working happily together on the show for the past two years. We kept on board the two writers that — together with Fandango — had started the adaptation and had the initial creative exchanges with Elena Ferrante, Laura Paolucci and Francesco Piccolo, and integrated the team with Saverio Costanzo as writer and director and the creative collaboration of Jennifer Schuur. It worked well, I think we pretty much nailed it.” Following the session the three panelists will each receive the World Screen Trendsetter Award in recognition of their contribution to the international television industry. • Talent Behind The Camera is on Tuesday, October 16, at 12.00 in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals presenting the World Screen Trendsetter Awards

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NEWS: WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT POWER LUNCH

‘Our mission is to encourage and cultivate women’s talent in media’ THE WOMEN In Global Entertainment Power Lunch has become an important ﬁxture of MIPCOM, contributing signiﬁcantly to progress within the industry on issues of diversity on and off camera. Now in its seventh year, the event will be held in Cannes in October, once again in partnership with A+E Networks. “When A+E Networks partnered with REED Midem seven years ago, we could not have foreseen the impact this event would have, nor the way it has grown in meaning across our global business at the market,” Ellen Lovejoy, vice-president, head of sales, Americas and formats at A+E Networks, said. “It has become an incredibly anticipated event which provides a rare opportunity for the global community of women in entertainment to network and share ideas and best practices, to be change-makers and to mentor women coming up in the industry. As well, it’s an incredibly meaningful forum to discuss universal professional challenges. Last year we were proud to have had Catherine Zeta-Jones share her very real and deep perspective on what #metoo meant to her.” It’s widely agreed that in many parts of the world the international television industry has a comparatively high proportion of women in senior executive roles, and can serve as an example to others where glass ceilings still exist. A+E Networks has had two women CEOs, and has a number of female heads of programming and senior leaders across the business; Lifetime, A+E Networks’ female-targeted channel, has been particularly pro-active on the creative side. “Lifetime spearheaded Broad Focus, an initiative designed to provide women with more opportunities

to write, develop, produce and direct content for the network and to encourage and cultivate women’s talent in media,” Lovejoy said. “At Lifetime, we are proud to say that 70% of the writers, directors, and producers on our scripted series are women; the industry average in 2017 was around 30%.” But she stressed that there is more to be done. “We still need more women in board rooms and in senior leadership positions to provide visibility and ensure women are involved in making key decisions,” she said. “I know that the Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch helps to inspire and further this notion, as it most certainly does up and down the ranks at A+E Networks. Studies have found diversity in top-level boards allows for broader perspectives and opinions, resulting in more positive outcomes.” The lunch also reinforces the point that women need to be helping each other, in the face of under-representation in business. “I think a big initial step really starts with the very women who attend this important luncheon, and beyond — women supporting women ﬁrst and foremost,” Lovejoy said. “We have to be better at building each other up, helping each other, talking to each other, and mentoring one another. Forming business relationships and partnerships between junior and senior women in the workplace is also key to the cause, so we are cautious to not let generational divides, divide us.”

The rise of populist, divisive political regimes around the world has not helped the cause, and in this context Lovejoy said that women need to be more resolute. “It is more important than ever to continue pressing forward with an open mind, to be inclusive and tolerant — not only in regards to our content, but in the way we operate within our industry and with our partners globally. As we’ve seen through move-

“We have to be better at building each other up” MIPCOM PREVIEW • 26 • September 2018

ments like the Women’s March and #metoo, our collective voice is strong and powerful, and can change the world.” • The Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch is an invitation-only event held in partnership with A+E Networks. It takes place at the Majestic hotel on Monday, October 15 at 12.00

A+E Networks’ Ellen Lovejoy

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Your chance to look into the future at Sony’s UHD Theatre MIPCOM delegates can see spectacular footage of the very best UHD content in the dedicated Sony UHD Theatre, with screenings from Sky, Japan’s NHK, Germany’s ZDFE, India’s ZEE, FremantleMedia, France TV, Brazil’s Globo, India’s Travelxp 4K, France’s Saint Thomas and National Geographic. According to Geoff Daniels, head of unscripted programming for National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild, “4K is the default for the vast majority of our premium tentpole and unscripted slate, which continues to grow and is at the heart of our commitment to deliver the highest quality experience to viewers around the world.” He added: “We’ve been on the leading edge of this revolution and plan to keep pushing the boundaries even further.” Daniels pointed to Emmy-nominated shows including One Strange Rock, Mars and the most-awarded feature documen-

National Geographic’s Mars

tary of 2018, Jane. UHD is making its presence felt in markets across the world. Display sales are at record levels, and UHD broadcasts are gathering pace. European viewers now have dedicated UHD services from most pay-TV operators, and in

some countries there are multiple UHD channels available — and more are promised for 2019. In North America, DirecTV and EchoStar’s Dish Network are fully backing UHD and there are more than 10 all-UHD channels now on air.

New show marks 60 years of The Smurfs THE SMURFS turn 60 this year and are celebrating at MIPCOM. Globally recognised, the little blue creatures were not originally stars in their own right. Cartoonist Pierre Culliford, who wrote under the pseudonym Peyo, had invented them as supporting characters in his comic of medieval heroes Johan And Peewit, back in 1958. But audiences quickly warmed to them, and demanded more Smurf adventures — and, within a year, they were starring in their own comic book. “October 23, 1958 was when the ﬁrst little Smurf appeared in a

drawing of an enchanted forest,” said Philippe Glorieux, head of marketing at IMPS, licensor of the Smurfs brand. “Then, all the fans, they started to write to Peyo saying ‘We love these cute imps and we want them more!’ And that’s how the story began.” The TV series had their heyday in the Eighties and into the Nineties, but the 272 episodes produced in that time have lived on around the world. The key to The Smurfs’ longevity is that they are available everywhere — as toys, in books, on TV, on clothing, in movies and music, in retail promotions and theme parks — there are very few places in the world where they haven’t been seen. Recent IMPS market

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 28 • September 2018

Over half of the major companies operating within the media and entertainment (M&E) sector say they intend to invest in 4K, UHD, High Dynamic Range (HDR), Wider Color Gamut (WCG) and High Frame Rates (HFR) in the next year, according to new ﬁgures from the Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers (SMPTE). According to the organisation’s annual Innovation And Technology In Media & Entertainment Survey, 56.3% of its respondents said they will invest in what SMPTE calls the Better Pixels Project in the next 12 months. Nearly 80% of respondents said they view 4K, UHD and HDR technologies as important to their business: “The M&E sector has always been at the forefront in adopting technologies that have a dramatic impact on consumers’ relationship with content,” said SMPTE executive director Barbara Lange. • 4K Ultra HD and VR sessions are taking place in the Sony UHD Theatre, in the Palais des Festivals, daily, October 15 to 18, from 09.30

research showed 95% awareness of The Smurfs’ brand, globally. IMPS’ news at MIPCOM is that a new animated series is planned, produced with France- and Belgium-based Dupuis Audiovisuel. The upcoming series will be celebrated at a 60th birthday party in Cannes. “The Smurfs TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera in the eighties is a highly successful series, still being broadcast on a global scale,” IMPS president Veronique Clifford said. “But creating a new series, giving The Smurfs an updated look, was just a logical next step for the property after three Hollywood movies. We are very happy to embark on this exciting journey with the Dupuis group, one of our historical partners on Smurf comic books and animation.”

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Inaugural Funding Forum brings investors and producers together REED MIDEM is launching the inaugural Production Funding Forum at this year’s MIPCOM. The initiative moves the company’s television markets deeper into the creative process. “The MIPCOM Production Funding Forum is a new two-day series of conferences and net-

working opportunities designed to bring producers and financiers together towards the creation of premium content for a global audience,” director of Reed MIDEM’s television division Laurine Garaude said. “It builds on In Development, an event dedicated to fast-tracking drama pro-

duction on an international level launched jointly by MIPTV and CANNESERIES this year, and which will be expanded at MIPTV next April.” Both initiatives are part of Reed MIDEM’s aim to drive creativity in the industry, but have different functions. Garaude explained that

In Development “focuses on project pitches and creating partnerships around early-stage content creativity with an emphasis on co-production, while the Production Funding Forum looks closely at what investors and producers want from each other.” The Production Funding Forum runs across two days — Monday, October 15 and Tuesday, October 16 — comprising nine sessions that include panels and networking opportunities. • See Meet the Investors, page 67

Buyers say partnerships are key

Sebastian Debertin

SOME 4,700 buyers of television and digital content will be in Cannes for MIPCOM 2018, there to meet with 1,967 exhibiting companies and over 1,600 producers and distributors from around the world. Every kind of content is available at MIPCOM, in what Emma Sparks, head of acquisitions at UKTV, believes is a buyer’s market. “It’s a tough market for everyone,” Sparks told the MIPCOM Preview. “But evolving funding models allow buyers to adapt to a constantly changing market which affords the freedom to be creative in deal-making, whether that’s finding shows to deficit fund, working with trusted part-

Cecilia Persson

ners who have a similar editorial focus, or acquired content, we can ensure a steady flow of quality programming.” Cecilia Persson, vice-president, programming and content strategy, Turner EMEA Kids, is at MIPCOM looking for content for Cartoon Network and Boomerang.” We’re on the lookout for long- and short-form content to surprise and engage audiences across all the platforms in our kids universe,” Persson said, adding: “We’re looking for partnerships, so it’s actually less about being a buyer or seller from my perspective.” Sebastian Debertin, buying for KiKA, the German public kids channel operated by ARD and

Emma Sparks

ZDF, said he looks at content much more carefully now than he would have done 20 years ago when KiKA launched. “When looking at concepts or finished content, we do it more intensively than ever,” he said. “Are the shows kid-centric? Are the programmes taking kids really seriously? In other words, are the stories really reflecting today’s kids’ lives and needs? And the most important question for creating brands: does the core concept allow enough storytelling in order to produce more than one or two seasons?” Stand-out content is essential in what is an overcrowded market, Debertin said. “So for me, copros are key. Co-pros allow us to

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 30 • September 2018

cater even better to our different audiences’ demands. And while actively observing the national and international market, both very intensely, we do try to stand out from the competition by creating great content ourselves — with great creative people.” Persson echoes Debertin’s point: “One of the main shifts in recent years is that we are now taking bets on content further in advance and building deeper relationships with our partners as part of that,” she said. For Sparks, knowing your market is essential: “Research plays an increasingly important role because it’s paramount to stay ahead of lifestyle and programming trends and be informed on all demographics.”

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Fuji TV, ZDFE, Boogie team to reveal the dark side of soccer FUJI TV and ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE) are co-producing and distributing the 10 x 60 mins drama series The Window. Created and written by British screenwriter James Payne (The Musketeers, Hooten & The Lady, Mr. Selfridge), the series has been developed and will be produced by Berlin-based Boogie Entertainment along with Japan’s Fuji TV and ZDFE, and co-produced by Belgian companies Panenka and Belga-Films. The Window follows a cast of players, agents, club owners, administrators and journalists, and explores the off-field machinations of the elite world of soccer. The story starts at the end of the English soccer season. The champions have been crowned and the transfer window is opening. The series follows 17 year-old star Jordan Burdett, who finds himself

on the wish list of every major club in Europe. What starts as a fight between a number of team managers over the young player’s first professional contract, becomes a bigger, darker, criminal conspiracy. “The Window is a thrilling hu-

man drama that does for soccer what House Of Cards did for politics,” vice-president, ZDFE. drama at ZDF Enterprises, Robert Franke, said. “A unique blend of the Machiavellian horizontal storylines of shows like Game Of Thrones, and compelling char-

Toru Ota, senior executive managing director, Fuji Televison Network (right) and Robert Franke, vice-president, ZDFE.drama, ZDFE, shake on the coproduction deal

Lessons in how to adapt Japanese drama JAPANESE broadcasters are holding a session on Monday, October 15, focusing on the adaptation of Japanese drama series for Turkish television, including

Kadin, the Turkish version of Nippon TV’s Woman: My Life For My Children

excerpts of example series, aiming to encourage further such international adaptations. There follows a networking session where Turkish and Japanese participants will talk to professionals from other countries about their successful partnerships. The following evening at the Majestic hotel, the J-Creative Party is open to all professionals in the business of producing and distributing dramas re-made from international sources; a number of Japanese dramas will be screened at the party. Many Japanese entertainment formats have already proven to be popular worldwide, and the Japanese industry now plans to use that experience to promote its drama series worldwide. The Turkish experience has shown that it is possible to adapt Japanese stories to local audienc-

es. Examples include Nippon TV hits Mother and Woman: My Life For My Children, both adapted from the Japanese originals by Turkish production companies MF Yapim and Medyapim for Fox Turkey. Mother has since been re-adapted for further international success. Kansai TV is also in development with MF

acter-driven series like Billions, where moral right and wrong blurs along the lines of ambition and the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.” Taka Hayakawa, director for worldwide production and business development at Fuji Television Network, added: “With hopes of making a captivating drama series, we are making a special drama on soccer and power, applying the creativity of both Asia and Europe. I am confident that this new drama series will be the best in 2019.” For creator James Payne, the series is about one of the great passions in his life. “Like many fans, I’m glued to my phone in the summer months, following the sagas of the transfer window,” Payne said. “But behind every headline is a high-stakes human story; and for some, to seal the deal is the real game.” • The Window gets its official launch in Cannes during a lunch at the Carlton on Tuesday, October 16 at 12.30

Yapim after discussions at last year’s MIPCOM for a Turkish version of their female-led thriller My Dangerous Wife. • Excerpts of dramas from Turkey and the rest of the world, derived from Japanese content, will be screened on October 15 from16:00 in the Verriere Californie, Palais des Festivals. The J-Creative party is on October 16 at 18.30 at the Majestic hotel

Kansai TV’s My Dangerous Wife, to be adapted for Turkey by MF Yapim

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 32 • September 2018

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Here we highlight a selection of factual, drama and reality series, TV movies and specials from around the world and available at MIPCOM 2018 CINEFLIX RIGHTS

DYNAMIC TELEVISION

IMPOSSIBLE Builds (8 x 60 mins/HD), brought to Cannes by the UK’s Cineflix Rights, explores how a new wave of engineered kit homes is helping home owners construct dream houses in some of the most challenging locations across the UK. Another priority title is Hitler’s Most Wanted (10 x 60 mins/HD), from Cineflix Productions, which takes a fresh look at how and why a generation of men and women living in a cultured, European society became a part one of the most barbaric regimes of all time.

DYNAMIC Television is in Cannes with a new comedy series, How To Stay Married (8 x 30 mins), from Melbourne-based Princess Pictures. After 14 years of marriage, and with two kids at school, Greg and Em think it might be time for change. However a new job for Em, a redundancy for Greg and an unexpected house guest make dealing with parenting, date nights, money and shameless neighbours all the more challenging.

Impossible Builds (Cineflix Rights)

DCD RIGHTS UK-BASED distributor DCD Rights highlights new show Brent Owens – Mauritius (10 x 30 mins) in Cannes, from Oxyg3n Media for Discovery Channel. The Australian cook and winner of MasterChef Australia uncovers the history of Mauritius and explores the people, stunning beaches, diverse culture and rich cuisine of this island paradise.

MGM TELEVISION MGM Television’s line-up is headed by TKO (10 x 60 mins), hosted by Kevin Hart, in which players compete in an obstacle race while other contestants attempt to slow them down. Other titles include: The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair (10 x 60 mins), starring Patrick Dempsey; Four Weddings And A Funeral (30 x10 mins), inspired by the hit film; Condor (10 x 60 mins), starring Max Irons, William Hurt and Mira Sorvino; and The Contender (12 x 60 mins) a revival of the boxing franchise. Feature films include Creed II; The Girl In The Spiders Web, starring Claire Foy; animated feature The Addams Family; comedy Fighting With My Family, starring Florence Pugh, Vince Vaughn and Dwayne Johnson; and The Hustle, starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson. TKO (MGM Television)

How To Stay Married (Dynamic Television)

WOODCUT MEDIA WOODCUT Media has just completed production on new paranormal documentary series, World’s Scariest Hauntings (10 x 60 mins), which includes stories from 10 scary locations around the world. Included are: an English property from the 1100s that has housed devil worship and murder; the Edinburgh Vaults in Scotland; The Merchant’s House in New York, where the residing family speaks to guests despite the last family member dying over 80 years ago; and Montreal’s Griffintown, haunted by a headless woman. The series is distributed internationally by TCB Media Rights.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 34 • September 2018

World’s Scariest Hauntings (Woodcut Media)

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JANSON RELEASING

CITVC

Legend Of The Silk Road: The Great Chart (CITVC)

STORIES in the animated series Legend Of The Silk Road: The Great Chart and Legend Of The Silk Road: Zhang Qian The Envoy explore the spread of Chinese civilisation along this ancient economic belt. Other animated kids titles from China’s CITVC include: Sino-Russian series Panda And Krash; film Happy Dad And Son 3: Adventure In Russia; and series Happy Mom And Girl. A lead title from the factual catalogue is six-part series The Ultimate Firearm, which reviews significant innovations in weaponry over the centuries.

STRAWS (1 x 30 mins) is a new documentary about the plastic pollution of waterways and oceans. The film illustrates how individuals, groups, and businesses worldwide are reducing the use of plastic straws through education, collaboration, policy development and utilisation of non-plastic alternatives. The film is narrated by actor Tim Robbins.

ALFRED HABER A TWO-hour special celebrating the extraordinary career of Elton John is brought to Cannes by Alfred Haber. Elton John: I’m Still Standing - A GRAMMY Salute is a gala concert including performances by Alessia Cara, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Miranda Lambert, John Legend, Little Big Town, Chris Martin, Maren Morris, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, as well as Elton John. Other specials from Alfred Haber include The Beatles: The Night That Changed America — A Grammy Salute, Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life — An All-Star Grammy Salute and Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute To The Music Of The Bee Gees.

Straws (Janson Releasing)

HAOKAN MEDIA CHINA’s Haokan Media brings Sweet Room For Gravidities to MIPCOM. A show in which five celebrities volunteer to help in a general store for pregnant mothers and partners, where husbands can learn to look after the mothers-to-be — even experience the pain of childbirth — and couples can receive care and advice.

FRANCE TV DISTRIBUTION Elton John: I’m Still Standing - A GRAMMY Salute (Alfred Haber)

FOOD LOOKING

©Jean-Philippe Baltel FTV EVS

TWO PRIORITY MIPCOM 4K/HD titles from India’s Food Looking are Gourmet Goes Tribal (15 x 26 mins) and Morie & Maria (20 x 26 mins). In the former, Chef Pablo from Colombia takes a breathtaking journey to the northeast of India. Amid stunning mountains and valleys, Pablo discovers new flavours and unlikely friendships. In Morie & Maria young baker Maria Goretti spends three weeks on a forest farm with Morie and her family, learning what it means to cook with farm-fresh ingredients.

KEPLER(S) (6 x 42 mins) is a new drama series about an unstable cop suffering from a dissociative identity disorder. Following an operation that ended badly, Kepler was transferred to a small police station in Calais, where the death of girl whose body is found on the site of the refugee camp forces him to get back on the street. France tv distribution also brings to Cannes comedy series Call My Agent! (season three and two, each 6 x 52 mins), and drama Chronicles Of The Sun (235 x 26 mins), set in Montpellier. Documentaries include: Oso, Wild Vision From Asturias (1 x 52 mins), an exploration of the Cantabrian Mountains; 2 Degrees, Threats To The Paris Agreement (1 x 52 mins); and Brigitte Macron, A French Saga (1 x 90 mins/2 x 45 mins).

Morie & Maria (Food Looking)

Kepler(s) (France tv distribution)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 35 • September 2018

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DRG

ALBATROSS WORLD SALES ALBATROSS World Sales’ documentary line-up includes: Queen Without Land (1 x 52 mins/4K), about an Arctic polar bear mother struggling to raise her cubs as their home melts away. Cities By The Sea (5 x 52 mins/5 x 45 mins/ HD) uses the latest aerial technologies and an opulent cinematic language. The series The Stories Of The Mediterranean Forest (6 x 52 mins/HD) has two new episodes: Winter Time and The Forest Of The Centenary Oak Trees. Lola Montez (1 x 52 mins/4K) is a docudrama about Ludwig I’s mistress, a woman who fought for female power in the 19th century and became the cause of the king’s abdication.

DRG IS at MIPCOM with its first-ever commission, a fourhour documentary series called Manson’s Bloodline, a new take on the much-covered story of cult leader Charles Manson, his followers and their crimes. The series focuses on Manson’s grandson and his struggle to come to terms with his infamous grandfather. Produced by MY Entertainment, the series features previously unheard telephone calls that Manson had with his grandson and exclusive footage of Manson’s funeral. Manson’s Bloodline (DRG)

ROOFTOP FILM & TV AMSTERDAM-based Rooftop Film & TV, in partnership with ZoomSport, is offering two new football formats. A Game Of Two Halves (10 x 45 mins), presented by journalist Graham Hunter, features former soccer stars taking on new roles, including Rio Ferdinand as a boxer, Jurgen Klinsmann as a helicopter pilot and Michael Owen as a horse-racing enthusiast. Street Football Challenge (6 x 45 mins) is a talent show in search of Europe’s best street soccer players.

Queen Without Land (Albatross World Sales)

S4C WALES-based S4C, Irish broadcaster TG4 and JTV from South Korea have joined forces for international 4K co-production The Wall (6 x 60 mins), examining the countries and communities separated or about to be split by walls, including Israel and the West Bank, Ireland, Germany, Korea, Cyprus and the US. The series will be distributed worldwide by Cineflix. S4C also has a co-production with Wales’ Cwmni Da and Mac TV from Scotland, called Tide (3 x 60 mins), looking at the influence of the tide on coastal land and communities

Street Football Challenge (Rooftop Film & TV)

NHK OUT OF The Cradle is a new three-part CGI series from NHK that explores the latest findings in paleoanthropology. Dramatisations by top video-game creators add to the visual experience of this documentary. The Japanese pubcaster also brings The Body: Miracles Of The Inner Social Network, looking at the latest research revealing that every cell and organ in our body is an active participant in a dynamic exchange of information. Utilising beautiful UHD imagery, this marks a shift from the age-old thinking that the brain is at the centre of it all.

ZDF ENTERPRISES (ZDFE) THE CATALOGUE from Germany’s ZDFE includes: History Of Weapons (10 x 50 mins), looking at weapons used in major historic battles; Anthropocene – The Rise Of Humans (3 x 50 mins), looking at the delicate balance of life on Earth; Cirque Du Soleil – “O” (1 x 100 mins), featuring a recent performance from the world-famous troupe; Cash Or Trash, a daily show about hidden heirlooms; quiz show You’ll Never Get It!, a 90-minute format with two teams of celebrities; and Crime Watch, a 90-minute format that aims to clear up unsolved crimes in collaboration with the police. History Of Weapons (ZDFE)

Out Of The Cradle (NHK)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 36 • September 2018

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ABC COMMERCIAL returns to Cannes with a slate of comedy, factual and children’s titles, including: the third season of You Can’t Ask That (9 x 30 mins/6 x 4 mins Invictus Games specials), giving a voice to marginalised people; Hannah Gadsby’s Nakedy Nudes (2 x 30 mins), a comedic exploration of art; the third season of Black Comedy (6 x 30 mins), an Indigenous Australian sketch series; new seasons of Dream Gardens (16 x 30 mins) and Restoration Australia (14 x 60 mins); new tween programmes and formats; and more children’s titles from The Wiggles.

FOX NETWORKS GROUP CONTENT DISTRIBUTION FOX NETWORKS Group Content Distribution brings more than 80 new titles to MIPCOM, including comedy drama Valley Of The Boom, a 6 x 60mins look at the culture of speculation, innovation and debauchery that led to the bursting of the 1990s tech bubble, starring Steve Zahn, Bradley Whitford and Lamorne Morris. A factual highlight is Free Solo, a 1 x 120 mins documentary following professional rock climber Alex Honnold as he undertakes the first-ever solo free climb (without ropes or safety gear) of the vertical face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

NEW SERIES The Bridges (10 x 60 mins), brought to Cannes by TCB Media, profiles the work of officers from the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) who watch over the 23 bridges that cross the Rio Grande river which constitutes more than half of America’s southern border between Texas and Mexico. For the first time a TV producer has been granted unrestricted access to these bridges, the processes and the technology deThe Bridges (TCB Media) ployed.

BBC THE UK’s BBC returns to MIPCOM with a range of titles. Factual offers include Dynasties (5 x 50 mins), examining dynastic power struggles and family treachery within the animal kingdom; Serengeti (working title/6 x 50 mins), following savannah animals over one year; and Earth’s Great Rivers (3 x 50 mins), exploring the Amazon, the Nile and the Mississippi. BBC formats include: Dancing With the Stars Juniors; game show Man V Robot; and King Of Cakes. Heading up the drama slate is the fifth season of Luther (4 x 50 mins/4 x 60 mins/2 x 100 mins), featuring a series of monstrous killings that bring Luther and new recruit DS Catherine Halliday close to the nature of evil.

SCORPION TV

Free Solo (Fox Networks Group Content Distribution)

UK-BASED distributor Scorpion TV presents Landmarks Live In Concert (7 x 60 mins) for the first time at MIPCOM. The live-music/travel series includes: the Foo Fighters at the Acropolis in Athens; Alicia Keys performing from the deck of a Circle Line cruiser in front of the Statue of Liberty; Andrea Bocelli at Palazzio Vecchio in Florence; Will.i.am and The Black Eyed Peas at London’s Royal Albert Hall; The Kings of Leon at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis; Prophets of Rage at The Stone Pony in New Jersey; and Braid Paisley at West Virginia University.

QUINTUS MEDIA QUINTUS offers two science- and engineering-based documentaries at MIPCOM, both from Germany’s Maximus Film. Mega Pit Stops (5 x 60 mins) includes what happens when a huge passenger airplane gets taken apart, when a Navy vessel needs an against-the-clock pit stop and how one of the fastest trains in the world has to be completely overhauled in 10 days. Giant Hubs (6 x 60 mins) showcases some of the world’s biggest transportation hubs with international travellers and international freight making their ways to faraway destinations day and night. Mega Pit Stops (Quintus Media)

Landmarks Live In Concert (Scorpion TV)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 38 • September 2018

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From the creators of MONEY HEIST, Álex Pina and Esther Martínez Lobato

A Movistar+ original series

WORLD PREMIERE

Tue, Oct 16th, 6:45 pm Grand Auditorium

WORLD PREMIERE

Sun, Oct 14th, 6:30 pm Grand Auditorium

MIPCOM stand no. R7.F2

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AUTENTIC DISTRIBUTION

TERRANOA

NEW DOCUMENTARIES from Germany’s Autentic include: 24H Europe – We Are The Future (24 x 60 mins), which follows 65 young people from 26 countries over 24 hours, sharing their lives, dreams and realities; Toxic Trends (5 x 52 mins), which looks at the problems caused by increasing traffic, germs, plastic waste, lack of food and modern technology; and The DC3 Story – The Plane That Changed The World (1 x 52 mins), a look at the world’s most suc24H Europe – We Are The Future (Autentic Distribution) cessful aircraft.

FRANCE’s Terranoa returns to MIPCOM with a range of documentaries including two new projects seeking pre-buys. Thirty years after the release of The Satanic Verses and the fatwa, the director William Karel explores the life and work of Salman Rushdie in Salman Rushdie, Death Around The Corner (1 x 52 mins) on the release of his latest book, set in Trump’s America. A New Story Of Decolonisation (3 x 52 mins), offers a fresh perspective on the fall of European colonial power and the roots of decolonisation in Africa, the Middle-East and Southeast Asia using unearthed archives, local pop culture movies and soundtracks.

A HIGHLIGHT at MIPCOM from Looking Glass International is the series China At High Speed (3 x 60 mins), following a train enthusiast as he travels across China to teach English to rail staff and explore urban-rural migration patterns, featuring a new generation of entrepreneurs returning to their villages to revive traditions. Another factual title is RiverBlue (1 x 60 mins/90 mins), narrated by Jason Priestley, which focuses on the impact of the manufacturing of clothing on the world’s waterways.

LOOKING GLASS INTERNATIONAL

Salman Rushdie, Death Around The Corner (Terranoa)

PORTFOLIO ENTERTAINMENT PORTFOLIO is at MIPCOM with cooking series, Fast Indian Cooking With Sapna (6 x 30 mins), which recently premiered on the Asian Food Channel; and the millennial-geared reality series The Gig Guys (6 x 30 mins). Other highlights include the cooking series Sailing Chef (30 x 30 mins) and Cafe Maria (30 x 30 mins); a second season of the CBeebies-branded kids’ factual series Do You Know (25 x 15 mins); and the new STEM-based (science, technology, education and mathematics) season of The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That! (20 x 30 mins/40 x 15 mins).

TRAVELXP 4K China At High Speed (Looking Glass International)

PBS INTERNATIONAL PBS INTERNATIONAL returns to Cannes with a line-up of factual programming, including: Apollo 8 (1 x 60 mins), profiling the 16-week race to beat the Soviets and send three men around the moon and back before 1968 came to a close; The Facebook Dilemma (2 x 60 mins/HD), a year-long investigation inside the truth and consequences of Facebook’s rise as a global power; The Mayo Clinic (2 x 60 mins), which looks at how one institution has met the changing demands of healthcare; and World War Speed, in which historian James Holland discovers how wide-scale drug use may have altered the course of World War II (1 x 60 mins). Apollo 8 (PBS International)

AMONG the programming highlights brought to Cannes by 4K HDR channel Travelxp 4K are: Backpack, a series featuring a solo wanderer exploring the beauty, complexities and character of different destinations in the world; City Breaks, a series which seeks out new places, diverse cultures, exotic cuisines and everything a city has to offer; and Food Fact Fun, a series which looks at the true essence of a destination through its food. Travelxp is available in multiple languages, including; English, German, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Czech-Slovak, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali, with more languages in production.

Backpack (Travelxp 4K)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 40 • September 2018

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STRONG SPLENDID

NOT FOR KIDS ONLY: OUR FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES AT MIPCOM 2018

GLOBAL SCREEN

DRAMEDY | 26 x 15’

THE

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FROM THE PRODUCERS OF

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“VALKYRIEN“ AND “TWO BUDDIES AND A BADGER“ A TORDENFILM PRODUCTION FOR NRK SUPER

FAMILY SERIES | 24 x 15’

FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT | 46 x 60’

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ASSOCIATED TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL (ATI) A MIPCOM priority for the US’ ATI is PopstarTV, a new channel based on Popstar Magazine and aimed at young adult women. Talk show Popstar This Week leads the new programming slate, along with dramas, The Evil Touch, The Most Dangerous Game, The Van Helsing Chronicles, The Agency and The Hyde Effect, and comedy series This Just In. Other programming includes lifestyle series Laura McKenzie’s Traveler and Elizabeth Stanton’s Great Big World; feature film Architects Of Denial; W Network’s 87th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade and Hollywood Walk Of Fame Honors. ATI is also in development for the six-hour mini-series The Disciples. Popstar This Week (ATI)

FREMANTLEMEDIA INTERNATIONAL

DW TRANSTEL

FREMANTLEMEDIA North America presents the second series of Neil Gaiman’s tale of ancient and modern deities, American Gods, at MIPCOM. Series one saw ex-con Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) come to terms with the loss of the life he knew and, under the influence of Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane), come to understand the deeper truths and myths that underpin human existence. Series two picks up from the end of series one with Shadow and Mr Wednesday continuing their road trip across America on a mission to expunge the false trails, shallow diversions and media excesses of the modern world. Also on the slate is adventure series Expedition With Steve Backshall, made by True to Nature Productions and commissioned by the BBC, UKTV and FremantleMedia International. Included is the first descent of a white-water river in the Himalayas; trekking through unexplored jungle in South America; and climbing mountains in the deserts of the Middle East.

FOR THE upcoming 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus movement, DW Transtel is presenting the series BauhausWORLD Design–Art–Architecture (3 x 52 mins) at MIPCOM. The series follows the Bauhaus movement from its beginning as an art school in Germany to its evolution as a global design phenomenon. It features interviews with internationally renowned designers, architects and artists from around the world who share a passion for Bauhaus and praise its influence on their work.

BauhausWORLD Design–Art– Architecture (DW Transtel)

CANAL 13 CHILE CANAL 13 CHILE, with AGTV Productions, is producing two new Telenovelas. Romantic comedy La Reina De Franklin (140 x 30 mins) is about Yolanda Garrido, a modest mother who transforms into a powerful businesswoman in the Franklin neighbourhood. Also due is a new, as yet unnamed thriller (140x30’), that portrays the history of four inseparable friends who are involved in a tragic accident during a bachelor party. Both productions are due to air on Canal 13 Chile.

American Gods (FremantleMedia International)

DAEHAN MEDIAWORLD TWO PRIORITY 4K UHD titles from Daehan Mediaworld top the Korean company’s MIPCOM slate. Entrepreneurs is a five-hour dramatised history-focused documentary looking at aspects of entrepreneurship and its importance to the world economy. New Cinema World is a two-hour documentary that chronicles the cinema of India and Iran, looking at the background of the growing modern movie industry and behind-the-scenes production analysis. Entrepreneurs (Daehan Mediaworld)

The cast of the upcoming thriller from Canal 13 Chile

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 42 • September 2018

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FLAME DISTRIBUTION

ITV STUDIOS GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT (ITVS GE)

FLAME Distribution is launching a number of titles at MIPCOM, including: My Greek Odyssey, a 13-part travel series exploring some of the most spectacular islands in Greece; BBC documentary Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making Of A Militant, looking at the personal story of the British women’s rights campaigner and activist; history documentary Lost & Found: The Search For USS Lagarto, about the discovery of a WWII submarine and the mystery of why her crew did not escape; Arctic Quest, in which adventurer Geoff Wilson kite-skis the 2,200km length of the Greenland ice sheet; and Tasting Tasmania, following chef Ben Milbourne as he explores the culinary paradise of his home, Tasmania. My Greek Odyssey (Flame Distribution)

ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment is bringing The War Of The Worlds (3 x 60 mins) to MIPCOM, an adaptation by Peter Harness (Wallander, Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norell) of HG Wells’ classic sci-fi title. Set in Edwardian England, Horsell Common in Surrey is struck by a huge meteor, and the inhabitants of Earth slowly fall victim to a vicious alien invasion from Mars. Produced by Mammoth Screen for BBC One, Eleanor Tomlinson and Rafe Spall star alongside Robert Carlyle and Rupert Graves.

ZED PARIS-based distributor Zed brings a range of new programmes to Cannes with a special focus on history, including the following projects currently in production: Gulag, The Story (3 x 52 mins), produced by Kuiv Productions for ARTE France, which uses previously unreleased documentary sources; History Uncovered (4 x 52 mins), a series that revisits key moments of the 20th century; and following on from The Secret Versailles Of Marie Antoinette, Zed is currently producing docu-drama To Kill A Queen (1 x 52 mins/90 mins/4K), looking at the French revolution from the perspective of Marie Antoinette’s trial.

The War Of The Worlds (ITVS GE)

BRANDS & RIGHTS 360 (B&R360) BRANDS & Rights, the Madrid-based brand management specialist brings Anders Media Inc, 360 Powwow and Nickelodeon Latam´s Kally’s Mashup (120 x 45 mins) to Europe. The series is focused on Kally, a musical prodigy who tries to balance her life between what it means to be a piano virtuoso and a regular teenager. Her life completely changes when she leaves the small town where she lives to attend the prestigious Allegro Conservatory with older students.

MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT Gulag, The Story (Zed)

NEW DOCS DOCUMENTARY specialist distributor New Docs launches a range of titles in Cannes, including: The Bachelor Time Bomb (1 x 90 mins/52 mins/HD), looking at the shortfall in the number of women in Asia and the consequence of population control policies imposed after World War II; Witch Hunts – The Mechanics Of Mass Hysteria (1 x 52 mins/HD), about the book Hammer Of Witches, which led to over 50,000 people being burnt at the stake throughout Europe from the 15th century; and Hitler’s Culture Capital (1 x 45 mins/HD), a profile of Linz, and Hitler’s megalomaniac plans for the city centre that were Witch Hunts – The Mechanics Of Mass Hysteria never realised. (New Docs)

MARVISTA Entertainment is debuting 19 movies at MIPCOM. Headlining the slate is action-thriller, Surrounded, starring Aubrey Reynolds, Gina Vitori and Taylor Jorgensen, about a group of friends running a travel vlog that helps fund their adventures. Paige (Vitori), invites her younger sister, Lindsey (sReynolds), on a scuba-diving trip. But when their plane crashes, the two sisters must use their strength, resourcefulness and courage to survive a pack of great white sharks.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 44 • September 2018

Surrounded (MarVista Entertainment)

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HAT TRICK INTERNATIONAL

A+E NETWORK

Project Blue Book (A+E Network)

LONDON-based Hat Trick International debuts six-part drama Flack at MIPCOM. Flack stars Anna Paquin as Robyn, a London-based PR agent whose job it is to fix other people’s lives despite being incapable of fixing her own. Robyn is a flack: a PR agent who promotes, publicises and protects her high-profile clients and while her life tiptoes around the glamour of celebrity, and its dark underbelly; she’s trying to be a better person too. Flack (Hat Trick International)

PROJECT Blue Book (10 x 60 mins), from A+E Studios, is executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and is inspired by true covert events concerning top-secret US Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and 1960s, known as Project Blue Book. The series blends UFO theories with authentic historical events, following Dr J. Allen Hynek (Aidan Gillen), a brilliant college professor recruited by the Air Force to spearhead this clandestine operation.

ARTE DISTRIBUTION

LIONSGATE

Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon (ARTE Distribution)

ARTE Distribution comes to Cannes with 40 new titles, including a line-up of biopics. Michael Jackson, Gone Too Soon (1 x 52 mins) includes exclusive interviews with family members and the entourage, and unseen archives. Dr Jack & Mr Nicholson (1 x 52 mins) profiles the Hollywood star. Building Arnold Schwarzenegger (1 x 52 mins) charts Schwarzenegger’s life from bodybuilding to politics. The Wars Of Coco Chanel (1 x 52 mins) and The Drawings Of Christian Dior (1 x 52 mins) are portraits of two of the most iconic fashion figures of the 20th century.

LIONSGATE launches the supernatural spy thriller The Rook (8 x 60 mins) at MIPCOM. The new Stars Original Series tells the story of a woman who wakes up in London with no memory and no way to explain the circle of dead bodies around her. She discovers she’s a high-ranking official at Britain’s secret service for people with paranormal abilities, and must find out why she’s a target. Another Stars Original Series debut is The Spanish Princess (8 x 60’) a drama about Tudor England drawn from the best-selling novels by Philippa Gregory, The Constant Princess and The King’s Curse. The Rook (Lionsgate)

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LTD (ZEEL)

FILMRISE A RANGE of feature films from Filmrise includes: The Miseducation Of Cameron Post (1 x 91 mins), about a girl who is sent to a gay conversion therapy centre where a group of unlikely teenagers fight to survive; Who We Are Now (1 x 95 mins), in which a former con woman is released from prison and recruits a young defence lawyer to help regain custody of her son; Life In The Doghouse (1 x 82 mins), which tells the inspiring life stories of the two men who run Danny & Ron’s Rescue for abused, abandoned and starving dogs; and Gamechangers: Dreams Of Blizzcon (1 x 90 mins), set in the world of professional e-sports The Miseducation Of Cameron Post (Filmrise) players.

A CO-PRODUCTION between ZEEL, Smithsonian Network and Talesmith UK, documentary The Life Of Earth From Space (2 x 60 mins), is a highlight from the ZEEL MIPCOM slate. The feature-length documentary filmed in 4K brings the history of Earth to life through the combination of footage and CGI, ranging from thermal imaging of the first humans crossing the Red Sea, to views from the International Space Station, which have been transformed to show Earth as it would have been seen thousands of years ago.

The Life Of Earth From Space (ZEEL)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 46 • September 2018

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ENDEMOL SHINE GROUP

ENTERTAINMENT ONE (EONE)

A LINE-up of formats is brought to Cannes by Endemol Shine Group. Loot is a debut from Shine TV, currently in production for Sky One. Eight ordinary citizens are told some valuable treasure has been abandoned. If they find it and hide it for two weeks from detectives, it’s theirs to keep. The Talent Project is a new singing show produced in the Netherlands that launches on RTL4. All Together Now is a talent competition in which the audience is 100 great singers who join in if they like what they hear. Big Bounce Battle sees contestants race the clock as they try to traverse spectacular obstacle courses of trampolines. Family Food Fight is a multi-generational competitive cookery series.

EONE’s slate of new series includes: The Rookie (13 x 60 mins) starring Nathan Fillion as the oldest rookie in the LAPD, moving to LA to pursue his dream of being a cop; Diggstown (working title/6 x 60 mins), follows Marcie, a corporate lawyer who, following her aunt’s suicide triggered by a malicious prosecution, vows to protect innocent lives from being destroyed by the justice system; and Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie (1 x 90 mins), a film featuring 60 years of women in popular culture through the lens of the 11.5-inch plastic icon. Returning with new seasons are Burden Of Truth (18 x 60 mins), Ransom (39 x 60 mins), Private Eyes (40 x 60 mins) and Mary Kills People (18 x 60 mins). The Rookie (eOne)

KEW MEDIA DISTRIBUTION

Big Bounce (Endemol Shine Group)

ECCHO RIGHTS ECCHO Rights returns to MIPCOM with a line-up of European drama. Highlights include two new Turkish series: Love Puzzle, a lighthearted romance about three siblings and their mother struggling with complicated love lives, past and present; and In Dreaming Of You, in which Yagmur is desperately in love with Melek, but his nice-guy persona makes it hard for him to show her. From Sweden, Conspiracy Of Silence is a political thriller that sees a former arms dealer attempt to take revenge on the man that once tried to kill him. But his search for justice in the corrupt weapons trade becomes deeply complicated.

Dreaming Of You (Eccho Rights)

KEW MEDIA debuts eight-part drama The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco at MIPCOM, a new instalment of the franchise. Set during the mid-1950s, The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco captures the lives of four women gifted with intelligence, extraordinary capacity for pattern recognition and a genius for decryption. Years after serving during WWII as code-breakers tasked with penetrating the Axis Powers’ secret communications, they turn their skills to solving murders overlooked The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco by police. (Kew Media Distribution)

RTE INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME SALES MY TRANS Life (2 x 60 mins) was filmed over the course of two years, profiling the lives of five transgender youngsters on their journey to transition. In 2015 Irish citizens were given the right to change their legal gender based on self-identification alone, without medical or state intervention, making Ireland a global leader in trans-rights and one of just five countries in the world that has legislation based on self-determination.

My Trans Life (RTE International Programme Sales)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 48 • September 2018

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AMC STUDIOS ELI ROTH’s History Of Horror (6 x 60 mins) chronicles some of horror’s sub-genres, from vampires to ghost stories to slashers, identifying the movies, TV shows, books and video games that defined the genre. Other titles from AMC Studios’ catalogue include: dramas Unspeakable (8 x 60 mins), NOS4A2 (10 x 60 mins), Lodge 49 (10 x 60 mins), Dietland (10 x 60 mins), This Close (2 seasons of 6 x 30 mins) and The Terror (two seasons of 10 x 60 mins); three 7 x 30 mins seasons of comedy Documentary Now!; documentaries The Jonestown Massacre (4 x 60 mins), Ministry Of Evil: The Twisted Cult Of Tony Alamo (4 x 60 mins), Taboos Without Taboos (6 x 60 mins) and three 6 x 60 mins seasons of Ride With Norman Reedus. Eli Roth’s History Of Horror (AMC Studios)

CINEXPORT

Bernarda (Cinexport)

PARIS-based Cinexport brings a slate of feature films to Cannes, including: Bernarda (1 x 100 mins/4K), about five kidnapped women forced to work as prostitutes; The Ones Who Stay (1 x 80 mins/HD), about Alexandre, whose life changes when he meets Marion; Hide And Seek (1 x 77 mins/HD), about a country-house getaway for five friends; and The Legend (1 x 83 mins/HD), about a professional basketball player. From the documentary genre comes Ulugh Beg (1 x 42 mins/4K), about the man who built an observatory in the 1420s.

REAL BIG HITS REAL Big Hits brings a mix of lifestyle, esports and sports programming to Cannes. Lifestyle shows include Designer DNA (13 x 60 mins), which puts the spotlight on a single designer; Meditteranean Blue (8 x 30 mins), exploring Mediterranean islands; and House Of Chef (8 x 48 mins). Sports titles include: programming from esports channel ESR — EA Sports FIFA 2018 International Cup, Rocket League Championship Series, PES2018 Tournament and CS:GO Tournament; StarSeries & i-League CS:GO Tournament; Fast Track League eSports Racing Tournament; Rocket League Championship Series; and documentary series Cord Cutters (13 x 30 mins), The Game 365 (158 x 30 mins) and The Outdoor Sports Show (24 x 26 mins).

BRYNCOED PRODUCTIONS BLOOD Trade is a drama series in development, brought to MIPCOM by the UK’s Bryncoed Productions. In the near future where young blood restores youth to the old, four women are caught up in the illegal subculture underneath the official system of blood credits. The company also brings Undercover Kid, a fast-paced action series against the backdrop of a young boy whose police officer mother is killed on duty, but under a cloud of suspicion, resulting in his largely absent police officer father vowing to uncover the real story.

Blood Trade (Bryncoed Productions)

Designer DNA (Real Big Hits)

RIVE GAUCHE TELEVISION RIVE Gauche returns to Cannes with My Misdiagnosis (26 x 60 mins), focusing on cases where a diagnosis is given for radical surgery, expensive medication or a life-changing medical treatment plan when in time it is realised that it was unnecessary. Each episode features two cases, finally revealing what their actual medical condition really was.

My Misdiagnosis (Rive Gauche Television)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 50 • September 2018

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FILM & PICTURE

AT MIPCOM, Gaumont presents Nox (6 x 60 mins), a Canal+ Creation Originale, produced by Gaumont. The thriller is set in the tunnels beneath Paris and co-stars Nathalie Baye, Malik Zidi and Maiwenn. Gaumont is handling distribution in the US, Latin America and Asia. Studiocanal holds rights in Europe (excluding TV in France and European French-speaking territories), Africa, Middle East, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. Also on offer is the second season of The Art Of Crime (12 x 60 mins), about an ex-cop who has taken a job with a government task force fighting illegal trafficking of cultural artifacts, and partnered with FlorThe Art Of Crime (Gaumont) ence, a neurotic art historian.

FRENCH fiction-focused distributor Film & Picture brings a new TV crime series to Cannes called The Coroner (3 x 90 mins). Julie Depardieu plays a free-minded coroner who can’t resist solving the mysteries behind the corpses she has to examine, bringing the minor but nevertheless classic figure of detective stories to the forefront. Further episodes are planned.

GAUMONT

The Coroner (Film & Picture)

ARMOZA FORMATS ARMOZA Formats is launching a diverse line-up at MIPCOM, including Trend My Room (8 x 60 mins), a design show featuring three bloggers who compete to help a family to renovate a room. The Food Ambassadors (8 x 60 mins) is a new format from Israeli pubcaster, Kan, following a renowned chef as he meets fellow culinary masters, visiting different cities to understand local chefs’ dreams of achieving success. Armoza also highlights singing competition The Four (13 x 90/120 mins), which has now been picked up in over 26 territories.

ONLY DISTRIB PARIS-based distributor Only Distrib brings new 4K content to MIPCOM. Science series Supernature (5 x 52 mins), produced for Planete +, which will be ready in early 2019, reveals how scientists are observing and using the superpowers of nature to ensure sustainable future. A Chef On Tour (6 x 26 mins), co-produced with Chengdu TV, profiles the gastronomy of the Sichuan region in China. Only Distrib also brings a new season of Taste Hunters (10 x 52 mins), a culinary road trip across Japan, Ireland, South Africa and the US. The company will also represent its HD catalogue in science, environment and lifestyle with new titles including Shapers Of Tomorrow (8 x 52 mins), Planet Home (75 x 26 mins/4K) and Stunt Warriors (1 x 90 mins/2 x 52 mins/5 x 26 mins). Supernature (Only Distrib)

Trend My Room (Armoza Formats)

NPO Sales

TVN

FROM the Backlight documentary strand of the Dutch pubcaster comes Backlight: Hungary And The Open Society, looking at the government’s policies against immigrants, the media and universities; and Backlight: Radical Right-Wing Vanguard, looking at the intellectual right-wing in Germany. Another highlight is The 5 Tastes Of Joel (5 x 35 mins) in which culinary journalist Joel Broekaert travels the world to explore the five basic tastes; sweet, bitter, salt, sour and umami.

POLISH TV station TVN returns to Cannes with the third season of Diagnosis (39 x 60 mins), a medical drama with a crime twist; the 10th season of travel and adventure series Woman At The End Of The World (73 x 30 mins); the fifth season of Mega Transports; the fourth season of Demolishers; the third season of 18 Wheels Across America; and the second season of The Harbour. TVN is also prioritising two new primetime mini-series, available as formats: crime series The Trap (6 x 60 mins), and drama series Under The Surface (8 x 60 mins).

The Harbour (TVN)

The 5 Tastes of Joel (NPO Sales)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 51 • September 2018

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ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT (APC) APC IS launching Telefonica Studio’s series Gigantes at MIPCOM. Commissioned by Movistar+ in Spain, in co-production with Lazona Producciones, the 6 x 52 mins series is set in the violent and complicated relationships of a family living in the criminal underworld in Madrid. APC holds all global finished series and scripted format rights outside Spain. It has already been commissioned for a second season. The Parisian distributor also brings Sun And Man (2 x 52 mins/1 x 52 mins), a new science documentary that shines new light on man’s favourite star.

Gigantes (APC)

BANIJAY RIGHTS

BLUE ANT MEDIA

A MIPCOM launch for Banijay Rights is crime thriller The Truth Will Out (8 x 45 mins), produced by Banijay Group company Yellow Bird for Discovery’s Kanal 5 and Nordic streaming service Viaplay. Inspector Nils Soderman’s new Cold Case Unit has to investigate a letter that accuses an infamous serial killer of being a compulsive liar because the writer claims to have killed one of the victims. A factual launch is The Posh Frock Shop (25 x 30 mins) featuring the boutique of flamboyant designer Ian Stuart. Also at MIPCOM with Banijay is 60-minute re-booted adventure format Treasure Map, in which two contestants race in helicopters to solve riddles and find clues leading to the hidden treasure.

TOP SHOWS for Canada’s Blue Ant Media in Cannes include: Best Cake Wins (10 x 30 mins/HD), a competition that in each episode sees two cake-makers design a confectionary based on a child’s drawings, which is judged by a group of children; and adult animation Gary And His Demons (16 x 11 mins/ HD), about 45-year-old Gary who discovers that his boss has failed to find his replacement after retirement, and is forced to keep fighting demons for eternity. Best Cake Wins (Blue Ant Media)

The Truth Will Out (Banijay Rights)

RED ARROW STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL

BOAT ROCKER RIGHTS FEATURING Canadian comedians Andrew Bush and Mark Little, Cavendish is a new primetime comedy series produced by Temple Street (a division of Boat Rocker Media). Currently in production, the show is set to premiere on CBC in 2019. Cavendish examines the layered and complex relationship between two bickering brothers back in their hometown to take care of their ailing father. Their weekly adventures are driven by their competitive relationship and by the various townsfolk, against the backdrop of paranormal things going on in their town.

Mark Little and Andrew Bush

BASED on Eugene McCabe’s Irish novel, Death And Nightingales (3 x 60 mins) is a new drama series launched at MIPCOM by Red Arrow Studios International. Adapted and directed by Allan Cubitt, the series is produced by The Imaginarium and Soho Moon Pictures for BBC Two (UK). The story of love and revenge is set in Fermanagh in 1885: a world of spies, deception and betrayal, with simmering tensions of class, politics and religion that threaten to tear the country apart.

Death And Nightingales (Red Arrow Studios International)

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 52 • September 2018

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Meet at BO us #R7.E OTH 64

A New Touch of Blue

SMURFS™ & © Peyo 2018 - THE SMURFS: the Series © Peyo Productions and Dupuis Audiovisuel

52 x 11’ 3D CGI

Season 1 COMING SOON

Distribution: Nele De Wilde nele.dewilde@smurf.com Licensing: Benoit Bastin benoit.bastin@smurf.com Publishing: Fabienne Gilles fabienne.gilles@smurf.com

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INA

INCENDO

FRANCE’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA) brings Propaganda – The Manufacture Of Consent (1 x 52 mins) to MIPCOM. A co-production with ARTE, the film focuses on how a handful of thinkers developed the first tools of persuasion in 1914, because an unpopular war had to be promoted in the US. In less than 50 years, they created one of the fastest growing industries of recent history, public relations. Among these theoreticians was Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, and the first to apply psychoanalytical concepts to affect the rational thinking of the masses.

WITH its joint venture with 20th Century Fox International Television (Fox/Incendo), and its distribution deal in Quebec for Paramount Pictures, Canadian producer and distributor Incendo’s priorities for MIPCOM include: Thrillers Mean Queen, Mad Mom and Radio Silence; romantic comedies Love Blossoms and Love On Safari; and drama series in development Los Juniors, Echo and Disasterland.

GIL FORMATS TEL AVIV-based creator and distributer, Gil Formats, is showcasing two new formats at MIPCOM. Due to premiere later this year on Planete and TV5 Canada, 100 Jours sees celebrities taking on a 100-day physical and mental challenge in extreme conditions of heat, cold and altitude. Seven Days To Win Your Business is a format co-developed with CJ E&M in Korea, in which aspiring entrepreneurs compete to win a prime-location business venue, free for one year. Mean Queen (Incendo) 100 Jours (Gil Formats)

ENDEAVOR CONTENT ENDEAVOR Content is bringing thriller series The Little Drummer Girl to MIPCOM, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John le Carre. The six-part mini-series is produced by The Ink Factory in partnership with BBC One and AMC. Endeavor Content represents global rights on the series. The Little Drummer Girl features Alexander Skarsgard as Becker, Michael Shannon as Kurtz and Florence Pugh as Charlie. Set in the late 1970s, the thriller follows Charlie, a fiery actress and idealist whose resolve is tested after she meets the mysterious Becker on holiday in Greece. It quickly becomes apparent that his intentions are not what they seem, and her encounter with him entangles her in a complex plot devised by the spy mastermind Kurtz.

NOVOCOMEDY PARISIAN distributor of comedy shows and clips, Novocomedy, brings new additions to its catalogue to MIPCOM. One of the new offers is online community site Newsflare, which has teamed up with California-based Redwood Media to produce funny and irreverent comedy shows for all platforms. Other new titles include: Crazy Police Dashboard (13 x 11 mins); Hurricane Fury (13 x 11 mins); Hidden & Funny Pranks (78 x 22 mins); Tons Of Toons (26 x 22 mins); World’s Funniest Home Videos (78 x 22 mins); and Xtreme Sport Disaster (13 x 22 mins).

PANTOMIMUS MEDIA THE RED Harlequin is a youngadult fantasy series set in an ancient world divided by colours (Chromes), where everyone wears masks, superstition is rife and frightful creatures called Harlequins exist. Based on books by Roberto Ricci, The Red Harlequin is a Pantomimus Media production with showrunner Robert Butler and executive producer Rick Porras. The Red Harlequin (Pantomimus Media)

MAMMOTH SCREEN

The Little Drummer Girl (Endeavor Content)

PRODUCER Mammoth Screen is at MIPCOM with newly optioned television rights to DJ Target’s book Grime Kids, through Marium Raja at agency No Chiefs and Richard King at Orion. The show will tell the story of the growth of a British musical phenomenon, featuring Wiley and Dizzee Rascal. Target will work with writer Theresa Ikoko on the show. MIPCOM PREVIEW • 54 • September 2018

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MIPCOM 2018

CANADA MEANS BIG BUSINESS. SHOWBIZZ SUCCESS IN TODAY’S WORLD!

Tuesday, October 16 14:00 - 14:30 Palais des Festivals Auditorium A (level 3)

Catherine Tait, the first woman to lead Canada’s national broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada, hosts a conversation on leadership and successful programming in a tumultuous media landscape. Learn how exceptional Canadian companies have positioned themselves within the international community by developing highly innovative business models. Join us and get inspired by their success.

MODERATOR

SPEAKERS

Catherine Tait

Marie-Claude Beauchamp

President and Chief Executive Officer CBC/Radio-Canada

RDVCANADA.CA

President and Producer Carpediem Film & TV

Tassie Cameron

Executive Producer and Co-Founder Cameron Pictures

Christina Jennings Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Shaftesbury

product news

THE AFRICA CHANNEL HEADING the programming presented at MIPCOM by The Africa Channel is World Wide Nate: African Adventures, following Chicago native and global video blogger Nathan Fluellen. The series features Fluellen’s death-defying treks across the plains of Africa, his survival skills when training for the Maasai Olympics in Kenya, ice-climbing challenges in South Africa and mountain-biking in the lush landscapes of Lesotho.

NIPPON TELEVISION NETWORK CORPORATION (NIPPON TV) NIPPON TV returns to Cannes with the debut of its first 50-minute eSports show eGG (eSports Good Game), which will feature professionals in competition as well as the latest news on the world of eSports. The show is set to stream online on Nippon TV’s Catch Up service, Hulu Japan, TVer, Gyao!, and Openrec. The Japanese broadcaster and producer has also created AX Entertainment, an eSports subsidiary company that will create eSports multi-gaming team Axiz.

ADD CONTENT

World Wide Nate: African Adventures (The Africa Channel)

CARACOL TV COLOMBIA’s Caracol TV is highlighting drama series Bolivar, The Man, The Legend (60 x 60 mins) in Cannes. The story of Bolivar begins before he became a hero — telling of his mother’s death when he was a child, the death of his first wife a few Bolivar, The months after they married, and Man, The Legend his passionate love affair with (Caracol TV) Manuelita Saenz, who played a major role in his later revolutionary career. Bolivar became a symbol of leadership and justice when he formed an army of soldiers and common people to fight for freedom.

GLOBAL AGENCY ISTANBUL-based Global Agency brings a range of programming to MIPCOM. New drama series Breathless follows Ruya, who leads a quiet life in Berlin with her father when she discovers that her estranged mother is in Syria. She becomes obsessed with meeting her and undertakes a fake marriage to travel to Syria, where she finds that her father is not who she thought he was. Format Fashion Auction focuses on the second-hand fashion market. Experts discuss and value items that are then offered to the auction room.

Breathless (Global Agency)

TEL AVIV-based ADD Content is at MIPCOM with a slate of youngadult and family formats. GirlStar and GoalStar each feature 10 celebrities who enter a soccer training camp and, led by two legendary coaches, attempt to create winning soccer teams. GoalStar is in its fifth season, while GirlStar is currently in pre-production for its second season. On the scripted slate is young-adult format Euphoria, currently in production as a pilot for HBO, mixing drugs, sex, identity, social media, love and friendship, as told by a lying, drug-addicted 17-year-old girl named Rue. Also launching in Cannes is The Missing, a thriller following a brother and sister who move to a small town and find that the water supply has been geologically poisoned — and three teenagers from their high school have died under mysterious circumstances.

GirlStar (ADD Content)

UPSIDE DISTRIBUTION UPSIDE Distribution is returning to Cannes with the first exclusive footage of Nazi Science (2 x 52 mins), produced for ARTE, about the Ahnenerbe, a think tank which manipulated science to justify the racial crimes of the Reich. The French distributor also brings Japan By Gerard Depardieu (5 x 26 mins), in which actor Depardieu visits five regions in Japan, meeting locals and exploring traditions that embody the soul of the country. Two documentaries on cinema are also presented in Cannes: Summer 82, A Hollywood Summer (1 x 52 mins) featuring Ridley Scott, Sylvester Stallone, John Carpenter and Arnold Schwarzenegger; and Lalala, A Story Of Musicals (1 x 52 mins), with contributions from Damien Chazelle, George Chakiris, Alex Beaupain Japan By Gerard Depardieu (Upside Distribution) and Fanny Ardant.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 56 • September 2018

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news: WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Ben Stiller’s big break Actor, producer and director Ben Stiller will be in Cannes for the World Premiere TV Screening of prison-break drama Escape At Dannemora, hosted by CBS Studios International. He spoke to Julian Newby about the experience of directing his first TV series

ESCAPE At Dannemora is based on the true story of a prison break out in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which led to a state-wide manhunt for two convicted murderers. The mastermind behind the escape is convicted murderer Richard Matt, an artistic man but a menacing force within the prison played by Benicio del Toro. Patricia Arquette plays Tilly Mitchell, a wife and mother who supervises the prison tailor shop and becomes sexually involved with the two men and agrees to hide hacksaw blades in frozen hamburger meat to help them escape. Paul Dano plays David Sweat, a convicted cop-killer who may have genuine feelings for Tilly and becomes a reluctant partner in Richard Matt’s plot. With his global box office standing at nearly $3bn — making him one of the highest-grossing stars of all time — Ben Stiller has come late to series television. But it was clear to him that it was the best medium for this particular story.

“I think that right now television is the place where you can make the kind of movies that we’re not making anymore,” he said. “The movie business has changed so much in terms of what the major studios are putting out. This is the kind of thing that would have been made as a movie thirty or forty years ago, probably. I still think there is an audience out there for this kind of thing cinematically, but the reality is that television now is the place where you have the freedom to tell these kinds of stories, and work in a way that is not just about bringing in a huge audience to the theatres. Nowadays the movies have to make such a huge profit that it’s very hard to find a producer who would take on a story like this.” He added: “Projects like this to me are a throwback to the kinds of movie I grew up watching.” Escape At Dannemora can be dark and menacing in places — it’s not a comedy and it’s fair to say, not the kind of storytelling that we would necessarily expect from Ben Stiller.

“Yes I think that’s fair! In my mind, I’m a person who loves movies and has been doing it for a while, and it’s the kind of story that I’ve wanted to tell, but I’ve never done it until now,” he said. “And I think, for me, the experience of directing it and not acting in it was really freeing in a lot of ways. Because when you just keep on doing what you do you don’t really think about the preconceptions that people have about you. But when we went up to Plattsburgh, NY, where we shot a lot of it and where a lot of the events took place, when I met people from the area, I could tell that they were thinking that we might be trying to do some kind of comedy and in some way find the humour in the situation. I get that. I obviously haven’t directed anything in this genre before so that’s understandable.” Back in 2015 when the escape happened and the manhunt was all over the news in the US, Stiller was in Europe and so missed

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 60 • September 2018

out on the panic and excitement. He was approached by writers Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin while the story was still hot, but not knowing much about it, he turned it down. “We’ve all seen a lot of prison escape movies and they are always fun to watch but what I

Ben Stiller directs Benicio del Toro in Escape At Dannemora

was more interested in was the detail of how it happened. At the time they didn’t have that information.” But when a full report came out a year to the day of the escape happening, Stiller and his team revisited the idea. “I felt a responsibility to tell the truth as much as possible but,

you know, the truth isn’t always true and people have different versions of the same story. That’s why when we did finally decided to do it, it was really important to go up there and talk to people who experienced it.” Produced by CBS-owned Showtime, Escape At Dannemora is

written and executive produced by Brett Johnson (Mad Men) and Michael Tolkin (The Player); Stiller, Johnson and Tolkin are among the series executive producers. “The ultra-premium programming from Showtime continues to push boundaries, delivering some of the best production auspices and

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 61 • September 2018

most compelling stories on television today. Escape At Dannemora is no exception, and we look forward to premiering this highly anticipated limited series, with the amazing Ben Stiller, at MIPCOM this October,” Armando Nunez, CBS Studios International president and CEO, said.

NEWS: WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

‘Essentially Spanish,

deeply

international’ Movistar+’s new original series The Pier will have its World Premiere TV Screening at MIPCOM. Its creators Alex Pina and Esther Martinez Lobato spoke to Julian Newby ahead of their visit to Cannes FROM THE creators of Money Heist (La Casa De Papel), The Pier (Embar-cadero) follows the harrowing story of high-profile architect Alexandra, who faces her worst nightmare when she gets a call from local policeman Con-rado, asking her to identify her husband Oscar’s body, found on a pier in the beautiful Albufera landscape outside Valencia, in Spain. The couple had been making plans for their future just a few hours ago, yet all the signs point to suicide. And things get worse when Alex learns that Oscar had been leading a double-life with another woman, Veronica. Taking on a false identity, Alex moves in with Veronica and with Conrado’s help, starts looking into Oscar’s secret life. What she learns leads her to question who are her friends and who are her enemies. To complicate matters, she finds Veronica fascinating to be with and good company. But will their friendship survive the moment when Alex reveals her true identity? The eight-hour Movistar+/Tele-

fonica original series, produced in collabora-tion with Atresmedia Studios and Pina’s Vancouver Media, is shooting in Va-lencia and the surrounding spectacular Albufera National Park area, now until the end of the year. Alvaro Morte (Money Heist) stars alongside Veronica Sanchez (Morocco – Love In Times Of War) and Irene Arcos (Under Suspicion). Beta Film is handling all international rights. The series’ creators say that the initial story idea — a man with two lives dies in the first episode — was a fairly conventional one. “But from this start-ing point we then tried to develop the story from a non-conventional point of view,” Martinez Lobato said. “Once again, we worked on the ambiguity be-tween good and evil. In this instance, we tore down ethical, moral prejudice and we introduced a triangle from a wholly new perspective. The series talks about the duality that every person carries within. Somehow all of us are two differ-

ent persons on every front: public and private; higher and low-er passions; good and evil.” “We tried, as we usually do at Vancouver, to work on a different character conception,” Pina said. “We place them in a different place from the one to which they are traditionally assigned. We work to develop unusual empa-thies in the audience, that often will confront reason. In the case of a polyg-amous man, the

MIPTV PREVIEW • 62 • September 2018

challenge was almost more complex than in the case of a cruel, narcissist, misogynist robber like Berlin [Pedro Alonso’s role in Money Heist]. All this development was woven within an emotional thriller where death, murder and suicide,as well as the time chronology, are disrupted at every step of the way.” So with a constant supply of high-end TV drama engaging audiences around the world, were

Alvaro Morte and Irene Arcos in The Pier

Pina and Martinez Lobato conscious of the need to make The Pier universally appealing? “Even if we write from an essentially Spanish entity, using local characters and extremely local landscapes, this fact does not imply that its projection cannot be deeply international. In a world where so many hours of fiction are produced, a distinctive trait becomes a wonderful novelty,” Martinez Lo-bato said.

“Money Heist/La Casa de Papel was developed from a classical genre in American cinema: the perfect crime,” Pina added. “However, we changed the angle and it became much more emotional, feminine and Spanish. And the audience liked it. Now we are dealing with an emotional thriller, and so the emotions will lead the viewers at every moment. The whole series is written and shot with that priority: the characters’

emotions above anything else. And with that in mind, we have put the chronology aside and have fragmented the montage, thus prioritising the moment when the viewers’ visual experience is more sensitive and poetic.” The series is shot in Spanish, but likely to be adapted for international audi-ences. “In this story, the audiences are going to feel that they are being told something in a deeply different manner, yet

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 63 • September 2018

from material with which they are already familiar,” Pina said. “The form is very unusual and consequently the content is affected. I believe that the series’ interest is global due to the topic and the novelty of its perspective.” • The World Premiere TV Screening of The Pier is on October 16 at 18.45 in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals

NEWS: MIPCOM PRE-OPENING TV SCREENING

‘A story that can happen anywhere’ The MIPCOM Pre-Opening TV Screening of Russian crime series Trigger is brought to Cannes by Beta Film. The show’s producer Alexander Tsekalo spoke to Julian Newby ahead of the show’s Cannes premiere PRODUCED by the Sreda Production Company for Channel One Russia, and brought to MIPCOM by Beta Film, Trigger follows fashionable uptown Moscow psychologist, Artem, who controversially uses unconventional methodology on some of his patients, known as ‘provocative therapy’. Artem is convinced that the fastest and most effective cure for a number of psychological conditions is brutally to confront patients with their fears. But meanwhile his own life is thrown into chaos after he is sentenced to prison for causing a patient’s suicide. He serves his time, and once free again he opens a practice in a makeshift office in a glamorous high-rise building. To get his life back on track he needs to win his

wife back, hold on to his license to work as a psychologist, protect his teenage sister from her violent boyfriend and, most of all, prove his innocence for the death of his former patient. He knows the identity of the real killer, but proving it isn’t so easy. With each case he gets closer to his goal and, although he helps his clients, brilliantly solving their seemingly impossible problems, is he able to help himself ? Sreda executive producer Alexandra Remizova brought the project to the company. “There’s not much left from that version now, but I believed

in the idea,” series producer Alexander Tsekalo said. “It’s always very interesting to work with Alexandra — our previous common project was Trotsky, which was presented as a World Premiere at MIPCOM 2017. As for Trigger, it was obvious that we should produce it. I have close friends among psychologists, including those who practice provocative therapy.” The company’s strategy towards global appeal is all about focusing on what is going on in the rest of the world,” Tsekalo said. “We are immersed in the series world, consistently watch-

Alexander Tsekalo: “We are immersed in

the series world, consistently watching everything new that comes up”

ing everything new that comes up. We also focus on high production values. So if we have a strategy for success on the international market, it’s to learn every day, constantly to watch new TV series, get into a deep understanding of drama — and not to economise on quality.” For the international appeal of Trigger, it’s the story that counts: “There isn’t anything particularly Russian in it, or anything particularly American — it’s just a story that can happen anywhere in the world.” • The MIPCOM Pre-Opening TV Screening of Trigger, presented by Beta Film, is on Sunday, October 14, at 18.30 in the Grand Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals

‘Provocative therapy’ in Sreda’s Trigger

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 64 • September 2018

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news: ASIAN WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

Way too kawaii!

Anyone who has spent any time absorbing Japanese popular culture will have heard the word ‘kawaii’ many times. And those who haven’t can now experience kawaii first-hand, in a new romantic comedy drama series produced by Nippon TV — the MIPCOM Asian World Premiere TV Screening, Way Too Kawaii! Julian Newby reports THE JAPANESE word ‘kawaii’ essentially means ‘cute’. But like so many words of exclamation adopted by youth culture around the world, it can mean other things too. Cute culture was adopted in Japan following the student uprisings of the late Sixties. Manga comics became mainstream and a colourful visual style emerged that fast became familiar around the world — in books, comics, films and on every kind of merchandise. “It is said that “kawaii” is the most widely-used Japanese word around the world in the 21st century, but I wonder if everyone really understands its meaning,” Arisa Mori, business producer at Nippon TV said. “Is kawaii cute or pretty? Does it apply to Japanese anime or Lolita fashion? Or is it about the colourful and pop worldview that is created for children? They may indeed all be kawaii, but do they cover the entire essence of the word?” Mori believes the question “What is kawaii?” is a philosophical one, “and I invite everyone to watch this drama and pursue the meaning and unique charms of kawaii”. “Kawaii is now a universally-used word,” the series’ producer Reina Oda said. “I thought that if I was going to make a drama series for overseas, it might as well be about something that is proudly Japanese. I decided on a career story that focuses on the people who work tirelessly to create kawaii.” The setting for the 10 x 30 mins series is Harajuku, which Oda describes as “the capital of kawaii”. An area of Tokyo, the main attraction of Harajuku is Takeshita Street, where you can find a colourful pedestrianised area filled with fashion and accessory stores,

and food stands selling sweet deserts. Japanese star Yudai Chiba plays Nankichi, an ambitious editor working in the literary department of a publishing house. But his literary ambitions are dashed when he is moved to Pipin, one of the company’s fashion titles — dripping with seemingly trivial, female-targeted cuteness — everything he couldn’t care less about. Way too kawaii! But as he begins to observe the genuine skills of the models, photographers, stylists and fellow editors, his professionalism kicks in once again and he gets inspired and starts to grow into his new role. A romance blossoms, too. According to Mori, Chiba is “a handsome actor who mesmerises people with his solid acting skills”. Oda chose him for the role: “I remember when I was an assistant producer, he was a young actor on set and we had such admiration for the veterans we were working with that we vowed, ‘Let’s both become successful!’. I made one of my goals to produce a drama series with Yudai in the lead role, and it is such a great joy to achieve that.” For Chiba, his thoughts when taking on the role echoed those of his ﬁctional character. “I imagine there are people who would think, ‘Yudai Chiba is not acting his age and being cutesy again in a drama’. But Nankichi, the character I play, is actually a tough and ambitious man who simply does not appreciate kawaii,” he said. “He was an elite editor for literary works but was suddenly transferred to a teen fashion magazine. Despite all his struggles, Nankichi begins to grow. In playing this character, I thought deeply about what it means to work. How many peo-

ple are actually doing the job they dreamed of ? Even if they got the job of their dreams, how many people are actually in the ideal working environment they hoped for? In any case, we all have something we are putting up with and some unreasonable things we need to face. Yet we all try to leave our mark and move on to the next stage.” “Throughout the drama you will see us brave the bustling streets of Harajuku and ﬁlm in many of the hottest spots, including Takeshita Street, W p C [the popular teenage fashion store] and the Kawaii Monster Cafe,” Oda said. “If viewers abroad watch and say, ‘I want to go to Harajuku!’ then I would consider it a great success.” • The MIPCOM Asian World Premiere Screening, Way Too Kawaii!, is on Tuesday, October 16, at 11.30 in Auditorium A

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 66 • September 2018

Yudai Chiba plays Nankichi in Way Too Kawaii!

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Celebrating

years

of Banijay FIVE YEARS WITH THE COMPANY, CEO MARCO BASSETTI JOINS WITH HIS COLLEAGUES AT MIPCOM TO CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF BANIJAY. HERE HE REFLECTS ON THE COMPANY’S PAST AND LOOKS AHEAD TO THE NEXT 10 YEARS

ONGRATULATIONS on 10 years of Banijay and your five years with the company. What do you feel is key to the success of the company and what has driven its growth over that time? All in all, it is great to be 10: we are young enough to adapt and well-armed enough to face new challenges. Since the business was established, Stéphane Courbit has worked hard to build long-term partnerships globally, which has resulted in our operation spanning 16 territories worldwide. Now with over 70 companies across the globe, we stand as the world’s largest independent content producer and distributor. There is no doubt we have experienced exponential growth, particularly since our merger with Zodiak and I firmly believe the drivers behind our success are: our ongoing independence, extensive creative network and proven local talent. True independence has always been at the heart of Banijay and this has certainly helped us attract and retain some of the industry’s top global talent. Having worked as a producer for many years, Stéphane and myself empathise with our partners and understand the ups and downs of production. In part, this is why we are so committed to providing our talent true autonomy and creative freedom. Giving our teams the space to develop and bring the best ideas to screen, while being on hand when they need our help, whether it is for distribution, acquisition, co-creation or format purposes, certainly gives us a competitive edge. Our independence also brings us real agility, meaning we can collaborate and complete deals incredibly quickly with the best local talent. And, with such a vast and wide-spanning network of creatives, we have the benefit of being able to travel our formats within our own footprint at a faster rate.

What is your strategy for continuing that growth now and into the future? While we have experienced rapid growth, our M&A strategy has always been carefully targeted, and we continue to look for local producers with strong entrepreneurial spirit, a collaborative attitude but also with the ability to develop IP for international audiences. Predominantly focusing our attention on a handful of territories, which include Italy, Spain, Canada, Germany and Mexico, we are looking to continue building our global footprint via partnerships, startups, acquisitions and moves in the digital arena. Most recently, we expanded the Group with the launch of Little Wonder in the UK, Banijay Group Germany, Banijay Studios Italy and Banijay Asia. We have also made a significant move into scripted with the addition of four labels in the UK, which includes the expansion of our Nordic-based brand, Yellowbird. What are some of the global hits that have benefited from this strategy? We have a number of brands in our catalogue, which have been proven hits globally. Back in 2017, we acquired Castaway Productions, the brand behind Survivor, and we have seen this title has 17 productions under way worldwide with new commissions set to follow. In a period of resurgence, we are also seeing Fort Boyard return to Germany for a new version, Temptation Island make a comeback in the US, Italy and Germany and Wetten Das? enjoy a revival in Italy. Elsewhere, Bunim/Murray’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians continues widespread popularity across the globe and new launch, Stars on the Rocks has experienced stellar ratings in France.

Over in scripted, we had strong traction with Versailles, which travelled to over 135 territories, and Banijay also has trilingual political drama, Occupied, which continues to impress international audiences. In the US, we have also had success in the digital/ SVOD space with Ball in the Family becoming Facebook Watch’s most popular title to date and Bill Nye Saves the World reaching three series on Netflix. What current audience and acquisition trends are you observing? The proliferation of SVOD platforms has certainly triggered a wave of change in content consumption worldwide. With FAANG alongside the traditional players, we now have a larger pool of buyers, and are subsequently aligning our development, format and acquisition strategy with the needs of this huge cross-section of commissioners. As a producer and distributor, we have to remain agile and open to adapting for a changing landscape and are therefore always looking at innovative ways to maximise on our content. Like most European businesses, Banijay is adjusting to the rights restrictions that come with the territory of these global outfits but are equally welcoming the opportunity to collaborate with new clients on a wider range of output. Take Netflix. Its recent announcements confirm the company’s desire for a larger reality and unscripted slate comprising English- and non-English-language content, which ultimately works in our favour given our significant international footprint and track record in nonscripted. That’s not to mention Amazon, Facebook and YouTube’s moves in this space. Over in scripted, there is a much-publicised boom. We ourselves have responded by investing in a number of JVs in this space in the past year. This is not to say we are taking our eyes off unscripted. Instead, alongside our growing efforts in drama, we are exploring the wealth of opportunity in developing the next big entertainment hit. From a trends perspective, we are listening and responding to the changes being driven by the SVOD platforms. Making a Murderer, The Keepers and The Staircase have for instance signalled a real shift in crime commissioning and the likes of The Defiant Ones and Wild Country are opening up doors for niche documentary makers. There are new opportunities for drama producers too. Having said that, the latter has also signalled a rise in talent costs and limited access to on- and offscreen talent in line with increasing demand. We see the continued expansion of the market as a positive. Now, we have a wider client base and for us, it is very much business as usual. We are truly invested in developing for FAANG and other digital platforms and see it only as a good thing they are now beginning to approach us as traditional commissioners would. In a competitive market where quality is the key to success and visibility, what is your strategy for creativity?

We have always invested heavily in creativity and where possible, incentivised success across the business. With a Creative Fund in place, we look to support 10 new unscripted pilots by the end of 2019 and we also have another scheme whereby development teams are acknowledged financially in the instance of extensive cross-territory format sales. Beyond incentivisation, we hold a number of Creative, Digital, Scripted and Development Boards each year to drive idea sharing, co-productions and relationship building across the Group. To date, each of these events have resulted in successful IP generation and collaboration. At the start of 2018, we also hired a Head of Content — Lucas Green — to develop new brands and widen the potential of existing IP within the business. We have brought Carlotta Rossi-Spencer into the Group team as Head of Acquisitions to drive activity in that space and Lionel Abbo as Head of Digital to explore more avenues in that regard. All-in-all, our strategy is to develop and acquire the best IP for a wide-spanning content base and in order to do this, we hire and retain the best creative talent, build strong relationships throughout the industry and support our shows from initiation to distribution.

“With entertainment going through a resurgence, the future looks very bright for a brand like us” What is your strategy for remaining relevant and for your brands to be visible on all platforms while maintaining their profitability? We have always taken a cautious approach to the digital space but have begun making some significant steps with the hire of a Head of Digital, a global partnership with Twitter and most recently with another deal with Instagram Building on our strength in high-quality production and storytelling, we have concentrated on a number of areas for growth and brand extension. Partnering with Gant, our team at Zodiak Factory and Mastiff in the Nordics established and produced Couple Thinkers for YouTube and in the US, a CoverGirl collaboration saw Bunim/Murrary create Allure Incubator — the first-ever crossplatform beauty influencer reality competition. We have also invested in The Blast in the US via Banijay North America and in Non-Stop People in France. Despite changes in the market, our core business is storytelling, and even in this fast-changing industry, that will remain. So, instead of making any drastic changes, we are taking a 360 approach to development, production and distribution and looking at how we can exploit our content in the digital era we find ourselves in.

What are Banijay’s highlights, aims and objectives for MIPCOM? While 10 years is particularly poignant for us, MIPCOM is always a key milestone in the year for our Rights and Group representatives. Proving a useful touchstone in our overall sales planning, it gives us a prime opportunity to connect with our clients, build on existing relationships and foster new ones. From acquisitions to sales, it is always a brilliant platform to showcase the strength of our programming — both emerging titles and those existing already in the catalogue. Highlights this year on the scripted front include: Hidden (8 x 45’), a dark urban fantasy thriller; The Truth Will Out (8 x 45’), a Scandi noir crime story; Les Ombres Rouge (6 x 60’), a French-language drama; and hard-hitting returning series, Black Lake Series 2, Public Enemy Series 2, and The Restaurant Series 2. On unscripted, we will continue proving our place in the market as ‘The Home of Adventure Reality’ by launching the reboot of Shipwrecked and French hit, Treasure Map, alongside our existing standout brands, Temptation Island and Survivor. Building on our already diverse and voluminous factual catalogue, we will also be sharing a range of new titles, with highlights including The Posh Frock Shop (25 x 30’) and Ray Winstone’s World: Sicily (6 x 60’). With our 10-year anniversary at the forefront of this year’s visit to Cannes, we will be broadening our relationships across the industry and ensuring maximum engagement with the brand, its history and our titles. How do you see things in 5 or even 10 years’ time? I would say that we will see more efforts in the direct-to-consumer space and continued consolidation of the already consolidated. As the pool of buyers continues to expand and competition heightens, I also envisage each offering becoming far more clearly defined to maintain its position in this already crowded space. As a business, we generally do not believe in trends and instead follow the mantra that regardless of the landscape, content remains king. We will continue with this ethos, focusing on hiring the best talent in the market and maintaining our efforts in unscripted, while continuing to adapt our model to ensure ROI and IP retention. It is an exciting time to be in the content business and I look forward to what the future holds for Banijay, as we continue to grow and maximise on our prolific global footprint. With entertainment going through a resurgence, the future looks very bright for a brand like us. How are you celebrating 10 years? While it is business as usual in Cannes, we will be celebrating the milestone in a number of ways with our teams worldwide. Those of us at MIPCOM will be coming together to toast to the anniversary and we hope to bring the joy back to our local offices across the globe.

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FEATURE: PRODUCTION FUNDING

Technicolor’s Alison Warner

Atrium TV’s Richard Halliwell

KMG’s Steven Silver

Gaumont’s Nicolas Atlan

Keshet International’s Sebastian Burkhardt

Playground Entertainment’s Colin Callender

Meet the investors C

ONTENT is proving to be truly king as Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg successfully raises a whopping $1bn to fund the temporarily named NewTV, a start-up dedicated to creating mobile-delivered original short-

form series. Scheduled to launch next year, Katzenberg’s radical concept for digital video understandably attracted investors from the global TV business, including The Walt Disney Company, Warner Media and Viacom. But the investment’s core element came from venture-capital

The new MIPCOM Production Funding Forum brings producers together with investors to kickstart premium content projects. Juliana Koranteng talks to funds and producers to find out who’s investing in what — and why

firm Madrone Capital Partners, supported by investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase. This deal is separate from the $750m already raised by WndrCo, an investment fund co-founded by Katzenberg and a major NewTV shareholder. “Investors feel there is a tre-

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mendous upside in owning content and exploiting that content because of the proliferation of platforms globally,” says Sebastian Burkhardt, senior vice-president of digital and acquisitions at Israel-headquartered Keshet International (KI) and Keshet Digital Studios.

FEATURE: PRODUCTION FUNDING KI launched a $55m global content fund earlier this year to invest in premium drama. Its backers include private-investment companies Altshuler Shaham Investment, Phoenix Insurance, Arxcis Global Wealth Management and Halman Aldubi Investment House. “Owning a share of that [premium drama] content is a very attractive investment proposition,” Burkhardt adds. What NewTV and KI have achieved in terms of raising privately owned cash to fund TV entertainment is a big deal. Some may remember 2005, when UK-based Sparrowhawk Media Group, led by former Channel 5 CEO David Elstein, baffled the industry by successfully persuading banks and private-equity firms 3i and Providence Equity Partners to contribute to its $242m takeover of since disbanded Hallmark International, a network-TV owner with al-

most 600 TV and film titles. An approach then considered unusual is now gaining acceptability, following the decline in broadcasters’ ability to back most or all of the shows commissioned, including the increasingly expensive cinema-quality dramas and scripted content in demand these days. Deep-pocketed streaming platforms such as Netflix, which is reportedly spending $8bn on original content in 2018, have filled part of the gap. Other media-tech conglomerates, including Apple, Facebook, Hulu and Amazon, are hiking their SVOD original-content budgets too. But in return for that generous bankrolling, the tech giants ask for total global rights, which several independent producers are unhappy about. Meanwhile, demand for highend content continues to exceed supply as international broadcast groups launch rival SVOD platforms. These include the

newly announced Discovery Communications and ProSiebenSat.1 joint venture, Disney’s ambitions to rival Netflix and US retailer Walmart’s plans to challenge Amazon in the SVOD space. Their activities are being complemented by a new generation of intellectual-property (IP) financiers. Media investor Anton Capital Entertainment has joined forces with BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), the commercial arm of the UK public broadcaster, to form The Drama Investment Partnership to fund scripted fiction with £2.5m-plus-per-hour budgets. “This partnership is designed to accelerate the financial green light of premium scripted drama by providing early-stage commitment to deficit finance,” says Colin Waters, BBC Studios’ content investment director. “BBC Studios is actively sourcing projects and should be approached in the first instance regarding potential opportunities.”

Atrium TV is another finance venture supporting producers making content specifically for national SVOD operators. These platforms are competing against the likes of Netflix and Amazon in their respective home markets, but do not necessarily have the streaming giant’s large coffers. “We have two layers of investments,” says UK-based Richard Halliwell, Atrium TV’s co-founder and CEO of international distributor DRG. “There is the initial investment that Atrium TV makes in those ideas it believes in. And then, when developed and presented, we are looking for our members to invest in projects to take them into production.” Among the Atrium TV projects in the works are several by the business’ acclaimed creators, which include Oscar-winning Hollywood scion Michael Douglas, multi-award-winner Ava DuVernay (director of Selma and A Wrinkle In Time) and legendary Hollywood producer Mike Medavoy. “The concept and a desire to finance comes first — how we actually do it comes second,” Halliwell adds.

Richard Halliwell:

“The concept and a desire to finance comes first — how we actually do it comes second”

Gaumont’s Noddy, Toyland Detective, a co-production with DreamWorks Animation

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Toronto-headquartered Kew Media Group (KMG) has become a major player following a $100m-plus-acquisition spree, during which it snapped up several prolific production companies and rights-owners, including Content Media Group. “We try to partner with companies that are looking to plug into some-

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FEATURE: PRODUCTION FUNDING thing bigger, and who we feel are well placed to exploit what the Kew platform offers,” says Steven Silver, KMG’s CEO and co-founder. “Once inside Kew, companies we have bought are able to utilise the Kew platform, our resources, our relationships and, most importantly, our distribution arms, Kew Media Distribution and TCB Media Rights, to supercharge their growth.” The profile of Finnish media venture-capital company IPR. VC is rising thanks to some imaginative investment choices. These include Nordic multimedia production group Gigglebug Entertainment and, most recently, the development cycle of the TV series based on The Red Harlequin fantasy novels. But, interestingly, IPR.VC says that producers seeking its financial assistance must have an anchor broadcaster on board, illustrating the value that is still placed on knowing that content is defi-

nitely going to be seen. “IPR. VC does not want to be the sole investor. Some basis for one or two broadcasters and, possibly, an SVOD platform is desirable. All other platforms will then be open for business,” says IPR.VC advisor Jorma Sairanen. Alison Warner has similar opinions in her role as vice-president of IP sales, acquisitions and co-productions at the special-effects multinational Technicolor. She focuses on projects within the Technicolor Creative Development unit in Hollywood and the Paris-based Technicolor Animation Productions division. Among the concepts Technicolor has funded and developed is the Tom Taylor graphic novel The Deep, which it optioned about five years ago. Currently in its third season, The Deep is where it is today thanks to the early involvement of Australian co-producer A Stark Production, which helped clinch

a commission from Australia’s ABC network. Technicolor then felt assured it would get its money back. The Deep has also been licensed to Bloomsbury for books and Simba Toys for toys, among other IP brand extensions. “Institutions like banks are still wary of IP, so producers should secure an anchor broadcaster, ideally in the country of origin,” Warner says. “It’s proof that everything is going to work. They expect you to have kicked the tyres — you don’t go to investors without having done that.” Neil Zeiger is a producer at London-based Nevision, the independent content producer/financier behind breakout dramas Keeping Faith and Oil, as well as HBO documentary Rolling Stone and factual feature film Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes For Lizards. “In the way it is funded, TV is

Wolf Hall, from independent Playground Entertainment

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now more like feature films, because budgets have shot up to £1m-£2m an hour for dramas. Meanwhile getting funds for factual is getting tougher unless you find specific broadcasters,” Zeiger says.

Neil Zeiger:

“In the way it’s funded, TV is now more like feature films, because budgets have shot up to £1m-£2m an hour for dramas” He argues that investors must, in turn, be prepared to take on a bit of creative responsibility, serving as producer or executive producer, for example, in order to understand what is being done with their money. “As investors, we look to earn a percentage of the equity of a show,” he adds. “The pull for us is the creativity on the one side and the money on the other. You want something that sells. That really means moving forward and working with other people. It’s therefore about sharing. From a pure investor’s point of view, that can be a difficult thing to do.” Vertigo Films is also bringing its long-established skills in financing feature films to the TV sector. You now need to be as creative in sourcing funding as you are in developing shows, says Jane Moore, Vertigo’s CEO. “You are no longer depending on one commissioning entity,” she adds. “But then, not only are you free to seek the finance, it also leaves you free in how you work creatively. You have to be busi-

FEATURE: PRODUCTION FUNDING

ness savvy in TV today, in the way we have always had to be in the film business.” You also need to offer investors a long-term outlook, such as plans to adopt the emerging ultra-high resolution 4K technology, to help them feel confident that the IP will keep yielding royalties — as was the case with Vertigo’s Horrid Henry: The Movie. That financial shrewdness is all the more important in view of the variety of options for sourcing budgets now available to producers. Nicolas Atlan, Gaumont’s president of animation and family, argues that producers need to work with like-minded investors. He says he likes working with subscrip-

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tion-funded investors such as Netflix because “they are ready to take risks”. He emphasises how the streaming giant’s dependence on subscriptions means its shows are not restricted by the regulations enforced on ad-funded platforms. “They want to be able to tell stories in original ways and be ready to push the envelope,” Atlan says. The resulting demand for a greater variety of quality content has encouraged Gaumont to expand its children’s animation portfolio. New titles include Noddy, Toyland Detective, a co-production with DreamWorks Animation, Bionic Max, which is being developed for French kids’ network Gulli and another co-produc-

tion of Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo. “Groundbreaking IP is always king of our industry. Platforms and broadcasters need this,” Atlan adds. Sometimes after an idea has been successfully developed, finance is needed to make a pilot episode — and UK-based Wildseed Studios has made this area one of its specialities. “We invest directly into piloting new ideas, so all we need in place is a great scripted idea aimed at audiences below 30 and a creator we believe has the chops to deliver it creatively,” says Wildseed’s creative director Jesse Cleverly. But he cautions that those seeking finance should never underestimate the challenges: “It’s a long tough road

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and not all creative talents are suited to the level of collaboration required.” Colin Callender, CEO of Playground Entertainment, the international independent that has been wowing the industry with acclaimed adaptations such as Little Women, Howards End and Wolf Hall, reminds private investors that there is more to IP creativity than money. “It always helps when the different investing parties understand how the creative process works,” he says. “The process of making a show is different in each market. It’s not just a question of what’s on the screen, but also what it takes for it to get there. If you have good work, it will always find funding.”

FEATURE: FILM FUNDS

‘A win-win situation’ Film commissions are an increasingly important part of the funding jigsaw as budgets for premium content continue to contract. Fortunately, more and more countries and regions are setting up incentives to attract foreign producers — and the jobs, cash and kudos they bring with them. Juliana Koranteng reports

T A TIME when budgets for highend TV productions are hard to come by, film commissions are increasingly providing financial lifelines. Numerous jurisdictions worldwide have set up commissions to support their local filmmaking and TV industries, and among the assistance they offer are the much-needed funds to finish projects. “In these challenging times, financing is one of the best products available from com-

missions,” says Beth Stevenson, founder of Canada-based international independent Brain Power Studio. “From high-end productions to digital content, no one is giving independents 100% of the budgets they need. Therefore, you have to reach out to the commissions.” Film commissions are known mostly for issuing the film permits required to shoot bigbudget productions in prestigious locations. Many of the striking scenes in HBO’s fan-

tasy phenomenon Game Of Thrones were shot in Ireland and other European countries. The backdrops to other HBO hits, including Westworld, Veep and Sharp Objects, CBS’ S.W.A.T, Fox’s Lucifer and FX’s Legion came courtesy of the California Film Commission. The Berlin-Brandenburg Film Commission facilitated the German scenes in Showtime’s blockbuster Homeland. Film France recently helped source the locations for the BBC’s Death In Paradise, Sky Atlantic’s Patrick

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Melrose and Riviera, National Geographic’s Genius and Netflix’s Sense8. And a number of hits set in the US were shot in Vancouver, Canada. Producers are expected to make the selected territory their homefrom-home during the shoot, employ local crew and other staff, and use local services, from caterers to post-production houses. Such moves not only boost local economies, but also help promote a country’s cultural heritage in the international TV and movie sectors. Add the

Brain Power Studio’s children’s live-action series The Ponysitters Club

commissions’ ability to help producers access the growing number of government-sanctioned financial incentives, especially tax credits, that can cover up to 35% of production budgets, and these agencies are understandably in demand. Brain Power Studio’s Stevenson, who recently completed children’s live-action series The Ponysitters Club for Nickelodeon Kids Latin America and Netflix (which has the SVOD rights outside Latin America), has worked closely with commis-

sions to help finance 17 films and more than 2,800 hours of TV. For international co-productions, she calls Canada’s film agencies, which include Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund, “wonderful match-making organisations” that do much more than help access stunning backdrops. For example, Canadian commissions can point domestic producers and their foreign co-production partners to the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO), which

helps administer the country’s tax-credit scheme. As long as the applicant can prove the production is being made by a local outfit or with one from a country signatory to Canada’s numerous co-production treaties, it can apply for the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. This entitles applicants to a 25% refundable tax credit on the production money spent in the country. The maximum is limited to 15% of the production cost, excluding any financial assistance.

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In California, the state’s tax-credit scheme attracted or retained 100-plus movie and TV projects from 2015 to 2017, and generated $3.7bn in expenditure by the production companies in the Golden State, according to the California Film Commission (CFC). These potential economic gains have made tax credits very competitive among the US states. For example, Louisiana allocates tax incentives of up to $150m a year for film and TV productions. In Georgia, tax credits reached $600m in

FEATURE: FILM FUNDS

Brain Power Studios’ Beth Stevenson

2016, while New Jersey recently announced an $85m annual scheme. In New York state, the annual tax-credit fund is a significant $420m and California is not far behind with $330m. After starting at $100m a year in 2009, California’s current Tax Credit Program 2.0 shot up to $330m annually in 2014. The $330m fund is being extended from 2020 to 2025 in the Program 3.0 cycle. California’s Program 2.0 initiative includes an extra 5% tax credit for ‘non-independents’, which include the Hollywood studios,

Film France’s Valerie Lepine-Karnik

that opt to shoot outside Los Angeles’ Thirty Mile Zone (TMZ). Program 3.0 will include additional provisions to help independents. In all, says Nancy Rae Stone, director of CFC’s film and TV tax-credit programme, California is well positioned to lure major TV productions away from rival North American states. Since 2014, several series have relocated to California from New York (including Showtime’s The Affair and Amazon’s Sneaky Pete), Georgia (NBC’s Good Girls), Louisiana (FX’s American Horror Story) and

Westworld, produced with the assistance of the California Film Commission

The Thailand Film Office’s Worateera Suvarnsorn

Vancouver (Legion and Lucifer). “The allocation for TV is usually over-subscribed,” Stone says. “We have many TV network studios and new players, such as Netflix, and they come to California because it provides so many advantages.” Not only does the state offer great infrastructure and weather, but its topography is so varied that you can shoot virtually anywhere, “from South of France to Iraq”, within its borders. Another draw is the flexibility of the Californian tax-credit scheme, Stone adds: “Successful applicants can monetise the tax credits to get loans from banks or independent investors. Wealthy individuals can apply as non-independents, while independents are able to transfer the credits. With the additional benefits, even the smaller films have a better chance of getting something.” Katrien Maes, Screen Flanders’ film commissioner, says tax breaks and other financial incentives have done much to make the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium attractive to producers of high-profile TV dra-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 74 • September 2018

mas, documentaries and animation. International projects to have filmed in Flanders include Les Miserables from the BBC, the 2013 drama The White Queen from Company Pictures and State Of Happiness from Maipo Film. Screen Flanders’ sister organisation, the Screen Flanders Economic Fund, operates a €4.5m annual budget to support film and TV projects that spend part or all of their expenditure in the region. It can finance up to 15% of the eligible costs, or a maximum of €400,000. There is also the Belgian Tax Shelter, which aids European productions and co-productions as defined by the European Union’s 2010 Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Qualifying producers receive Tax Shelter Certificates, which can be sold to investors to raise funds of up to €15m. Additionally, local producers have access to the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF). This operates the Media Fund (€5.6m in 2017), which supports high-quality television content co-produced with a Flemish TV broadcaster. “It’s a win-win-win situation for all the parties involved,”

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FEATURE: FILM FUNDS Maes says. “The producer is offered a very attractive way to finance projects, the investor obtains tax exemptions through a virtually risk-free investment, and the Belgian state benefits from increased economic activity and spend.” According to Maes, these benefits have enabled Flemish filmmakers to hone their craft and raise their international standing. “TV series don’t only come to Flanders for the stunning locations and attractive incentives, but also to work with local talent,” she adds. Examples of Flemish directors behind top international shows include Tim Mielants on The Tunnel, Peaky Blinders and Legion; Hans Herbots on Riviera; Jakob Verbruggen on The Fall, the US edition of The Bridge, London Spy, House Of Cards, Black Mirror and The Alienist; and Pieter Van Hees on Versailles. Film France, which oversees more than 18,000 French locations and works with 36 local film commissions, promotes Paris, the South of France, Calais and many French regions in global hits. Recently, these have included the first season of BBC America’s Killing Eve, the finale of Sense8, National Geographic’s Genius and Warp Films’ The Last Panthers. “Film France provides assistance with financing your project in France, co-productions and the whole support system, as well as the tax rebate for international productions,” says Valerie Lepine-Karnik, Film France’s CEO. Other French financial support includes the Tax Rebate for International Production (TRIP), which covers 30% of eligible expenditure in France, with a maximum value of €30m a project. The minimum spend is either €250,000 or 50% of the total budget.

John Hurt in The Last Panthers, produced with the assistance of Film France

The UK is surely one of the most prolific regions when it comes to attracting international TV shows. The Crown, Luther, Black Mirror, Sherlock, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man and Mr Selfridge all feature UK locations. The British Film Commission guides domestic producers and international co-producers to the relevant tax-credit schemes and other funds. For high-end scripted dramas costing at least £1m per hour, it is possible to obtain relief for up to 80% of the qualifying expenditure on a production. There are also local regional funds to entice productions out of London. For example, the West Midlands Production Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, can award between £100,000 and £500,000 to qualifying productions shooting in central western England. Then there is the public-private Yorkshire Content Fund, which is managed by Screen Yorkshire and invests between £10,000 and £500,000 in individual productions taking place in the north of England. Over in Germany, financial backing for the development, production and distribution of high-end

TV dramas is available via Medienboard Berlin Brandenberg, one of country’s busiest film offices, says Berlin-Brandenburg film commissioner Christiane Raab. Medienboard Berlin Brandenberg uses its annual €31.6m fund to co-finance film, TV and digital productions created within the metropolitan area, which includes Berlin city centre, its larger metropolitan district and the surrounding Brandenburg region. “We support films at different stages, from script and project development to production and distribution,” Raab says. “Non-German producers can profit from our fund through a co-production.” Thailand, where 810 foreign productions were filmed last year and 400 more took place from January to June this year, is a favourite Asian location for content-makers. “The Thailand Film Office offers incentives to international productions in the form of 15% to 20% cash rebates,” says Worateera Suvarnsorn, the organisation’s director. “The 15% main incentive is granted to filmmakers with

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filming permits from us and local expenditure of more than 50 million Thai bahts, which must be spent on Thai-registered businesses, services and employees.” She adds that an additional 3% is available to productions that hire key Thai personnel, such as directors and executive producers, and there is another 2% on offer if the film promotes Thai tourism.

Worateera Suvarnsorn:

“The Thailand Film Office offers incentives to international productions in the form of 15% to 20% cash rebates” As Canada-based independent producer Beth Stevenson says: “How can you find the money to create a $3m-$5m production? Commissions can help facilitate that. That has been the evolution over the years.”

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FEATURE: THE STREAMING FIGHTBACK

The battle lines are drawn

“Under threat”: the BBC’s Sherlock

The US SVOD giants may not be getting it all their own way for much longer, writes Andy Fry. The world’s traditional broadcasters are now squaring up to the disruptors, forming unprecedented alliances and bolstering their digital offers in an effort to win back viewers

HE SVOD giants Netflix and Amazon seem like they are on an unstoppable growth trajectory, piling on subscribers as a result of aggressive content investment. But in reality, they face a wide array of competitors, ranging from regional SVOD and AVOD players to pay-TV platforms and channels with their own on-demand ambitions. And now to this list must be added the freeto-air broadcasters, which have also decided to make a strategic stand against the US giants. A good example is Salto, a new France-based subscription OTT service to be launched by France

Televisions, M6 and TF1. Unveiled in June, the new service will offer a mix of sports, entertainment, French drama, US series, documentaries and movies. Commenting on the initiative, France TV president Delphine Ernotte-Cunci said: “Faced with the global platforms, Salto will provide a high-quality service to all our audience and showcase the best of French and European creations.” A few years ago, the prospect of these three rivals working together would have raised eyebrows. But increased investment in local content by Netflix and Amazon, which in turn is driving subscriptions, has forced their hand. Gilles

Pelisson, chairman and CEO of TF1, called it “a strong commitment to openness and strategic co-operation with both French and European players. It will give us the weapons to face our challenges and meet the expectations of our audience.” There is a similar rumble of resistance from the UK’s freeto-air broadcasters. In 2017, Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC, warned that the future of iconic British-made TV shows, such as Sherlock and Broadchurch, is “under serious threat” from the rise of the global OTT giants. This summer, the UK public broadcaster joined forces with free-to-air ri-

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vals ITV and Channel 4 to invest £125m into transforming DTT platform Freeview into “a fully hybrid platform, providing the best in free-to-view live and on-demand TV”. Working with network operator Arqiva, the partners are committed to helping Freeview exploit the trend towards cord-cutting as viewers build their own skinny bundles: “The agreement to develop Freeview as a fully hybrid platform reflects the continuing strength of linear TV, but also the growth of on-demand viewing,” said the partners in the launch announcement. Addressing the unusual nature of their alliance, the three UK broadcast giants also noted that: “UK media regulator Ofcom recently highlighted challenges created by new players, such as Netflix and Amazon, calling for more industry collaboration to maintain the prominence of public-service broadcasting content on connected TV interfaces.”

FEATURE: THE STREAMING FIGHTBACK While the Freeview investment is fundamentally designed to defend public-sector broadcasting on UK soil, the BBC and ITV are also taking the fight to Netflix and Amazon in their home market. In 2017, they launched BritBox, a service that offers high-quality UK TV to North American audiences for $6.99 a month, ranging from classic shows such as The Office to new titles such as The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco. BritBox North America president Soumya Sriraman says: “Netflix and Amazon are trying to be everything to everyone, but we believe that many consumers are still seeking services that cater to their passions.”

Soumya Sriraman:

“Netflix and Amazon are trying to be everything to everyone, but we believe that many consumers are still seeking services that cater to their passions”

Similar reactions to the SVOD giants are also evident in other markets, though they take different forms. Japan’s free-to-air commercial broadcasters, for example, were among the first to recognise the threat represented by the new forms of distribution and develop digital services in response. TBS, for example, created TBS On Demand, TV Asahi introduced its AbemaTV app and Nippon TV acquired Hulu Japan. In addition to this, TBS, AV Asahi and Nippon TV joined forces with Fuji TV and TV Tokyo in 2015 to created TVer, a free catch-up VOD app that offers a range of content from across the five broadcasters. Designed to stem the tide of young audiences leaving traditional TV, TVer sees each of the five partners supply a range of drama and variety programmes, which are frequently rotated in and out of the service. Up in the Nordics, meanwhile, the region’s five public broadcasters — SVT Sweden, DR Denmark, YLE Finland, NRK Norway and RUV Iceland — recently announced a content-driven initiative in response to intense competition from Amazon, Netflix, and

The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, available on BritBox

others. Dubbed Nordic12, the goal of the collaboration is to increase the volume and quality of Nordic drama on their TV and streaming services. It will achieve this through more co-productions and by making pubcaster-produced dramas more accessible across the region and for a longer period. Maria Rorbye Ronn, CEO and director general of DR, echoes the BBC’s Tony Hall when she says: “Nordic12 is intended to help us ensure that drama remains a strong feature of Nordic public-service content. Quite simply, when we join forces as public-service providers, we are in a stronger position and can provide a better offering to viewers. Nordic12 sends an ambitious message to suggest how we, as public-service providers, can think outside the box, take a strong position against the global giants and deliver quality Nordic content

to viewers and users throughout the Nordic region in the best possible way.” In its first iteration, the Nordic12 collaboration, which is managed through the pre-existing Nordvision partnership, will see 12 drama productions, including NRK’s Home Ground, YLE’s Blind Donna, RUV’s Manners, DR’s Liberty and SVT’s The Summer Of ’68, made available across the five public broadcasters’ streaming services as soon as they are completed. Explaining the emphasis on drama, Ronn says the genre is “the obvious way to reach a broad section of Nordic viewers”. She adds: “It deals with our shared culture and identity and has the power to link the Nordic countries across different languages and generations.” Nordivision secretary general Henrik Hartmann says the new partnership is vital if the Nordic public broadcasters are to

Maria Rorbye Ronn: “Nordic12 sends an

NRK’s Home Ground, featuring on Nordic12

ambitious message to suggest how we, as public-service providers, can think outside the box and take a strong position against the global giants”

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FEATURE: THE STREAMING FIGHTBACK meet the threat posed by the global SVOD giants: “We must become even better at working together to strengthen our position against the international players.” While there is clearly a logic in free-to-air broadcasters banding together, given their shared commercial heritage, it is interesting to note that some new OTT initiatives involve collaborations between players that originated in different tiers of the TV business. In Germany, for example, ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery are planning a combined OTT platform that will offer a multi-genre menu of content from free-to-air channels ProSieben and Sat.1, SVOD platform Maxdome and Discovery-owned sports platform Eurosport. The ‘freemium’ venture will be headed by former Google/YouTube executive Alexandar Vassilev, who is chief executive of ProSiebenSat.1’s existing online business, 7TV (which will be folded into the new platform). Vassilev says: “All our efforts are focused on understanding what viewers want and building the best, most user-friendly product for German audiences. We have a fast-growing team with experts from around the world and can’t wait to show our platform and services in 2019.”

Alexandar Vassilev:

“All our efforts are focused on understanding what viewers want and building the best, most user-friendly product for German audiences”

Sitcom Schitt’s Creek, available on CBC’s own OTT streaming service

According to the two partners, the OTT platform will offer the full entertainment package of live streams, an extensive media library of premium local content and the best from Hollywood, as well as high-quality sports content. Significantly, ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery have also invited their free-toair rivals to join them on the new platform — a further indication of the paradigm shift towards collaboration. Max Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Group, says: “Our aim is 10 million users in the first two years and we are putting very significant resources and investment with urgency into this effort. I am also inviting RTL and ARD/ZDF to join us, so we can have one German champion.” All of the above activity raises several questions. First, are we likely to see further examples of this kind of activity around the world? In this regard, it will be interesting to see what happens in Canada, where Netflix is a commanding presence in the SVOD sector. Here, payTV giants Rogers and Shaw tried to take on Netflix with an SVOD service called Shomi,

but pulled the plug in 2016. Bell, a national telco with extensive TV interests, has a service called CraveTV, which has so far struggled to keep up with Netflix. In late 2017, public broadcaster CBC launched its own OTT streaming service, which allows viewers to watch shows such as Schitt’s Creek on digital devices. Perhaps this is a market where some kind of alliance, based around the provision of free and pay-TV content, will offer an alternative to Netflix. The second question is whether such services will stand up to scrutiny from regulators. While free-TV and pay-TV concerns about Netflix are legitimate, it will be interesting to see if Germany’s regulator is happy to wave through a platform that has all of Germany’s leading free-to-air broadcasters and Discovery supplying it with content. After all, a previous attempt by ZDF and ARD to join forces behind an OTT service called Gold was blocked. Something similar happened in the UK back in 2007, when BBC/ITV/Channel 4 Project Kangaroo was also blocked — although Ofcom has intimated that it would look more favour-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 82 • September 2018

ably on such a service in today’s climate. Finally, there is a fundamental question as to whether such services can succeed. Leaving aside the fact that Salto and others are late to join the OTT party, they will also quickly discover that there are marked differences between the heart-warming prospect of collaboration and the realities of putting it into practice. Issues of management, investment, rights acquisition and allocation, and ROI will need to be addressed if this latest streaming fightback is to make its mark. Furthermore, the collapse of services such as Shomi, Watchever and Seeso illustrates just how hard it is to beat Netflix and Amazon at their own game. Canal+ in France is also in the process of shutting down its own OTT service CanalPlay, which has seen its subscriber base reduced to rubble by the arrival of Netflix. Canal+’s French chief, Frank Cadoret, recently told French newspaper Les Echos that he was sceptical that Salto could succeed where CanalPlay had failed. If it does, he promised “bottles of champagne for everyone”.

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FEATURE: DRAMA

Aim to be different For all the talk of the bubble bursting and the market saturating, the demand for high-end drama shows no sign of slowing. But in a scripted-content market that has never been more competitive, cutting through the clutter can be a drama in itself. Andy Fry reports

HE TV drama sector continues to defy gravity. Despite concerns that there is an oversupply of scripted content, a seemingly endless array of great new shows launches on to the global market every month. Getting from script to screen is, however, only

part of the process. Just as challenging is persuading the audience to sample your show and stick with it. FremantleMedia’s executive vice-president and creative director of global drama, Christian Vesper, says it is crucial for shows to be “different to anything else that’s out there”.

Gaia Girace (Lila) and Margherita Mazzucco (Elena) in My Brilliant Friend

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 85 • September 2018

FEATURE: DRAMA He adds: “I was really happy when I tuned into Picnic At Hanging Rock’s recent debut on BBC Two in the UK, because it didn’t look like anything else on TV. And that’s something we aim for with all our shows. My Brilliant Friend, a co-production with HBO and Rai, and American Gods, which was recently renewed by Starz, are other examples of shows on our slate that have a unique, authored vision.” There is, of course, a balancing act, Vesper says, between delivering shows with a distinctive voice and giving networks and audiences elements they can quickly latch on to, such as A-list casts and pre-loved source material. “Strong IP is essential and, in the above examples, we have two great literary works and an iconic film as our starting points. But the way you elevate the production is through the vision of the writer or the director. It was bringing in Larysa Kondracki as director on Picnic that has given the show its unique feel.” At MIPCOM, FremantleMedia will debut Beecham House, another show that Vesper expects to grab the attention of buyers. Written by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), the six-part series is set in Delhi during the early years of the British Raj in India. It depicts the fortunes of the residents of Beecham House, an imposing mansion surrounded by acres of exotic woods and pristine lawns. “Gurinder is the kind of unique talent who can bring a distinctive point of view to a big-budget commercial production,” Vesper says. “We see Beecham House as an elegant, historical epic that will combine romance and escapism.” Echoing Vesper, Peter Iacono, Lionsgate Television’s president of international TV and digital distribution, says standing out

in TV’s competitive environment comes down to “story and talent”. He adds: “We partner with the most creative talent to deliver must-see programming. We support innovative ideas and provide creatives with the freedom to develop and produce high-quality, authentic and engaging content.”

Peter Iacono:

Natalie Dormer as Mrs Appleyard in Picnic At Hanging Rock

“We support innovative ideas and provide creatives with the freedom to develop and produce highquality, authentic and engaging content” Starz, which Lionsgate acquired in late 2016 for $4.4bn, has enjoyed global success with period productions The White Queen and The White Princess. At MIPCOM, Lionsgate is presenting the third instalment, The Spanish Princess. “The previous two shows reinvigorated the way we engage with history,” Iacono says. “They are proof that great, energetic storytelling can bring any story to life.” A big part of The Spanish Princess’ appeal, Iacono believes, is that it is told from a female perspective: “So many women’s points of view have yet to be told. We are not only finding and telling these stories, but we’re also empowering women to tell them. The Spanish Princess is drawn from global bestselling books from a fe-

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FEATURE: DRAMA male author, it is led by a female showrunner and also has all female directors.” The same applies to Lionsgate’s other big MIPCOM launch, The Rook, which is led by two female showrunners and has a mostly female writing staff. In the show, Emma Greenwell plays Myfanwy, a powerful member of the UK’s secret (supernatural) service, the Checquy. Vanessa Shapiro, president of worldwide TV distribution and co-production at Gaumont, stresses the importance of casting the net as widely as possible in order to find distinctive talent: “We invest heavily in development. We have around 40 projects in development in our US and Paris offices, and we are opening offices in the UK and Germany this summer — local productions are a big priority for us right now.” Shapiro says Gaumont’s teams meet regularly with talent agents, writers, directors and producers to keep abreast of trends and discover ideas with potential. It also seeks to secure first-look deals with talent. In the US, for example, Gaumont

has first-look deals with Academy Award-winner Christopher McQuarrie and his producing partner Heather McQuarrie under their Invisible Ink banner, as well as with JC Chandor and his production company CounterNarrative. “We also have a fantastic library of content that we can mine,” Shapiro adds. “We are currently in development on At Bay, which is based on Gaumont’s award-winning film 36 Quai des Orfevres.” In terms of selecting projects that can stand out, she says: “We look for projects with strong original concepts that can be developed over a limited or 13-episode series and attach great talent, from the executive producers, to the producers, writers, directors and actors. We look for ideas that have not been tackled before. With Narcos, Gaumont opened up new possibilities in terms of creativity. Nobody expected that a series with over 50% of the language in Spanish would be so successful around the world.” In Shapiro’s opinion, “scripted content stays relevant by continuing to push the limit of

Lionsgate’s The Rook

storytelling. New concepts and new untold stories will always find an audience.” Shows on Gaumont’s slate that illustrate this include Nox, a Canal+ Creation Originale. “The series tells the story of a woman in search of her daughter, who has gone missing in the underground tunnels of Paris,” she says. “This is a part of Paris you don’t usually see. It’s a giant maze because, in the 16th century, they mined beneath Paris and, since then, various things have been constructed — sewers, subways, catacombs and parking lots, all with different depth levels. So essentially, this is story of a woman’s descent into hell.”

Vanessa Shapiro:

Narcos: 50% Spanish-langauge and a hit around the world

“Scripted content stays relevant by continuing to push the limit of storytelling. New concepts and new untold stories will always find an audience”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 88 • September 2018

Francoise Guyonnet, managing director of TV series at Studiocanal, agrees that a breakout drama needs great storylines and characters. She also stresses the importance of authenticity: “A carefully crafted narrative that has relatable events and people ensures a drama will work in many parts of the world. And it doesn’t matter what language it is in.” Guyonnet also believes it is important for dramas to “express the intrinsic nature of a platform” by reflecting its style and appealing to its key demographics: “We spend time determining the best partners for our content so that it is a strong fit on the channels it is destined for and really engages with their prime audiences.” Part of cutting through the competition is about staying ahead of trends, Guyonnet adds: “It’s our job to keep ahead of themes and topics, working with Studiocanal or third-party producers to set the tone for future projects. Right now, Russia seems to be top-of-mind and we have a new thriller set in Russia launching at MIPCOM.”

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FEATURE: DRAMA The drama in question, Moscow Noir, is based on a trilogy by Swedish authors Camilla Grebe and Paul Leander-Engstrom. “It takes a ground-breaking look at the dark, corrupt and violent world of Russian oligarchs and their private armies at the turn of the 21st century,” Guyonnet says. The series stars Adam Palsson as a young, expatriate Swedish trader in Moscow, who faces a series of universal dilemmas: how do you remain true to yourself in a brutal, money-driven world? And how far will you go to protect the people you love without compromising who you are? The commissioners of Moscow Noir are TV4/C More (Scandinavia), NC+ (Poland) and Lumiere (Benelux). “It’s a smart drama,” Guyonnet adds, “with a dark sense of humour running through it.” Moritz Polter, executive producer of international TV series at Bavaria Fiction, says producing high-quality, big-budget shows

Nox, a Canal+ Creation Originale

that cut through often requires several partners to work together. “So a clear creative vision shared by all the partners involved is key,” he adds. “At Bavaria Fiction, we have become adept at finding the right mix of partners to back a project, be that Amazon and Deutsche Telekom for our French/German culture-clash dramedy DeutschLes-Landes, or Netflix and ORF

for our new crime thriller Freud, which will go into production this autumn.” To ensure authenticity, Polter says, it is important to include all the key parties in the development process and give the creatives the time to fully develop their ideas. He points to Das Boot, is a co-production between Bavaria Fiction, Sky Deutschland and Sonar

Moscow Noir, for TV4/C More, NC+ and Lumiere

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 90 • September 2018

Entertainment, which has a budget of $32.8m. “Given the huge heritage and international fan base, reinvigorating the brand of Das Boot needed to be handled with care and have strong partners who would go the extra mile to do it justice,” he adds. Echoing Guyonnet, Polter says: “You have to be in tune with the zeitgeist — and you need an instinct for stories that appeal to audiences.” In terms of making shows distinctive, he adds: “Sometimes, it’s the way the story is told, sometimes it’s the creatives and sometimes it’s the quality and scale that make a project stand out. A show’s appeal and distinctiveness can also result from something other than the plot, such as the setting. Our crime series set in the polar region, Arctic Circle, is a good example of this. Lapland, where it was shot, is breathtakingly beautiful with its open icy plains and long, stunning dawns and dusks.”

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FEATURE: DRAMA Moritz Polter:

“You have to be in tune with the zeitgeist — and you need an instinct for stories that appeal to audiences” A+E Studios’s executive vicepresident, Barry Jossen, says there is a kind of alchemy between creativity and craft in great TV. His company is currently working on Reprisal, a pilot for Hulu brought to the studio by new talent Josh Corbin. “What sells a lot in this business is passion. For us, original inspiring ideas are essential to the DNA of what we are doing.” Jossen says the studio is not prescriptive about what it is looking for “because the TV business is not one size fits all. Everyone has a point of view and they’re all right. So what you’re looking for is a unique blend of story, character and emotion. And you don’t always need a famous cast. Look at a show like Unreal, where the leads weren’t stars when the show launched. That show came together through a combination of perfectly aligned acting, words, setting and attitude. There are no limitations to the kind of creativity we are looking for.”

Barry Jossen:

“What you’re looking for is a unique blend of story, character and emotion. And you don’t always need a famous cast”

Project Blue Book, a Robert Zemeckis-produced show for History US

When A&E has alighted on the right idea or talent, it surrounds it with the kind of structures that reduce commercial risk, Jossen says: “We are fastidious about making sure that every element is as high quality and as well-crafted as possible, so we support that original idea or talent with great showrunners, writers, editors and so on.” In the case of Reprisal, Corbin was teamed with Warren Littlefield, executive producer on the acclaimed Hulu drama The Handmaid’s Tale. For MIPCOM, A&E highlights include The American Princess, a Lifetime comedy drama scripted by Jenji Kohan. The series revolves around an Upper East Side socialite who runs away from her own dream wedding when she realises that the life she thought she wanted isn’t right after all. There is also Project Blue Book, a Robert Zemeckis-produced scripted show for History US, which explores top-secret US Air Force investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and 1960s. “In a sense, it’s the conspiracy-theory origin story,” Jossen says, “which makes it very topical. It’s a fun,

provocative story with wonderful characters. I’m really excited about this one.” Caroline Torrance, head of scripted at Banijay Rights, is coming to MIPCOM with several headline dramas, including Hidden (8 x 45 mins), produced by Yellow Bird for Viaplay. A dark urban fantasy thriller that draws on Scandinavian culture and Nordic myths, Hidden combines the paranormal with psychological drama. Also from Yellow Bird, which produced Wallander and Millennium, comes a Scandi noir thrillerwith-a-twist called The Truth Will Out. According to Torrance, the talent pool in TV drama has never been deeper or of a higher quality: “The massive change in the way series are produced means leading creators, writers and actors are now available — and keen — to create shorter and limited length productions. Writers have the space and opportunity to develop punchy new productions with an edge that work across linear and non-linear platforms.” Torrance reports that UK indie Blacklight, which recently

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 92 • September 2018

joined the Banijay Group, has just announced its first commission: On The Edge. Another new drama production on her MIPCOM slate is Red Shadows (Les Ombres Rouge), produced by Banijay Studios France for DTT channel C8. The story turns on a woman who discovers she was kidnapped 25 years earlier as a child. Torrance says: “At Banijay Rights, we are able to use contacts nurtured through Banijay Group companies to explore new partnerships and look at different ways of working with our partners across platforms. Our new series Straightforward, which launches at MIPCOM, is a great example, as it is the first New Zealand/Denmark co-production. Having colleagues from Banijay companies Screentime and Mastiff in these countries gave us the confidence to commit to such a project and we are extremely pleased with the results.” Companies like Banijay are benefiting from global audiences’ increasingly ambitious and exotic taste in drama, Torrance adds: “The way we now consume drama from myriad countries across platforms and screens has expanded the audience’s interest in the wider world. Locally produced dramas set in familiar landscapes are comfortable for us all. However, we are seeing a rise in the commissioning and acquisition of non-English language drama. The subject matter that is now covered by drama is huge and this allows very different, innovative narratives set in intriguing locations, which still have a relatable core storyline.”

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FEATURE: NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS

Spreading the love Unscripted formats continue to be tentpoles for networks and platforms around the world. Andy Fry asks what buyers are looking for around the world — and one of the answers is ‘love’

ECENT format deals suggest two things: first, that great formats can be adapted for most territories; and second, that buyers continue to need a wide variety of shows that can work across a range of weekday and weekend slots. If shows are also capable of engaging with young audiences via social and mobile platforms, that enhances their appeal still further. Formats with strong support right now include Love Island, a UK reality/dating show that is distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE). After four successful seasons in the UK, the raunchy youth-oriented show has just been commissioned by TV3 in both Den-

mark and Norway, while MTV3 has commissioned it in Finland. In Australia, meanwhile, Nine Network’s version of Love Island debuted in early summer and has been an immediate hit. Love Island Germany has also been a success for RTL2 across all platforms and returns later in the year for a second series. Mike Beale, ITV Studios’ managing director, Nordics and Global Creative Network, says: “We have seen that the show works equally well across linear, digital and catch-up platforms and are excited to roll it out across the Nordics. With a version of Love Island on somewhere around the world every day between now and Christmas, we’ll look to build on the momentum by continuing to grow the show internationally.”

Mike Beale:

“With a version of Love Island on somewhere around the world every single day between now and Christmas, we’ll look to build on the momentum” Beale’s comments are endorsed by Niklas Vestberg, formats manager at Bonnier Broadcasting, which owns Swedish commercial channel TV4. He says: “Love Island is one of our key launches this autumn. The series will have a linear window but it’s

MIPTV PREVIEW • 94 • March 2018

our AVOD service TV Play that is the driver, because it’s a way to meet and attract a younger target group. We take a holistic approach to all our acquisitions, offering our content on linear TV, AVOD and SVOD. Having our content on all our platforms allows us to meet the viewers in the way they choose.” According to Vestberg, other successful new formats include Greetings From 19XX, a Bel-

Banijay’s Temptation Island

gian concept from Lecter Media, which performed well for TV4 in spring and will come back for a second season. Vestberg says that, with its mix of history and reality, Greetings From 19XX is a perfect fit for TV4. “The launch of Ultimate Entertainer also delivered and will return next year,” he adds. While it is important to introduce new formats, Vestberg says that it is also crucial to

“cherish and continue to build established flagship formats”, such as Dancing With The Stars and Idol: “These big shows, in combination with new formats, are vital to keep existing viewers and bring in new and younger audiences.” Vestberg reports that Survivor has been a great comeback for TV4, Stripped across the week, it delivered strong viewing numbers, and was also a digital suc-

cess for TV4 Play (AVOD) and C More (SVOD). He adds that the stripped approach has also been used on The Farm: “This daily reality approach gives our viewers a reason to come back to all our platforms every day or several days of the week and it’s working brilliantly.” Thematically, Vestberg says TV4 has had success with “high-stakes” formats — including another love-themed

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 95 • September 2018

show: “Exciting stories where the characters give it all in the chase of their dreams work well, whether it’s fighting for a new career in MasterChef or finding true love in Farmer Wants A Wife.” High-stakes shows have also been working well for Red Arrow Studios International (RASI), which has licensed Married At First Sight to Nine Australia and SVT, and Buying

FEATURE: NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS audience will react. It’s filmed on a 24-hour loop and viewers get the benefit of determining who goes or stays on the show, and who wins.” Like Vestberg, Ross puts a strong emphasis on digital: “For every new commission, we require a digital component, which can be anything from short clips to studio shows. We want to draw the audience on to our AVOD platform and then back to the free-TV channel.”

Red Arrow Studios International’s Buying Blind

Blind to M6 France and Bravo in the US. The latter, created by Red Arrow-owned US producer Kinetic Content, follows couples who can’t decide on what home to buy. At breaking point, they hand the decision — and their budget — to industry experts to make the choice for them. Henrik Pabst, RASI president, says: “Buying Blind has become an international format success story, with multiple commissions in production. We are excited to see adventurous future homeowners make life-changing decisions through this show.” Merrily Ross, vice-president of formats and unscripted development at Nordic Entertainment Group, says Buying Blind helped boost TV3 Denmark’s average share by more than 58%. “The show really struck a chord with Danish viewers and we’ve already commissioned a second season,” she adds. Ross says reality is a “must-have” for TV3: “We focus on formats and shows with a unique twist. Aside from Buying Blind, exam-

ples include Kitchen Nightmares — and we love reality/factual programmes such as Cover Mums [about celebrity mothers] and Bad Girls [about girls who love bad boys]. In addition, Love Island will hit TV3’s late-night reality slot this autumn, and we’re excited to see how the Danish

Unne Sormunen, head of domestic programming at Finnish commercial broadcaster Nelonen Media, says his company has also picked up Buying Blind, which will be produced locally by Moskito Television. As a rule, he says, Nelonen is very open minded: “We try to see opportunities in genres that have been giving us ratings, but unique ideas with all the right pieces in place can come in a surprising genre.” Sormunen adds: “It has been an interesting two years in the Finnish TV market, as there

Banijay format All Against 1

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 96 • September 2018

have been more domestic unscripted — and scripted — products in primetime trying to find ratings. This means that the competition has been tougher than ever. The Finnish market is quite limited in terms of budget, which is why almost all programmes are made to fit the primetime slots between 20.00 and 23.00.” Like TV4, Nelonen aims to combine new shows with established favourites. “During the last two years, our best unscripted launches have been the comebacks of Survivor, The Dating Game and Pop Idol,” Sormunen says. “Survivor was an interesting hit because it didn’t perform very well the last time it was on Finnish TV a few years ago. But Nelonen, with Moskito, created a celebrity version, which was a huge hit on Sunday nights from February until May.” Other weekend entertainment shows that have worked for Nelonen include The Voice Of Finland and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? “We have a co-operation with our compa-

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FEATURE: NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS

Audience winner Hughesy, We Have A Problem, hosted by Australian comedian Dave Hughes

ny’s radio stations and that has helped us to create strong music shows like The Voice and Best Singer,” Sormunen says. “We always look for the potential for our company to use our radio stations and other platforms — magazines, social media, newspapers, etc — to create interesting phenomena around a show.” A new hit for Nelonen, Sormunen reports, is Banijay format All Against 1, which has also recently been picked up by German broadcaster ProSieben. “We were able to produce two successful seasons in 2017 and the show will be part of our weekend in autumn 2018,” he adds. “The app linked to the show has been downloaded 300,000 times and there are 100,000 viewers playing the app and answering questions during the show. These are high numbers in a country with 5.5 million people.” Sormunen says that big TV personalities are a key factor in creating new hits. “But there are also some surprises,” he adds, citing long-running reality show Redneck Auction, which has been one of Finland’s big-

gest weekday primetime shows for the last four years. “Another surprise hit has been our stand-up comedy TV show on Thursday nights and we are really looking forward to comedy show Gala, from Rabbit Films, in our autumn schedule. Other interesting shows coming up are local adaptions of Seven Year Switch, Four Weddings and The Wall.” In terms of what Nelonen is looking for, Sormunen says: “For our main channel Nelonen, we want to find new social experiments or other shows that have some kind of must-see element. For our Liv channel, we are looking for new hits for female-skewing audiences. We are also launching original programming for our SVOD platform Ruutu.” Blanka Poth, formats manager at Hungary’s RTL Klub, also cites adventure show Survivor as a strong performer for her channel. Other hit shows include Dori Media’s Power Couple and Kitchenchef, a cooking format developed in house. Poth says: “Reality shows work really well for us and we are

developing a big entertainment show at the moment. It’s exciting to try something new that is developed by us with one of the biggest European production houses.” With Survivor’s resurgence, there is a lot of buzz around adventure formats in general. Endemol Shine, for example, has just secured its first international deal with M6 France for The Bridge. Created by Endemol Shine-owned Spanish production company Zeppelin, The Bridge sees a group of strangers trying to win life-changing treasure, which lies on an island 300 metres away. To get at the treasure, they must build a bridge across the water in 30 days. Commenting on the show, which has already aired in Spain, Alvaro Diaz, Zeppelin’s managing director, says: “Our intention was to create a new approach to the adventure-reality genre, combining the best ingredients of factual but with a scripted look and approach to storytelling.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 98 • September 2018

Alvaro Diaz:

“Our intention with The Bridge was to create a new approach to the adventure-reality genre, combining the best ingredients of factual but with a scripted look” Endemol Shine, which already has a global food format hit with MasterChef, has also been enjoying success with Family Food Fight, in which family recipes, rich in tradition and shared over generations, are put on display. Following on the heels of a deal with ABC in the US, Endemol Shine Latino has been commissioned to make a local adaptation for Argentine commercial network Telefe. NBCUniversal International Formats (NBCUIF) is also doing well with its Real House-

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FEATURE: NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS wives reality format, which has just been picked up by leading South African commercial broadcaster M-Net. Produced by independent production company RHOSA, a 12 x 60 mins series called The Real Housewives Of Johannesburg launched on M-Net’s newly rebranded channel 1Magic in August 2018. Reneilwe Sema, M-Net’s director of local entertainment channels, says: “We are excited to bring our viewers a South African version of The Real Housewives, a great franchise that has done so well internationally. The Real Housewives Of Johannesburg will be a great treat for 1Magic viewers.” NBCUIF has also just licensed Hollywood Game Night to Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT. The deal

follows previous pick-ups in France, Spain, Russia, Turkey, French Canada and Eastern Europe via a deal with Central European Media Enterprises (CME). The 10 x 60 mins Swedish version is being produced in-house by SVT Goteborg for SVT1 and will also be made available on the broadcaster’s SVOD platform, SVT Play. Christina Hill, head of entertainment at SVT in Goteborg, says: “We have followed Hollywood Game Night and the host Jane Lynch for a long time, especially since it is such a success in US. It’s impossible not to be caught up in the combination of smart and entertaining games, and we are hopeful that this show will be liked by the whole family, especially since it is based on current pop culture.”

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The Bridge, created by Endemol Shine-owned Spanish production company Zeppelin

In Australia, Network Ten’s head of programming, Daniel Monaghan, echoes Nelonen’s Sormunen when he says: “We look across the entire range of content.” However, he stresses that shows also need to “be tailored to what Ten does best — which is to deliver irreverent, cheeky content that allows our viewers to relax and be entertained”.

Daniel Monaghan:

“Shows must be tailored to what Ten does best — which is to deliver irreverent, cheeky content that allows our viewers to relax and be entertained” Monaghan adds: “Saturday night is a priority for us. We’re targeting an older audience that is not particularly interested in the sports offering on our competitor channels.” As a result, he is seeking older, more female-skewed

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 100 • September 2018

content, and observational documentary. “We recently acquired Ambulance UK, which has doubled our timeslot average and has led to commissioning a local version,” he adds. “We’re looking for similar high-end content without a premium licence fee, so we’d be open to different pricing models.” While Network Ten is open to international formats, Monaghan says it is also important for the broadcaster to provide local formats: “Hughesy, We Have A Problem and Show Me The Movie are two comedy panel shows we’ve launched this year that will be returning for second seasons in 2019. Both exceeded expectations, with Hughesy lifting the timeslot by a whopping 45% with 25- to 54-year-olds.” In terms of international formats coming into the schedule, Network Ten will have a local version of Game Of Games, an NBC format managed by Warner Horizon Unscripted & Alternative Television. “It’s a fun family format hosted by one of the best presenters in the country, Grant Denyer,” Monaghan says. “We also have

FEATURE: NON-SCRIPTED FORMATS The Secret Life Of Four-YearOlds coming up. We can’t wait to introduce the cast to our viewers. They’re delightful and we’re sure our viewers will be equally charmed.” On the digital question, Monaghan says: “It’s imperative that we have a digital offering, whether that be additional content, a spin-off web series or similar. Viewers like to engage on different levels and we need to ensure that we have the content that they can engage with.” Other notable trends include the continued appeal of quirky physical gameshows. A new addition to the canon that is proving popular is construction competition show Lego Masters. Originated in the UK by Tuesday’s Child for Channel 4,

the show has now been picked up by Network Nine Australia and RTL in Germany. Local Endemol Shine divisions will produce the shows. Lisa Perrin, Endemol Shine Group’s CEO of Creative Networks, says: “Lego is a globally renowned and much-loved phenomenon that appeals to people of all ages — and Lego Masters has the same pull. It’s a family-friendly format and we expect it to engage Australian and German viewers and other markets in the way it has done in the UK.” The last couple of years has also seen a growing number of actors — Jamie Foxx and Alec Baldwin, for example — fronting gameshows. This approach is now also becoming apparent in adventure formats, such as Dwayne Johnson’s Ti-

tan Games (an NBC show) and new ITV4 physical challenge show Take The Tower, hosted by Dolph Lundgren. ITV’s controller of digital channels and acquisitions, Paul Mortimer, says: “Take The Tower will anchor a night of new, original series this autumn on ITV4, as we push forward with a commissioning strategy that puts male-skewed entertainment at the heart of primetime on the channel.” International licensing is being handled by TwoFour Rights. Finally, an inevitable part of the formats business is that successful shows encourage rivals to come up with their own similar concept, or to dust down archive shows that can tap into a similar audience sentiment. Current examples include Banijay’s decision to

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 101 • September 2018

resurrect Temptation Island — a nod in the direction of Love Island and Ex On The Beach — and MGM’s revival of Mark Burnett’s Eco-Challenge Race, with Bear Grylls as host, which is a response to the continued interest in adventure shows. Also of interest is the news that FremantleMedia and Syco Entertainment have licensed a kids’ version of Got Talent to Tencent in China — a reaction to the success of The Voice Kids. Zheng XiangLin, vice-president of Tencent, says: “Kids Got Talent is a top-rated global youth talent show. As a family-friendly variety show handpicked for our platform, it is bound to be filled with outstanding performances from the kids. I believe this collaboration is just the beginning.”

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY

The art of inclusion

A+E’s Born This Way focuses on adults with Down syndrome

There is a growing focus on diversity and inclusion, both in front of and behind the camera. But how is our industry really doing? Juliana Koranteng reviews the steps being taken to ensure that what we see on screen reflects the realities of everyday life

ORE than 35 years after the UK’s Channel 4 became the first TV network obliged to include shows aimed at minority groups, the international industry continues to examine what it should be doing to reflect diversity in our societies. MIPCOM has also joined the debate, hosting the second edition of its Diversify TV Excellence Awards, which aim to acknowledge the entertainment business’ responsibility to tell stories that include the voices of the mar-

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 103 • September 2018

ginalised. The Awards put the spotlight on issues beyond the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the media. A winner of the inaugural Awards was Man In An Orange Shirt, produced by Kudos for the BBC. Telling the story of two love stories set 60 years apart, connected by secrets buried in letters. It examines the issues faced by gay people back when homosexuality was illegal in the UK. Writer Patrick Gale said it was a personal story inspired by the secret life of his father. Winner in the disability

FEATURE: DIVERSITY catagory, Team Chocolate, produced for Belgium’s Een by De Mensen, features a chocolate manufacturing company that employs mentally challenged workers. The MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards are part of MIPCOM’s Diversity & Inclusion programme which is supported by Diversify TV and A+E Networks. “Partnering with REED Midem we are now in the third year of the Diversity & Inclusion programme at MIPCOM,” A+E’s Ellen Lovejoy says. “At its core, the programme highlights diversity beyond gender, which to us is also an incredibly important point.” GLAAD, an organisation that promotes, researches and campaigns on LGBTQ representation in the media, has reported an increase in regular and recurring characters who identify as non-binary and characters who are asexual. In the past such characters have tended to be confined to one-off episodes, “which did not allow for nuanced exploration”, GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis says. But, she adds: “While there are some stand-out series which position queer characters as the

A multi-ethnic cast for Starzplay’s Vida

lead — including the returning hit Will & Grace on NBC, ABC’s How To Get Away With Murder and the CBS series Instinct — these series are still the exception to the rule.” On ethnic representation, David Cornwall, managing director of London-based international

distributor Scorpion TV, and a MIP Markets Diversity Advisory Board member, says: “The conversation seems to be front and centre and all producers are aware of their responsibilities in this regard so, hopefully, a mono-ethnic cast or workforce will soon be a thing of the past.”

Endeavor Content’s Killing Eve

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 104 • September 2018

For Cornwall, the ambitions are personal: “Being Black British, I try to be the visible face of diversity at our company at all levels. I think being visible is a key part of encouraging diversity within the industry.” Increasingly, more big-budget TV line-ups feature multi-ethnic casts. Examples include Endeavor Content’s Killing Eve and Starzplay’s Vida. At Naked, the London-based international TV production group where chief operating officer Susie Dark says 60% of its permanent staff come from diverse backgrounds, several shows focus on multicultural themes. For example, Indian Summer School, in which five UK schoolboys with education and behaviour problems are sent to a very strict but academically successful school in the foothills of the Himalayas. Naked has also just optioned urban-music themed The Grime Game, a UK version of The Rap Game on A+E Network’s Lifetime channel in the

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY US. “They show that diversity in our workplace is reflected in the programmes we produce,” Dark says. Hollywood-based family-entertainment group The Jim Henson Company opted to be proactive about its diversity policies about two years ago when it produced Splash And Bubbles, a long-running ocean-themed animation for pre-school and school-age kids. With funding from the US’ Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the company used Splash And Bubbles to launch The Open Door Program, which encourages under-served communities in Los Angeles to apply for work in the entertainment industry. This also led to the company joining the Hire LA’s Youth scheme set up by LA mayor Eric Garcetti. “It is about welcoming people from different backgrounds and to extend conversations at the company about having more diverse performers,” says The Jim Henson Company’s Nicole Goldman, executive vice-president of marketing, PR and education initiatives. “We have always tried to show variety in our shows and bring in different voices — in terms of our puppeteers as well.” The policies’ success can be attributed to The Jim Henson Company’s 17 top-management executives, 11 of whom are women, including CEO and president Lisa Henson. MarVista Entertainment is dedicated to scripted drama centred on strong female characters. So it is only logical that these shows’ creators be mostly women, says company CEO Fernando Szew. A prime example is the 2017 comedy-drama The Year Of Spectacular Men, directed by actress Lea Thompson and starring Madelyn Deutch, who also co-wrote the screenplay. “We have promoted diversity among creative teams, writers

and directors,” Szew adds. Now, MarVista plans to evolve its diversity policies into specific schemes. After supporting the pioneering Bentonville Film Festival, co-founded by Academy Award-winner Geena Davis to promote diversity in the filmmaking business, MarVista is also involved in The United State of Women (USOW), which fights for women’s equality. This year, MarVista is kick-starting a scheme to offer work-placement opportunities to women from under-served and diverse sections of Los Angeles. “Now, a lot of people in the industry are paying attention and taking an introspective look at their companies to see how they measure up,” Szew says. “We don’t specifically have a target, but we do on a regular basis look at our diversity approach through a critical lens,” says Kate Beal, CEO of UK-based factual-entertainment specialist Woodcut Media. On- and offscreen, the company’s diversity track record can be seen in its portfolio, which includes Around The World In 80 Tricks, starring breakdancing magician Magical Bones. At management level, Beal says Woodcut’s team consists of men and women,

Indian Summer School from Naked

including many from a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) background. “We naturally attract a diverse group of people because we reflect different parts of society.” The cast of two shows from Stellify Media are women only — Beauty Queen And Single and Real Farmers Wives’ Of County Tyrone — reflecting the Northern Ireland-based prodco’s ambition to be one of the UK’s most inclusive companies. The UK’s culturally varied population influences the company’s strategies. “We pride ourselves on having a diverse workforce, who are solely selected for their talents and creative abilities,”

The Jim Henson Company’s Nicole Goldman

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 106 • September 2018

says joint managing director Matthew Worthy. His business partner Kieran Doherty makes it a duty to visit schools in socially diverse districts to educate students about the career opportunities in media. “The thought process starts at the top, with company directors wanting to encourage those from diverse background,” Doherty says.

CONFERENCES & EVENTS AT MIPCOM

Stories Without Borders, Wednesday, October 17, 10.00, Audi A Embracing Diversity: It Starts At The Development Stage, Wednesday, October 17, 10.35, Audi A

MarVista Entertainment’s Fernando Szew

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY

The business case for diversity

Sean Cohan

President, international and digital media, A+E Networks. Member of the MIP Markets Diversity Advisory Board

“OUR COMPANY has an inclusion-minded culture in the US and abroad in terms of ethnicity, gender, socio-economic backgrounds and viewpoints,” Sean Cohan says about US-based international media group A+E Networks. “As a

creative company, we recognise we have a mandate to fuse together these differences for the best products.” The results include some of A+E’s most adventurous shows: the 2012 Lifetime comedy-drama Steel Magnolias with its all-African-American cast; Lifetime’s Betty & Coretta, which stars R&B music star/ actress Mary J Blige and Oscar-nominated Angela Bassett and follows the unlikely friendship of the widows of US Civil Rights icons Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; and reality series Born This Way, which focuses on the ambitions and achievements of several adults with Down syndrome. A+E’s History network has aired shows featuring a wide range of peoples and topics, many informed by its partnership with UNESCO to raise awareness of lesser-known communities and the importance of cultural preservation.

Lifetime’s Betty & Coretta

On the A+E channel, the varied repertoire has included Shining A Light: A Concert For Progress On Race In America, a live-benefit gig that starred Bruce Springsteen, Pink, John Legend, Sting and Pharrell Williams. The Multicultural Insight Team, meanwhile, is responsible for

keeping A+E on top of the cultural issues relevant to its staff. “I feel the industry as a whole has a long way to go,” Cohan says. “But as a person of colour in the international media business, I believe the MIP Markets Diversity Advisory Board is a great vehicle to create a community for the many different folks who don’t feel represented, and to create a vehicle that advocates for improvements.”

Sean Cohan:

Pink and John Legend in Shining A Light: A Concert For Progress On Race In America

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 108 • September 2018

“The MIP Markets Diversity Advisory Board is a great vehicle to create a community for the many diﬀerent folks who don’t feel represented”

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FEATURE: DIVERSITY and minority ethnic) backgrounds. In addition, Nick Smith, All3Media International’s executive vice-president of formats, is a member of the MIP Markets Diversity Advisory Board. In house, 56% of All3Media’s workforce is female and 49% of the CEO/managing director-level employees within the group are women.

Sara Geater

Chief operating officer, All3Media Group. Selected Diversity Champion at the UK’s 2017 Diversity in Media Awards

UK PRODUCTION and distribution powerhouse All3Media is a tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion. For example, a major new drama distributed by All3Media and commissioned by the BBC is Informer, a sophisticated thriller about a young counter-terrorism informer who is also a Londoner of Pakistani decent. The series is the subject of a screening and case study during MIPCOM. “We understand that diversity helps to support creativity and innovation,” Sara Geater says. “It’s considered an essential ingredient of our success [in continuing] to develop, produce and distribute great content that global audiences want to watch.” All3Media supports a host of UK industry diversity schemes via its sponsorship of trainees. These initiatives include the Indie Diversity Training Scheme (IDTS) organised by Pact, the UK independent sector’s trade body. All3Media has also partnered with UK organisation DiVA Apprenticeships to train young people entering the creative sectors, and 50% of the company’s apprentices in 2018 are from BAME (Black, Asian

Di Maxfield-Twine

Sara Geater:

“We understand that diversity helps to support creativity and innovation. It’s considered an essential ingredient of our success”

Senior vice-president, HR, UK, Northern and Eastern Europe, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN)

VIMN, which is a member of the Creative Diversity Network in the UK, claims its approach to diversity and inclusion is on a global scale. Nickelodeon’s The Loud House animation series features mixedrace and same-sex couples. The message in Nella The Princess Knight is that children of any gender can aspire to be whatever they want to be. And the MTV dating game show True Love Or True Lies?, which pre-

mieres this year, includes heterosexual, gay and transgender couples of all races. Beyond the screen, VIMN has organised a series of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to represent the different sections of its workers. Examples include HERE, which looks out for its women staff members; Parenthood, which represents its working parents; and Emerge, which supports LGBTQ employees. “For the first time this September, the Viacom London office will host a themed week of activities, talks and workshops focusing on diversity and inclusion, tied to National Inclusion Week,” says Di Maxfield-Twine, explaining her company’s support for the UK-based campaign that focuses on inclusion in the workplace. She adds: “Viacom has a robust set of equal opportunities policies in place, including shared parental leave, gender-balanced interview panels and an increased focus on flexible working.” These initiatives are backed by efforts to support those needlessly hurt by the stigmas associated with mental health, disability, social mobility and lack of academic qualifications. “It’s sometimes hard to know where our diversity DNA ends and our strategies begin as many are generated organically and are very often employee-led,” Maxfield-Twine says.

Di Maxfield-Twine:

Nella The Princess Knight, which sends the message that children of any gender can aspire to be whatever they want to be

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 110 • September 2018

“It’s sometimes hard to know where our diversity DNA ends and our strategies begin as many are generated organically and are often employee-led”

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FEATURE: THE BLOCKCHAIN

Power to the people The value of the internet lies in its ability to aggregate information — step forward Google and Facebook. But with the blockchain, information is decentralised. It exists as a transparent, incorruptible ledger of transaction — and that can give the power and ownership back to the individual, writes Gary Smith

HE TELEVISION and media industries could benefit from blockchain technology in a number of ways, notably through distribution, content funding and tracking rights. Whether for better security and customer privacy or more flexibility, the result is the same: the blockchain gets rid of the person in the middle. Laurent Chemla, founder and

CEO of Reel Deal Group, believes the blockchain will make a lot of the more complex aspects of the TV industry easier. “When you introduce more openness and transparency with a decentralised approach, you take those people in the middle out and have better tracking along the value chain,” he says. But a more profound effect of the blockchain is likely to be its impact on managing and safe-

guarding IP rights. This is currently challenging because it is opaque, complex and difficult to identify all the rights-holders in the distribution chain. Moreover, no central database exists to keep track of information about TV and film rights — a problem that is also shared by the live-music industry. However, the smart contracts enabled by the blockchain allow for the pre-determined programming

MIPTV PREVIEW • 113 • March 2018

of rights-holders royalties. As a result, the code could simply state: if film X is viewed on platform Y, the following people need to be paid. Piracy is another area that will become infinitely more controllable. “We have partnered with Israeli fingerprint-technology company Videocities, so we are able to identify any tiny fragment of a client’s IP that is being used illegally, even if the

FEATURE: THE BLOCKCHAIN

Media’s Minds’ Anita O’Donnell

user tries to disguise it,” Chemla adds. He is currently working on Reel Track, a blockchain-based, not-for-profit rights-management and royalties-payment system for all industry stakeholders: “Our intention is to create the Gracenote [analytics company] of the audiovisual industry, which would mean that we could put an end to the $7bn per year of illegal usage of audiovisual IP and accurately keep track of rights to ensure immediate payments to all rights-holders.” Anita O’Donnell is co-founder of management consultants Media Minds, many of whose clients are active in international distribution. “We help identify the right solution and approach to bring change and value to our clients,” says O’Donnell, who also believes the blockchain has vast untapped potential. “However, we will have to wade on through these early days and the hype around it before we start to see real value,” she adds. “With the explosion of ICOs [initial currency offerings], we are in the midst of a lot a noise around how the new incumbents are going to disrupt and decentralise the TV industry supply chain. My belief is that we’ll improve the existing pain points around the

Reel Deal Group’s Laurent Chemla

business of TV with blockchain and smart-contract technology.” She also predicts that it won’t be long until we start to refer to BAAS — or blockchain as a service.

Anita O’Donnell:

“We are in the midst of a lot a noise around how the blockchain is going to disrupt and decentralise the TV industry supply chain. My belief is that it’ll improve the existing pain points” For O’Donnell, it is the lack of centralised governance that makes the blockchain so exciting. “Instead, blockchains are governed by the consensus of a decentralised network,” she says. “Often, the cause of delay in traditional financial settlements lies in the trust between the parties involved. With the

DNA.fund’s James Glasscock

addition of built-in smart contracts, greater speed and efficiency is achieved. Walmart, British Airways and Maersk are just a few companies to have adopted the blockchain to improve their supply chain.” David Lofts, founder of the 21 Million Project and CEO at Ethical ICO, a consultancy dedicated to maintaining ethics standards in the crypto-capital funding sector, points out a detail that often gets lost: “The blockchain isn’t a financial system. While it is the underlying technology to cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin being the first — it’s best described as an enabler of transactions. A blockchain transaction can be financial or simply the transfer of information or data, so it offers way more than financial transactions across industries such as healthcare, supply-chain management, identity authentication and, of course, film and television.” Lofts believes the blockchain’s major benefit for film and television is its transparency: “Unlike traditional Hollywood accounting and production processes, the blockchain doesn’t lie.” He also notes that there have been major advances in the way content is created and broadcast.

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 114 • September 2018

“Our specific goal is to change the way in which the creative people who make content are rewarded,” he adds. “We have a whole industry to empower with this new way of doing business. Tokenising funding will ensure that the people who do the work get the rewards.” As well as delivering action-drama Children Of Satoshi and putting together film-funding packages for emerging talent — including a “fantastic comedy” written by Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt — Lofts is now providing consultancy to clients in areas as diverse as hemp production, plastics recycling and tokenised education for disadvantaged girls in emerging countries. “And I’m also working on a blockchain solution that will ultimately stamp out content piracy,” he adds. According to Lofts, the blockchain has applications across the media spectrum, from the collection and distribution of royalties to rights management and distribution. “As well as my own humble efforts, revenue companies like FilmChain and crewing agencies such as Big Couch are emerging, along with a range of VOD and SVOD platforms, which will disrupt

FEATURE: THE BLOCKCHAIN the Netflix/Amazon model and democratise content delivery,” he says. “The blockchain is in its infancy and new applications are emerging on an almost daily basis. We’re also now seeing a degree of bandwaggoning — companies who are stuck in the old, traditional production and accounting model trying to muscle in and dominate the new technology, because they’re scared it might expose their lessthan-honest ways of conducting business.” Ashley Turing is CEO and founder of LiveTree ADEPT, which uses a mix of technologies, including the blockchain, AI and the internet, to offer a suite of services to the TV industry, from content creation through to royalties management. “Our core AI services are focused around audience and financial predictions, and utilise the blockchain to secure user data and help creatives be matched with buyers, sponsors and financiers,” Turing says. “We are also using the blockchain to offer transparent community voting, so that commissioning can be democratised. The blockchain also features in our royalty services, which use the ledger to provide auditability and accountability.” Turing says that, on the surface, LiveTree ADEPT is a traditional SVOD platform. Under the bonnet, however, it is developing a set of services that will not only provide efficiency gains, but “power the next generation of the industry”. He adds: “We are currently in talks and/or working with a range of content partners, including Ingenious, Endemol Shine, All3Media, TCB Media Rights, Studiocanal and Warp Films.” For Turing, the next challenge is to make sure that the TV indus-

LiveTree ADEPT’s Ashley Turing

try understands the difference between the blockchain and cryptocurrencies: “Cryptocurrencies are just one service that the blockchain enables — similar to how the internet enables e-commerce. The blockchain has far more reach than mere cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies may disappear, but blockchain technology is definitely here to stay.”

Ashley Turing:

“We must separate cryptocurrencies from the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies are just one service that the blockchain enables — similar to how the internet enables e-commerce”

21 Million Project and Ethical ICO’s David Lofts

James Glasscock, strategic advisor at Paratii and co-founder of DNA.fund, makes a comparison that encapsulates what the blockchain could do for the TV industry and, ultimately, all industries: “What eBay and Uber did was to turn underused and undervalued resources into money-makers, and that’s what the blockchain will do. It will unlock significant amounts of previously unrealised value in the TV industry.” Along with Lofts, Glasscock sees the use of blockchain security tokens as a new and transparent financing instrument for programmes and slates. “The benefits are lower costs and greater liquidity for investors, which should translate into easier fundraising for producers. Also, the use of blockchain utility tokens within subscription environments like iflix and Netflix will lower costs, while also creating higher engagement, with subscribers being locked into a token ecosystem much like an airline miles/rewards scheme.”

MIPCOM PREVIEW • 115 • September 2018

Glasscock believes the blockchain roadmap for the next 10 to 15 years will look something like this: “Over the next three to five years, we’ll see a lot of experimentation, which will produce some killer applications. For example, we’re likely to see pretty much immediate innovation in independent content financing. Within five to seven years, the blockchain will be similar to the Web 2.0 era of innovation. And in 10 to 15 years, it will be as ubiquitous as Amazon is today. Let’s not forget that, back in 1995, Amazon was widely regarded as being a fraud. A mere 20 years later, it’s one of the most important companies on the planet.” He concludes: “Today’s media companies don’t want to be caught off guard like the music and newspaper industries were in 1999 by Napster, BitTorrent, Yahoo and Google, or in the way that video companies were in the second half of the 2000s by PVRs, VOD, and the rise of YouTube and Netflix.”

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your mipCOM experience

15-18 OCTOBER 2018 Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France MIPCOM OPENING TIMES Opening hours 15-17 October: 08:30* -19:00 18 October: 08:30 -18:00 * Access from 08.00 for exhibitors

Registration hours Gare Maritime (C22) 13 October: 14.00-19.00 14 October: 09.00-19.00 15 October: 08.00-19.30

16 October: 08.30-19.00 17 October: 08.30-19.00 18 October: 08.30-16.00

We look forward to welcoming you in Cannes, but first here are some tips to prepare your journey to MIPCOM

Prepare for the show in 3 steps Visit the MIPCOM website to organise your travel • Book your transportation at reduced rates with our partners Air France and KLM Global Meetings. Be sure to use the discount code: 32904AF. • Book your accommodation with our partner hotels and agencies to get the best deals. • Book your taxi in advance with a fixed rate of €80 from the airport to Cannes (incl. motorway tax).

Prepare your agenda and meetings ahead of time

Your badge: your key to getting into MIPCOM

• Check out the programme of conferences, screenings and networking events.

• Did you receive your badge by post? Don’t forget to bring it with you!

• Log in to the MyMIP Online Database to: - Fill out your profile and personalise your agenda - Browse the list of attending participants and companies - Get meeting recommendations based on your business preferences - Send one-to-one messages to other delegates and organise business meetings.

• Why not save time with an e-ticket? Sent to you by email, simply print it out to collect your badge using your QR code, or alternatively download the mobile app and connect to your account to find your e-ticket.

• Download the Mobile App.

• Do you only have your confirmation email? Collect your badge at the registration area, located at the Gare Maritime. Registration hours can be found above. Please carry your badge at all times, and be ready to show it at entry points around the show. Your badge is strictly personal and non-transferable.

Onsite: Hold your meetings in dedicated spaces Buyers’ Club (Palais -1, aisle C)

PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB

• Reserved for programme purchasing executives • Includes a private lounge area and bar

Two new venues in the heart of the exhibition, within the Palais.

In association with

Gold Business Lounge

with Premier Visitors’ Lounge

(Palais -1, aisle E) • Reserved for Gold Members of our Customer Recognition Programme and our Premier Visitors • Includes a private lounge area and complimentary coffee In association with

NEW

Participants’ Club Green (Palais -1) • A functional hub with a bar, home to MIPCOM’s Meet up sessions, our First Timers’ Welcome Corner and meeting areas.

Participants’ Club Blue (Palais -1) • The perfect space to hold your meetings. Offers a lounge area and coffee service. MIPCOM PREVIEW • 117 • September 2018

Press Club (Palais 1) • Dedicated to journalists with the assistance of permanent staff members and an equipped editorial room.

VIP Club (Palais 3) • Exclusive club reserved for VIP delegates to relax or discuss business in more private surroundings. Entry by invitation only In association

your MIPCOM experience

General map of MIPCOM Dont’ miss! Don’t forget!

CROISETTE 10 to 22 C10

Paramount Pictures WW TV Licensing

C11

Fremantle

C12

Sony Pictures Entertainment

C14

Disney

C15

Daro, Entertainment One, Kew Media, Lionsgate

C16.A

ITV Studios House

C16.B

Talpa Global

C16.C

FOX Networks Group Content Distribution

C16.D

Inter Medya

C17

Warner Bros.

C20

Banijay Group

MIPCOM Perimeter

Sea

Riviera 8

Riviera 7

C15

C16.C

• Matchmaking sessions • Meet-up sessions • and more

Riviera 9

Access to Riviera 7, 8 & 9

C16.D

2. Matchmaking events

nc e tra

Beach

C17

Palais -1 to 5 Palais 5

C16.B

C20

Access to Grand auditorium conferences En

tra

La Croisette

*Full schedule available online and on the mobile app.

Palais 4

Organiser’s ofﬁce

C16.A

Palais 3 VIP Club Palais 1 Press Club Participants' Club Blue Palais 0 Palais -1 Buyers’ Club Participants' Club Green

min

Carlton Hotel

Receive personalised matches for your business objectives via the MyMIP Online Database.

C12

C14

Registration

Left Luggage Badge holders only

Endeavor Content /

C22

C10

C11

1. Tailor-made meeting recommendations

Security Checkpoint

Harbour

In association with

C22

Majestic Hotel La C roise

tte

COL PROTO TRATION REGIS PRESS ON TRATI REGIS

In association with

Train Station

MIPCOM shuttle

3. MIPCOM Opening Party CHINA Night Monday 15 October, 19:30 InterContinental Carlton Hotel The week’s must-attend networking event. In association with

Is this your first time at MIPCOM? A “First Timers’ Welcome Corner” manned by our dedicated team is available throughout MIPCOM in the Participants’ Club Green (Palais -1) with a daily programme to meet peers at the market. Please pop in and say ‘Hello’. WELCOME

Sunday 14 October 17:00-18:30 First timers’ ‘How to’ presentation with The Pitch Doctor, Paul Boross, followed by discovery tours of the exhibition floors and MIPCOM services. Meeting point: Main Croisette Entrance N°3, Palais des Festivals.

Monday 15 & Tuesday 16 October 09:30 & 16:00 First Timers’ tours on demand. Upon request at the First Timers’ Welcome Corner in the Participants’ Club Green (Palais -1).

Monday 15 Wednesday 17 October 08:30-10:00 First Timers’ Welcome Breakfast, Participants’ Club Green, Palais -1

See the programme p.120 and plan your agenda

See you in Cannes!

For further information: www.mipcom.com • Help desk: +33 (0)1 79 71 99 99 MIPCOM PREVIEW • 118 • September 2018

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Up to 10% discount for visitors and exhibitors (sixt - official car rental supplier of Reed Midem) Call +33 (00)1 44 38 55 55 and state the promotion code 9963828

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MARKET SCREENINGS Monday 15 October

Tuesday 16 October

‘DYNASTIES’

‘MATHILDE'

‘MOSCOW NOIR’

‘PATHS TO FREEDOM’

‘AN ORDINARY WOMAN’

‘MADRID ON FIRE’ (ARDE MADRID)

‘MATRIMONIAL CHAOS’

‘HIDDEN’

Presented by BBC Studios 9.00-10.15 Auditorium K

Presented by TV-3 14.15 - 15.30 Auditorium K

Presented by Rock Films 10.30-11.45 Auditorium K

Presented by Movistar+ 15.45 - 17.00 Auditorium A

Presented by Studiocanal 8.30 - 9.45 Auditorium K

Presented by Korean Broadcasting System 15.45 - 17.00 Auditorium K

Presented by TVP Polish Public Television 10.00 - 11.15 Auditorium K

Presented by Banijay Rights 17.15 - 18.30 Auditorium K Screening starts at 17.30

Wednesday 17 October

‘MEDICI: MASTER OF FLORENCE THE MAGNIFICENT’ Presented by Beta Film 8.30 - 9.45 Auditorium K

‘BESA’

Presented by Antenna Group 10.00 -11.15 Auditorium K

‘UNKNOWN RUSSIA’: RUSSIA AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT

Presented by Current Time Network 11.30 - 12.45 Auditorium K

Screening & Case Study Wednesday 17 October 13.30-15.00, Grand Auditorium

Presented by all3media international and Neal Street Productions

Preceded by a Snack Lunch 12.15-13.15, Verrière Grand Auditorium Screening starts at 13.30 - Case study starts at 14.30

'INFORMER'

Informer is a character driven thriller about an attractive, second generation Pakistani in London, who is coerced by a counterterrorism officer (Paddy Considine) - a story about identity and family. This flagship BBC1 series from Neal Street Productions (all3media) will be followed by a case study highlighting key issues around diversity in the main stream.

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MIPCOM WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS MIPCOM World Premiere TV Screenings Presented by

Monday 15 October 18.30-20.00, Grand Auditorium Doors open at 18.00

‘ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA’ Directed and executive produced by Ben Stiller, ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA is based on the stranger-than-fiction prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015 which spawned a statewide manhunt for two convicted murderers, aided in their escape by a married female prison employee who carried on months-long affairs with both men. The SHOWTIME® series stars Academy Award® winners Benicio del Toro and Patricia Arquette and Golden Globe® nominee Paul Dano. Tuesday 16 October 18.45-20.00, Grand Auditorium Doors open at 18.15

Presented by

From the creators of MONEY HEIST: High-profile architect Alexandra takes on a false identity and moves in with her husband's lover to find out what caused his alleged suicide. Álex Pina's new series not only forces Alexandra to question all she thought was true - but us as well.

MIPCOM Pre-Opening TV Screening Sunday 14 October 18.30-19.45, Grand Auditorium Doors open at 18.00

Presented by

Recently released from prison, psychologist Artem practices “provocative therapy”, convinced that the most effective cure is to brutally confront his patients with their fears. But will he also be able to get life back on track? A gritty series from Russian power house Sreda, produced for Channel One Russia.

MIPCOM Asian World Premiere TV Screening Tuesday 16 October 11.30-12.45, Auditorium A Doors open at 11.15

Presented by

Followed by Sushi and Snack Lunch/Cocktail

‘WAY TOO KAWAII!’ An elite editor finds himself unwillingly transferred to a teen fashion magazine. He works resentfully, butting heads with colleagues where “kawaii” (cuteness) reigns supreme. As he struggles his way, he witnesses the professionalism behind it all, romance even blossoms, and sees there is a passionate spirit beneath the glitz and glamour.

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THE BIG SHIFT

TRANSITIONING TO A RESHAPED MEDIA LANDSCAPE MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES Monday 15 October

Tuesday 16 October

CAROLYN MCCALL Chief Executive ITV

JAMIE OLIVER Chef Campaigner

JOSH SAPAN President and CEO AMC NETWORKS

11.30-12.00 Grand Auditorium

12.10-12.40 Grand Auditorium

11.00-11.30 Grand Auditorium

TIM DAVIE CEO BBC STUDIOS

ARI EMANUEL CEO ENDEAVOR

16.15-16.45 Grand Auditorium

VARIETY VANGUARD AWARD AT MIPCOM 17.00-17.30 Grand Auditorium

KAY MADATI Vice President and Global Head of Content Partnerships TWITTER 17.30-18.00 Grand Auditorium

TALENT BEHIND THE CAMERA Presenting the

MIPCOM 2018 PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 11.30-12.15 GRAND AUDITORIUM

ISSA RAE

CREATOR, PRODUCER AND STAR OF HBO’S HIT SHOW ‘INSECURE’

TRENDSETTER AWARDS Monday 15 October 12.30-14.30, Majestic Hotel Doors open at 12.00

Tuesday 16 October, 11.45-12.30, Grand Auditorium

By invitation In partnership with Media Partner

LORENZO MIELI (‘THE YOUNG POPE’, ‘MY BRILLIANT FRIEND’)

ERIC NEWMAN (‘NARCOS’)

ÁLEX PINA (‘LA CASA DE PAPEL’, ‘THE PIER’)

FRESH TV Monday 15 October

Wednesday 17 October

13.15-14.15 Grand Auditorium & Balcony

15.15-16.00 Grand Auditorium

FRESH TV FORMATS

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FRESH TV FICTION

Presented by

NEW SCHEDULE

WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT POWER LUNCH MIPCOM's 7th annual thought leadership and networking event for the world's most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment.

VIRGINIA MOUSELER THE WIT

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS

MIPCOM Country of Honour Monday 15 October

Tuesday 16 October

17.30-18.15 Esterel

FRESH TV CHINA Presented by The Wit

14.45-15.30 Auditorium A

Tuesday 16 October

COPRODUCING WITH CHINA

15.45-16.30 Auditorium A

CHINA, BIG DATA AND CONTENT

Production Funding Forum

BLOCKCHAIN

MIPCOM’s new forum for producers and financiers to meet and bring premium content projects to life with a two-day programme open to all delegates with Conferences and Networking opportunities.

Monday & Tuesday 15-16 October

Find out how Blockchain is transforming the media business and increasing market opportunities. LAURENT CHEMLA REEL DEAL GROUP

ELEONORA ANDREATTA RAI FICTION

RUTH BERRY ITV STUDIOS GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT

SEBASTIAN BURKHARDT KESHET INTERNATIONAL

DAVID DAVOLI BRON STUDIOS

LORENZO DE MAIO ENDEAVOR CONTENT

HARRY EASTWOOD INGENIOUS INVESTMENTS

Trends & Insights Visionary leadership & perspectives on trends shaping the global content industry.

JAMES GLASSCOCK PARATII, DNA.FUND

4K Ultra HD and HDR MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY 15-18 OCTOBER

DAVID CLARKE DRG, ATRIUM TV

HADAS MOZES LICTENSTEIN ADD CONTENT AGENCY

JENNIFER O’CONNELL LIONSGATE

Diversity & Inclusion Wednesday 17 October 10.00-10.25 Auditorium A

STORIES WITHOUT BORDERS: ‘ESCAPE FROM SYRIA: RANIA’S ODYSSEY’ Featuring RANIA ALI

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JOHN POLLAK ELECTUS INTERNATIONAL

CARRIE STEIN KEW MEDIA GROUP

CAROLINE TORRANCE BANIJAY RIGHTS

MIPCOM’s unique knowledge track covering new experiences in visual entertainment. Supported by

Tuesday 16 October 18.30-20.30, Intercontinental Carlton Hotel

MIPCOM DIVERSIFY TV EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dedicated to championing and promoting diversity and inclusion in all forms across the international television industry, the second edition of the MIPCOM Diversify TV Excellence Awards will reward positive programming across the year that embraces representation in worthy shows. Supported by

05/09/2018 18:27

2018 CONFERENCE & EVENTS PROGRAMME

THE BIG SHIFT - Transitioning to a reshaped me SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER MIPCOM PRE-OPENING 17.00-18.30, ESTEREL

MIPCOM FIRST TIMERS PRESENTATION & DISCOVERY TOUR PRE-OPENING TV SCREENING 18.30-19.45, GRAND AUDITORIUM DOORS OPEN AT 18.00

MIPCOM PRE-OPENING TV SCREENING ‘TRIGGER’ Presented by Beta Film

YOUR FIRST TIME AT MIPCOM? FIRST TIMERS “HOW TO MIPCOM” MIPCOM FIRST TIMERS’ PRESENTATION & DISCOVERY TOUR

MONDAY 15 OCTOBER TRENDS & INSIGHTS 9.00-9.30, ESTEREL

THE WAR FOR ATTENTION: EXAMINING THE NEW MEDIA ECOSYSTEM In partnership with Salesforce

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM

9.00-10.15, AUDITORIUM K

9.30-10.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

9.15-10.00, ESTEREL

FUNDING CREATIVITY: WHAT INVESTORS WANT

‘DYNASTIES’ Presented by BBC Studios

ULTRA HD OPENING SESSION AND GLOBAL UPDATE

10.45-11.45, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

10.30-11.45, AUDITORIUM K

10.00-10.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

CONTENT CREATION: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN THE STREAMING GENERATION

MEET THE INVESTORS

CONSOLIDATION: JOINING FORCES FOR THE GREATER GOOD

By invitation

10.30-11.15, ESTEREL

BLOCKCHAIN FOR BEGINNERS

11.00-11.30, AUDITORIUM A

12.10-12.40, GRAND AUDITORIUM

JAMIE OLIVER, CHEF, CAMPAIGNER

TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER – 8.30-10.00, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

13.15-14.15, GRAND AUDITORIUM AND BALCONY

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER – 9.30 & 16.00, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

NETWORKING MEET-UPS MEET-UP ASIA: PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION & CO-PRODUCTION MONDAY 15 OCTOBER 15.30-16.30, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

MEET-UP AFRICA: PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION & CO-PRODUCTION

10.45-11.45, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

ZDF ENTERPRISES: EMBRACING UHD

FRESH TV FORMATS TRENDS & INSIGHTS

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

14.00-14.45, ESTEREL

14.30-15.00, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

ASIA: BUILDING-UP GLOBAL AMBITIONS

MADE IN INDIA ORIGINALS: EROS NOW’S SMOKE

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: WHAT DO BUYERS WANT?

CONTENT DELIVERY: RETHINKING STREAMING

9.30-10.00, AUDITORIUM A

BLOCKCHAIN IMPACT ON CONTENT… Followed by Meet the Speakers 10.15-10.45, AUDITORIUM A

IT’S SUCH A GREAT TIME TO BE A PRODUCER!

Presented by Eros Now 16.00-16.45, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

SCREENINGS 14.15-15.30, AUDITORIUM K

‘AN ORDINARY WOMAN’ Presented by TV-3 15.45-17.00, AUDITORIUM A

‘MADRID ON FIRE (ARDE MADRID)’ Presented by Movistar+

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM

WHY ARE JAPANESE 14.30-15.30, AUDITORIUM A SCRIPTED FORMATS CAUSING GLOBAL HITS? INSIGHTS FROM In partnership with COMMISSIONING MIC / BEAJ EDITORS Followed by Meet the Speakers

11.30-12.45, AUDITORIUM A - DOORS OPEN AT 11.15

WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT POWER LUNCH

Presented by Nippon TV Followed by Sushi & Snack Lunch / Cocktail

By invitation In partnership with A+E Networks

4K ULTRA HD 14.00-15.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

FACTUAL PROGRAMMING: MAKING A UHD IMPACT 15.15-16.15, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC; EMBRACING UHD

ASIAN WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING ‘WAY TOO KAWAII!’

SCREENINGS

CHINA COUNTRY OF HONOUR

15.45-17.00, AUDITORIUM K

14.45-15.30, AUDITORIUM A

‘MATRIMONIAL CHAOS’

COPRODUCING WITH CHINA

Presented by Korean Broadcasting System

15.45-16.30, AUDITORIUM A

17.15-18.30, AUDITORIUM K Screening starts at 17:30

CHINA, BIG DATA AND CONTENT

‘HIDDEN’ Presented by Banijay Rights

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM 14.30-15.15, ESTEREL

FUNDING CREATIVITY: BOOSTING YOUR FINANCIAL FIREPOWER

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES

16.00-17.00, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

TIM DAVIE, CEO, BBC STUDIOS 17.00-17.30, GRAND AUDITORIUM

Subject to submission

A networking event to learn more about best practices to successfully achieve content projects and meet potential financiers. Pre-organised session for funds and a selection of producers followed by short meetings. Subject to submission.

Presented by T Public Televisio

SCREENINGS

12.30-14.30, MAJESTIC HOTEL Doors open at 12.00

MEET-UP LATIN AMERICA: PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION & CO-PRODUCTION

TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER 16.00-17.00, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

‘PATHS TO FREEDOM’

Presenting the WORLD SCREEN TRENDSETTER AWARDS FT. LORENZO MIELI (‘THE YOUNG POPE’, ‘MY BRILLIANT FRIEND’), ERIC NEWMAN (‘NARCOS’) & ÁLEX PINA (‘LA CASA DE PAPEL’, ‘THE PIER’)

“LEARN & MEET” WITH THE FUNDS

10.00-11.15, AUDITORIUM K

TALENT BEHIND THE CAMERA

16.15-16.45, GRAND AUDITORIUM

Join our 1-hour meet-ups with potential partners who are already established or looking for future development in a common region. Animated by our facilitator to help you break the ice, empower your business with informal short meetings. Online pre-registration.

Studiocanal

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES

TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER 10.30-11.30, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 10.30-11.30, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

8.30-9.45,

FINANCING EVOLUTION: AUDITORIUM K ‘MOSCOW NO TOKENIZED CONTENT Presented by INVESTMENTS

11.45-12.30, GRAND AUDITORIUM

SCREENINGS

15.00-15.45, ESTEREL

10.15-10.45, ESTEREL

9.00-9.30, AUDITORIUM A

SCREE

11.00-11.30, GRAND AUDITORIUM

CAROLYN MCCALL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ITV

MONDAY 15 OCTOBER – 8.30-10.00, INCLUDING WELCOME SPEECH BY PAUL ZILK, CEO, REED MIDEM, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

TUESDAY 16 OCTOBER – 9.30 & 16.00, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

IHS DELIVERS ITS STATE OF THE UHD MARKET

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM

JOSH SAPAN, PRESIDENT AND CEO, AMC NETWORKS

WELCOME BREAKFAST

MONDAY 15 OCTOBER – 9.30 & 16.00, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

Presented by Rock Films

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES 11.30-12.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM

FIRST TIMERS TOUR ON DEMAND

‘MATHILDE’

Followed by Meet the Speakers

SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER – 17.00-18.30, MEETING POINT: CROISETTE ENTRANCE N°3

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER – 8.30-10.00, PARTICIPANTS’ CLUB GREEN, PALAIS -1

4K ULTRA HD

9.30-10.30, AUDITORIUM A

9.40-10.20, ESTEREL

DISRUPTING DISTRIBUTION: WELCOME TO THE SHAKEOUT

SCREENINGS

TUESDAY 16 OCT TRENDS & INSIGHTS

VARIETY VANGUARD AWARD AT MIPCOM: ARI EMANUEL, CEO, ENDEAVOR

THE NATION’S GREATEST TREASURES: CREATING NEW LEGEND

CHINA COUNTRY OF HONOUR

INDUS SPOTL

14.00-14.30, A

SHOWBIZZ S IN TODAY’S W

Presented by T Canada, Canad and CBC/Radio

15.30-16.00, E

LOVE ISLAND JUST AN OVE RELATIONSH

Presented by IT Global Entertain

16.45-17.15, GRAND AUDITORIUM

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE 17.30-18.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM

FRESH TV CHINA

KAY MADATI, VICE PRESIDENT & GLOBAL HEAD OF CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS, TWITTER 18.00-20.00, MAJESTIC HOTEL

MIPCOM WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING

J-CREATIVE PARTY

18.30-20.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM - DOORS OPEN AT 18.00

In partnership with The International Drama Festival in Tokyo

‘ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA’ Presented by CBS Studios International Followed by Q&A with Ben Stiller, Executive Producer & Director

MIPCOM OPENING PARTY - CHINA NIGHT MIPCOM RED CARPET

In partnership Fuji TV

To be announced

17.30-18.15, ESTEREL

Session and cocktail presented by CDIMC (an affiliate of CCTV)

19.30-23.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL

MIPCOM CO-PRODU SERIES LUN

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTES

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 17.30-18.30, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

13.00-14.30, INTERCONTIN CARLTON HO

DIVERSITY & INCL

18.30-20.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON

MIPCOM DIVERSIFY TV EXCELLENCE AWARDS By invitation

19.30-21.30, CARLTON GARDEN

SMURFY 60TH ANNIVERSARY By invitation

MIPCOM WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENING 18.45-20.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM - DOORS OPEN AT 18.15

‘THE PIER’ Presented by Beta Film followed by Q&A with Álex Pina, Creator & Executive

MIPCOM THANKS ITS SPONSORS & PARTNERS

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d media landscape

16 OCTOBER SCREENINGS 8.30-9.45,

N: AUDITORIUM K ‘MOSCOW NOIR’

Presented by Studiocanal 10.00-11.15, AUDITORIUM K

‘PATHS TO FREEDOM’ A

Presented by TVP Polish Public Television

8.45-9.45, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

HOW CONSUMER TRENDS ARE TRANSFORMING THE MEDIA INDUSTRY Presented by Salesforce Breakfast served 10.15-10.45, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

DISRUPTING NEWS: CAN SOCIAL CONTENT REVIVE TV NEWS? Presented by Euronews- NBC

ORKS

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

8.30-10.00, VERRIÈRE GRAND AUDITORIUM

‘GETTING TO THE TOP’: INSIGHT AND TIPS FROM - AND FOR - WOMEN IN MEDIA Mentoring breakfast co-hosted with MediaClub’Elles By invitation

TRENDS & INSIGHTS

10.00-11.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

SKY DRAMA: WINNING AUDIENCES WITH 4K/HDR 11.15-12.15, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

NHK: READYING FOR 4K AND 8K 13.00-14.30, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL

MIPCOM CO-PRODUCED SERIES LUNCH In partnership with Fuji TV

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 14.00-14.30, AUDITORIUM A

SHOWBIZZ SUCCESS IN TODAY’S WORLD! Presented by Telefilm Canada, Canada Media Fund and CBC/Radio-Canada 15.30-16.00, ESTEREL

LOVE ISLAND: NOT JUST AN OVERNIGHT RELATIONSHIP Presented by ITV Studios Global Entertainment

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 13.00-14.30, VERRIÈRE GRAND AUDITORIUM

DIVERSITY SNACK LUNCH

10.45-11.45, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

STORIES WITHOUT BORDERS: ‘ESCAPE FROM SYRIA: RANIA’S ODYSSEY’

‘MEDICI: MASTER OF FLORENCE THE MAGNIFICENT’

SPECTACULAR ENTERTAINMENT IN UHD

Presented by Beta Film 10.00-11.15,

EMBRACING DIVERSITY: AUDITORIUM K ‘BESA’ IT STARTS AT THE Presented by DEVELOPMENT STAGE

9.15-9.45, AUDITORIUM A

INSIGHTS FROM DRAMA BUYERS

RSITY & INCLUSION

.30, NTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL

M DIVERSIFY TV ENCE AWARDS

4K ULTRA HD

8.30-9.45, AUDITORIUM K

10.35-11.15, AUDITORIUM A

THURSDAY 18 OCTOBER

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 10.30-11.00, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

9.30-11.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

NON-STOP SCREENINGS OF ULTRA-HD SCREENINGS 10.00-10.45, AUDITORIUM A

BEST OF FRESH TV TRENDS & INSIGHTS

HUAWEI GLOBAL VIDEO CONTENT ECOSYSTEM

11.00-11.30, AUDITORIUM A

Antenna Group

11.30-12.45, AUDITORIUM K

Presented by Huawei Technologies

12:15-13:15, AUDITORIUM A

‘UNKNOWN RUSSIA’: RUSSIA AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT Presented by Current Time Network

MIPCOM - WHAT DID YOU MISS? TRENDING TOPICS: THE MOST BUZZ-WORTHY TRENDS OF THE MARKET 4K ULTRA HD 14.00-15.00, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

NON-STOP SCREENINGS OF ULTRA-HD

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR KEYNOTE 11.30-12.15, GRAND AUDITORIUM

COUNTRY OF HONOUR

ISSA RAE

CREATOR, PRODUCER AND STAR OF HBO’S HIT SHOW ‘INSECURE’ SNACK & SCREEN 12.15-13.45, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

SNACK & SCREEN ARGENTINA! 3RD EDITION. DISCOVER NEW CONTENT FROM LATAM´S CREATIVE PRODUCERS Presented by INCAA & Argentina Investment & Trade Promotion Agency

Organized by The State Council Information Office, P.R.C., and the National Radio and Television Administration, P.R.C.

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 4K ULTRA HD 14.30-15.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

WHY MUSIC CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH 4K/HDR 16.00-17.15, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

NEW FACTUAL PROGRAMMING FOR MAXIMUM UHD IMPACT INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT 17.30-18.30, VERRIÈRE CALIFORNIE

OF CONTENT

SCREENINGS

10.00-10.25, AUDITORIUM A

4K ULTRA HD

DS END’), EL’, ‘THE PIER’)

ion

WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

13.30-15.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM

‘INFORMER’: SCREENING & CASE STUDY Preceded by a Snack Lunch 12.15-13.15, Verrière Grand Auditorium Screening starts at 13.30- Case study starts at 14.30

SCREENINGS FRESH TV FICTION SCREENINGS

14.30-15.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

BEST OF SHORT FORM SERIES

CONNECTING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE USING UHD & HDR 15.30-16;30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

UHD PRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY 16.30-17.30, SONY 4K ULTRA HD THEATRE

EXCLUSIVE SCREENING: SPACE DEBRIS (IN UHD/HDR)

19.30-21.30, CARLTON GARDEN VERRIÈRE 20.00, INTERCONTINENTAL CARLTON HOTEL

MIPCOM PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR GALA DINNER HONOURING:

ISSA RAE

CREATOR, PRODUCER AND STAR OF HBO’S HIT SHOW ‘INSECURE’

Creator & Executive Producer & Álvaro Morte, Lead Cast

at_a_glance_int_rabat_v2.indd 2

4K ULTRA HD

16.15-17.15, AUDITORIUM A

Presented by Finland Film Commission

Presented by IMDA

PRODUCTION FUNDING FORUM MIPCOM’s new forum for producers and financiers to meet and bring premium content projects to life with a two-day programme open to all delegates with Conferences and Networking opportunities.

15.15-16.00, GRAND AUDITORIUM

FINNISH WEIRD: TV-DRAMA & COCKTAIL

CELEBRATING INNOVATIVE ASIAN STORIES

MAIN THEMES

Presented by all3media international and Neal Street Production

By invitation

TRENDS & INSIGHTS Visionary leadership & perspectives on trends shaping the global content industry. DIVERSITY & INCLUSION MIPCOM’s Diversity and Inclusion programme highlights positivity of diversity and inclusion in the global TV landscape, bringing attention to deserving projects of diverse background and worthy programming that have creative and commercial value. Supported by A+E Networks and Diversify TV

SCREENINGS & WORLD PREMIERE TV SCREENINGS Get an exclusive first look at the most-anticipated series from around the world. 4K ULTRA UD AND HDR MIPCOM’s unique knowledge track covering new experiences in visual entertainment. Supported by Sony and Eutelsat

Programme as of 5 september 2018. Subject to change.

07/09/2018 12:26

REINVENTING JOURNALISM REAL-TIME REPORTING FROM THE FRONTLINE OF EUROPE INTERNATIONAL NEWS IN 12 LANGUAGES ACROSS TV & DIGITAL PLATFORMS