MIPCOM CANNES 2022 PREVIEW MAGAZINE

Just imagine a stranger sharing your house - without you knowing!

the man in the attic to the creeper in the crawl space, these first-hand accounts of phrogging will make you question every bump in the night.

My Three Passion Projects

Welcome to the mother of all entertainment content markets — the 38th MIPCOM CANNES. Whether you’re a show vet eran or a newbie to the Croisette, I’m proud to share with you three passion projects that have shaped our values and vision for 2022 and beyond.

The inaugural Seaview Producers Hub

Check out our all-new 1,000 sq m Co-Production Market, the first-ever dedicated event and deal-making space at MIPCOM CANNES for producers and development execs. The Seaview Producers Hub crowns the top of the Riviera, focusing on all aspects of international co-production, development and fi nancing. The most significant addition to the market in years.

MIPCOM CANNES

Sixth Diversify TV Awards

Be counted as a global ally in MIPCOM CANNES’ mission to elevate and reward exemplary representation in television series and entertainment programmes worldwide. Nominees are selected from a record 190 submissions from 27 coun tries. Join us for a truly remarkable showcase of Cannes-level award-winning TV shows and creators that must be on your radar. Wednesday, 19 October, 16.30-17.30, Grand Auditorium.

MIPCOM CANNES

What’s in a name?

We’ve tweaked our logo to include CANNES following our long absence from the Croisette. We’re back and bolder than ever. See our updated insignia everywhere as a symbol and reflection of the deep pride we share to be amongst the lucky few to call the world’s red-carpet capital of Cannes our prized business retreat each October.

October 2022 www.mipcom.com

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS

Michel Filzi MANAGEMENT TEAM

Entertainment Division DirectorMIPTV & MIPCOM Director: Lucy Smith; TV Division Sales Director: Geraud de Lacombe; SVP Sales & Business Development: Robert Marking; Director UK Sales: Vanessa Van Santen Smith; Marketing Director: Debora Atala; Conference Director: Tania Dugaro EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief: Julian Newby; Deputy Editor: Debbie Lincoln; Contributors: Andy Fry, Juliana Koranteng, Gary Smith; Editorial Management: Boutique Editions; Graphic Studio: studioA Design; Graphic Designers: Sunnie Newby, Harriet Palmer PRODUCTION

& ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT

Publishing Director: Martin Screpel; Publishing Manager: Amrane Lamiri; Printer: IAPCA, Le Muy (France). RX France, a French joint stock company with a capital of 90,000,000 euros, having its registered offices at 52 Quai de Dion Bouton 92800 Puteaux, France, registered with the Nanterre Trade and Companies register under n°410 219 364 - VAT number: FR92 410 219 364. Contents © 2022, ISSN 1963-2258, RX France Market.

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What’s next?

Let’s go and double again

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BBC Studios is being recognised this year with the inaugural Studio Of Distinction Award. Julian Newby reports

BBC STUDIOS’ Studio Of Dis tinction Award is marked in Cannes by on-stage ap pearances by BBC direc tor general Tim Davie; managing director of BBC Studios’ Kids & Family, Cecilia Persson; and BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell, who was formally appoint ed at the end of last year after a period as CFO and then interim CEO. “When I joined, we were a business that turned over £850m (€985m) and made profit around £130m and we were really happy with that,” Fus sell said. “Last year we doubled it to £1.6bn and underlying profits have doubled as well.”

That growth is fuelled by expan sion in all areas. “We bought five production labels, which we

control; we’ve launched formats businesses around the world and production businesses around the world. We’ve got the scale there. And then we’ve taken on Kids & Family only a few months ago, which is fantastic; and we’ve taken on the ownership of the commer cial revenues for the .com website outside of this country. That is a huge transformation in our business. And now the question is, what do we do next? And that’s what we want to talk about in Cannes.”

Under Fussell the company has re-structured into two separate businesses. “We’ve got the pro duction studio, which mainly now produces our own content and also we distribute some high-end con tent from other partners; and then we’ve got channels and the stream ing businesses around the world and in the UK.”

BBC Studios owns and runs UKTV, whose leading brands include Dave, Gold, W, Drama, Alibi, Eden and

Tom Fussell on Diversity

“I WORK in a city that is 50% ethnic minority. I am of mixed race myself; my family and my mum’s family are from Iran and English wasn’t my first language. So for me, I think the key thing is to get the data and publish and be transparent. And then that’s where you leave that, because what you have to do then is tell stories about who we are, and why we’re here and what makes us inclusive and what makes us authentic. I tell our teams that, until I came to this place, I never really showed people who I was; I showed people a mask of who I thought I needed to be. And then, lo and behold, I show people who I am and what matters to me and I get what I think is the best job in the world. And you know, there’s some thing there that is engaging with all our teams. Everybody

Yesterday — spanning comedy, en tertainment, natural history, factual and drama. Outside of the UK, ex amples include BBC America in the US, which BBC Studios runs with AMC Networks; BBC Earth in In dia is a partnership with Sony; and Corus Entertainment is partner for BBC Canada. Streaming services include BritBox, which outside the UK reaches the US and Canada; and BBC Player, available in Singa pore and Malaysia.

On the production side BBC Stu dios has recently expanded partly through the acquisition of the pro duction labels House Productions, Clerkenwell Films and Lookout Point, and with majority stakes in Sid Gentle Films and Baby Cow Productions. “So the people who make Killing Eve, Gentleman Jack, Chivalry, Cheaters and Sherwood — they’re all part of our the team now. This wasn’t there two, three years ago.” BBC Studios is also producing for other platforms, in all genres.

“There are many who still think that Studios will only make for the BBC,” Fussell said. “Three quar ters of our production studio rev enue comes from other customers around the world. We make shows like Prehistoric Planet for Apple. I’m really proud of that; it won’t be shown on any other platform. We

Tom Fussell on Cannes

ing for Disney plus at the moment.” MIPCOM CANNES delegates will be happily reminded that BBC Stu dios also acquires programming — for over 35 individual services, available in 215 countries offering over 9,500 broadcast hours cover ing over 1,500 titles.

In Cannes the newly consolidated acquisitions team is on the lookout for procedural crime for both day time and peak; character-led adven ture/travelogues; food and travel; quizzes and game shows; and truecrime drama.

has got something they shield, but if we can be our authentic selves then we can tell real stories and we can be more inclusive and then the real ideas come through. And we’re seeing that — our top team is you know, it’s very ethnically diverse and by gender as well. We make sure that we have proper representation on screen and off screen. We manage the data, of course we do. And we publish the data. I wish everyone else would, as I think that’s important, be cause it gives trust.”

Ghosts

can make shows like Frozen Planet II, which would be on linear chan nels around the world and then go on to the SVODs; or we can make direct for the SVODs, like The Ballad of Renegade Nell, which we’re mak

And Fussell and his team have a clear message of intent for the fu ture of the company: “We have got growth just seeping out of us. We have a business that has doubled in the last five years. What’s next? Let’s go and double again.”

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE & STUDIO OF DISTINCTION AWARD: TOM FUSSELL AND TIM DAVIE GRAND AUDITORIUM MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 12.00

Scripted formats

The Office is BBC Studios’ most successful scripted for mat, made in 12 countries including the UK — most re cently in Poland in 2021 and the Middle East this year. Oth er successful scripted formats include Luther, licensed to five territories with the Indian adaptation, Rudra, launching on Disney+ Hotstar in March of this year; and The Split, li cenced to Turkey, Italy and Korea.

Dancing With The Stars

Having launched in the US in October 2021 on CBS, BBC Studios’ Ghosts was the number one new fall comedy launch across US networks. Since its premiere it has become the fastest-growing new show, aver aging 8.06 million TV viewers — more viewers than any comedy on competitive networks. It has at tracted millions of additional streaming viewers on Paramount+ and has been recommis sioned for a second season of 22 episodes.

The UK’s Strictly Come Dancing — known globally as Dancing With The Stars — is BBC Studios’ big gest-ever global hit format. The show is in 60 territories including the UK, with 420 seasons and more than 4,000 episodes broadcast in total. Last year, the final won its timeslot in eight countries around the world and the UK final was the Nº1 enter tainment show of the year; and Dancing With The Stars was the top per forming show in its timeslot in Austria, Czech Republic, Den mark, Finland, Italy, Poland and Sweden.

“This business is all about connecting with people and telling stories. If you can have everyone in one place doing that, isn’t that fantastic? And in the South of France as well!”

‘‘We make sure that we have proper representation on and off screen’’

Tom Fussell

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A unique and defining achievement

The MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards

take place once again, the cornerstone to the event’s commitment to diversity and inclusion

NOW ENTERING its sixth year, the MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards is dedicated to championing and promoting diversity and inclu sion (D&I) in all its forms across the international television industry, the Awards shine a spotlight on authen tic, engaging and ground-breaking programming from both new and established voices. Every show or individual to make the Awards shortlists has done so because they have had a positive impact in their particular field of D&I endeavour. Entries to the MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards undergo a rig orous process to ensure they are best-in-class. First TV industry ex perts from around the world identify shows worthy of being included on the shortlists. Next, these shortlists are reviewed by charities and publi cations with proven D&I credentials, who select the category winners that will be unveiled in Cannes.

Launching this year’s Awards pro gramme, Lucy Smith, director of MIPCOM, underlined the commit

ment of both MIPCOM CANNES organiser RX and the event itself to promoting D&I: “Tackling diversity and inclusion has never been about box ticking for us. It’s about elevat ing those making an impact already, to then inspire others across our global industry. Being honoured by both your peers in programme making and experts in this area is a unique and defining achievement.”

This year, a record 191 entries will be in contention for 10 awards across areas including Race & Ethnicity, LGBTQIA+ and Disability. Included in the 2022 programme are two new Awards: the Behind The Scenes Impact Award and the Pre mio MIP Cancun. The first of these is designed to recognise a person or team “whose influence, actions, de termination and/or vision stands as an inspiration to all TV creators and audiences worldwide”. The second, in partnership with MIP Cancun, will focus on LatAm, Caribbean and US Hispanic shows that exemplify diverse and inclusive stories across

this creative region.

Once again, MIPCOM CANNES, which organises the Awards in part nership with Diversify TV, has an nounced an illustrious line-up of partners. These include founding partners A+E Networks and Diver sify TV; presenting partner Netflix; Awards partners All3Media Inter national, Telefilm Canada and the Canada Media Fund; and supporting partners D.I.M.E.S., Trace Studios, United Nations SDG and Variety. “The Awards encourage the tele vision industry to bring a diversity of views and facts to the attention of the public, to foster debate that sparks discussions that are inclu sive or to broadcast content that showcases the brilliant diversity of the world,“ director of the UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe, Sherri Aldis, said.

For Netflix: “We believe more peo ple deserve to see their lives on screen and we are commited to cre ating opportunities in front of and behind the camera for people from all backgrounds and cultures.”

So why are the MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards important?

Mark Garner, executive vice-pres ident, global sales and business de velopment at A+E Networks is both a juror this year and a member of MIPCOM’s D&I Board.

“Without awards, it’s difficult to break through… to get people to understand the extraordinary talent and stories out there. I’d like to think awards help people understand who

we are collectively, illustrating that the gaps aren’t always as big as we might suppose,” Garner said. He added that winners aren’t just indi cators of D&I in action, “they are also terrific shows”.

Last year’s winners included Rus sell T Davies’ mini-series It’s A Sin; reality series The Money Maker; and French drama Special Hon ours: Welcome To Adulthood. Oth er non-scripted winners in 2021 included Vice Studios’ Shine True; the BBC’s Dreaming Whilst Black; and Film 4’s Summer In Lockdown. There were also kids awards for Canadian producer Big Bad Boo’s animation series 16 Hudson and SkyKids’s Kidversation.

The 2022 jury includes around 30 executives from across the global TV industry. From Hollywood stu dios to South African storytellers, the range of expertise and expe rience ensures a unique array of voices and perspectives.

MIPCOM CANNES

THE D&I-FACING

“I’m looking for a unique story, a story well told. For me the great Diversify TV Awards entry needs to illuminate and entertain at the same time. I watched several across one weekend in the run up to MIPCOM CANNES and was sucked into incredible stories that I would never come across in my usual journey around the streaming platforms with my EPG. I don’t look for anything in particular, because I want to be as open as possible to what I am experiencing. But I do look for the unexpected, something that makes me walk away and say ‘wow!’”

Juror: Disability – Scripted and Non-Scripted

Betty Sulty-Johnson

Vice-president, global sales & co-production, Trace Studios

“The Awards and ceremony are getting the recognition they deserve. It is important nowadays to identify and diversify talent in front the lens in order to better understand different types of stories celebrating inclusion. Equity is a challenge that should not be undermined by barriers. Bringing these important questions to the biggest international TV markets will help more beautiful stories to be told.

“We are getting much more visibility in front of the camera but there is room for progress behind the lens. The more people feel concerned about diverse issues the more they will be able to write, direct and produce in a way that is authentic and relatable to audiences. As a juror, I will be looking for good story telling. For me, the outstanding project is the one that tells a story with authencity.”

“Awards like Diversify are extremely important in our industry. We’re experiencing a positive transfor mation in our business, but inclusive programming is not always a top priority for broadcasters, and it doesn’t get the attention it needs. Recognition like this helps to bring D&I issues into discussion and works as an incentive for producers to focus more energy on being representative and diverse.

“We’re starting to see progress on screen, diversity is in the centre of discussions more than ever before, which is extremely promising. Unfortunately, at least in LatAm, behind the scenes diversity is moving slower. From high creative roles to executive positions, decision makers haven’t changed much, so there is still work to do. What I look for is ‘proof of inclusion’: authentic depictions, portrayals that are tri-di mensional, not stereotypical, people that are an organic part of the story and just happen to be from a diverse background.”

In anticipation of this landmark event, the MIPCOM CANNES Preview Magazine asked jurors what they look for when judging content…

Mark Garner Executive vice-president, global sales and business development, A+E Networks

Juror: Race and Ethnicity – Non-Scripted

Coty Cagliolo

Head of production, Fremantle LatAm

Juror: Premio MIP Cancun

Juror: LGBTQIA+ – Scripted and Non-Scripted

Patrick Connolly, Independent producer and media consultant

“The Awards are important because we still need to get so many stories out there. We have barely scraped the surface on D&I and the more people see others as ‘real’ and ultimately ‘like them’ the more there is acceptance. I am in this community and my mind is still opened when I watch this con tent. There are so many stories that rarely get told or seen. These awards help give voice to them.”

“I think the positive with content and access is that we now live in a global community where we can see so much content from around the world. That is really exciting. And this access is great for diverse storytelling. Especially, perhaps, for those struggling with themselves or others around them with acceptance. Seeing yourself on screen can be very validating. There is still a lot to do in terms of the range of stories that get told and seen. I also think diversity has to be sincere. We see a lot of diversity wedged into content that isn’t very real.

“To stand out, I think a project has to hit a lot of notes: great storytelling, production and intent. There are so many wonderful projects but when one has a secret ingredient, usually heart, I really take notice. When ‘heart’ can change minds, that is very powerful.”

Juror: Kids Programming – Pre-school

Tshepo Moche

Development consultant, content creator & writer Play Nice Pictures

“Affirmation and validation matters. It is important to have awards to af firm the work you are is doing is right and deserves to be shared and spot lighted. Creating content that is accessible, relatable and representational is no small feat and it is important to celebrate that – as well as motivating the continued work that needs to be done. Award platforms like this afford us an opportunity to engage with each other towards further growth.”

“There is definitely more diversity of characters, but I do think there is still

some way to go around accessing and using more authentic voices be hind the scenes. More women and younger creatives need to be included. Tackling more hard-hitting subject matter in ways our audiences are able to positively absorb is a challenge I think creatives are taking on well and I do see a great shift in content that speaks to that.

“Accessible platforms and mentoring/up-skill programmes to develop and showcase set work is on the rise but there is still some way to go where policy is concerned. We could definitely do with a lot more co-productions and skills exchange between countries and creatives.”

“In the Preschool category I am looking for shows that challenge the status quo, expose our audiences to new things, reflect and celebrate their real experiences and offer them the tools to navigate the world they find them selves in for the better.”

“We could definitely do with a lot more co-productions and skills exchange between countries and creatives”

Juror: Kids Programming – Older Children

Mounia Aram Founder & president, Mounia Aram Company

“The Diversify Awards helps build greater awareness regarding Diversity and Inclusion. It is the best platform for highlighting kids content that ensures we are all equally represented — whether that is documentary, live action movies and formats. With more and more content received from different regions of the world, the Awards demonstrate that these issues are universal concerns. It also means we are all aware of the progress that needs to be made.

“As a juror, the big positive I notice through the content is that more and more producers and broad casters are concerned about D&I — and that provides us with a great selection each year. However if we speak about animation, my area of expertise, we need more content from Africa. African stories need to be told by Africans. The studios definitely exist, so we need to see more characters and stories produced with African studios and broadcast worldwide.

“In my category, story and characters are super important. I love to discover new characters from new countries and also characters that are not represented enough like disabled kids. Animation is a fantastic tool, we can help kids discover, understand and even develop empathy towards characters and kids they will meet in real life.”

Juror: Race and Ethnicity – Scripted

Bunmi Akintonwa

Producer/writer, managing director, Little Black Book Company

“The Awards show our creative communities that their exceptional work is valued and appreciated. They afford them a global platform, that promotes the possibility of recognition for their content and a likelihood of funding for further projects. In short, the awards shine a spotlight on excellence in diversity and encourage and inspire others.

“On screen, we are seeing significant improvement in content from or about ethnic minorities and the LGBTQIA+ communities. Lagging behind on screen is disability. 15% of the world is disabled at some time and this is not reflected behind or in front of the screen.

“It is always rewarding to discover untold stories and fresh approaches with cultures, languages, sto ries and creative visions that have never been seen on screens before — that is exciting! A perfect project is a beautifully told, visually impactful story, that elevates, celebrates, informs or motivates.”

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We go out of our way to make sure we represent everyone

THIS YEAR’s presenter of the MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards is someone who has taken giant steps in the quest for diversity in her work.

Femi Oke presents interactive current affairs programme The Stream on Al Jazeera English, based in Washington. During her time at the Qatari-owned net work she has taken bold steps to re dress ethnic and gender imbalances.

“We go out of our way on that show to make sure that we rep resent everyone,” Oke says. “So if we are doing a show about Yem en, we make sure that everyone we have on the show is actually from Yemen. If we do a show about women in Afghanistan, then all the guests are women from Afghanistan. It sounds real ly obvious, but when you watch TV you’ll see a lovely ‘expert’, but not the people whose stories they are being ‘expert’ on. So I am always asking, ‘Why are we still doing that in 2022?’”

This is something that Oke start ed doing at in a previous job at

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TV Awards

Atlanta, Georgia-based CNN.

“We started a show called Inside Africa — because the African continent was being completely ignored. The only time it would be reported was when there was war or famine,” she says. “There were a couple of us who had ties with Africa and heritage in Africa and we loved Africa, so we hijacked one of the weekend newscasts.”

That led to the CNN show Inside Africa “featuring African stories and African news”, reporting on the innovators and entrepre neurs who are shaping the future of the continent.

Born in Nigeria and brought up in the UK, it was Oke’s closeness to Africa that led to her current position. Watching Al Jazeera English’s first broadcast back in 2006 from her office at CNN, “I was so jealous, because on their first bulletin they had five or six stories from the African conti nent. I thought ‘Woah! That is a week’s worth of Africa coverage from CNN.’ I was amazed and so heartened by how they saw

world news.”

She applied for every job going at the channel and eventually suc ceeded in 2013. And ever since she has been working from the inside to change things. “We’re making an impact. But I think that for anybody who knows that they are outside of the norm, it’s very slow and you need patience. We would like say to the whole network, ‘Let’s do 50-50, let’s be progressive in who we book, immediately.’ But that is revolution and it’s not how you change, certainly not with a big network like Al Jazeera. It’s evo lution and it’s slow and it’s pains taking. We’re showing our meth odology — we share guests. We say ‘Hey would you like to have this guest? They’re really good!’”

Meanwhile her fondness for CNN remains. “CNN is the one milestone that changed my en tire professional career. Without CNN I wouldn’t be doing all the things I am doing. I love CNN for that. It meant I could broad cast to the whole world which was amazing.”

Of the MIPCOM CANNES Di versify TV Awards, Oke says she will “come away from the Awards even more buoyed knowing that other broadcast ers are doing the same thing. I can learn from them, what I can do to make their efforts even stronger and what the Awards can do. I am so living the mes sage and I’m really excited that we can celebrate with people who are doing the same.”

FOX Entertainment Global chooses Cannes for its international debut

DURING the course of an in-depth discussion about the resurgent company’s strategic ambi tions, Fernando Szew and a panel of FOX exec utives will outline plans for FOX Entertainment Global, a newly formed division that will be an active participant in the international television distribution market.

During the conversation, Szew and his col leagues will share the ways in which FOX En tertainment is adapting its model and forging innovative new partnerships as part of its fu ture strategy.

Buoyed up by a roster of hit series including 9-11, The Masked Singer, Next Level Chef and Lego Masters, FOX US has performed well among 18to 49-year-olds across the last three years.

At the same time, the company embarked on an ambitious M&A programme that has includ ed acquiring animation studio Bento Box, en tertainment platform TMZ and Szew’s studio MarVista. Also significant has been the launch of Studio Ramsay Global, a joint venture with TV chef Gordon Ramsay.

The MarVista acquisition gave FOX an en hanced scripted production capability and a global distribution footprint spanning more than 125 territories. Now, the launch of Fox En tertainment Global will take that commitment to the next level. Based in Los Angeles on the Fox Studios lot, the new division will be responsible for overseeing the international, multi-platform sales and distribution of IP owned and produced by both Fox Entertainment companies and out side partners, with Szew at the helm. “This new, centralised business unit represents FOX’s official re-entry into the international tel evision marketplace,” Szew said. “The FOX En tertainment division will maximise our ability to

be a valued creative partner and content supplier to linear, streaming and digital platforms world wide. I’ve always admired FOX’s long-standing reputation for high-quality storytelling across all genres — unscripted, animation, dramas and comedies. Now, I’m proud to help launch FOX Entertainment Global, delivering our worldclass owned content directly to buyers through out the world.”

At MIPCOM CANNES, FOX Entertainment Global will introduce animated series Krapopo lis, created by Dan Harmon; Grimsburg, starring Jon Hamm; and comedy Animal Control. “As platforms focus on vertical integration, there’s a

growing global need for quality content. As the only independent broadcast network in the US, we are uniquely positioned to capitalise on this demand with our increasing creative strength and content library,” Szew said. In addition to scaling up FOX’s content and distribution activities, the company has been a pioneer in the rapidly emerging AVOD/FAST sector, thanks to its ad-supported streaming service Tubi, acquired for $440m in 2020.

While the platform embraces third-party con tent, it has also proved to be a valuable new outlet for FOX Entertainment, which provides a robust pipeline of original content and FAST channels for Tubi. TMZ specials including Har ry & Meghan: The Royals In Crisis and Tiger King: What Really Went Down, have featured on the fast-growing streamer. Tubi is not the only example of FOX expanding into next-gen businesses. In partnership with Bento Box, the company greenlit Web3 media and creative technology company Blockchain Creative Labs. Designed to provide solutions to build, manage and sell NFTs, the company hit the ground running with a $100m creator fund. Initiatives to date include The MaskVerse, an NFT market and community for The Masked Singer.

One of the landmark events at MIPCOM CANNES will be a panel session headed by Fernando Szew, founder and CEO of MarVista and head of FOX Entertainment Global, the company’s new centralised content division

“I’ve always admired FOX’s long-standing reputation for high-quality storytelling”

Fernando Szew

FOX ENTERTAINMENT GLOBAL PANEL GRAND AUDITORIUM MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 17.15

Fernando Szew

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The place that creatives want to call home

Two leading executives from international production and distribution company Fremantle are giving a Media Mastermind keynote. They spoke to the MIPCOM CANNES Preview ahead of their Cannes appearance

FREMANTLE group CEO Jennifer Mullin and group COO & CEO continental Europe, Andrea Scrosati are in Cannes to outline the company’s growth strategy and to share their vision to make Fremantle a hive of creativity.

Recent growth has come through acquisition and the company plans to continue this strategy, fo cusing on “companies that we believe are a strong cultural and creative fit with our business and our teams. We see it as working in partnership, add ing value and creative excellence to each other’s portfolio and providing these companies with an instant global network of creative talent and infra structure, to help propel them to new heights.” Fre mantle has announced a revenue target of €3bn by 2025, “which will come because we invest our time and commitment to building great relationships with talent, labels, broadcasters, streamers — and our greatest asset, our teams around the world.”

That A-list talent includes Angelina Jolie, Neil Cross, Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino, Mi chael Winterbottom, Jimmy Fallon, Simon Cowell, Penelope Cruz, Pablo and Juan De Dios Larrain and Cara Delevingne, whose new series Planet Sex is in high profile at MIPCOM CANNES this year. “Our drive into the business of film and documen taries is another important growth area for us. The pipeline of films coming through for 2022/23 and our successes in the last 12 months at Ven ice, Cannes and the Oscars is testament to the high-quality and original films we are making and the talent we are working with.”

With a new team in place, the company is building slate of original documentaries. “We have recently announced Mrs. America, which will explore the

changing role of American womanhood through the Mrs. America beauty pageant’s 45-year history, directed by Penny Lane and produced by Freman tle and Anonymous Content.

In Australia the company is working on Danielle Laidley, documenting Laidley’s career from foot ball player and coach to her battles with drug addiction and gender dysphoria; and The Cape, about the mysterious tragedies befalling an isolat

ed community in Australia’s Cape York. Fremantle is of course known the world-over for entertainment programming and its talent, dating and game shows remain hugely popular: “We be lieve that strong IP, wherever in the world it origi nates, creates great value and can be timeless. The Price Is Right and Family Feud, for example, are some of oldest game shows in our catalogue and in the US they consistently hold top ratings.”

And there are new titles too. Game Of Talents was created by the company’s team in Spain in 2019 is

now a hit in some 14 other territories including the US, UK, Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands. Too Hot To Handle was hailed by Netflix as the streamer’s “biggest competition show ever” and is enjoying further success in Mexican, Brazilian and German versions.

On the Cannes stage Mullin and Scrosati will share their vision “to make Fremantle the place that cre atives want to call home. With our global network and expert capabilities in development, financing, finding co-production partners, sourcing talent, we can build support from the very beginning of a project until it finds its rightful home.”

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE:

‘Strong IP, wherever in the world it originates, creates great value and can be timeless”

Jennifer Mullin and Andrea Scrosati

FREMANTLE’S JENNIFER MULLIN AND ANDREA SCROSATI GRAND AUDITORIUM, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 11.15

Jennifer Mullin

Andrea Scrosati

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Our door is always open for creatives

AS CEO of Banijay, Marco Bassetti has been one of the key architects in the creation of a €3.5bn content powerhouse. He spoke to Andy Fry ahead of his appearance on the Cannes stage

BANIJAY CEO Marco Bassetti is delivering a Media Mastermind Keynote at MIPCOM CANNES, during which he will explain the next phase of development of the studio, which is home to iconic brands including MasterChef, Survivor and Peaky Blinders.

“Our priority has always been to build a home for the best talent and IP,” Bassetti said. “Through organic growth, the merger with Zodiak in 2016 and the landmark purchase of Endemol Shine Group (ESG) in 2020, we transformed our busi ness seismically. And despite buying ESG during the pandemic, we came out of COVID far strong er than many competitors. We have attracted tal ent across most corners of the world and thanks to them, in 2021, we pushed 91 new pilots into the global market. We also have a 130,000-hour cat alogue which provides huge exploitation value.”

Banijay has ramped up its scripted content slate, but Bassetti stresses the firm will never lose touch with its non-scripted roots. “The Banijay we know now often feels worlds apart from the one first in troduced to the market, but we will never lose our DNA. We are primarily unscripted producers and despite evolving our scripted offering, we won’t be veering too much in that direction.”

For MIPCOM specifically, he points to “some great new unscripted formats. These including Blow Up (EndemolShine NL), Starstruck (Re markable) and Nation’s Biggest Karaoke (DMLS TV). And on the scripted front, we have high-qual ity offerings like Marie Antoinette (CAPA Drama, Banijay Studios France and Les Gens), Rogue Heroes (Kudos and Nebulastar), Bali (Screentime

and Endemol Shine Australia) and Serial Lover (Shine Fiction & Sibaro Films/co-production).”

This comes in addition to powerful long-running brands. “In the last few months, we have seen Survivor (50 versions to date) picked up by the BBC and Big Brother (60 versions) by ITV UK. MasterChef (60+ versions) is also enjoying an other reinvention with MasterChef: Young Talent (Metronome/Nordisk Banijay).”

year’s MIPCOM CANNES should be the need to unite in the fight for rights. The European model has thrived for years, but it needs protecting and we must ensure rights are taken only where they are needed — this is crucial in order to preserve creativity. I also want to remind talent that our door is always open for creatives.”

In terms of trends, Bassetti said: “Audiences are still on the hunt for comforting, fun entertain ment and we are thriving in this area. We are building on the Lego Masters skill-hunting fan base with Blow Up, while providing escapism through titles like Survivor. In scripted, gritty dramas are back on the rise, alongside beautifully shot period performances like Marie Antoinette.”

Bassetti said it takes “huge skill to maintain ap peal for a long-running returner. It’s this skill which is often lacking in the copycat attempts we are increasingly seeing. While it is flattering that our super brands are copied, the originals cannot be beaten and their individual format points are what sets them apart.”

Aside from this copycat message, Bassetti says he will use his keynote to share thought on rights and talent relationships: “I believe a theme for this

As for business development: “We have dipped our toe into the metaverse with a Mr Bean NFT via Banijay Brands, and are on the cusp of an nouncing others. While the metaverse is still relatively unknown territory, we invest in inno vation and have launched an internal ‘creative incubator’. Owing to the size of our catalogue, FAST channels have also become an element of our strategy.”

MEDIA MASTERMIND KEYNOTE:

‘We have dipped our toe into the metaverse with a Mr Bean NFT’

Marco Bassetti

CEO MARCO BASSETTI GRAND AUDITORIUM, TUESDAY OCTOBER 18, 14:30

Marco Bassetti

PEARLS IN THE SAND QATAR

Content creators see value in data

IN THE Keynote session What’s The Big Deal? Valuing Content In The Streaming Age, Caryn Mandabach, producer of the hit series Peaky Blinders and Wared Seger, founder & CEO, Parrot Analytics, discuss the changing approach to valuing content in an era of data and analytics.

Caryn Mandabach Productions is a trans atlantic, independent television and film production company, which produces and owns the BAFTA-winning drama. The sixth season of Peaky Blinders launched on BBC1 and the BBC’s streaming service iPlayer in February of this year and on Netflix in June.    Parrot Analytics is a data science company that measures and predicts audience de mand for media content around the world and across all platforms. The data can help professionals and companies in the content business to de-risk investment in a competi tive global market.

During their conversation, Mandabach and Seger will share with MIPCOM Cannes how creators are today bringing together data science with the art of content production. “Whether the goal is for a programming strategy team to make the best investment for a growing streaming service or for a producer or talent trying to find leverage at the negotiation table, there’s never been a greater need in the industry to understand the empirical value of content, understand ing how each potential distribution path can help contribute to a title’s full poten tial,” Seger said. Mandabach added: “As a long-time television producer and IP holder who has seen the in dustry shift from broadcast to cable to stream ing, it’s become increasingly clear that under standing and harnessing the value of our own

shows has never been more necessary.”

Her prolific career includes the creation of a number of global hit shows including Ro seanne, Third Rock From The Sun, That 70s Show and Nurse Jackie.

Peaky Blinders premiered on September 12, 2013, and for the first four series was shown

on BBC2 in the UK. It moved to the wider reaching BBC1 for the fifth and the final sixth series. Netflix acquired the rights to release the show in the US and around the world in 2019. In January 2021, it was announced that the sixth series would be the last.

A Peaky Blinders feature film spin-off is to film at writer Steven Knight’s studios in Bir mingham, UK. And Knight’s live dance thea tre show Peaky Blinders: The Redemption Of Thomas, has premieres in Birmingham and London this year before a UK tour in 2023. The production features the permanent Rambert dance company.

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? VALUING CONTENT IN THE STREAMING AGE GRAND AUDITORIUM, MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 16:30

A MIPCOM CANNES Keynote featuring Peaky Blinders producer Caryn Mandabach will focus on how data can help to get the full value out of your content

Top: Caryn Mandabach. Middle: Wared Seger. Below: Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders

‘‘Harnessing the value of our own shows has never been more necessary‘‘

Caryn Mandabach

Seaview Producers Hub

STAND BY for an unmissable three days in a stunning new venue. The inaugural Seaview Producers Hub, set in 1,000 sq m of networking lounge and event space against the backdrop of the Riviera Seaview, will reflect MIPCOM CANNES’ growing focus on early-stage develop ment and co-production partnerships. The Hub features a comprehensive series of daily sessions prioritised

‘Co-production is critical to the future of drama’

A HIGH-powered track of pro ducer-first conference panels will kick off at the Seaview Producers Hub with a session entitled The Changing Face Of International Drama Co-productions And Local Language Content.

On the panel is ITV Studios man aging director Lisa Perrin, who said that upheaval in the global TV market makes a discussion about co-productions especially timely: “Co-pro models have always been

a product of the partners involved and the needs of the show — but they are constantly changing. The changes we see most at the moment are in timings and scale. Platforms want to move upstream on shows they know will work for them and steer them towards a show that sits between something they commission and something they acquire.”

Perrin’s view is that escalating costs make the role of co-produc

for international creators, producers, commissioners and develop ment executives. The focus of events at this market-within-a-market is on all aspects of the business of international co-production. The following pages focus on some of the high-level sessions taking place over three days at the Seaview Producers Hub and hears from leading executives from around the world.

tion more important than ever. Global streamers were doing more co-productions a few years ago (The Bodyguard, The Serpent, Django), but the conversations right now suggest these are com ing back. With huge cost inflation in production it’s a good thing and critical to the future of drama.”

Joining Perrin is president of glob al drama at Fremantle, Christian Vesper; Upgrade Productions’ co-president Matt Brodlie; and Keshet vice-president, acquisi tions Anke Stoll.

Stoll said one of her key messages will be that “Keshet International has a Global Drama team which wants to work with producers from many countries — both on

English and non-English language developments.”

Stoll also believes the time is ripe for co-pro partnerships: “With some streamers cutting back on programming, the appetite for co-production and third-par ty acquisitions will continue to grow.” Local-language drama is also a priority: “We are well posi tioned globally to work with any territory, and we have a wealth of expertise working with local-lan guage content.”

THE CHANGING

Anke

Matt Brodlie

Christian Vesper

Lisa Perrin

Investment in content is a boost for talent in Africa

SOUTH Africa and Nigeria’s con tribution to the diversified co-pro duction content on offer to stream ing platforms globally are discussed during Spotlight On African Drama – Highlighting Talents And Co-pro duction Opportunities, on Tuesday in the Seaview Producers Hub.

Speaking at the session is Fahmee da Cassim-Surtee, group CEO DStv Media Sales. Part of the MultiChoice Group, DStv is the largest pay-TV ser vice across Africa, and is available in

over 48 countries.

In addition to global streaming plat forms, regional operators are invest ing in original local content. Regional players include StarTimes Group’s StarTimes ON and MultiChoice Group’s Showmax in South Africa, and SuperTV in Nigeria.

There are many new players in the African market, which has challenged content service providers to create more value for their customers.

Also, many socio-economic factors

Creators must think both local and global

“FOR CONTENT to be successful it needs to have a global appeal. It’s a requirement specifically for the major buyers, the streamers for example, and their audienc es,” said Figs Jackman, executive producer/head of global develop ment at UK-based Spring Films. Jackman’s expertise in the evo lution of co-productions world wide will be on display during the Seaview Producers Hub panel, International Co-production –

Looking To The Future. He executive-produced Last Exit Space, the acclaimed documen tary feature about the colonisa tion of outer space from Werner Herzog, the iconic German movie director. It was co-produced by Spring Films, US-based Gunpow der & Sky, and Germany’s Tagli cht Media.

“Dollar-equity finance was com bined with film fund and broad caster revenues to close the pro

can make it difficult to reach all po tential subscribers, but generally more investment has helped growth.

This has led to the emergence of strong local talent, ranging from South African actor Thuso Mbedu, and actor/executive producer Nomzamo Mbatha to Nigerian di rector Adeola Osunkojo — famous for her work on reality series Big Brother Nigeria.

Such talent is attracting co-produc tion investors, including govern ment-led film and TV institutions, private corporations and broadcast ers. In South Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is one such partner for funding largescale productions. Cassim-Surtee is expected to join Ijeoma Onah, CEO of SuperTV Ni geria during the session.

SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN DRAMA PRODUCERS – HIGHLIGHTING TALENTS AND CO-PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 14:00

duction budget. A major sale was secured with Discovery+, a fan tastic supporter of the film,” Jack man said.

Another reliable approach for se curing co-production investment are films with multi-national references, for example Werner Herzog – Radical Dreamer, an in timate profile of Herzog. Contrib utors include Australian Oscar winner Nicole Kidman, maverick British movie star Christian Bale, and Chinese multi-awards win ner Chloe Zhao.

“To create for the global market with such an internationally rec ognised cast followed a similar fi

nancing route as Last Exit Space,” Jackman said. Equity and creative supporters included New Yorkbased Wavelength, and German’s 3b produktion.

“It’s about finding a balance to both satisfy any local require ments versus the needs of the ma jor global buyer.”

Jackman’s co-panelists will in clude Blue Ant International’s Lilla Hurst, Zee’s Manoj Mathew and Mandarin Film China’s Pat rick Carr.

INTERNATIONAL CO- PRODUCTION – LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 15:00

Figs Jackman

Lilla Hurst

Fahmeeda Cassim-Surtee

Manoj Mathews

Patrick Carr

‘ Our talent can work with anyone in the market

MIPCOM delegates have a unique opportunity to learn about the work ings of content studio Banijay this week, with a series of events explor ing the group’s production priorities, approach to collaboration and strate gic ambitions. One highlight will be a fireside chat with head of scripted Lars Blomgren and a panel of leading producers from within the Banijay family.

As a key cog in a studio that spans 23 territories and controls a portfolio of around 120 production entities, Blomgren said: “At Banijay, we are producers at heart. At MIPCOM, we’re keen to showcase the strength and breadth of our producer com munity. With Karen Wilson from Kudos, Alex de la Iglesia and Caro

lina Bang from Pokeepsie, and Max Malka from Endemol Shine Finland joining the Producers Hub panel, we’ll reveal how we all contribute to an environment where creatives and

talent can thrive independently.” Blomgren said Banijay’s independ ence is key for the group, which is

FRAPA grows its role in the formats business

FRAPA, the Format Recognition and Protection Association, is once again hosting its popular summit in partnership with MI PCOM CANNES. And FRAPA co-chair Jan Salling, is expecting a capacity crowd: “The scripted and non-scripted format indus try has expanded rapidly over the last decade and that increases de mand for the services we offer.” Originally, FRAPA focused sole ly on securing legal protection for television formats, but now it acts as an education and network ing forum for both established format firms and newcomers: “The Summit plays a key part in

this,” Salling said. “At MIPCOM CANNES, there will be network ing opportunities, a presentation from K7 Media and a high-pow ered panel discussion involving buyers from around the world.”

At time of writing, speakers at the Future Of Formats session includ ed: Disney/ABC’s Rob Mills, TF1’s Julien Degroote, Sat 1’s Hannes Hiller, the BBC’s Jo Wallace and CBC’s Jessica Schmiedchen.

For Salling, the networking is one of the highlights of the Summit “because it’s an opportunity for newcomers and veterans to meet each other and share ideas in a way that doesn’t happen in the

active across scripted, non-scripted and kids. “As a platform agnostic player, our talent can work with any one in the market and always find the right home for their stories.”

He added: “Our scale ensures we are adaptable, and we’re not daunted by challenges; we take these head-on. We have a long-term, robust strategy on a global and local level, and this is tes tament to the strength of our offering.”

Blomgren said that co-production is

still a trusted model: “It is absolutely the core. With budgets rising, and the fight for talent pushing costs up, as well as economic strain, co-produc tions remain our preferred financial model.”

That said, he also identified a role for partnership within the group: “We like it when labels within the foot print collaborate, like Kudos has with German label MadeFor on Then You Run for Sky, and we hope to see more in the next 12 months.”

In Cannes, Blomgren said: “Marie Antoinette is a big Banijay Rights pri ority. Written by Deborah Davis and telling the story of the unconven tional queen, this series for Canal+ is a co-pro with Capa Drama, Banijay Studios France and Les Gens.”

A key message in Cannes will be the importance of retaining rights: “It is vital,” he said, “and is integral to ensuring we maximise our brands worldwide. As we deliver an extraor dinary calibre of productions, we are in a strong position to keep our IP outright, and help maximise the huge potential of projects.”

usual working environment.” Salling said FRAPA has been working hard to inject greater diversity into its organisation and activities. “We have invited Sophie Ferron of Canadian pro ducer/distributor Media Ranch and Sunita Uchil of Zee Enter tainment in India onto our board which gives us a great injection of expertise and more diversity of voices. We have also changed our structure in a way that allows us to introduce more advisory boards — which is another way to increase inclusion.”

While FRAPA’s evo lution has been about transforming the organ isation into a day-to-day business tool, Salling says the format trade body has not lost sight of

its original purpose. “We have a solution called the FRAPA Analy sis System (FAS) which is used to compare two formats where one is perceived to be a copycat of the other. We provide an expert opin ion on the similarities (or not) between the two — and that often heads off costly legal disputes.”

‘Our scale ensures we are adaptable’ Lars Blomgren

’

Lars Blomgren

The making of German anthology series Punishment

GERMAN TV drama’s reputation on the global market has never been stronger, and MIPCOM CANNES delegates get to see why during a Tuesday afternoon session at the Seaview Producers Hub.

A 6 x 50-mins anthology series from Constantin Film, Punish ment, is a creatively ambitious production inspired by the stage play The Verdict by Ferdinand Von Schirach. Commissioned by RTL for its streaming platform RTL Plus and distributed internationally by Wild Bunch Television, the series sees six highly regarded directors, including Oscar-nominated Oliver Hirschsbiegel, each take the helm for one intriguing episode.

The series featured at CAN NESERIES in April 2022, where it drew a standing ovation. In Cannes to discuss how they de veloped and produced the series will be Constantin deputy chair

man Oliver Berben, managing di rector Jan Ehlert and head of inter national sales & acquisitions, Wild Bunch TV, Diana Bartha. Ahead of the session, Ehlert said: “The first thing that’s rare about this show is that it is a genuine anthology. At the same time, it is a wide-ranging showcase of German-speaking tal ent — especially when it comes to directors. To get such an amazing group of different creatives, you have to give them something. In this case, it was the greatest crea

tive freedom possible to let them make the films they actually want.” Ehlert says the series is an exam ple of Constantin wanting to be “a homebase for talent and great ide as” But he acknowledges financing was a challenge: “If you produce a show like Punishment, you basical ly produce six films. There is hardly any synergy. Our initial experience was that many potential partners tried to grind down the budget. But we didn’t want to compromise and the creatives stood behind us. RTL was the only partner that fully trusted in the idea — we couldn’t have done it without them. That said, we also secured investment from three regional funds — MBB, FFF and Filmstiftung NRW. That was very important to us.”

CASE STUDY ON GERMAN SERIES PUNISHMENT WITH CONSTANTIN FILMS AND WILD BUNCH TV SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 AT

‘Impressive growth’ for Spanish content

A NUMBER of dynamic co-pro duction deals are being forged between Spain and Latin Ameri ca as new shows from these mar kets increasingly target a global Spanish-speaking audience. MIPCOM addresses this crea tive evolution in the panel The Boom In Spanish-Language Content – Collaborations Be tween Spain And Latam. “Spanish-language content has seen an impressive growth in recent years and Atresmedia Television has been part of this boom with the creation of inter national hits such as La Casa de Papel, and Veneno, which be came incredibly successful dra mas across global platforms,”

said Diego del Pozo, manager, fiction content at Spanish me dia group Atresmedia TV. “In the past, dramas were con ceived locally for every domes tic market; nowadays, with the creation of new platforms and

multi-territory audiences, new Spanish-language dramas are cre ated for an international audience.”

More recent Atresmedia in ternational Spanish co-pro ductions include crime fiction La Novia Gitana (The Gypsy Bride), which was made with Viacom International Studios.

It is the latter’s first co-produc tion in Spain. Additionally, its thriller Perdida was filmed in

Spain and Colombia. These developments come as Grupo Televisa merges with Univision to create a $4.8bn Spanish-speaking TV super power called TelevisaUnivision this year. Expect more inter national co-productions from Buendia Estudios, the joint venture of Atresmedia and an other Spanish TV giant Mov istar Plus, which has offices in Latin America. And global plat forms including Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+ are investing in Spanish-language originals. The panel will include repre sentatives from Atresmedia TV and Madrid-based Zeta Studios.

THE BOOM IN SPANISH-LANGUAGE CONTENT – COLLABORATIONS

BETWEEN

AND LATAM

Atresmedia Television’s La Casa de Papel

Punishment stars Sean Berube and Katarina Hauter in Cannes last year with writer Ferdinand von Schirach. Photo:CANNESERIES

Taking a creative approach to financing content

LEADING European studio executives will help MIPCOM CANNES delegates explore innovative approaches to con tent deal-making and funding during a session looking at the role of distribution companies as co-production partners. “The ways a project can be financed are becoming broad er, from windowing in its local market to pre-sales in other countries,” APC co-CEO and panelist, Emmanuelle Guilbart, said. “The business and fund ing formulas have become wider — new tax credits, new work models, particularly in animation, new forms of deals with writers and talent.” Guilbart added that one of the biggest changes “in the last five to 10 years has seen distributors’ involvement in projects starting earlier, which leads to a more significant edi torial role and can translate into a co-development deal. The distributor’s role in finance has become as important as that of selling the show.”

Among various topics, in the session delegates will hear how distribution has been reinvented in response to how streamers have changed their business models.

Guilbart is joined on stage by Yes Studios’ CEO Sharon Levi and Leona Connell, executive vice-president, distribution, Newen Connect.

CREATIVE DEAL-MAKING

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 11.15

Producers must ‘look beyond the Big Five’

AS PART of the Producers Hub Unscripted Track, The Producers’ Tool-Kit: Focus On Unscripted Maximising Monetisation session at the Seaview Producers Hub, ad dresses how the monetisation of TV entertainment in the stream ing age requires aggressive yet creative strategies.

Curated and produced by founder of The Bridge, Amanada Groom, the session urges producers to explore various revenue sources, from niche SVOD streaming ser vices, brand partnerships to even music copyright.

Among the speakers are Wendy Bernfeld, founder and managing director of Amsterdam-based consultancy Rights Stuff, who is

offering tips to producers con fronting the revenue-chasing side of their business.

She advised producers to look beyond the usual suspects, the Big Five — Netflix, Disney+, Am azon Prime, Apple TV+ and HBO Max. She also advised approach ing regional players — who are both buyers and funders, such as telecom, cable and other pay-TV operators plus OTT companies with SVOD services of their own. Examples are Viaplay and Canal+.

PRODUCERS TOOL-KIT FOCUS ON UNSCRIPTED FINANCING AND MONETISATION

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 17.00

‘From the big idea to delivery’

THE MIPCOM CANNES Un scripted Showcase explores how three projects journeyed from concept to successful distribution.

“Producers and decision-makers attending MIPCOM CANNES will be inspired to learn from three sets of documentary insid

ers, how their different projects stood above the competition and won the backing of their funding and distribution partners,” said Peter Hamilton, the consultant who curated, produced and is pre senting these Showcase sessions.

“We will track each production team’s step-by-step process from the big idea to delivery.”

During the Showcase creatives, producers and distributors “will describe their project’s secret sauce”, he said. “Why did they commit to this story? And to these characters? What market forces,

Also, look for complementary niche platforms, which are all buyers, and some are investors too. These include Shudder (hor ror), Curiosity Stream (documen taries) and Hopster (kids). And learn how to exploit your li brary and back catalogues: “The streamers all have competitors, so it’s handy to do multiple, non-ex clusive, successive deals across regions and windows (TVOD, SVOD, AVOD/FAST) to maximise reach as well as cumulative reve nues,” she said.

Casa Susanna, about a popular destination for cross-dressing men and transgender women in the early 1960s

like budget and audience trends, helped attract funders? Did they change their distribution plans due to the rise of Netflix and the streamers?”

Hamilton and the Showcase team selected programmes that are “topical, diverse and illustrative of different formats. Gender iden tity is the very current subject of Naked, a six-part cross-Atlantic co-production; and also of Casa Susanna, a theatrical-length doc umentary with a one-hour version for television. Space Mission Sen egal reveals the untold story of an Islamic African scientist and is a director-led co-production.”

UNSCRIPTED INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTION CASE STUDIES

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19

NAKED – GENERATION GENDER 15.30-16.00

SPACE MISSION SENEGAL 16.10-16.40

CASA SUSANNA 16.50-17.20

Emmanuelle Guilbart

Wendy Bernfeld

The

Largest

How Gallonde has made it happen

SIX YEARS ago, French producer Sydney Gallonde came to MIPCOM CANNES to launch his Paris-based content studio Make It Happen. Now he’s back on the Riviera to discuss his progress in the intervening years. A former advertising produc er, Gallonde made his mark on the TV industry when he adapted Harlen Coben’s No Second Chance for French commercial broadcaster TF1. After huge ratings success at home, the series was picked up internationally by Netflix. Gallonde and Coben joined forces again on Just One Look, a mini-series for TF1. Coming up to date, Gallonde has demonstrated his ability to shift towards an international co-pro model, creating TV content aimed at the global market. Most recently, he has produced murder mystery The Reunion, a drama set on the French Riviera. The six-part series is based on a best-sell ing novel by Guillaume Musso. Shot in English, The Reunion is a co-production with France Televisions and MGM, which is handling distribution.

Gallonde has also taken Make It Happen in the direction of TV movies, with Le Colosse Aux Pieds D’argile (The Giant With Feet Of Clay). Starring Eric Cantona, the production follows a harrowing true-life story of sexual abuse in sport.

HOW DOES FRENCH

INDEPENDENT COMPANY

MAKE IT HAPPEN STUDIOS MAKE IT HAPPEN?

SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 14.30

Co-productions are emerging strongly from the pandemic

THE INAUGURAL Seaview

Gallonde

Producers

Hub sessions kick off on October 17 with the exclu sive presentation An Analysis Of TV Co-productions’ Evolution Through The Pandemic. Delivered by UK-based interna tional research group Omdia and presented by Omdia’s senior prin cipal analyst/digital content and channels, Tim Westcott, the ses sion aims to explore both the chal lenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting quarantines. The global crisis forced producers and showrunners to inventively reinvent how they created high-

end entertainment content for an international audience. And thanks to multi-territory strategies, they have more than delivered.

“With streaming services ex tending their footprint across the world, many assumed that the days of co-productions were num bered,” Westcott said. “However, partnerships between producers, broadcasters, distributors and oth er sources of funding are thriving

AN ANALYSIS OF TV COPRODUCTIONS’ EVOLUTION THROUGH THE PANDEMIC PRESENTED BY OMDIA SEAVIEW PODUCERS HUB MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 09.50

and even the streamers are getting involved.”

Westcott’s findings at MIPCOM Cannes will be supported by Om dia’s Global: Pay TV & Online Vid eo, a report published earlier this year. It concluded that online video sub scription numbers jumped 17.7% to 1.34 billion by the end of 2021, from 1.14 billion the pre vious year. They are expected to reach two billion-plus by 2027.

Tim Westcott

Is Boys Love the ‘next big thing’ from Korea?

BOYS LOVE drama is a new dra ma sensation made in Korea that will be examined at a Producers Hub session in which people in volved in its creation and distri

Jamie Kim

bution will explain its derivation and its appeal.

Manta is a leading content com pany based in South Korea, own er of over 1,500 original stories and which presents key titles globally via its webcomics plat form — Manta Comics. The com pany also works with third-party IP rights holders to extend exist ing film and television storytell ing into webcomics.

“We consider Boys Love as one of the categories in the romance genre and it has been fulfilling creators’ and audiences’ grow ing appetite for new types of ro mance stories,” head of content

strategy at Manta, Jamie Kim said. Kim is one of the panelists at the session.

“Boys Love has begun to win no ticeable popularity and we be lieve it is establishing a new, yet strong, position within the ro mance genre in which K-content is specialised. Together with the ongoing growth of K-content, we believe Boys Love has the poten tial of becoming the next big thing coming out of Korea’s creativity.” Jayoung Goo, director of Korean content production company J Wonder, joins Kim and others on the panel.

BOYS LOVE DRAMA – A NEW DRAMA SENSATION, MADE IN KOREA AND TRENDING TROUGHOUT ASIA SEAVIEW PRODUCERS HUB MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 16:00

Pay TV and SVOD come together

PAY TV AND SVOD are often presented as oppositional forces, but the reality is more complex. In Europe streamer Paramount+ and leading pay-TV/on-demand platform Sky have forged an alliance. Delegates will be able to find out more during MIP Talks’ Paramount+ and Sky Showtime: A New Approach

To International Studio D2C.

The session features Monty Sarhan, CEO, SkyShowtime; and Marco Nobili, head of Paramount+ International.

The session is hosted by 3Vision, a global consultancy specialising in content acqui sition, strategy, research and business development in the television industry.

Topics under discussion include the personalisation of the user experience through direct-to-consumer OTT. session

PARAMOUNT+ AND SKYSHOWTIME: A NEW APPROACH TO INTERNATIONAL STUDIO D2C

HI5 STUDIO

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 15.15

How the new platforms are changing the business of distribution

CONTENT distribution has never been more complex, with decisions about windowing and pricing be ing tougher than ever. With streamers shaking up the market, MIP Talks’ The New Rights Picture session will help delegates work out the best ways to window content for long-term val ue. Covering output deals, second ary windows and Netflix’s latest

strategy, the panel includes Ruth Berry, managing director, distribu tion at ITV Studios; Lauren Ander son, head of AVOD original content & programming Amazon Studios, Amazon Freevee; Jim Packer, pres ident worldwide TV and digital distribution at Lionsgate; and Jenn Vaux, head of content acquisition at The Roku Channel. Berry said: “Our sales teams are

spending more time slicing and dic ing rights across multiple windows in the same markets.”

She added: “Exclusivity will always be important on premium content — that drives subscriber acquisitions and key audience engagement. But the AVOD/FAST world is mostly non-exclusive and so far, mostly cat alogue content.

“The way we work has changed to a streamer-first lens, building more metadata, materials to drive algo rithms and completion rates.”

THE NEW RIGHTS PICTURE: WHAT DOES EXCLUSIVITY MEAN NOW FOR CONTENT OWNERS?

HI5 STUDIO

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 14.00

Charting the rise and rise of FAST

THE MIPCOM CANNES confer ence programme is packed with insights into the emergence of free ad-supported channels (FAST). One key panel will see executives on the FAST frontline help dele gates explore how the industry is evolving, key content trends, mon etisation possibilities and what the US can tell us about FAST.

The MIP Talks’ Making Money Fast panel includes Tejas Shah, senior vice-president, commercial strate gy and analytics at FilmRise; Colin Petrie-Norris, chief revenue and platform officer, Comcast-Charter;

and Ka Srinivasan, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Amagi. All three have a close understanding of the practicalities of generating ROI from FAST channels. Srinivasan’s company has helped leading rights owners like Banijay and Fremantle make their channels a reality. Srinivasan said: “Our core message is that FAST is poised for tremendous growth. Data from Am agi’s Analytics platform and con sumer surveys indicate that AVOD and FAST services are expected to outperform paid entertainment models. This is a window of oppor

tunity for content owners to build a new generation of TV networks.”

He added: “The rising viewership trends and ad opportunities on FAST indicate long-term sustainable reach and revenue growth for con tent owners. Leveraging the power of the data on FAST, many content owners have successfully launched services and reaped the rewards. FAST is also serving as a marketing funnel for content owners in driving up their subscription revenues.”

MAKING MONEY FAST

HI5 STUDIO

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 09.00

Jenn Vaux

MIPCOM

CANNES

MIP

Jim Packer

Ruth Berry

Ka Srinivasan

Colin Petrie-Norris

Tejas Shah

Monty Sarhan

Marco Nobili

Visit us at booth #P-1.F61 or contact the U.S. Agency for Global Media business development office in your region: Eurasia | Adam Gartner, Director at agartne@usagm.gov

52 Documentary is a weekly documentary series from Voice of America that connects you with the global community through human interest stories.

With new releases every Wednesday, these vital films will take you to new places with compelling visuals and brilliant storytelling, empowering you with new ways of engaging with the world.

What is FAST TV? A workshop to answer all your questions

EVERYONE in the content business is talking about the arrival of FAST channels. But how does an IP owner convert its back catalogue into a com pelling viewing experience? For the answer delegates should at tend the Get Ready To Go Fast workshop, a series of roundta ble discussions where experts offer insights and practical rec ommendations on why and how to go FAST. The event is being orchestrat ed by Christian Knaebel, man aging director of Global Media Consult. “We want to provide a true learning experience in this workshop,” Knaebel said.

Focus on future of distribution

ONE OF the challenges facing creators is how to get content in front of audiences; simpli fied access on the user side is essential. This is a theme of MIP Talks’ The Future Of Distri bution, a two-part session with insights from Richard Jakeman of Samsung TV Plus. Part one looks at issues related to aggregation and the state of the market today. Next is a Q&A with Jakeman; Becoming The Hub For All Video Viewing – The View Of Samsung. Samsung has made aggres sive moves into channels and distribution. Its flagship plat form Samsung TV Plus now offers localised services across 23 markets.

THE

HI5

OF DISTRIBUTION

marks? What are obstacles and pitfalls? The roundtable format is meant to foster the exchange of experience, knowledge and in sight. From beginners to experts, all are welcome and will hopeful ly learn from this exchange.” The six roundtables will focus on different aspects of FAST TV. “There are three topics: content & programming; advertising & monetisation; and technology & requirements,” Knaebel said. And there are two audiences in mind for the session: content owners and publishers; and platforms and operators. “This approach ensures that the key questions are addressed.

“One misunderstanding is to think it is possible to transfer the FAST TV concept 1:1 from the US into other markets. Us age, benefit and need for FAST TV in the US differs from what we can expect in larger Euro pean markets,” Knaebel said.

“In Europe, we have more high-quality free-to-air chan nels already available and the consumer will be critical of low-quality programming — es pecially if they have to endure watching advertising. Hence, FAST TV is not just about dumping old content catalogue. It is important to segment con tent and target audience dili gently.”

WORKSHOP:

Market is ‘white hot’ for content owners

CONTENT owners are racing to license their shows to AVOD plat forms and launch FAST channels while demand is still white-hot. But they’re only going to get anywhere if they understand exactly what the industry’s leading players are look ing for. At MIPCOM CANNES, del egates will get a unique opportuni ty to hear three market pioneers explain what it takes to unlock meaningful revenues. This panel includes Olivier Jollet, international general manager, Pluto TV, at Paramount Global; Jennifer Vaux, head of content acquisition at The Roku Channel; and Sam Harowitz, vice-president, content acquisitions and partner ships at Fox Entertainment’s Tubi. Topics explored include: the differ ence between the needs of SVOD and AVOD platforms in terms of

content; what content owners should consider when selling to an AVOD platform; the mechanics of AVOD windowing; and the prices content can command. Market analyst Digital TV Re search expects global AVOD rev enues to hit $70bn by 2027 — up from $37bn in 2021. The US is the largest AVOD market, but Europe is on the brink of rapid expansion; Netflix recently decided to open up an ad-supported tier. The panelists are some of the key players driving this growth. Pluto hit $1bn in revenues last year while Tubi is targeting $700m in 2022.

THE STREAMING PIVOT TO AVOD – WHAT CONTENT DOES

ADVERTISING-SUPPORTED

“What is FAST TV? How can I launch a FAST service? What are best practices and bench

Olivier Jollet

Sam Harowitz

Christian Knaebel

Research

industry

MIPCOM 2022 kicks off with one of the week’s most popular and informative returning sessions, Global TV Trends: Who Is Watch ing What, How And Why. Curated by leading media research group Glance, the data-driven presenta tion will, as always, provide del egates with market insights that can help them shape their com mercial strategy across Cannes. Speaking to the MIPCOM CANNES Preview, Frederic Vaul pre, vice-president, Glance, said: “One of the main challenges for the industry is the shift in the

way content is viewed. So we will start by disclosing our latest data regarding linear and non-linear viewing. Figures from the first part of 2022 will be scrutinised closely as they will be the first that represent a kind of ‘back to normal’ after the pandemic.” Glance will look at linear TV chan nel performance, catch-up view ing and the growing phenomenon of “Preview or Pre-broadcast”, Vaulpre said. As for streaming: “After the announcement of sta bilisation for many SVOD plat forms, could we now be observ

ing streaming fatigue in terms of content consumption? And does the proliferation of recent FAST channels enable new entrants to take advantage?”

In addition to viewing data, Glance “closely monitors con tent trends and programming strategies,” Vaulpre said. “Among other things, we have observed that broadcasters have refreshed their schedules with programmes striking a ‘newstalgia’ chord. This is content that interweaves tried and tested themes with contem porary elements resonating with the current tastes of viewers. For instance, a significant increase in the number of rebooted and spinoff game shows such as Germa ny’s Mein Mann Kann has been recorded lately.”

As for scripted series: “We have also noted the continuing impor tance of family-themed comedy series. In Belgium, Nonkels fea tures three middle-aged brothers

GLOBAL TV TRENDS: WHO IS WATCHING WHAT, HOW AND WHY? PRESENTED BY GLANCE GRAND AUDITORIUM

OCTOBER 17, 09.00

who must face the unexpected ar rival of an African refugee in their lives. The comedy series was the highest-rated fiction launch on the Play4 channel since 2017 in the Total Individuals category.”

SONY began collaborating with MIPTV/MIPCOM in 2010, just be fore the big transition from 3D to 4K. This collaboration is now mov ing into the next phase with the waning of the pandemic, focusing on the synergy of various broad cast technologies that will lead the next generation of entertain ment content. These technologies will include a wide range of image reproduction, from 4K/8K to virtual production and AR/VR/XR, to real-time ren dering. Through the collaboration with Sony, MIPTV and MIPCOM CANNES have long served as a focus for the innovative fusion of technology and content, innova tions that can lead to new types

of content and consequently new business opportunities.

MIPCOM CANNES sees inter national co-productions as the major theme at the heart of this trend.

In this context programme crea tors and production profession

als and even distributors will gain from a series of tech presentations in partnership with Sony.

Under the banner Content Crea tion Now, these presentations are about the future of production employing innovative technolo gy, and are supported by Japanese broadcaster TBS, and Megaphone TV, a US company that provides a platform for audience engagement and interactivity in linear broad cast and streaming.

The presentations will intro duce the latest content produc tion technologies along with actual production examples to a cross-section of attendees with the aim of opening doors to new business opportunities.

CREATION NOW

PARTNERSHIP WITH SONY

CALIFORNIE

Frederic Vaulpre

Screen star Alyssa Milano

‘light a fire’ at women’s

MIPCOM’s Women In Global En tertainment (WGE) Lunch, co-host ed by A+E Networks, is back at MI PCOM CANNES.

Guest speaker at the lunch this year is Alyssa Milano, the Hollywood ac tress and producer and a global ad vocate for women’s causes.

“She’s a fantastic spokesperson for women and has been a strong voice and influencer, championing wom en in our industry,” senior vice-pres ident, international marketing, A+E Networks, Melissa Madden said. “I think she’s going to be incredibly in spiring. She’s going to tell her story and light a fire a little bit.”

The theme for this year’s power lunch is Stronger Together. “It’s about connecting women and ac countability for assisting other women with their career paths. The room will be full of women who

have achieved success. But we’ll also be asking ‘Who helped you?’ and ‘Whom are you helping?’”

As the lunch’s keynote speaker, Mi lano is likely to touch upon her re cently sealed major first-look deal with A+E Networks to write and produce shows aimed at US and global audiences.

Liz Soriano, senior vice-president, international programming at A+E Networks, added that the partner ship with Milano demonstrates the company’s long-running mission to ensure female representation be hind and in front of the camera. It adds to the achievements of Broad Focus, an on-going initia tive within A+E’s female-skewed Lifetime channel to boost women’s roles in the industry. “Some 65% of the writers for our Original Movies are women; 56% of the directors

Mentors

THE EIGHTH International Mentoring & Networking Break fast for women in TV, film and digital media, held in association with Mediaclub’elles, takes place once again in Cannes in October.  10 mentors from around the world — all of whom have been involved in empowering women during their careers — will speak to women who have signed up to hear their advice on how to get ahead in the industry. The men toring and networking event is

for our movies are also women; while 50% of our executive pro ducers have been women.”

The positive results have prompted the company to extend the initia tive and launch Broader Focus “to support women in this industry further into the next generation”, Soriano said.

She expects MIPCOM CANNES delegates to see the impact of di versification in titles that A+E Net works International will offer at Cannes. These include scripted dra ma The Lincoln Lawyer; A+E Net works UK’s Miss Scarlett And The Duke; and the thriller North Sea Connection. “We’re proud of these series because the representation of diversity is authentic,” she said. Madden added: “There are more women in senior positions in the industry today. There is more con fidence in female executives as a group and there is a power at tached to us in the business now.”

WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LUNCH

PARTNERSHIP WITH A+E

support

designed to give experienced women professionals the opportu

nity to support and encourage the younger generation of women in entertainment and media careers.

“Women today still have issues that their male counterparts do not seem to have when it comes to managing their careers,” Medi

aclub’elles’ co-founder Florence Sandis said. “Questions such as ‘How do I juggle my career with a balanced family life?’ ‘How do I get my voice heard in a noisy meeting room or onstage?’ or ‘How do I stop being over-critical of myself?’ are debated and our mentors help attendees to iden tify their obstacles and offer solu tions to overcome them.”

MENTORING

NETWORKING FOR

DIGITAL

Alyssa Milano

Liz Soriano

Melissa Madden

Freshness is more

A REGULAR feature in Cannes, the Fresh TV series of sessions for MIPCOM CANNES 2022 will see The WIT CEO Virginia Mouseler take the stage three times — for Fresh TV Formats; Fresh TV Fic tion; and Best Of Fresh TV. The latter, Mouseler said, “will be a compilation of the first two, for an yone caught up in meetings at the start of MIPCOM or who arrived late in Cannes”.

Explaining the continued popular ity of the sessions, Mouseler told the MIPCOM CANNES Preview that there are “two key factors. One is that everything we talk about is completely fresh. We track global programming trends every day so we are providing delegates with insights into shows that many of them won’t have seen before. The other is that we are independent. Delegates know that we are not selling them anything — it’s an ob jective view of the market.”

Mouseler believes a forum focus ing on “freshness” is more impor tant than ever, given TV’s inexo rable trend towards established IP: “The biggest deals of the sum mer are probably the return of Big Brother in the UK and Netflix’s decision to revive classic format The Mole. These are important

stories but not the kind of thing we will cover in our sessions. Our job is to showcase new ideas.”

In terms of active format sectors, Mouseler said dating continues to be in demand from channels and

platforms. “But even here we see the desire for a strategic element in shows like Love island — not just romance. At the same time, guessing games and talent shows con tinue to feature strongly in the market.” As for scripted, Mouseler said the emphasis on proven IP is shown by the launch of Game Of Thrones and Lord Of The Rings prequels. “For the purposes of Fresh TV, I think we’ll be focusing a bit more on local content. Here true crime continues to be in strong demand.

There’s also continued interest in drama that can appeal to young adults, with Viaplay investing heavily in this area.”

As for new production hotspots, “Buyers continue to look to Korea for new ideas — while dreaming of the possibility of another excit ing new territory.”

For anyone who hasn’t had enough of a fix of Mouseler’s strategic insights after three Fresh TV sessions, The WIT’s CEO is also co-host of Mon day’s Treasure Box Japan Showcase.

‘Buyers continue to look to Korea for new ideas’

Virginia

Treasure Box Japan turns 10 years old

TREASURE Box Japan (TBJ) launched at MIPCOM in 2012 as a collaborative effort among Jap anese broadcasters to showcase formats in a one-stop setting. “Many buyers tell us they always look forward to the next TBJ,” said Yukiko Kimishima, chief ex ecutive, business management at the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ), which organises the event. Japanese formats started to trav el in the 1980s — today they are everywhere. “Variety shows from flagship broadcasters have become global hits. TBS’s Nin ja Warrior, Fuji TV’s Iron Chef, Nippon TV’s Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank. What they share is unique

ideas that are easy to understand,” Kimishima said.

By 2010, co-development pro jects with the West became more common, leading to content that combines unique ideas from Ja pan with western elements. Fast forward to 2020, when the con tent industry felt the effects of COVID-19. In-person trade shows were postponed, reducing oppor tunities to showcase new titles — but online consumption grew fast, creating opportunities for archived works to enter the spotlight again. “Nippon TV’s Old Enough! fea tures very young children who run errands by themselves for the first time. It has been airing in Japan for over 30 years. While it

is enjoyed throughout Asia, it in itially met with mixed reaction in the West,” senior advisor to BEAJ Mathieu Bejot said. “But after it was offered on Netflix during the pandemic, viewers all over the world appreciated it as a comfort ing, feel-good show.”

Outside of Japan it is important to work with local production com panies and broadcasters to adapt to viewers’ tastes while stay ing true to the original. “Rules, characters, storylines, as well as look and feel, are customised,” Kimishima said. “But the biggest challenge is figuring out how much to change or to what extent certain elements are necessary.”

Because cultures and mores vary from country to country, consid eration must be taken with regard to themes and topics. “Take food programmes,” Kimishima said. “They should be mindful when dealing with meats and alcoholic

‘Japanese TV should trust in the younger generation’

“THE MIPCOM Buyers’ Award for Japanese Drama’’ started in 2009 as a collaboration between MIP COM CANNES and the Interna tional Drama Festival in TOKYO. Since then, it has been held annual ly as an official MIPCOM CANNES event where buyers can learn about Japanese dramas available on the international market.

Dragan Petrov is co-owner and managing director of film cata logue Visionary Thinking — and a long-serving MIPCOM Buyers Award jury member. “When I was invited by the Drama Festival to visit Tokyo, I participated in a pan el where all the questions from the Japanese side amounted to: ‘What should Japan do to achieve the lev el of international success that Ko

rea enjoys?’ There was a lot of effort made to copy Korean productions, but you can distinguish yourself in the international market only if you dare to be what you really are, and not somebody else.”

Such a change in sensibility is what makes Japanese drama produc tions stand out. “I am a member of the jury for the International

Emmy Awards, so I was thrilled this year to see a drama from Japan in the competition,” he says. “I felt proud, because I believe the Buy ers’ Award for Japanese Drama has contributed to the development of Japanese drama and its position in the world TV market.”

This confidence extends to content sales. “With the drama Mother, Ja

beverages.” Scenes that showcase religious ceremonies are also tai lored accordingly.

Longevity is another key con sideration. Game rules need to be tweaked so that these shows withstand the test of time as se ries that travel the world.

JAPANESE FORMATS SHOWCASE

PRESENTED BY TREASURE BOX JAPAN HI5 STUDIO MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 16:30

pan has proved that it can be a play er in that part of the business, and with streaming services there will be a greater need for local content that can travel globally.”

Petrov said he is excited about this year’s line-up but won’t com ment on any specific productions.

“Japanese TV decision makers should trust in the younger gen eration,” he said. “We are on the brink of a revolution not only in terms of how TV is consumed, but in terms of content. The hab its of the younger generation will soon have a huge influence on the look and shape of TV content. It is better to involve them directly in the creative process sooner rather than later.”

Yukiko Kimishima

TBS outlines futuristic plans

TBS TELEVISION, a subsidiary of TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Holdings and one of Japan’s big gest commercial broadcasters, is returning to MIPCOM CANNES with a focus on new non-scripted formats and global projects de veloped with overseas partners.

TBS Television’s director of the global business department, Mayu Sunaga, says that she views MIP COM CANNES as an opportunity to “strengthen relationships with leading overseas partners towards the development of new brands”.

Among TBS’ current overseas pro jects is a reboot of the game show Takeshi’s Castle for Amazon Prime Video, that will be ready for world wide distribution next year. Mean while TBS’ Sasuke brand, known outside of Japan as Ninja Warrior, is being considered as an Olympic event. “We are working with the UIPM (the international governing

body of modern pentathlon) and the governing body for obstacle sports and related events, World Obstacle, to make it a reality,” Sunaga said. Amusement parks fashioned on Nin ja Warrior have already opened in 17 locations in the UK and the US, with plans to expand into other countries.

TBS has also announced its first Net flix original drama series, Let’s Get Divorced; and the establishment of a new company, The Seven, with the aim to advance TBS’ overseas strate gy. With a budget of ¥30bn (€2.2bn), The Seven will work with Akira Morii, producer of the global Netflix hit Alice In Borderland, to develop “high-end content for a worldwide audience”.

The TBS Group’s medium-to-longterm strategy, VISION2030, is cen tered on a concept called EDGE, which will expand the group’s dig ital, global, and experience-based businesses. Much of this strategy will be in the area of new intellec

tual property creation, for exam ple a co-development project with Smart Dog Media, a company led by Craig Plestis, producer of the American version of the hit brand Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice. Plestis and TBS producer, Takuya Matsubara, jointly pro duced and aired an “epoch-making, daring reality show” driven by arti ficial intelligence technology LOVE by A.I. that will be presented at TBS’ Showcase and Breakfast at MIP COM CANNES.

Another new company, Studio TooN, will cash in on the popular vertical-reading electronic comics form called webtoons in partner ship with Korea’s Naver Webtoon, and Tokyo-based manga production house Shine Partners. Studio TooN

will not only create new webtoons but also adapt them for drama and anima tion that can be promoted worldwide. Many of these new and existing projects “can be strengthened with blockchain technologies and web3 initiative to promote and preserve powerful IP that uses the digital, global, experience con cept”. TBS has established an in ternal Blockchain Committee and released NFTs from their drama series and non-scripted shows as well as a metaverse experience of a drama set.

TBS has some 1,000 producers and directors serving its terrestrial TV capabilities and digital platforms, the force behind its formats busi ness which is enjoying sustained lo cal and international success.

“All of us at TBS are actively reach ing outward to explore the IP in different ways,” Sunaga said, “and we look forward to enjoying the new possibilities together and see ing you at MIPCOM CANNES.”

SHOWCASE AND BREAKFAST

PRESENTED BY TBS MAJESTIC HOTEL, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 08.00

Ninja Warrior.

©TBS

Mayu Sunaga

Special pre-market red-carpet screening

The English

Writer and director Hugo Blick’s new series The English gets a special red-carpet screening on the eve of MIPCOM CANNES. Blick and stars Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer will be among the stars in Cannes for the event. Julian Newby reports

WRITTEN and directed by Hugo Blick (The Honourable Woman, The Shadow Line), and produced by Drama Republic and Blick’s Eight Rooks in association with All3Media Interna tional, The English is a series where race, love and power combine to tell a powerful story fo cusing on the themes of identity and revenge.

Aristocratic Englishwoman, Lady Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), comes across native American former US army soldier Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) by chance, as she sets out to avenge the murder of her young son.

A terrifying journey leads them to a town in Wyoming where they slowly learn what the future holds for them. Emily Blunt describes the series as “an epic romance and at the same time, a propulsive chase thriller. Cornelia is seeking a blood revenge and Eli is seeking a gangland claim,” Blunt says. “They both see these end goals as being a part of reclaiming their identity and an awakening for them selves.”

The cinematic quality of The English is evi dent from the outset. The light, the wide-open spaces and the punishing dry, dusty heat of the American west are stunningly portrayed, reinforcing the tough choices Cornelia and Eli have to face on their perilous journey.

“It’s all about the light, how it falls on land scape and character. Cinematographer Arnau Valls Colomer and I studied the genre careful ly, particularly its mid-twentieth century peri od,” Blick said. “On location we scheduled for

the late afternoon when the dust was up and the sun low. Back-lit by sun and front-lit by arc light, I found the results impressive, although it could be blinding to the actors. I didn’t want to move the camera, so we spent a good deal of the time figuring out where best to place it so we wouldn’t have to. It’s pretentious to say I picked this up from studying Kurosawa but, so what? I did! And George Stevens. And East wood. And Anthony Mann.

“For me the most interesting Westerns tend to explore the themes of personal loss and con

he learned to hunt, shoot, ride horses — things that most other English teenage boys could only dream of. “We also cut wood commercial ly. Our contracts came from the government to supply those most in need. Sometimes this involved the Blackfeet Reservation and oth er Native people’s communities,” Blick said. “We made a hunting buddy I called Chief. He wasn’t a chief. He called me English. We were easy with this casual racism, but pretty soon I got to see it was a one-way street — with all the heavy traffic heading his way. Back then the reservation seemed hard and isolated, particularly in winter. I had never seen such difficulties.

sequent restoration of justice. Perhaps what’s unusual about The English is who it chooses for its heroes — a Native American man and an English woman — and the precise kind of justice they’re both looking to restore.”

The germ of the story comes from Blick’s own experiences after he was sent to Montana “as a stabilising influence” at the age of 18. There

“Then one day he took off, leaving a couple of bags with us for when he came back. He didn’t. Nothing to come back for. I never knew his real name, nor he mine. I regretted that. This was a kernel for The English.” Blick has unreserved praise and admiration for his two stars. Lead actor and executive producer Blunt “read the first script and has been with me every step of the way since,” Blick said. “What she offered to the conse quent scripts and following production has been incalculable. Beyond all that, and above it, is a performance of exquisite delicacy and strength.”

And “that Chaske managed to inhabit the el evated Western persona of a cinematic hero, historically the preserve of a Wayne or Lan caster, Eastwood or Newman, with all the

When you first meet her you think ‘Oh she’s never going to make it’

nuance and dexterity of that inheritance and for him to do so as a Native American playing a Native American, felt pretty groundbreaking to all involved.”

“Tonally, the story is told in this very intimate way, that’s funny, violent, but also epic,” Blunt said. “We haven’t seen that for a while. Some thing so epic and so beautiful, with something that has a modern intimacy to it. Cornelia looks like a complete fish out of water when she first arrives. She’s in this beautiful pale lacy pink dress. She is gussied up and looks ill-pre pared for what awaits her in this dust-ridden, violent, masculine world.” She added: “When you first meet her you think ‘Oh she’s never go ing to make it, it’s over’. By the end, she’s had this remarkable transformation.”

“My own personal experience as a Native

American played a lot into this character. I tried to bring that to life and to represent him as genuinely as I possibly could,” Spencer said. “As a Native American man and an actor and artist, it’s pretty rare to be a lead in a project like this. I have to say I had amazing support from Hugo, Emily and the crew. It made me feel comfortable to take risks in this character.” Spencer was attracted to the series — and to the role — particularly because of the way it examines the native American experience. He describes Eli Whipp as “a beast of a role. I saw him as a modern-day biker, a veteran, someone who has seen war and been through tragedy. If he, Eli, were alive today, he would be riding a Harley Davidson with a big beard and tattoos. And he probably would have met Cornelia at a truck stop.”

But of course they met on a dusty prairie, at a lone hotel in the middle of nowhere — where they both encountered shocking violence within minutes of arriving. On screen it’s con vincingly the American Wild West; but in fact

it’s an area of Spain outside Madrid.

“The actual period of the classic cowboy was approximately 30 years, the following hun dred and thirty has been almost entirely myth, built as much by our televisions and cinema as by the Chisholm trail itself,” Blick said. “The Western lives in our imagination — and it can travel. So when COVID chased us first out of Kansas then Alberta, I was intrigued to look to Spain. As it turned out, we got lucky. I was already aware that Almeria — which has the fa mous Leone/Eastwood sets — would not work for this Kansas/Wyoming set story. Luckily our location scout took us to a huge beef farm in Avila outside of Madrid. With the grasses, rock formations and horizontal light, it provid ed a perfect mythic space for this Western.”

MIPCOM CANNES SPECIAL RED-CARPET

SCREENING: THE ENGLISH GRAND AUDITORIUM, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16

RED CARPET, 17.00, SCREENING, 18.00

When the media becomes the story…

THIS year’s Asian World Pre miere TV Screening is Kansai TV’s Elpis, a word from Greek mythology meaning ‘hope’.

Broadcast begins this month, of the drama series starring Masami Nagasawa as Ena Asakawa, a young TV host who works on late-night show Friday Bon Bon, that trades in gossip, sensational news and human-interest stories. During the course of her work, Asakawa comes across a murder case where the defendant has been convicted and sentenced to death — although there are suspi cions that he is not the perpetrator. Akasawa and rookie TV director Takuro Kishimoto, played by Gordon Maeda, fear that the media might have had a role in the conviction and so begin their own investigation. When Asakawa first joined the TV company she rose to the top fast, becoming an anchor on a primetime news programme. But

as she grew exhausted from the intense workload, her popularity began to wane. She became in volved in a tabloid scandal, which led to her being demoted to a mi nor role on the late-night show. Kishimoto also works on the latenight show, where bosses are constantly criticising his work. But can the pair regain their selfworth as they work behind the scenes to find the real story be hind the murder?

Elpis is directed by Hitoshi One, who has directed many hit films including Love Strikes! (2011); and is produced by Ayumi Sano. “I am very aware of the role the media plays in these kinds of cas es,” Sano said, who studied law at university and for some time had been looking into a real-life case of false accusation. “I always wondered how that man became the suspect. The media had a lot of responsibility for what hap pened to him. Once someone be comes a suspect in a crime, the press tends to portray that person as the actual perpetrator even be fore the trial starts.”

Sano based Elpis on several actual cases involving false accusations and convictions. She collated informa tion and handed it over to the series’ writer Aya Watanabe. “It’s a collabo rative effort,” Sano said. The series explores the Japanese legal system, which Sano believes

is unique and will be a point of interest to overseas viewers. “For one thing, defence lawyers aren’t allowed to be with their clients during questioning,” she said, add ing: “The drama is about false ac cusations, unsolved crimes — and I think those are thrilling elements that are universally appealing. But the feelings involved are peculiar to Japan, so I’m interested in see ing how an overseas audience re acts. I want people to watch this for many years and really under stand what it’s about, because I think there’s a lot of depth in the theme and the drama.”

Actor and singer Toko Miura, who starred in 2022 Oscar-winning film Drive My Car, is in Cannes for the screening. She plays Cherry, a hair and make-up artist for Ena on Friday Bon Bon. Miura said: “I feel the staff and cast involved in this production have strong affection for the work, and I have a lot to learn from them.”

ASIAN

“I’m interested in seeing how an overseas audience reacts”

Masami Nagasawa

Toko Miura

HIGHLIGHTS MIPCOM CANNES

Visions of the futureMIP Talks

Red-Carpet Screening

Seaview Producers Hub

CONFERENCES

17 OCTOBER

Seaview Producers’ Hub FIRST-TIMERS PRESENTATION

09.00

09.00 - 10.00 | Auditorium A INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: RAPA

Presented by BETA FILM

09.50 - 10.10 |

Seaview

VIDEO - EUROPEAN CONTENT STRATEGY

12.00 - 13.00 | Seaview Producers’ Hub THE BOOM IN SPANISH LANGUAGE CONTENT with MOVISTAR PLUS+ INTERNATIONAL, ATRESMEDIA, ZETA and TELEVISAUNIVISION

Hotel WOMEN IN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT POWER LUNCH

11.00 - 12.00 | Auditorium A

THE ARK – EVERYONE WANTED TO BE ON THIS SHIP Presented by ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT

14.30 - 15.00 | Seaview Producers’ Hub HOW DOES FRENCH INDEPENDENT COMPANY “MAKE IT HAPPEN STUDIO’’ MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN WITH MGM? With MAKE IT HAPPEN STUDIO and MGM

12.30 - 13.45 | Auditorium A MEET THE NEW K-ANI! Presented by Kocca

Followed by snack lunch in Verrière Californie

14.30

OCTOBER

WEDNESDAY

OCTOBER

Content for sale

HAT TRICK INTERNATIONAL

LONDON-based Hat Trick International returns to MIPCOM CANNES with a range of scripted and non-scripted content, in cluding: Huge Homes With Hugh Dennis (4 x 60 mins), in which actor Hugh Dennis hosts a celebration of massive, domestic dwellings; Screen Grab (3 x 30 mins), a format that highlights an array of real-life problems that are impacted by technology; Stuck (5 x 15 mins), a darkly comic and sometimes surreal sitcom about the relationship of Dan (Dylan Moran) and Carla (Mor gana Robinson); two seasons of Bloodlands (4 x 60 mins/6 x 60 mins), a thriller starring James Nesbitt, from producer Jed Mer curio and writer Chris Brandon; and River Cottage Reunited (4 x 60 mins), the return of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s iconic series focusing on eco-living and self-sufficiency.

PRIME ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

PARIS-based producer Prime Entertainment Group is at MI PCOM CANNES with a variety of new Hollywood entertain ment programmes and docu mentaries. Highlights include Close Up (120 x 26 mins), with a new roster of high-profile celebrity portraits, including Daniel Craig. Another highlight is a trilogy of documentaries di rected and produced by the Ku perburg sisters, Clara and Julia. Dorothy Arzner (1 x 52 mins) explores the life of Hollywood’s first female director; The True Story Of The Barrymores (1 x 52 mins) chronicles four gen erations of American acting’s ‘royal family’; and Carry Grant (1 x 52 mins), portrays one of Hollywood’s greatest actors.

KOREA EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING SYSTEM

MATING Machine (2 x 50 mins/4K/UHD), brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Korea Educational Broadcasting System, explores how the true winners on the battlefield of evolution are not the ones that survive, but the ones who mate successfully. The documentary looks at why so many males command a prominent physical presen nce, why females are so fussy in choosing their mates and why liv ing things behave in ways that have nothing to do with survival, by searching for the answers in the lives of plants, insects, fish, mam mals, birds and primates across the world.

LGI MEDIA (formerly Looking Glass International) will be showcasing two documentaries at MIPCOM CANNES. Produced by Zoot Pictures (US) in association with Nova, ARTE, ICI Explora, Blue Ant Media and SBS, Fall Of The Maya King (1 x 60 mins) is the chilling story of the collapse of the Maya civilisation. The ancient Maya society thrived for over 2,000 years. Advanced bone analysis reveals what the Maya ate, where they came from and what changed in their lives. The most amaz ing new find — the KomKom vase — is the only written account of its kind, detailing events at the cusp of the collapse. It speaks of war, family power struggles between divine god-kings, failing power in the face of climate change and murder. Produced by UK-based independent Reel Soul Movies, Scotland Ocean Nation (3 x 60 mins) follows world-record stand-up paddle boarder and veterinarian Cal Major on an 800-mile ocean adventure around Scotland’s wild and dramatic coastline.

Mating Machine (Korea Educational Broadcasting System)

River Cottage Reunited (Hat Trick International)

The True Story Of The Barrymores (Prime Entertainment Group)

Scotland Ocean Nation (LGI Media)

DFW INTERNATIONAL

DFW INTERNATIONAL presents a new gripping sci-fi drama series in Cannes. Long Gone (8 x 50 mins) follows young doctor Ava who, when she visits a house that she has inherited from her brother, meets Stellan, a man who claims to be from the future. He tells her about a time traveller who has gone missing — and he needs her help to find out what has hap pened. Ava agrees to help on the condition that he goes back in time to pre vent her brother’s death. Distributed worldwide by DFW International, Long Gone is produced by Dingie with co-production partners Interstel lar Pictures and RTL Nederland for its VOD service Videoland.

GOQUEST MEDIA

PRODUCED by Polish broadcaster TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, telenovela Crazy In Love (260 x 22 mins), which originally aired on TVN 7, is an entangled love story. Piotr and Asia have a brief summer affair, though Piotr is already in a relationship. Some 10 years later Asia unwittingly opens a veterinary practice in the same building as Piotr’s dental office. However, due to an accident, he cannot re member the affair. Can romance rekindle? The show is brought to Cannes by India-, Vietnam- and UK-based GoQuest Media.

PBS INTERNATIONAL

ON THE slate for PBS International

are: The U.S. And The Holocaust: A Film By Ken Burns, Lynn Novick And Sarah Botstein (3 x 120 mins/6 x 60 mins/UHD); Tutankhamun: Allies And Enemies (2 x 60 mins/UHD), featur ing unprecedented access to dig sites; Deadly Flood: A Climate Disaster (1 x 60 mins/90 mins/HD), about the 2021 flood along the Ahr River; Computers V. Crime (1 x 60 mins/HD), digging into hidden biases, privacy risks and design flaws; Lies, Politics And Democracy (1 x 120 mins/HD); and Becoming Fred erick Douglass (1 x 55 mins/HD), about how a man born into slavery became one of the most influential voices for democracy in US history.

DCD RIGHTS

WEDDING Valley (10 x 60 mins), brought to MIPCOM CANNES by London-based DCD Rights, follows a number of wedding businesses in the UK’s Ribble Valley area. The reality show features many aspects of wedding planning, from brides finding the perfect dress to ambitious themed cakes. Each epi sode culminates with a featured wedding day.

DISTRIBUTION360

A NEW competition format from marblemedia is brought to MIPCOM CANNES. A Cut Above (12 x 60 mins) features 12 of the best chain saw carvers from across the world who turn ordinary logs into extraordinary works of art. The carvers compete in weekly challenges against the clock to avoid elimina tion. The series is hosted by Canadian actor Adam Beach, with chainsaw carver Ryan Cook and UK sculptor Kath arine Dowson.

Wedding Valley (DCD Rights)

Crazy

Love (GoQuest Media)

A

Above (Distribution360)

Long Gone (DFW International)

The U.S. And The Holocaust: A Film By Ken Burns, Lynn Novick And Sarah Botstein (PBS International)

BEYOND RIGHTS

TOPPING Beyond Rights’ slate for MIPCOM CANNES is a trio of new history titles. The Con (1 x 90 mins/60 mins) is the dramatic true tale about a novice spy, enlisted by UK Prime Minister Churchill, to build a network of 1,000 US agents to spread fake news and under mine pro-Nazi sympathisers in order to bring the US into the Second World War. Eyewitness WWII: Invasion Italy (2 x 60 mins) uses col our archive footage focusing on vital battles fought in Italy and the Mediterranean, produced to tie in with the 80th anniversary of the start of the Italian Campaign in 2023. Vikings: The True Story (2 x 60 mins) follows the work of a team of Norwegian experts and historians who are making new discoveries that challenge what we thought we know about this Nordic race — including the little-known importance of human slave trading to the Viking world.

STUDIOCANAL

THE NIGHT Logan Woke Up (5 x 60 mins), is a psychological thriller set in the early 1990s. Mimi and her brother Jules are best friends with Logan. The boys are on the baseball team and have just won the regional championship and Mimi dreams of a life in the theatre. However Logan (17) rapes Mimi (14), scan dalising the village and devastat ing the families. Some 30 years later, Mimi has become a reputa ble counsellor and returns home after her mother’s death. Buried secrets and feelings then resur face. The series is produced by Productions Nanoby for Canal+ Creation Originale (France) in partnership with Quebecor Con tent (Canada).

ORF ENTERPRISE

WILDBEAR INTERNATIONAL

GEM HUNTERS Down Under (6 x 60 mins), produced by Australia’s WildBear Entertain ment, explores the world of sapphire hunters in Central Queensland, Australia, home to one of the richest sapphire deposits on earth. Set in a wondrous natural landscape, miners face ex treme weather, intense danger, mega machines and risky adventures. The series follows five crews, from veterans to local lads, families and couples — each with a unique approach.

FRED MEDIA

AUSTRALIA’s Fred Media returns to MIPCOM CANNES with two new titles from Stripe Studios. Rich Listers (8 x 60 mins) is a reality proper ty series set in Auckland and Queenstown — the two most valuable real estate markets in New Zealand. It follows eight real estate agents who work in a world of millionaire clients, private islands, stun ning clifftop homes, properties with a back drop of snow-topped mountains and multimil lion-dollar penthouse apartments. Clubhouse Rescue (8 x 60 mins) follows New Zealand All Black Rugby legends Israel Dagg and Stephen Donald as they join forces with interior de signers Hamish Dodd and Cat Portland, and local communities, to help small sports clubs in desperate need of an upgrade.

ORF’S UNIVERSUM Nature strand is celebrating its 35th anniversa ry. One of its new titles, Qatar – Pearls In The Sand, releases in time for the FIFA World Cup and features spectacular pictures of untamed wilderness behind the oil and gas refineries and Doha’s distinctive skyline. A highlight from Universum History is Leopoldina Habsburg – The Birth Of Modern Brazil. Also new from Austria’s ORF is drama Days That Never Were (8 × 45 mins), about four wom en whose friendship is put to the test when a team of investigators from Vienna examines an accident that becomes a murder case.

CINEFLIX RIGHTS

UK DISTRIBUTOR Cineflix

Rights brings Last King Of The Cross (10 x 60 mins) to MIP COM CANNES. Inspired by John Ibrahim’s autobiography, it charts the story of two broth ers who lose each other in their ascent to power, and stars Tim Roth. Other titles on the roster include: Patrick Aryee’s Wild World (4 x 60 mins), in which British biologist and explor er Ayree travels the world to explore how nature’s delicate balance can be disrupted — and restored; and two seasons of Yorkshire Auction House (30 x 60 mins).

Rich Listers (Fred Media)

The Con (Beyond Rights)

The Night Logan Woke Up (Studiocanal)

Gem Hunters Down Under (Wildbear International)

Qatar – Pearls In The Sand (ORF Enterprise)

Last King Of The Cross (Cineflix Rights)

PASSION DISTRIBUTION

DOCUMENTARY series Dinosaur With Stephen Fry (4 x 60 mins), produced by Mentorn Media for the UK’s Channel 5, features a mag ical dinosaur world constructed with help from CGI experts, leading palaeontologists and scientists. Presented by actor, writer and dino saur enthusiast Stephen Fry, each episode sees a new species intro duced to the environment. Passion also brings to Cannes Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams (3 x 60 mins), in which the cricketer re turns to his home town to inspire some unlikely teens to give cricket a chance; and Send Nudes: Body SOS (10 x 60 mins), a reality series that gives people the opportunity to look into the possible future, via 3D animated avatars, to show them what they could look like if they went ahead with the cosmetic surgery they desire.

3DD

THE SOVIET Union. The 100th Anniversary is a three-part se ries, brought to the international market by London-based 3DD. The series explores the history of the first communist coun try, from its birth to the rise of Stalin, his determined destruc tion of Adolf Hitler and the es tablishment of the iron curtain. Historians and authors involved in the series include Simon Se bag Montefiore, Giles Milton, Donald Rayfield, Sir Max Hast ings and Diane P Koenker, pro fessor of Russian & Soviet histo ry at UCL.

BALANGA

HG DISTRIBUTION

HG DISTRIBUTION brings Eastbound Westbound, A Winemak er’s Story From Bordeaux And California (1 x 82 mins/4K) to MIP COM CANNES. The cultural and historical documentary considers evidence that sheds light on the heritage of legendary wine scholar Thomas Jefferson. Other titles from the Montreal-based distributor include: Les Plus Beaux Treks (20 x 52 mins), featuring 20 French destinations; The Pleasures Of Life (7 x 48 mins), featuring people from 22 countries in search of pleasure, including sex, travel, choco late, comfort, dance, laughter and water; and Hell Or High Seas (1 x 88 mins), following US Navy veteran Taylor Grieger and writer Ste phen O’Shea as they sail around Cape Horn.

ENCORE

INTERNATIONAL

FRENCH producer and distributor Balanga is launching its new dramedy series Paris-Paris (13 x 26 mins) at MI PCOM CANNES. Paris-Paris follows Phil who when he was young dreamed of living in Paris, but his life took a dif ferent turn. Now at 45, he does live in Paris — the small town of Paris in On tario, Canada and during his midlife crisis he finds a hole in his basement that connects to Paris, France. Philippe begins to live a double life, which only quadruples his problems.

MONTREAL’s Encore Inter national brings original dra ma series Before The Crash (10 x 45 mins) to MIPCOM CANNES. Marc-Andre is a non-conformist who is living the simple life. His friends, Francois, Evelyne and Pat rick, have successful careers in finance. For Marc-Andre’s birthday, Francois offers him the opportunity to return to the banking world, at the bot tom of the ladder. Evelyne, a financial big shot herself as well as Francois’ wife and Marc-Andre’s best friend, en courages him to accept, re minding him that he’s not liv ing up to his potential.

The Pleasures Of Life (HG Distribution)

Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dreams (Passion Distribution)

The Soviet Union. The 100th Anniversary (3DD)

Paris-Paris (Balanga)

Before The Crash (Encore International)

WILD STORIES DISTRIBUTION

HOT LIFE Africa. Hunters In The Heat (5 x 60 mins), brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Spain’s Wild Stories Distribution, portrays the struggle for survival of five iconic African predators living under extreme heat — lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and caracals. Each episode is dedicated to one animal and its methods to survive the dry season, including footage of how a female leopard fights to protect its only cub, how a lioness hunts to feed the pack and the seemingly impossible races against wild dogs under the heat.

LEONINE STUDIOS

DRAMA, politics and espionage are set against the backdrop of 1950s Germany in Bonn, which depicts the rise of West Germany. Toni, a determined young woman, overcomes obstacles to make her way in a male-dominated society. But what at first appears to be an en try-level job at one of the country’s two competing secret services soon draws her deeper into a clandestine world of suspicion and betrayal. The German company also brings Troppo, inspired by Candice Fox’s Crimson Lake novels, about a disgraced ex-cop who is recruit ed by an ex-con turned private investi gator to solve the disappearance of a Korean family man and tech pioneer.

NEW DOCS

ESCAPADE MEDIA

PREMIERING on Nine Network Australia, For The Love Of Pets (8 x 60 mins/4K) features heart-warming stories from The Animal Welfare League of South Australia. The Australian distributor also brings: Break away Femmes (1 x 90 mins), about the six years during the 1980s that a women’s Tour de France was held alongside the men’s race. Ultimately their race was cancelled, but is set to return; and Leigh (1 x 100 mins/HD), a portrait of talented chainsaw artist Leigh Conkie, a survivor of child abuse, defender of human rights and battler against addiction, shot over a five-year period.

THE SPANISH-German distributor offers new shows at MIPCOM Cannes that focus on the nat ural world. Bees. The Invisible Mechanism (1 x 52 mins/91 mins/UHD), explores how insects, par ticularly the honey bee, are important, helping to create 75% of the fruit and vegetables we eat. His pania: Land Of Rabbits (1 x 52 mins) reflects the importance of the rabbit for the survival of preda tors. Other titles include: Animal documentary My First Days In Life (1 x 50 mins); and Gold Or Mon ey (1 x 51mins) about how for centuries people in Mali have been digging with their hands to extract gold. Now they face a new industrial mine.

NEW CONTENT highlights from New Docs includes: Ithaka – The Fight To Free Julian Assange (2 x 52 mins/110 mins), about the battle of the Wikil eaks founder’s family to prevent his extradition to the US; When Spring Came To Bucha (1 x 45 mins), a report about life in Bucha after Russian invad ers were forced to withdraw from the small town near Kyiv; and Searching For Traces (1 x 52 mins), a brand-new science documentary that investigates the latest methods in forensic science.

BLUE ANT MEDIA INTERNATIONAL

TOP TITLES from Blue Ant

Media include: Prince Andrew: Banished (1 x 90 mins/HD) about the world of privilege, jealousy, desire and greed that pushed Prince Andrew into the orbit of notorious sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; and Chasing The Rains (4 x 60 mins/4K/HDR;) a journey into a rarely filmed wilderness in Africa for an indepth look at wild animals that build their survival around dra matic rainfalls. Many months or sometimes even years may pass here before rain falls so all species have learned to survive around raging rivers, droughts and downpours.

Bees. The Invisible Mechanism (3boxmedia)

Hot Life Africa. Hunters In The Heat (Wild Stories Distribution)

Bonn (Leonine Studios)

Breakaway Femmes (Escapade Media)

When Spring Came To Bucha (New Docs)

Chasing The Rains (Blue Ant Media International)

INCENDO

CANADIAN producer and distributor Incendo presents a collection of original, mul ti-genre content to buyers at MIPCOM CANNES. Head ing the film slate is Be Mine, Valentine. With help from his friend Adam and proposal planner, Piper, Jordan pre pares for an elaborate Val entine’s Day proposal for his boyfriend. Posing as Adam’s new girlfriend in order to know her clients better, Piper hopes to formulate the per fect proposal. When the pre tend partnership becomes a genuine one, it leads Adam to devise an unconventional proposal of his own.

FICCION PRODUCCIONES

SPANISH company Ficcion Productions brings the second series telling the story of notorious villain Nando to MIPCOM CANNES. The first season of four episodes featured the journey of the am ateur boxer who crossed the Atlantic with two others inside a semi-submersible loaded with cocaine. The new five-episode sea son, Operation Marea Negra, takes place two years later when Nan do is in prison. His popularity has grown, earning him the respect of prisoners and one of the drug factions that are bidding to control the prison. But an unexpected murder puts the spotlight on him.

THE TELEVISION SYNDICATION COMPANY (TVS)

TVS COMES to MIPCOM CANNES with a variety of programmes including two timely documentaries. In I’m Fine Not Re ally (1 x 60 mins) elite athletes reflect on mental-health challenges in competitive sports. When The Bands Stopped Playing: The Covid Aftermath (1 x 60 mins) fea tures discussions with musicians. The US company also brings: The New Chicago Mob (6 x 60 mins), an eye-wit ness account of Chicago crime families; motoring show Caffeine And Octane (55 x 30 mins); and fishing travel series Marlin Quest (13 x 30

TRIO ORANGE INTERNATIONAL

LAST Summers Of The Raspberries (10 x 60 mins) is a dram edy brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Canada’s Trio Orange International. Following the unexpected death of her hus band, Elisabeth has no choice but to start a new and unpre dictable life on the farm. Not only does she have to deal with her controlling in-laws, she must also deal with the whims of nature and she finds herself unexpectedly leaning on the farm’s seasonal workers — and, in particular, on the enigmatic Francisco. With Elisabeth mourning her loss and the workers separated from their homeland, they find unexpected comfort in each other’s company. A second season is in production.

Last Summers Of The Raspberries (Trio Orange International)

BBC STUDIOS GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

HIGHLIGHTS of the vast MIPCOM CANNES cata logue from BBC Studios in clude: comedy Black Ops (6 x 30 mins), set in East London, following two police commu nity support officers who are unwittingly thrust into deep cover on a high-stakes secret mission; Blue Lights (6 x 60 mins), which follows three rookie police officers work ing in Belfast, where each day brings a series of life-or-death challenges; First Contact (1 x 90 mins), a science-based doc umentary that imagines what might happen when humanity detects its first indisputable evidence of extraterrestrial civilisation; The Louis Ther oux Interviews (6 x 45 mins), with guests including British musician Stormzy; and enter tainment format Hungry For It (8 x 60 mins), in which a group of young cooks eager to break into the food industry live to gether and compete for a ca reer-making prize.

Be Mine, Valentine (Incendo)

Operation Marea Negra (Ficcion Producciones)

Blue Lights (BBC Studios Global Distribution)

The New Chicago Mob (TVS)

DAEHAN

TWO 4K titles from Dae han Mediaworld feature the art, culture and traditions of Korea. Tea Story In Asia (2 x 52 mins) explores the diverse tea culture in Asian countries, including China, Japan and Korea, consider ing how though all teas are made from the leaves of one plant species, it is the soil and weather that affects the tastes of green, black and oo long tea. Heritage Craftsmen (3 x 52 mins) profiles three master craftsmen in Korea who have embraced the rich experiences of traditional skills — an arrow maker, an inkstone maker and a sculp tor of Buddhist statues.

ONZA DISTRIBUTION

MOTEL Valkirias (8 x 50 mins) is a crime series pro duced by CTV, SPI, TVGa and RTP, and is brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Ma drid-based Onza Distribu tion. In a cross-border mo tel, the lives of three women — with great financial and personal problems — inter sect when they meet Elixio, a visitor transporting valua ble merchandise. What they do not know is that their lives are in danger because the merchandise belongs to a money-laundering gang. Onza Distribution also brings Crimes (24 x 50 mins), a true-crime series featuring over 40 real crimes from the last 10 years.

RTVE

SPAIN’s RTVE highlights two primetime drama series in Cannes. Los Pacientes Del Doctor Garcia (10 x 60 mins) tells the story of Dr Medina who lives in Madrid after Franco’s victory using a false identity organised for him by his best friend, a Republican diplo mat whose life he had saved. Not expecting to see him again, his friend returns from exile with a dangerous mission. In La Caza Guadiana (8 x 60 mins) the police investigate the tragic case of a young man who goes on a rampage in a small-town market during a manic crises, causing the death of three people.

BAVARIA FICTION

PRODUCED for Sky Studios for Bavaria Fiction, Der Kaiser (1 x 90 mins) is a biopic of football legend Franz Beckenbauer, a man who fought against rigid structures and outdated rules in foot ball. The story traces Beckenbauer’s colourful private life from the 1960s through to the 1980s, and his stellar football career, culminating in the World Cup titles of 1974 and 1990. Starring Klaus Steinbacher, the film is due for broadcast at the end of this year. NBCUniversal Global Distribution is responsible for inter national distribution on behalf of Sky Studios.

FILM.UA

UKRAINE’s Film.UA brings A Girl From Tallinn to MIP COM Cannes, a series from the producer of The Sniffer and Hide And Seek. The Ukraini an-Estonian co-production, an homage to Hitchcock, opens with a murder mystery, which takes the protagonist to a place where past and present collide. Ivan, a criminal-turned-busi nessman, meets a girl who is the image of his ex-girlfriend who was murdered back in the 1990s. Period drama Love In Chains is a co-production be tween Film.UA, STV (Ukraine) and TVP (Poland). The story of bondage, pride, devotion, deceit, treachery and above all love, now continues with a fourth season moving into the latter half of the 19th cen tury. All the families from the previous seasons, including the Zhadans, Yablonevskys, Chervinskis, Kosaches and Doroshenkos, return with their younger members mak ing all the same mistakes.

De Kaiser (Bavaria Fiction]

Los Pacientes Del Doctor Garcia (RTVE)

Love In Chains (Film.UA]

Motel Valkirias (Onza Distribution)

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS (GWR)

GWR IS bringing three new se ries to MIPCOM CANNES, all available for localisation. Guin ness World Records: Shorts (10 x 10 mins) is about amazing peo ple and the stories behind their world records. Best Of The Best (22 x 30 mins) is a in-houseproduced clip show. The new second season adds a further 10 episodes. Guinness World Re cords: Gone Viral (20 x 30 mins) is a fast-paced clip show featur ing sport and fitness feats. Each episode focuses on a different theme.

BOSSANOVA

MYSTERIES Of The Ancient Dead (6 x 60 mins), produced by Go Button Media, is brought to MIPCOM CANNES by the UK’s BossaNova. The mystery of death has inspired strange ceremo nies, bizarre rituals, and has launched complex religious beliefs over time. This series considers what we can learn from our an cient forebears, using the clues they left behind.

MEDITERRANEO

THE CATALOGUE from

Spain’s Mediterraneo includes: Secret Obsession (8 x 70 mins), about a 42-year-old woman who falls obsessively in love with a young man; two seasons of Wrong Side Of The Tracks (16 x 70 mins), which spans differ ent generations and cultures in a problematic neighbourhood; documentary It’s Flamenco (20 x 60 mins), featuring the main sagas, lineages, dynasties and stars of flamenco; Wanted: El Sapo, about one of the most successful thieves in Europe; Dulceida: A New Beginning, about a pioneer influencer in Spain; Angel Nieto: Four Lives, which offers a four-episode portrait of one of the most sig nificant figures of worldwide motorcycling; celebrity reality show Face Your Fears; and for mat It’s My Night, set in a game theme park.

ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT

ELECTRIC Entertainment returns to MI PCOM CANNES with a catalogue of action series, including: The Ark (12 x 60 mins), fol lowing crew members on a spacecraft who fight to survive after a catastrophic event; the second season of Leverage: Redemp tion (29 x 60 mins), reuniting the Hitter, the Hacker, the Grifter and the Thief — this time with help from a tech genius and corporate fixer, to take on new kinds of villains; the second season of Almost Paradise (20 x 60 mins), about a US DEA agent who retires to the Philippines, but then uses his skills to put away criminals; and The Deal (1 x 90 mins), about a mother who fights to save the life of her daughter after a pandemic has ravaged the planet, leaving resources so scarce you must pay for them with your life.

MEDIAWAN RIGHTS

MEDIAWAN Rights returns to MIPCOM CANNES with 3PU (6 x 52 mins), about the Paris emergency psychiatric unit that deals with people from the street suffering from amnesia or delirium, all with mysteries which the team must solve. Another drama series, Golden Hour (6 x 52 mins), puts the first hour after a terrorist attack under the spotlight. A factual highlight is Taiwan, For bidden Nation (1 x 90 mins) exploring the pressures to regain what Beijing considers its 23rd province. The Time Hotel (3 x 90 mins) is a new interview format where AI technology brings back historical figures and even fictional characters to life.

TERRANOA

TERRANOA brings to MIP COM CANNES the five-part series Top Of The Rocks, which explores how differ ent minerals and rocks have shaped life on earth and hu man civilisations. After Cha os (4 x 52 mins), explores the resilience of Berlin, London, Warsaw and Le Havre during and after WW2. Another se ries ready for the internation al market is the six-part se ries Moochie, Who Killed Jill Halliburton Sue, which was co-produced with Canal + In ternational and pre-acquired by Sky Crime UK.

Best Of The Best (GWR)

Secret Obsession (Mediterraneo)

The Ark (Electric Entertainment)

Moochie, Who Killed Jill Halliburton Sue (Terranoa)

3PU (Mediawan Rights)

RED BULL STUDIOS

THE REAL Mo Farah (1 x 59 mins), an Atomized Studios production in association with the BBC for Red Bull Studios, is a documentary that pro files one of the world’s most successful track athletes, Sir Mo Farah. Born with a different name, he was brought into the UK as a nine-year-old under a false passport and spent years in forced domestic servitude. Sir Mo meets key people from his past, who have protected his true story for many years. He visits his family village in Somaliland to ask his mother and twin brother what they know of the traumatic childhood event that changed his life. Finally, he turns to the Somali community in London, in the hope that they can explain more.

KO DISTRIBUTION

MONTREAL-based KO Distribution highlights three programmes at MIPCOM CANNES. Pillow Talk (44 x 30 mins/3 seasons) is a sketch comedy set in a bedroom, featuring six couples in situations that are realistic, funny and touching. Extreme Expedition (28 x 60 mins/4 seasons) is a documentary series following a 48-hour expedition based on real-life survival situations. In each episode, the host and guest are accompanied by specialists who help them make choices based on the environments they face. Veer (8 x 60 mins) is a drama series featuring a triple-Olympic medalist who retires from her sport and decides to leave her partner. Facing her future, she discovers that life is not like a race where you can control the outcome.

ROOT M&C

KOREA’s Root M&C brings what it calls the first metaverse avatar show for singers in Korea to MIPCOM CANNES. In Avatar Sing er, 10 of Korea’s top performers are transformed into avatars that compete in disguise in real time. The animated avatars are also interviewed on the show.

TRACE STUDIOS

SOUTH Arica- and Francebased producer and distrib utor Trace Studios returns to Cannes with a slate of new content. A highlight is the eighth season of fran chise Ultimate Braai Mas ter (13 x 44 mins). A braai is a fire-fuelled grill — and a social occasion close to South African hearts. The reality show, created by Justine Bonello and cele brating South Africa’s di versity and favourite activ ity, sees ‘braaiers’ from all over South Africa compete against each other.

Pillow Talk (KO Distribution)

Ultimate Braai Masters (Trace Studios)

The Real Mo Farah (Red Bull Studios)

Avatar Singer (Root M&C)

RED ARROW STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL

COMEDY drama Kid Sister (5 x 30 mins) features young Jewish woman Lulu who is navigating life’s big issues. It is set in New Zea land, where more people identify as Jedi than Jewish. Almost 30 years old, in the Jewish world she is heading towards spinsterhood and her parents attempt to push her into the arms of a nice Jewish boy. She then discovers that she’s pregnant by her casual, non-Jewish, boyfriend. Another priority is reality format Love For The Ages, in which couples see if passions can be reignited by a new flame.

ZED

FROM French documentary producer Zed, Our Forests (5 x 52 mins) is a series that portrays some of the indigenous lead ers who stand up for their natural heritage in the world’s five major primary forests. Further titles on the Zed roster include: Eiffel: Towers’ War (1 x 52 mins/90 mins), using 3D recreations, official sources and personal archives; Highway To Hell: The Story Of A $100m Failure (4 x 52 mins), set in the world of drug trafficking; Genius Plants (2 x 52 mins/4K); true-crime series

The Jersey Way: Inside The Island’s Scan dals (4 x 52 mins); Tutankhamun: The Untold Discovery (1 x 52 mins/70 mins), featuring fresh science, 3D images and ar chives; and Lipstick: Make-up Power (1 x 52 mins).

BANIJAY

FILMRISE

NEW YORK-based FilmRise brings a range of shows to MIPCOM Cannes, including reality series Cheaters (692 x 30 mins/346 x 60 mins), in which people who think their significant other is cheating on them hire a hidden camera crew to investigate. Also on the roster are: Canadian sketch comedy series The Kids In The Hall (110 x 25 mins); Dr. G: Medical Examiner (91 x 60 mins), in which coroner Dr. Jan Gar avaglia explains mysterious causes of death; drama series Highway To Heaven (111 x 60 mins); MVP (1 x 90 mins), about a retired NFL play er saved from scandal by a homeless veteran; A Christmas Karen (1 x 90 mins), a modern retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol; over 250 hours of lifestyle and gaming content in the Digital Native Collection; and more than 600 hours of reality crime programming.

WEST ONE INTERNATIONAL

A MIPCOM Cannes priority for the UK’s West One International is Brit ain’s Secret Islands (4 x 60 mins/4K), co-produced by History Channel (UK), ARTE (France) and SBS (Australia). The series follows a journey in a historic sailing ship, The Pelican of London, visiting the secret islands of the British Isles, including: the Farne Islands off the coast of North umberland; The Shetland Islands; a visit to Up Helly, a fire festival which marks the end of Yule; and the Orkney Islands, with the WW1 wrecks of Scapa Flow. The series tells stories of history, culture and wildlife and the islands’ many links to Viking and Nordic heritage.

Colosseum

Colosseum is the action-packed, premium, mini-series which reveals the Roman Empire through 8 historical figures who lived and died in this famous fighting ground. Taking place chronologically over several hundred years, the series charts the reasons for the rise and fall of Rome, with each episode featuring a different character drawn from its fascinating history.

THE BANIJAY reality slate for MIPCOM Cannes includes: Blow Up, featuring the nation’s best balloon artists; Starstruck, which sees members of the public take to the stage in three different interpre tations of a music icon; cooking show MasterChef: Young Talent, featuring young chefs aged 13 to 18; and Le Plus Grand Karaoke de France, which sees 6,000 contestants reduced to one winner. Top ping the drama genre are: Marie Antoinette (8 x 60 mins); Rogue He roes (6 x 60 mins), set in Special Forces unit, the SAS; Stonehouse (3 x 60 mins), based on the 1960s British political scandal; family saga Riches (6 x 60 mins); and Bali 2002 (4 x 60 mins), based on the 2002 terrorist attacks on the island’s tourist hotspots.

A+E NETWORKS

NEW SHOWS from A+E Networks include history series Colosseum (8 x 60 mins), which reveals the Ro man Empire through eight figures who lived and died in this famous arena. The series charts the rise and fall of Rome with each episode featuring a different char acter. Another highlight is North Sea Connection (6 x 60 mins), a drama that follows the turbulent journey of the Kenny family from fishermen to drug runners for an international drug cartel. Ciara Kenny fishes the wa ters off Ireland. But when her brother secretly agrees to carry out a drug run at sea for a Nordic cartel that goes horribly wrong, their lives are forever changed.

Britain’s

Kid Sister (Red Arrow Studios International)

Our Forests (Zed)

Colosseum (A+E Networks)

FEDERATION ENTERTAINMENT

INTERNATIONAL co-pro duction Bardot (6 x 52 mins) is brought to the internation al market by France’s Feder ation Entertainment. The se ries charts the early life of the French actor and stars Julia de Nunez in the title role. Defying many of the accepted rules of society at the time, Bardot came from what was considered a good family and became an in ternational icon after the 1956 film And God Created Woman.

BE-ENTERTAINMENT

BELGIAN distributor Be-Entertainment brings a range of return ing formats to MIPCOM CANNES, as well as new titles including Finders Keepers, in which a family has 30 minutes to find €100,000 which has been hidden in their home. The company also brings: celebrity tribute, The Musical Of Your Life, with a second series in production; and The Big Job Switch, in production for Vox in Ger many and commissioned for a second season for VTM in Belgium.

DYNAMIC TELEVISION

CRIME drama series Savage River (6 x 60 mins) features 25-year-old Miki who returns to rural Victoria after eight years in prison, deter mined to move on with her life. But the when a shocking murder rocks the town, Miki immediately becomes the focus of everyone’s suspicion. Other priority titles on the US distributor’s slate include: Harry Wild (8 x 60 mins), starring Jane Seymour as a retired English professor with a knack for investigation, who interferes with the cases assigned to her police-detective son; The Fighter (6 x 60 mins), featuring a determined boxer and single mother, whose life is complicated by cheating allega tions; The General’s Men (8 x 60 mins), a portrayal of the true story of the Special Anti-Terrorism Unit created in response to the Red Brigades attacks in 1970s’ Italy; and Reindeer Mafia (8 x 42 mins), a dark comedy crime saga about the power struggle between members of a family that controls the local reindeer business.

KBS MEDIA

KBS MEDIA returns to MIPCOM Cannes with two drama series. The Law Cafe (16 x 70 mins), features a lawyer who quits her job at a big law firm and opens a cafe where any one can get legal counselling for the price of a coffee. She meets the landlord, who used to be a pros ecutor, only to realise that they were once friends at school. Three Bold Siblings (50 x 70 mins) is a family drama and love story featuring older siblings who have sacrificed oppor tunities for their families. The Kore an distributor also brings entertain ment show The Song We Loved, A New Singer (10 x 90 mins), which features songs from the 70s to 90s, refashioned by new singers.

BOAT ROCKER

TWO TITLES top the scripted catalogue for Canada’s Boat Rocker. Set in the world of previous series Orphan Black, Orphan Black: Echoes (10 x 60 mins), follows a group of women in the near future, as they unravel the mystery of their identity and uncover a story of love and betrayal; and Beacon 23 (8 x 60 mins), a psychological thriller about a couple trapped at the end of the known universe in an outer-space lighthouse. Unscripted highlights include The Truth Behind My Murder (10 x 60 mins), featuring a forensic pathologist; and Secrets In The Jungle (10 x 60 mins), which explores lost civilisations.

Bardot (Federation Entertainment)

The Law Cafe (KBS Media)

Savage River (Dynamic Television)

Beacon 23 (Boat Rocker)

The Musical Of Your Life (Be-Entertainment)

APC

CO-PRODUCER and distributor APC is bringing a trio of thrillers to MI PCOM CANNES. The Light In The Hall (6 x 52 mins), shot in English and Welsh, follows the murder of a teenage girl in a small Welsh town. Finn ish thriller A Good Family (6 x 45 mins) sees homicide detective Anna and her husband thrust into a dangerous underworld when their son brings a heinous crime to their doorstep. French drama The Best Of Us (4 x 52 mins) features a police captain from the city, who is dispatched to support a local lieutenant after a shocking murder. Priority documentaries include: true-crime series The Singh Case (5 x 52 mins); Versailles: Life Behind The Scenes (6 x 45 mins); and AC/DC: Forever Young (1 x 52 mins).

AMC NETWORKS

INCLUDED in a large catalogue of programming from AMC Networks is a series of Noir- and thriller-skewed shows. Dark Winds (two seasons of 6 x 60 mins) is set in 1971 on a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation. Lieuten ant Joe Leaphorn of the Tribal Police is besieged by a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. Other titles include: Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire (7 x 60 mins), a contemporary reinvention of the gothic novel; Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches (8 x 60 mins), about a young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the heir to a family of witches; anthology series Tales Of The Walking Dead (6 x 60 mins); and The Walking Dead: Dead City (6 x 60 mins); featuring established characters Maggie and Negan as they travel into a post-apocalyptic Manhattan.

ATTRACTION DISTRIBUTION

MONTREAL-based Attraction brings a moving drama, inspired by real events, to MIPCOM CANNES. Dear Flora (6 x 45 mins) tells the story of an Indigenous brother and sister who, in the 1960s, were taken from their parents and sent to an Indian residential school. Other highlights from Attraction include: The Sketch Artist (20 x 44 mins), following an artist who works at the Investigation Unit of the Police Department; and The Little Anna (10 x 45 mins), a Euro pean take on the Canadian classic Anne of Green Gables.

NIPPON TV

JAPAN’s Nippon TV, is at MIPCOM CANNES with a brand-new script ed dramedy series entitled Love With A Case. From the creator of Nip pon TV’s hit drama series Mother and Woman – My Life For My Chil dren, Love With A Case follows the escapades of a police detective who recently got suspended from work after making a big mistake. While still committed to finding the truth, the detective joins forces with three oth er colleagues to formulate his own investigative team. Each one carrying their own baggage of complicated issues, they work together to solve complex cases.

BETA FILM

BETA’s MIPCOM CANNES slate is headed by international co-produc tion The Swarm (8 x 60 mins), an eco thriller, distributed jointly by Beta and ZDF Studios. Other titles include: Rapa (12 x 60 mins), based on a YA book trilogy; French thriller Prison Island (6 x 60 mins), co-written by bestselling author Michel Bussi; Cardamom Coffee (10 x 60 mins), a Ukrainian drama about forbidden love set in the 19th century; and hos tage drama Ultimatum (8 x 60 mins), from the Czech Republic.

RAINMAKER CONTENT

HITLER: A Life In Pictures (4 x 60 mins), for the UK’s Channel 4, uses archive and expert interviews to explore the public and the private life of the German dictator and fea tures the photos and videos of two photographers who both dedicated their lives to documenting Hitler — Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler’s official photographer and Hoffmann’s pho tographic assistant, Eva Braun, who became Hitler’s romantic partner and briefly his wife. Mostly filmed at Hitler’s fortified chalet in the Bavar ian Alps, the latest lip-reading tech nology has been used to bring these silent films to life.

Dear Flora (Attraction Distribution)

A Good Family (APC)

Hitler: A Life In Pictures (Rainmaker Content)

Dark Winds (AMC Networks)

For all the latest happenings on the international film and television scene, Deadline is your source. From box office numbers, to television premieres, renewals and festival coverage, and everything in between!

DOGWOOF

THE UK’s Dogwoof brings a range of films to MIPCOM CANNES. Recent titles in clude: The Last Rider, the sto ry of Greg LeMond directed by Alex Holmes — the threetime, and only American, win ner of the Tour de France — and his epic rivalry with great French champion Laurent Fignon on the 1989 Tour; Jo nah, currently in production, the story of Jonah Lomu, one of the greatest rugby players in the history of the game; and Schmeichel, a film about legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who captained Manchester United in the tre ble-clinching win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champi ons League Final.

MEDIA RANCH

CANADIAN formats specialist Media Ranch is highlighting a competition for aspiring young nature cinematographers. In Wild America the contestants trek across some of America’s wildest regions, where they overcome many obstacles to reach their sub jects, including grizzly bears, wolf packs, caribou and great white sharks. Another title from the company is Hollywood 911, which features expert analysis from 911 operators, doctors and law en forcement, as well as eyewitnesses and celebrity insiders, to pres ent a behind-the-scenes look at celebrity emergency calls.

WILDBRAIN

FAMILY film Life With Luca (1 x 90 mins), produced by Shaft esbury and distributed by Can ada-based WildBrain, features Derek and Casey, sibling charac ters from teen sitcom Life With Derek. In this spin-off film they clash with their different par enting styles. Derek’s daughter, Skyler is an only child — smart, funny and studious, having been tutored on the road while touring with her dad’s band. Casey’s son, Luca, is equal parts cocky and charming, with a love of pranks, gaming and skate boarding that doesn’t fit with the structured, academic focus Casey hoped for. Due for deliv ery in early 2023, WildBrain is the exclusive global distributor.

LINEUP INDUSTRIES

AMSTERDAM-based Lineup Industries brings a new format to MIPCOM CANNES. In Other News Today is a daily show that combines lighthearted topical news with a 45-minute celebrity quiz, with the added twist that a viewer is selected to receive the potential winnings without having to answer a single question, with a final eight minutes streamed live from their living room. A second season of 30 episodes has been commissioned by VRT.

OFF THE FENCE

QUEENS Of Ancient Egypt (3 x 60 mns), a Tile Films/Cu riosityStream production, is brought to the international market by Netherlands-based Off the Fence. Egypt was home to the best known of all ancient queens, Cleopatra, but Egypt also had many other female monarchs, many of whose names and stories are all but forgotten. Drawing on new discoveries and cutting-edge research, this series tells the stories of three little-known but incredible Egyptian queens, revealing how they became standard bearers for their sex long before the mod ern era.

Life With Luca (WildBrain)

Wild America (Media Ranch)

Queens Of Ancient Egypt (Off the Fence)

In Other News Today (Lineup Industries)

ORANGE SMARTY

A PRIORITY for the UK’s Orange Smarty is Unvaccinated (1 x 60 mins), a documentary following Professor Hannah Fry as she seeks to understand why despite multiple lockdowns and deaths so many remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. Fry brings seven unvaccinated participants together to unpack long-held opinions, beliefs and fears that have prevented them from getting the vac cine. They meet experts, confront the latest science and statistics and dissect how misinformation spreads on social media. Pro duced by STV Productions, worldwide rights are available for the show, excluding UK and Eire.

ATRESMEDIA TELEVISION

HERIDAS (13 x 50 mins), the Spanish adaptation of Jap anese drama series Moth er, is brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Atresmedia Tel evision. Manuela has moved away from her adoptive family to live alone by a marsh, where she studies birds. She declared that she would never be a mother, until she comes across a young girl named Alba. Oth er priorities for the Spanish distributor include: Two Years And One Day (6 x 30 mins), a comedy about the downfall of a beloved actor who is sen tenced to prison for the crime of religious offence due to an unfortunate joke; and drama A Normal Family: DNA (4 x 50 mins), with a second season in production (6 x 50 mins).

ALBATROSS WORLD SALES

DEDICATED to the return of a remarkable predator to the for ests of Western Europe, Wolf – Wanderer Without Borders (2 x 52 mins/1 x 90 mins/4K), from Albatross World Sales, follows the jour ney of a young, lone wolf westwards in search for his own territory and mate. The German distributor also brings science documenta ry Why We Dance (1 x 47 mins/4K), which explores dance as an emergent phenomenon in evolution across species, making a com pelling case for why dancing makes us human. Other titles include: Crimes That Changed The World (3 x 45 mins/HD); and Chasing Rembrandt – How Art Became A Business (1 x 52 mins/HD), which reveals how Rembrandt’s artistic influence led to the marriage of art and business for the first time.

RTE PROGRAMME SALES

RTE PROGRAMME Sales is highlighting the new se ries of Cheap Irish Homes (8 x 30 mins) in Cannes; 24 episodes are available in total. From forgotten farm houses to bargain bungalows, presenter Maggie and co-presenter, building engineer Kieran, travel across Ireland showing properties with potential to buyers on a budget — properties with real charm, in pictur esque locations, all at very low prices.

Heridas (Atresmedia Television)

Unvaccinated (Orange Smarty)

Cheap Irish Homes (RTE Programme Sales)

Wolf – Wanderer Without Borders (Albatross World Sales)

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