Sony Pictures Entertainment chair and CEO Tony Vinciquerra
guest of honour Garcelle Beauvais
6 x 1 hour
OPENING NIGHT PARTY P11
Stars of last night’s Spain Country Of Honour World Premiere TV Screening Ena: La Reina Victoria Eugenia walked the red carpet to the MIPCOM CANNES Opening Night Party.
PRODUCT NEWS P38
Content for sale in Cannes from around the world
MARKET NEWS P14
Including: SPE’s Tony Vinciquerra; WBTVG’s Channing Dungey; All3Media’s Jane Turton; reports from the Producers’ Hub and the Innovation Lab; and more...
HAITIAN actor, producer, TV personality and advocate Garcelle Beauvais was guest of honour at yesterday’s MIPCOM CANNES Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch. Ahead of her appearance at the lunch, where she addressed a packed room, she told the MIPCOM CANNES Daily News: “We need events where we can be together as women and hold each other up.” Garcelle is also one of the presenters at today’s MIPCOM CANNES Diversify TV Awards.
THE KING AND I IN THE ARCTIC
50 YEARS ON, ENVIRONMENTALIST STEVE BACKSHALL RETRACES A YOUNG PRINCE CHARLES’ ARCTIC ADVENTURE, UNCOVERING THE DRAMATIC CHANGES TO OUR PLANET AND THE URGENT NEED FOR ACTION
‘We’re seeing a lot of activity around co-productions’
CHAIR and CEO of the Warner Bros. Television Group (WBTVG), Channing Dungey, used her Media Mastermind Keynote at MIPCOM CANNES to say that the Hollywood company is more open than it has ever been to international co-production. Historically, WBTVG has tended to avoid production partnerships with third parties. But Dungey said: “It’s harder than ever to get great ideas to the screen, so we’re seeing a lot of activity in the market around co-productions. For us, it’s about figuring out how we put these things together. But we’re very excited by the possibility of producing internationally and working with other companies.”
While some WBTVG shows, such as drama series The Penguin, are clearly designed for Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform Max, Dungey also reaffirmed that her studio is keen to work with a wide range of customers.
“Max is a huge priority for us and it’s a big win when we produce a show that lands and resonates there. But we also produce for all the US broadcast networks. We’re the only studio right now that has three new series on three different broadcast networks. We’re doing Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage for CBS, Brilliant Minds for NBC and Rescue Hi-Surf for Fox.”
Interestingly for global buyers, Dungey said there is a resurgence of interest in scripted procedurals. “I think there was a bit of a disdain for procedurals for a while, but the audience really does enjoy them. Viewers gets a sense of satisfaction that, after 45 minutes of an episodic story, they can just move on with their life.”
‘The demand for entertainment is not going away’
SONY Pictures Entertainment (SPE) chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra was honoured with the Variety Vanguard Award at MIPCOM CANNES yesterday.
He then used his Media Mastermind Keynote to explain his no-nonsense approach to turning the ailing company around after he joined in 2017.
“I made three key moves,” Vinciquerra said. “The first was to get rid of most of our 110 cable networks. We gave them away, sold them, shut them down. There are only three countries where we have cable networks now: Spain, Latin America and India. In the rest of the world, you don’t want to have cable networks.”
The second move was to position SPE as a content supplier to global streamers, rather than a competitor. “It was obvious to me that launching another general-entertainment streaming service would not be appropriate for us. But I knew that all of these services were going to be absolutely fighting to the death for subscribers, so they needed product. And we had a lot of creators sitting on our bench…”
The final move was to take a more intuitive approach to streaming’s potential: “We bought an anime company called Funimation, which had a few hundred thousand subscribers. We built that up to 3.5 million subscribers, then bought Crunchyroll and merged them. Now we have over 15 million subscribers and a profitable business.”
Vinciquerra is stepping down as CEO in 2025. He expects the next couple of years to be torrid for the industry, but sees light at the end of the tunnel. “The next 24 months is going to be chaotic. There will be mergers, consolidation, sales, some bankruptcies potentially. But the demand for entertainment is not going away.”
Opening
Stars of some of the many series showcased at MIPCOM CANNES faced photgraphers and international press on the red carpet before joining delegates at the party
Night Party
The team from Beta Film’s The Rise Of The Raven: producer Robert Lantos (left), with actors Vivien Rujder. Elena Rusconi, and Kádár L Géllert
Ena. La Reina Victoria Eugenia lead actors Joan Amargós and Kimberley Tell
Facing the cameras are Tom Kenny (aka SpongeBob SquarePants) and Bill Fagerbakke (aka Patrick)
Baris Baktas and Yagmur Yuksel, stars of Global Agency’s Vendetta
Actor, producer, TV personality and advocate, Garcelle Beauvais
Amazon and Yoshimoto share secrets to LOL’s success around the world
IT CAN BE said that comedy doesn’t always travel well but that’s not the case for Amazon MGM Studios’ LOL: Last One Laughing, which has now sold to more than 20 territories. At yesterday’s Media Mastermind
of Hitoshi Matsumoto’s original idea and “all the producers around the world who, thanks to Amazon, really poured their creativity into it to make it local, and a local success”.
‘It adapts itself to a local sense of humour’
James Farrell
Farrell, then Amazon Prime Video’s content lead in Japan, was looking for a big comedy variety show to turbocharge Prime’s entry into the territory. After working with Yoshimoto to refine the format (an original trial version lasted for 17 hours rather than the six that now is standard), the show has become a cornerstone of Amazon Prime Video’s global original offering. According to Okamoto, the secret ingredients were the simplicity
Farrell agreed that localisation and cultural specificity were key. He pointed to season three of the French version as the “magnum opus” of casting, attracting TV stars, cinema auteurs, top comedians and YouTubers. ‘It adapts itself to a local sense of humour,” he said. “The goal of the version in France was not to make a global hit in the way that scripted or a film can travel global borders, it was about can we make the biggest thing in this country?”
Local unscripted has become a key part of Amazon MGM Studios’ global strategy because, he said, while marquee movies and scripted travel across borders, “there’s not a lot of unscripted in that global strategy, there’s not a lot of comedy. There’s a lot of holes to fill at a local level. That’s one of the reasons local unscripted has been so key for us, and is ramping up even more. It’s so essential for providing a good service for customers in France or Japan — or anywhere.”
LOL will debut in the UK in 2025, presented by Graham Norton, and has seen variants and spin-offs including LOL Christmas in Italy and LOL IRL, which is soon to appear in France. But Farrell said that new formats were essential to his company’s continued success and he would work with Yoshimoto to scale new ideas.
To close, Farrell addressed the concerns that streamers were cutting back on investing in ori -
ginal content. When it comes to Amazon MGM Studios, he said: “We’re full steam ahead.”
Amazon MGM Studios’ James Farrell
Yoshimoto Kogyo’s Akihiko Okamoto
‘It’s
storytelling par excellence’
AI TECHNOLOGY has allowed a production team to recreate the voice of the late polar explorer Ernest Shackleton from a few sample recordings. Thanks to AI, Shackleton’s voice will narrate travel diaries he and his team wrote about the dangerous rescue of his crew after his ship Endurance ran aground and collapsed.
All3Media CEO Jane Turton shared the fascinating development as part of a MIPCOM CANNES C-Suite Conversation with Variety’s co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton. Turton described the new documentary Endurance as “phenomenal”. It was made by producers including the company’s Little Dot Studios, who went on their own adventure trying to rediscover the ship and original footage of the 1914 journey which was then updated and colourised.
Turton was speaking about what drives growth at the content giant, recently acquired by US private equity giant RedBird IMI. “It’s brilliant storytelling,” Turton said. “It is a story of extraordinary human endeavour — they all came back alive — the finding of the ship and the application of very clever tech. It’s storytelling par excellence.”
The project, under the National Geographic Films banner, will premiere on Disney+ in November. Turton said the company is also launching a premium documentary voiced by David Attenborough, titled Parenthood, for the BBC. “It’s to-die-for entertainment.”
Responding to a question about where investors see the most value, Turton said it was a few things: “It’s the product isn’t it? The talent is quite difficult for people to gauge,” she said. “People want to see growth and what’s consistently growing and they want to see that the management team understands all of those things.”
All3Media has production ventures in many different genres and is known for hit formats including The Traitors, and mystery series
The Tourist. The content giant is expected to acquire fresh scripted content now it has a new war chest filled by backers RedBird IMI. “You want strong shareholders and a strong portfolio and you’re sitting in the middle of the alchemy. All that comes together and you continue to grow in a reasonably smooth trajectory.”
‘You want strong shareholders and a strong portfolio’
The WIT spotlights snitches, hamsters, pants and virgins
Double Cross (Allright Media) all offered new spins on the genre.
The freshest twist came from digital series The Getaway (Wendover Productions) which sends six influencers on a road trip trying to guess which one is the “snitch” — the twist being that they have all been assigned that role.
As ever the session featured quirky formats
Way (Sphere Abacus), Master Of The Game (Fremantle) and
Mouseler also talked about a key trend in formats this year: foreverism. She said: “It’s making the past present again and again. There is no sadness in foreverism. It’s not nostalgia, because there is no loss. We make the past present continuously.”
Proof of this trend is that in 2024, 8% of new entertainment and game shows tracked by The WIT are reboots or revivals. “Four years ago it was less than 1%,” Mouseler said.
As ever, the Fresh TV session featured some quirky formats. Celebrity Send Off (Interstellar Television) sees a celebrity organising a funeral for a famous friend while they are still alive, while Human Vs Hamster (WBITVP) sees its contestants — human and rodent alike — running on wheels, climbing up tubes and speed-eating.
Don’t Show Your Pants (Kansai TV Global Sales) is a Japanese game show where contestants have to complete challenges without revealing their glittery gold underwear.
Meanwhile, Virgin Island (Passion Distribution) sends a group of people who are virgins to an island to work with sexologists to increase their confidence.
“It’s for people who maybe didn’t show their pants enough!” Mouseler said.
Dubai Studios signs Emmys partnership
THE INTERNATIONAL Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Dubai Studios, a Dubai Media Company, signed a long-term Gala partnership on day one of MIPCOM CANNES.
H E Mohamed AlMulla, group CEO of Dubai Media, and Bruce L Paisner, president & CEO of the International Academy, signed the partnership that “marks a significant milestone in fostering television excellence from the UAE and promoting cross-cultural collaborations within the global entertainment industry”.
“This strategic partnership aligns with Dubai’s vision to amplify its media presence on a global scale,” AlMulla said. “The future of entertainment will be shaped by content creators whose voices are rooted in local culture and language and our
industry has a responsibility to champion these creatives and narratives.”
Beginning in 2025, Dubai Studios will join in sponsoring the International Emmy World Television Fes-
tival and the International Emmy Awards Gala in New York. Additionally, each year Dubai Studios will host a Semi-Final Round of Judging event for the International Emmy
Awards competition, in Dubai.
“We are delighted to welcome Dubai Studios as a sponsor of the International Academy and are looking forward to bringing the global television community together in Dubai for Academy Day,” Paisner said. “We thank H E Mohamed AlMulla and the Dubai Studios team for spearheading this important partnership.”
Furthermore, Dubai Studios will host Academy Day In Dubai for International Academy members at a date to be announced later. Academy Day is a high-level, invitation-only four-day networking event designed to shine a spotlight on the culture and media industry of the region and foster a better understanding of regional business models and cultural institutions to help facilitate cross-border collaboration.
Bruce L Paisner (left) seals partnership with H E Mohamed AlMulla
The WIT’s Virginia Mouseler
Garcelle Beauvais hits the G-spot
ACTOR, TV host, producer and author Garcelle Beauvais hit the Cannes Croisette on Monday, bringing some Hollywood star power to the 13th Women In Global Entertainment Power Lunch, hosted by A&E Media Group in partnership with The Hollywood Reporter.
The upbeat television personality shared her thoughts on why she’s pro-women, what she thinks about vice-president Kamala Harris and how she responded to Donald Trump’s comments on Haitians.
The Haitian-born Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star talked about the need for diversity in every room. “I’m hoping we’ll have our first female president soon,” she said to applause from the power women in the audience. Beauvais, who met Kamala Harris in Washington DC, added: “She really wanted to reach the Black community and talk about how she’s helped and how she’s opening doors. She’s fantastic.”
Nekesa Mumbi Moody, co-editor-in-chief of The Hollywood Reporter, conducted the lunch Q&A with Beauvais. She asked about recent comments by Donald Trump and JD Vance about Haitian immigrants eating pets, which turned out to be false. “When I first heard him saying that, I was shocked and I was disappointed,” Beauvais said. “Everything went
through me because, for so long, we have had stigma about Haiti. It was not only disrespectful and hurtful in all the ways you can imagine, but I also thought about all his supporters going after Haitian people… It was dangerous across the board. And it’s not true.”
She then shared a social-media video with a response to the allegations, which garnered 1.1 million views in a matter of seconds. “We have to use our voice,” she added.
The lunch event, which was opened by Lucy Smith, entertainment division director of RX France, and Deborah K Bradley, executive vice-president of global content sales at A&E Media Group, was focused on women finding their G-spot, or whatever helps them to find their voice. Beauvais, who found herself sitting on the mic, joked she just found hers, before referencing her 2022 book Love Me As I Am. In the memoir, the double entendre ‘my G-spot’ is a recurring theme, used as a metaphor to describe Beauvais’ journey to finding her own voice.
She added: “I’ve always been a fan of women. I had five sisters and I never felt like we were in competition.”
Beauvais, who was brought to the US by a single mother, recalled being stopped by a woman who handed her a card from a model agency. She also recalled driving herself to legendary producer Aaron Spelling’s office in Los Angeles without an appointment in a bid to get herself noticed. Her bravado won her a part in primetime soap opera Models Inc.
As for Real Housewives, Beauvais said: “People are so invested in our lives… Reality shows are hard, but people love them. It’s a great escape to another world.”
‘We have to use our voice’
Moon Palace, Cancun, Mexico
19 → 22 Nov. 2024
Evan Shapiro urges TV industry to get radical in taking on big tech
‘There are so many hoops to jump through’
“We promised consumers a joyfilled, friction-free system but we gave them the opposite,” he said.
“There are so many hoops to jump through that it has created frustration among consumers and that has ramifications.”
The biggest outcome, said Shapiro, is that media companies are “getting crushed by the huge data pools controlled by Google, Amazon and Meta. While media companies have set up walled gardens, 60% of the world’s advertising now goes to these three companies because they have the best mousetraps for capturing data. Meta sells almost the same amount of ads as all of the traditional TV on the planet.”
Failure to address this “will put everything that media companies
have built at risk. If they want to compete with big tech for existing revenues and new money, like shopping via the TV, they need to embrace a radical collaboration model around data.”
Shapiro said the current imbalance is the media industry’s own fault “because we created it. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The alternative is in our hands.”
Ahead of the Applied AI Summit that followed, Shapiro said: “I don’t think AI-generated content is the key thing to focus on, but I do think AI can help fix a lot of problems if we choose to use data correctly. The Social Department and CBS recently showed it was possible to use AI to create social promotions for NCIS incredibly quickly.”
Valentina’s autism theme attracts interest
SPANISH-language telenovela Valentina: My Special Love, which champions autism acceptance, had a special cocktail-hour screening at the Producers’ Hub yesterday.
The 60 x 60 mins show follows Valentina Kumar (played by Rebeca Herrera), a brilliant young woman with autism, who excels in mathematics and technology but struggles socially.
Her life is transformed when she meets Santiago (played by Mauricio Novoa), the heir to the company she works for, sparking a romance that faces opposition from Santiago’s family and fiancée.
Through personal and professional hurdles, Valentina’s journey highlights resilience, self-discovery and the power of love.
Shot in Mexico, including in the picturesque town of Guadalajara, the show is a co-production between
India’s Zee and VIP 2000 TV. According to Zee’s executive vice-president head of global syndication and marketing, Manjyot Sandhu, it is the first adaptation of an Indian format in Latin America. There is also an Arabic version and both are inspired, Sandhu said, by the success of the original in licensing deals.
“The theme of the acceptance of a character on the autism spectrum resonated really well with audiences in India and everywhere we’ve licensed it across multiple countries in Europe,” he said. He added that Zee is now looking at producing a version in Africa.
Sandhu called Valentina a “short” telenovela, but said that the season finale had an open ending, leaving an opening for a potential second season. He also said of the Producers’ Hub screening: “This is the first time we’re sharing a special
15-minute cut of the story.”
There will be additional screenings at MIP CANCUN next month.
‘The theme resonated well with audiences’
Bulgaria’s Incandescent Distribution, which is reporting interest in the property following discussions at MIPCOM CANNES.
Zee’s Manjyot Sandhu
Evan Shapiro
TV executives share strategies for delivering scripted formats
A high-powered panel of scripted TV executives took to the Producers’ Hub stage yesterday to share trade secrets on scripted formats. Between them, they have overseen the roll-out of shows including Prisoners Of War, The A Word, Ghosts, Doctor Foster and Alpha Males into dozens of countries.
At the event, Drama Formats – Producer/Distributor Collaboration In The Remake Process, Keshet International managing director distribution Kelly Wright explained why scripted formats can make sense for acquiring markets.
“We have a show called A Body That Works which is about surrogacy. That’s a subject that a lot of countries are dealing with on a political, legal and personal level but they haven’t yet broached it on TV.
So when they read a script that really works and they see a programme that is heartfelt and that deals with the subject matter well, it’s a way to connect the dots,” she said.
A key discussion point was how to balance the integrity of the original format with the needs of the local market. Matt Forde, managing director, global entertainment, BBC Studios, whose scripted format catalogue spans The Office, Doctor Foster, The Split, Criminal Justice and Ghosts, said: “We aim to protect the original creators. We want to make sure the vision of the show is appropriate and exciting enough that they want to move forward.”
Elisa Martin de Blas, managing director production and distribution, Contubernio Films of Spain, agreed, but said it’s also important to allow
the producers in the adapting market to have creative autonomy.
“I’m not going to tell the Portuguese or the Germans about what kind of humour will work in their country. You have to let your baby
go,” she said. Wright said sometimes format owners have to be patient: “We have a show called The Baker And The Beauty that is in post-production for TF1. That has been on the market since 2013, but this was the moment it met the network’s need.”
Kelly Wright
Matt Forde
Andreas Gutzeit (Chief Creative Officer, Story House Pictures), Marcus Uhl (Managing Director, Bilderfest), Oleg Jampolski (Business and Legal Affairs, Bravado Media) and Dr. Markus Schäfer (President and CEO, ZDF Studios)
Stefano Semeria (Head of Distribution, SRF), Laura Köppen (Chief Audience Officer, Executive Board, SRF) and Jeffrey Haverkamp (Director International Content Partnerships, ZDF Studios)
ZDF Studios’ President and CEO, Dr. Markus Schäfer (second from left) with Frank Zervos, ZDF’s Senior Vice President Films and Series, Juliane von Schwerin, NDR’s Deputy Director and Head of Documentary, and Walid Nakschbandi, CEO of Film- und Medienstiftung NRW
Nina Peters, CEO ndF:, Robert Franke, ZDF Studios’ VP Drama, and Viktoria Wasilewski, Head of Content, Prime Video Italy
ZDF Studios’ Directors Unscripted Margarita Garcia (second from left) and Kerstin Jaitner (second from right) with Off The Fence’s Monica van den Bergh, Emilia Gil Villegas, Klara van Doorn and Jennifer Kemp
ZDF Studios’ Sundowner is leading industry event of MIPCOM with record attendance
The popular ZDF Studios Sundowner once again set a record for the number of participants! Dr. Markus Schäfer, President and CEO, and his colleagues Susanne Frank, Director Drama, Oliver Grundel, Director Junior, and Ralf Rückauer, VP Unscripted, presented the latest highlights in their respective genres: the crime series “Weiss & Morales”, a German-Spanish co-production, the liveaction surfer series “Surviving Summer”, an AustralianGerman co-production and Netflix Original, as well as the five-part series “Fateful Planet”, a German-US American co-production that chronicles the history of our planet.
Sylvia Brucker (Director Entertainment Unscripted, ZDF Studios) discussing the latest format ideas from CONTENT LADEN with Producer Jan Fritzowsky
Linette Zaulich (Director Unscripted, ZDF Studios), Oliver Grundel (Director Junior, ZDF Studios) and Kerstin Jungmann (Director Licensing and Merchandising, ZDF Studios)
ZDF Studios’ Director Junior Marei Bruckmann (right) with Mats Van Brusselen (VRT Ketnet) and Sebastian Welmer (Producer, Wolkenlenker)
Yi Qiao (Director Drama, ZDF Studios) with Maria Kivinen (Sales Manager, YLE)
Arne Lohmann (VP Junior, ZDF Studios), Natalie Altmann (Animation Producer, Media Valley) and Karoline Meichsner-Sertl (Co-CEO ZDF Studios)
Susanne Frank (Director Drama, ZDF Studios) with Luis Torres-Bohl (Founder and President of Castalia Communications Corporation), Richard Izarra (President PRODU) and Dr. Markus Schäfer (President and CEO, ZDF Studios)
Photo Credits ZDF Studios / Elena Zakh
Report shows growth in demand for Spanish content worldwide
WITH Spain in high profile at MIPCOM CANNES this week, a report from ICEX and Parrot Analytics, presented here, has revealed that Spain-originated content will generate $1.4bn in global revenue in 2024 as demand grows across key regions around the world. The entertainment analytics com
Erik Rovina Mardones, director for creative industries at ICEX, said:
“The $5.1bn in global revenue generated by Spanish content over the past four years is a testament to the powerful impact our productions have on international audiences and
‘The growing demand for Spain’s content around the world matters.’
According to Parrot Analytics’ year-on-year data from 2023 to 2024, the global demand for Spain-originated content has seen exponential growth across all regions, for example with UCAN up 40%, LatAm up 56%, Africa up 67% and Asia up 100%.
The data also shows a 22% increase in the availability of Spanish series and films on major global streaming platforms since 2021, reflecting the increasing investment in Spain-originated content by these platforms.
their continued growth in popularity across the globe.” He added:
“Working with Parrot Analytics helps us provide our industry and creators with data-driven insights, enabling them to tap into emerging global markets and maximise their
content’s international reach.”
Jaime Otero, vice-president of partnerships, Parrot Analytics, added: “The growing demand for Spain’s content around the world matters because it is directly leading to higher revenues for major streaming platforms. This not only underscores the cultural impact of Spain’s productions but also highlights the significant financial returns they are driving worldwide.”
The report also focused on key titles, with Red Queen ranking among the top five new series on Amazon Prime Video in 2024; Nowhere charting as the number-one non-English film on Netflix in 2023; and movies Society Of The Snow and My Fault out-performing in many territories globally.
ICEX Spain Trade & Investment (ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones) is a public business entity and part of Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, with a mission to promote Spanish companies globally, to encourage competitiveness; to add value to the economy and to attract foreign investment to Spain. Under the brand Audiovisual From Spain, ICEX “promotes the visibility and recognition of Spanish talent in film, animation, television, video games and extended reality on a global scale”.
Red Queen
Money Heist
Jaime Otero
‘It felt like an adventure I had to embark on’
THE HIGHLY anticipated European drama series Rise Of The Raven will celebrate its world premiere at MIPCOM CANNES this evening. The curtain goes up on the epic 10-episode series, distributed by Beta Film, at 18.00 in the Grand Auditorium.
Rise Of The Raven tells the reallife story of János Hunyadi, a fearless Hungarian army commander, who fought a lifelong battle to defend Europe against
looked for about a year in Hungary. We auditioned and tested any actor who could possibly fit the bill,” Lantos said. “We had scouts looking outside Hungary in territories where Hungarian is still spoken. And one of those is Transylvania, which is now Ro -
Robert Lantos
‘I really like that we speak in six languages’
mania, where in a theatre company we found Géllert and he has all the qualities.”
That answer to a prayer was Kádár L Gellért, who plays Hunyadi. He said he loved the experience of shooting the fight scenes: “The adrenalin is very
Vivien Rujder and Kádár L Géllert
read this massive 12-volume his toric novel and I thought, this has to be made. It felt like an adventure I had to embark on,” he said. Filmed largely in Hungary, the big-budget production includes large-scale battlefield scenes. The climax is the Battle of Belgrade, a major turning point in the history of Europe.
Lantos said that the major challenge was finding the lead actor. “Hunyadi is Hungarian. That’s a specific talent pool and there was no guarantee we would find a talented actor who has the physique of an action hero. We
high. If someone misses a beat or someone loses rhythm, the whole take ends up in the bin. So it’s a huge responsibility.”
Lantos was also determined from the start to find the right local actors and to film in the relevant languages. Franciska Törőcsik, who plays Hunyadi’s first love Mara, said: “I really like that we speak in six languages. I hope people feel, as we feel, that this is one of its strengths .”
Elena Rusconi who plays Giulietta di Brienza in the Italian section of the drama, added: “I think it is beautiful to finally have something that faithfully portrays many different cultures, and language is such a huge part of the culture. And it is beautiful that we were able to be fully immersed in that world.”
Despite the backdrop of medieval war, Vivien Rujder, who plays Hunyadi’s wife Erzsébet, believes the series has a positive message: “For me, the message is that we love each other. It’s a cliché, but we want this world to love and protect each other and the women in the series, in good ways or bad ways, protect their loved ones.”
Franciska Törőcsik
ALL3MEDIA SEALS DEAL WITH BBC FOR IRRESISTIBLE
ALL3MEDIA International has announced deals in Europe, Australia and Asia for Lion TV’s documentary Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating (1 x 90 mins/60 mins).
Set to premiere later this year on BBC Two and iPlayer, the film is a personal view by Dr Chris van Tulleken revealing the shocking secrets behind what makes ultra-processed foods so irresistible and how they have come to dominate food culture.
It will also explore the underbelly of the power and practices of the food industry and investigate whether they put profit over our health.
Ahead of its BBC premiere, the documentary has sold in Europe across SVT (Sweden), Movistar+ (Spain) and TV2 (Denmark).
The feature documentary has also been licensed by BBC Studios in a pan-territory deal in Africa, Now TV Hong Kong and SBS in Australia.
Rachel Job, senior vice-president unscripted content at All3Media International said: “Lion TV consistently delivers innovative and thought-provoking factual programming, which deserves to be seen by large global audiences.”
Nippon TV’s Mother sets new record for scripted formats
NIPPON TV, Japan’s leading multiplatform entertainment company, has announced at MIPCOM CANNES that Alpha TV, one of Greece’s largest nationwide TV stations, has acquired scripted format rights to its award-winning drama series Mother (11 x 60 mins).
Marking the 11th international deal for the drama, Alpha will remake the series for the Greek audience under the title Na Me Les Mama (Call Me Mom). The deal extends the show’s existing record as the most globally adapted Asian scripted format.
Sayako Aoki, head of scripted formats, Nippon TV, said: “Every version has enabled us to make sure of the power of the content itself. It’s been going on for almost a decade and the new Greek version still feels fresh and relevant to the social issues right now. The different perspectives
on being a mother are still the core of the story but a certain localisation makes it even more powerful.”
Sally Yamamoto, scripted format licensing, Nippon TV, said: “Alpha TV is renowned for its high-quality adaptations that consistently become major hits in Greece. Known for their discerning eye for compelling stories, it was only natural for them to choose Mother as their next big project and
we have confidence as well as look forward to the Greek adaptation.” Mother has already been licensed to CJ E&M (South Korea), MF Yapim (Turkey), STB TV (Ukraine), Juvenile (Thailand), Radiant Pictures (China), Incognita (France), Atresmedia (Spain), Medyapim for MBC (Saudi Arabia), Green Show Productions (Mongolia) and ABSCBN (Philippines).
TV Asahi teams with SPNI on anime sequel
OBOCCHAMA-KUN was a huge hit in Japan as an animated series when it started airing in 1989. Now it has a sequel, produced in India.
The new Obocchama-kun is a collaboration between TV Asahi and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), with Indian firm Green Gold Animation on creation duties.
Available as a 26 x 22 mins or 52 x 11 mins series, it will air on SPNI’s children’s channel Sony Yay! next year, with TV Asahi selling worldwide TV, VOD and licensing/merchandising rights outside Japan and India.
The partnership sprang from SPNI acquiring the original series during the COVID-19 pandemic, when some of its local productions stalled. “It became such a raging success, we had to ask for more!” said Ronojoy Chakraborty, head of programming for Sony Yay! at
SPNI, during a panel accompanying the new show’s MIPCOM CANNES premiere screening.
“There were strong requests for us to make a new season, which we didn’t have at that moment,” added Makiko Inaba, director, international business development at TV Asahi.
“We started seeking production to make it in Japan but it was really challenging so we decided to copro-
duce with India,” she said.
The show focuses on the adventures a crazy-rich boy has with his schoolfriends and family, based on a 1986 manga created by Yoshinori Kobayashi.
“We are asking for his advice for every episode in every production stage. He is very co-operative,” said Kanon Asami, sales & development executive, animation at TV Asahi.
“The humour is phenomenal,” added Rajiv Chilaka, CEO at Green Gold Animation. “It was an honour when TV Asahi and Sony considered us to do the show.”
Nippon TV’s Sayako Aoki (left) and Sally Yamamoto
The new Obocchama-kun series premiered at MIPCOM CANNES
Dr Chris van Tulleken
Nippon TV and Fuji share top spot at prestigious MIPCOM Buyers’ Award
FOR THE first time in its 15-year history, the MIPCOM Buyers’ Award For Japanese Drama has been awarded to two shows: The Greatest Teacher (10 x 60 mins) from Nippon TV and Where Does The Sea Begin from Fuji Television Network.
The Greatest Teacher follows Rina, who is killed by one of her students on graduation day but finds herself transported 30 days earlier for another chance to change everyone’s fortunes. Where Does The Sea Begin (1 x 70 mins/11 x 46 mins), meanwhile, is a heart-warming story about a man who learns, when an ex-girlfriend dies, that he was the father of her child.
Accepting the award for Fuji Television, Misaki Takei, head of distribution and IP business, content business development, read out a statement from series producer Ken Murase, who said: “My hope was to reach out to not only Japanese viewers but viewers all around the world. I myself have been influenced by many foreign films and dramas,
so I’m grateful to receive such high praise from international judges.”
Nippon TV’s associate managing director, content business and distribution, Ayako Tajima, accepted the prize on her company’s behalf. “We’re so honoured and privileged to receive this award alongside Fuji TV,” she said. “What a way to start the market for us!”
An honourable mention went to Kansai TV’s Unmet: A Neurosurgeon’s Diary, which was, according to judge’s representative Geraldine Easter of Nine Network Australia, “a really original way of treating a hospital drama”. The other entries were: Every Precious Moment, ABC Japan; The Great Passage, NHK; Destiny, TV Asahi; Extremely Inappropriate, Tokyo Broadcasting System TV; Baby Assassins, TV Tokyo; and Black Familia –The Shindos’ Revenge, Yoimuri TV. Easter added: “Every year I’m amazed at the creativity. These nine submissions raised the bar even higher.”
Japanese drama benefits from Shogun halo effect
THE CHAIRMAN of the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association (JBA), Ryunosuke Endo, would like the world to pay more attention to premium Japanese productions after the Emmy Award-winning success of US-made Shogun threw a spotlight on Japan’s cultural output and raised its profile around the world.
The series, broadcast by FX on Hulu in the US, made history after picking up the most Creative Arts Emmys by a show in a single season, even topping the achievements of Game Of Thrones.
Shogun, the story of an English sailor and a Japanese noblewoman, was the first non-English-language winner of the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy. Speaking exclusively to the MIPCOM CANNES Daily News, Endo recalled how his generation was influenced by film noir and France’s New Wave movement. The renaissance of Japanese drama, exemplified by Shogun’s story of cross-cultural understanding, mirrors that sense of realism.
He added that the Japanese mentality is one of collaboration, not conflict.
It’s a philosophy he would like to export at a time of global instability.
Japan is broadly known for its highly exportable manga and anime, but Endo expressed a hope that cultural exchanges might include more attempts to understand the richness of Japanese culture.
“We come to the US and France to understand your references,” he said. “MIPCOM is a place to exchange ideas and network to create mutual understanding.”
Takashi Ishihara, a senior producer with the International Drama Festival in Tokyo, pointed to the resurgence of Japanese costume drama.
“Japanese drama is increasing every year. It’s getting more varied,” Ishihara said. He added that he would like buyers to expend more effort on acknowledging the breadth of Japanese content across all genres, noting that around 100 new drama series are produced in Japan annually.
Nippon TV’s Ayako Tajima (left) and Fuji Television’s Misaki Takei
JBA’s Ryunosuke Endo
The Decolonisation Of Africa tells a ‘story that still resonates today’
IN A MIPCOM CANNES landmark, delegates will be given a sneak preview today of documentary series The Decolonisation Of Africa. Presented by Accelerate TV, the series is the first Nigerian production to be given the screening treatment at the market.
Colette Otushesho, CEO of Accelerate TV and executive producer, said the documentary is the first to dissect the decolonisation period from an African perspective. Across six episodes, it will explore the withdrawal of the British, French and Portuguese, challenging outdated global perceptions and historical distortions.
“I don’t think we really understood the journey we were embarking on
when we started, and the truths that would come out,” Otushesho said. “Not everything is pretty, but the series really speaks to the struggles of decolonisation, the wins, the losses and so on.”
Key to the project has been the energetic participation of former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, now 87, who provided his own invaluable perspective and unlocked access to other leading players. “We’ve spoken to a lot of people in the positions of power at the time — ex-presidents, ex-foreign ministers, etc,” Otushesho said. “A lot are in their 80s and 90s, and we’ve lost a couple since we started filming, so from a historical point of view,
this series has real significance.”
The Decolonisation Of Africa is built around a combination of testimony, archive and detailed research. “It revealed some fascinating stories, such as the fact Nelson Mandela spent time hiding in Lagos,” Otushesho said. “Overall, it showed this wasn’t just about the struggle of individual countries. It is an African story that still resonates today.”
The production secured funding from banking group Access, which was keen to support a project with a strong African sensibility. Now, Otushesho is in Cannes to find buyers. She believes there is a huge African diaspora that would want to see the documentary, but hopes
it lands on platforms that can introduce the true story of decolonisation to the widest possible audience.
“Global streaming platforms are an obvious target, but I would love to see this on the BBC,” she said.
All3Media’s Liar heads to Botswana
DRAMA hit Liar is adding four more versions to its international adaptations slate, including its first in Africa. The version of Liar in Botswana is
Ignite Media & Entertainment and project lead of Botswana Ignite, said.
‘The narrative is really relevant in Africa’
Duncan Irvine
The latter is a government-backed initiative to grow Botswana’s TVand film-production sector with measures including creating a film commission, film fund and rebate scheme for production.
“I’m looking to work with Botswana to [increase by] 10-times their film and television economy,”
Irvine said. “What we’re trying to do is to make Botswana a really exciting and easy market to work in — and from a producer’s point of view, financially viable because of the rebates. The idea is to attract a lot of productions to Botswana.”
Liar will now have 15 international versions, with new adaptations in development in Europe, the Middle East and Asia alongside Botswana.
“Liar has been a phenomenon of our scripted-format catalogue. It has crossed borders and boundaries and this will be our first outing
in Sub-Saharan Africa,” Lizzie Ribeiro, sales executive, Middle East, Africa and Israel at All3Media International, said.
“We are so thrilled to be working with Botswana Ignite on this adaptation and excited to see it brought to audiences in early 2025.”
Colette Otushesho
All3Media’s Lizzie Ribeiro and Botswana Ignite’s Duncan Irvine
8:30 - 9:30 Drama Co-production Breakfast
9:45 - 10:30
10:40 - 11:10
Tech & Creativity, Today’s Innovative Vision Presented by Sony Corp.
11:30 - 12:00
Exploring Disney EMEA’s Local Original Productions and Licensing Strategy
14:30 - 15:00
Meet the Commissioners - What’s Hot and What’s Not!
15:30 - 16:00
Navigating a Complex Landscape - What Opportunities for Tomorrow’s Fresh, Original Voices?
16:30 - 17:00
International Production at the US Studios
18:00 - 19:00
Producers’ Hub Networking Drinks with PLEX
10:00 - 11:00
Matchmaking Area
Speed Matchmaking Scripted
Pre-registration required
9:00 - 10:00
Auditorium A The Power of Game & Quiz Presented by BBC STUDIOS
10:00 - 11:00 Auditorium K LAB RAT: The Interactive Movie Presented by ADVENTR
11:00 - 12:00 Auditorium A The Great Indian Content Push Presented by SEPC
11:45 - 12:45 Auditorium K PBS Distribution Presents: Leonardo da Vinci
13:30 - 14:30
Auditorium K
11:00 - 12:00
Verrière Californie Decolonisation of Africa Documentary Series Presented by Accelerate Studios
12:30 - 13:00
Auditorium A Colombus’ DNA, his True Origin Followed by a Snack Lunch in Verrière Californie Presented by RTVE
Survivor: The True Story of One Boy’s Journey through the Holocaust A film by Zoom Rockman
14:30 - 15:00
14:30 - 15:30
Matchmaking Area Speed Matchmaking D&I
Pre-registration required
Auditorium A Spain Fresh TV Showcase Presented by The WIT
15:30 - 16:30
Auditorium K K-Content Showcase Presented by KOCCA
16:30 - 18:00
Auditorium A Earth Abides Presented by Amazon MGM Studios
BRITBOX DEAL FOR SPHERE ABACUS
THE UK’s Sphere Abacus has sold a package of non-fiction, true-crime, entertainment and drama titles to ad-free subscription streaming service BritBox for the US and Canada. The package includes the BritBox commission Travels With Agatha Christie With Sir David Suchet (5 x 60 mins) from Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media; Jon And Lucy’s Odd Couples (6 x 60 mins), produced by King of Sunshine; The Murder Of Sandra Rivett (1 x 9 mins), a Woodcut Media production; Breaking Dad: Britain’s Unlikeliest Drug Dealer (2 x 60 mins) from Big Little Fish; Agatha Christie: 100 Years Of Poirot And Miss Marple (aka Agatha Christie: 100 Years Of Suspense) (1 x 67 mins), produced by Honey Bee Media; Diana: The Interview That Shook The World (1 x 60 mins) from Rogan Productions; and Susan Hill’s The Small Hand: A Ghost Story (1 x 94 mins), produced by Awesome and Two Rivers Media.
Anne Corsak, Sphere Abacus sales director for North America, said: “Factual programming from the UK continues to engage and entertain viewers around the world and we are delighted to have secured sales to BritBox for these exceptional titles from some of the UK’s leading indies.””
Global Agency makes Celebrity Dream come true in St Tropez
TURKEY’s Global Agency, known for its high-impact marketing efforts, lifted the curtain ahead of MIPCOM CANNES on its latest format, Celebrity Dreams, which was launched at an exclusive event in St Tropez, attended by buyers from around the world. The format aims to fulfil the secret dreams of stars, from busking on the street to reconnecting with a childhood mentor or creating a charity.
The show aims to transform how we see famous people, with each episode beginning with a star recounting how they became famous and what their early life looked like before revealing their fantasy. Guests, who were asked to wear white, were picked up by boat from Cannes for a special screening, lunch and a party. Five lucky invitees also won a trip back to Cannes via helicopter.
Izzet Pinto, founder and CEO of Global Agency, said: “Our roll-out strategy for this brand-new format is centred around a tailor-made event designed to showcase Celebrity Dreams in an exclusive and engaging way. We invited 100 of
FRENCH animation studio Millimages is in Cannes looking for partners for its latest slate of projects. Titles range from preschool title Bin Buddies through to adult animation So Much For Love, based on the acclaimed book by Sophie Lambda.
Millimages producer Bonnie Lener said: “Our strategy is to have several projects, with a wide range of stories and styles. By offering a selection of shows from preschool and tween to adult audiences, we can meet the needs of a wide client base.”
Bin Buddies is a 3D non-dialogue comedy for upper preschoolers. “It follows the wacky adventures of three garbage collectors,” Lener said. “When we were first introduced to the concept, it was love at first sight because the idea of binmen has never been done before.”
Also on the slate are Pepper’s Dreams, a 52 x 11 mins show aimed
our
Millimages’ binmen cash in on trash
at six- to nine-year-olds, and Galaxy Pizza, targeted at older children. Millimages also has a large catalogue of completed shows on offer, including flagship series Mo -
Millimages’ Bonnie Lener
‘Love at first sight’
lang. The company has just made a YouTube spinoff of the show, and is exploring the potential for launching new IP on social platforms to test its appeal.
top buyers from 45 countries to St Tropez, to give them an intimate first-look at the show.”
Travels With Agatha Christie With Sir David Suchet (Sphere Abacus)
Global Agency’s Izzet Pinto
Global Agency’s guests have fun in St Tropez
Seeking more partners in crime for Bright North’s show FBI True
TRUE crime is experiencing a boom, with audiences around the world increasingly drawn to the “relatable” nature of the genre, according to the chief executive of the US division of Bright North Studios, Morgan Hertzan. The company is experiencing strong demand for unscripted criminal-investigation shows, Hertzan reported, both in the North America and globally.
Formerly known as Efran Films Canada, Toronto-based Bright North’s true-crime slate includes FBI True for Paramount+, represented by All3Media International. It has also produced hit shows for CBS and Vice TV.
Hertzan said broadcasters are showing particular enthusiasm for FBI True, which sees real FBI
officers who were involved in high-profile crimes reunite to review the cases. “There’s a real demand for true stories, especially criminal stories,” he added. “True crime is something that people can universally relate to.”
All3Media is now in the process of selling the fifth series to international broadcasters. The show has already been picked up in by Skai TV for Greece and The Walt Disney Company CEE.
The fifth season of FBI True, which premiered in the US last week, features the Madoff Ponzi scandal, the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and the McDonald’s Monopoly Scam.
The show brings former officers together in a relaxed setting, usually a bar, where they discuss, unscripted, the details of cases
and the ways in which they were eventually solved.
In September Bright North was bought by RedBird IMI, becoming the latest in a series of high-profile
acquisitions by the US media investment firm. The deal resulted in the return of the two founders of Efran Films, including Hertzan, who has left his role as head of Vice TV to re-join the company. Previous acquisitions by RedBird, led by chief executive Jeff Zucker, include All3Media. Zucker will take a seat on the board of Bright North.
YouTube ‘valuable’ for doc distribution
GOOGLE’s YouTube is becoming a much bigger priority for documentary distribution, given its explosive growth in viewership and its advertising revenue shares, according to
‘The windows of exclusivity are narrowing down’
Sideways Film’s MIPCOM CANNES programme slate is aimed at cap turing the cultural zeitgeist, Solera added. Among the company’s new offerings are: Dangerous Games: Roblox And The Metaverse Ex posed, a special about how sexual predators and right-wing activists are infiltrating kids’ gaming plat forms; Sex Robot Madness, which explores the engineering behind sex robots and humans’ strange emotio nal attachment to the devices; and Aquarius: Dreamers, Tree Huggers And Radical Ratbags, about an Aus tralian town in New South Wales that has become a destination for alternative lifestyles.
Sideways, which operates out of of fices in London and Barcelona, is also fielding two documentaries about a country very much in the news: Taiwan: On The Brink Of War and Taiwan: The Making Of A Nation.
NOVA FESTIVAL DOC IN CANNES BY OSMOSIS
SHOWCASING at MIPCOM CANNES is the 90-minute documentary We Will Dance Again, which sheds light on the October 7 terror attack at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. It is a co-production between Israel-based global entertainment studio Sipur and UK factual producer Bitachon 365, in collaboration with MGM Television, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, and Israel’s HSCC. We Will Dance Again tells the stories of a number of survivors in their own words and pieces together their exclusive video footage. Chris Grant, CEO and founder of Osmosis Global, the international distributor for the film, said: “Everyone who has worked so tirelessly over the past year to bring this incredibly shocking and important piece of work to the world is incredibly gratified by the overwhelming viewer reception it has received.”
Bright North Studios’ Morgan Hertzan
Spotlight On China forum confirms growing emphasis on audiovisual partnerships
YESTERDAY’s Spotlight On China: Forum On International Co-operation Of Audiovisual Content gathered leading media professionals from China and around the world to explore new opportunities for collaboration in the rapidly expanding audiovisual industry.
The forum, organised by the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) under the guidance of China’s National Radio and Television Administration, took place during a particularly meaningful year, as it coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France and the celebration of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism. This dual commemoration set the tone for discussions centered on deepening cultural and media ties between
the two nations and beyond.
HE Cao Shumin, minister of the National Radio and Television Administration of China, opened the ses-
sion by emphasising the significant influence of Chinese audiovisual content on the global market. “The continuous emergence of high-qua-
China Pavilion: 21 years, 30 producers and 177 stories
THE CHINA Pavilion has returned to MIPCOM CANNES for the 21st consecutive year, offering an expansive showcase of the country’s latest content.
The pavilion provides an opportunity for China to engage with global exhibitors and explore potential areas for collaboration. Under the theme Where Stories Evolve the pavilion is a reflection of China’s contribution to the global audiovisual landscape. The events opened yesterday with the Forum On International Co-operation Of Audiovisual Content. Other highlights include the Wisdom In China 2024: Chinese Original Formats Showcase, and a special Audiovisual Cultural And Creative Showcase.
Located in the Palais, the China Pavilion features 177 productions, from traditional martial-arts epics to cutting-edge contemporary dramas, from more than 30 of China’s top content creators, distributors and broadcasters.
The focus of this year’s China delegation is collaboration. In recent years, the increase in exchanges between China and other countries has led to significant developments in content creation and technological innovation. These collaborations have also resulted in a wider range of audiovisual experiences for global audiences. Events such as the Forum On International Co-operation Of Audiovisual Content and the Wisdom In China 2024: Chinese Original For-
lity dramas transcends time and space, telling real, three-dimensional and comprehensive Chinese stories to the world audience,” Cao said. She highlighted China’s commitment to global co-operation through international co-productions, positioning the country as a leader in both content creation and cultural exchange.
Fang Shizhong, president of SMG, echoed these sentiments, stressing the importance of fostering partnerships to promote mutual understanding. “SMG is devoted to presenting the people’s stories with metropolitan styles, Chinese aesthetics and the common values of humanity,” he said. Fang also pointed to SMG’s focus on innovation, referencing its plans to launch 4K Ultra-HD channels for Dragon TV in 2025, which will further advance China’s technological edge in broadcasting.
The forum underscored China’s dedication to strengthening its international presence in the audiovisual sector.
mats Showcase are designed to pro mote innovative solutions for crea ting and distributing content that appeals to international audiences.
The Wisdom In China 2024 show case highlights original Chinese formats and creative concepts that have successfully made their mark at home and are primed for global adaptation.
One of the pavilion’s stand-out fea tures is the Audio-Visual Cultural And Creative Showcase, which blends traditional Chinese culture with modern storytelling. Visitors can expect to encounter histori cal martial-arts dramas alongside contemporary TV series, reflecting China’s unique blend of history, culture and modernity.
The China Pavilion also shines a light on the evolving animation sector, music variety shows and the latest in youth-targeted creative content. Many of these works have already gained traction internationally.
Where Stories Evolve: Spotlight On China
Wisdom In China 2024: Chinese Original Formats Showcase Wednesday, 11.00–12.00, Palais 3 Audi A
Audio-Visual Cultural And Creative Showcase
Every day from 09.00-17.00, China Pavilion, Palais 1
Fang Shizhong
HE Cao Shumin
New animated movie follows story of Holocaust survivor
THE ANIMATED film, Survivor:
The True Story Of One Boy’s Journey Through The Holocaust, will be shown at a world-first screening today at 13.30 in Audi K. The new animation tells the true story of a boy who survived the Holocaust and a tortuous existence in numerous Nazi concentration camps. The screening will be attended by animator Zoom Rockman, marking his debut as a director, alongside the film’s screenwriter, producer and executive producer.
Also in Cannes for the screening is the film score’s award-winning composer, Erran Baron Cohen.
The film follows Holocaust survivor Ivor Perl BEM, who with his brother was taken to Auschwitz at the age of 12.
Perl’s account of the war and his time in the camps was recorded in the biography Chicken Soup Under The Tree, published by Lemon Soul, on which Survivor is based. Lemon Soul has also produced the movie.
Perl’s life was spared initially by the Polish fellow prisoners who, on the cattle trucks heading to Auschwitz, yelled out in Yiddish that all young boys should claim to be 16 or over.
Had he told the truth to the guards about his real age, Perl would have been killed in a gas chamber as soon as he arrived at Auschwitz.
Survivor plays out numerous harrowing scenes from Perl’s accounts, which have been adapted for the screen by screenwriter Kate Lennard.
a year, with the blessing of Perl himself. After today’s screening the team, led by Rachel Mansson, founder of distribution company BYO Collective, will press ahead with efforts to secure international broadcast deals and further screenings, many of which are likely to be in the educational sector.
Amazon MGM ramps up movie releases
‘A huge shift ... we opened up selling our own product off service’
tribution. “It’s all the films that are going to be premiering on Amazon Prime Video plus all of our theatrical films all on a pre-sale basis. So it’s a huge shift that was started a year ago when we opened up sel-
ling our own product off service.”
The company is also launching its sale of Earth Abides at a MIPCOM CANNES screening at 16.40 today in Audi A.
The limited series from MGM+, stars Alexander Ludwig and Jessi-
ca Dukes and is based on George R Stewart’s classic sci-fi novel.
“It’s sort of the progenitor of all of the post-apocalyptic fiction that has come to television,” Ottinger said.
“We’ve had a bunch of pre-sale activity already. We pre-sold it in Australia to Stan, and we have a multi-territory offer on the table right now.”
On the format front Ottinger pointed to the huge success of American Gladiators, which reformatted as Gladiators in the UK and delivered over 10 million viewers on BBC. A new version is being made for Prime Video and in France for TF1.
Amazon MGM is also offering the Prime Video original series The GOAT, which assembles the best and worst stars of reality television and puts them together in a classic reality format to establish who is the greatest of all time.
Led by producer Sally Vaughan and executive producer, Nigel Canin, the project has been completed in less than
Zoom Rockman
Amazon MGM’s Chris Ottinger
It’s elementary: FilmRise unveils Sherlock Holmes FAST channel
FILMRISE, the New York Citybased film and television studio and streaming network, has added six new channels to its offering of 380 FAST channels worldwide. These include the first-ever FAST channel dedicated to series revolving around the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. The announcement was made today at MIPCOM CANNES by FilmRise CEO and co-founder Danny Fisher. FilmRise’s six new channels include The Sherlock Holmes Channel, which offers tales adapted from the iconic works of Arthur Conan Doyle; Z Nation, which features the zombie-apocalypse drama series; Continuum, which follows the exploits of Detective Kiera Cameron, a cop from the year 2077; FilmRise Drama, which focuses on character-driven series and mo -
vies; Sheriffs: El Dorado County, which chronicles the daily duties and challenges of the El Dorado Sheriff’s Department in Northern California; and Iron Chef en Español, a series that blends the excitement of one-on-one sports with the heat of cooking competitions. All will be available globally.
Jonitha Keymoore, head of content at FilmRise, said: “FilmRise has a massive footprint with our FASTchannels and we continue to grow as we see success both in our content and our distribution capability. We look for content with IP awareness — in the case of the Sherlock Holmes channel, it’s a beloved property. Ultimately, FilmRise is really adept at identifying content that has the capability to find wide audience affinity.”
A new adventure in convergence
A COMPANY promising to revolutionise the media landscape by accelerating the convergence of gaming and video content will host a screening and demonstration of its interactive technology this morning.
Adventr, the creation of chief executive Devon ‘Devo’ Harris, offers a suite of tools to enable the production of interactive video content for use in a multitude of potential settings. The concept is based on the notion that users of platforms prefer to be active rather than passive, and that the natural progression of platforms like Twitch — a social network built around gaming — is to host more interactive functions.
Adventr claims to be the first platform to license content directly from games publishers for the purpose of global streaming. MIPCOM CANNES is the com -
pany’s first international market.
Harris said: “We’re introducing the companies and people here to a new way of thinking and new possibilities with their media. We’re making entertainment and information and delight a lot more scalable and interactive.”
Harris believes Adventr’s software is on the verge of transforming the industry: “We’ve actually invented technology that allows people to talk to the content on their TV and to play games with streamed content on their TV or any device. Imagine a singing game show where you can sing along with the show. That’s how we see the future of entertainment.”
New York-based former music producer Harris, who won a Grammy Award in 2006, has secured financial backing for Adventr from stars, including musician John Legend.
TONI BRAXTON TO SHARE FAMILY VALUES WITH UK
UN-BREAK My Heart singer Toni Braxton is set to hit UK screens following a deal with AMC Networks International UK, which has licensed seven seasons of reality show Braxton Family Values from GRB Media Ranch.
The series follows the lives and loves of the Grammy Award-winning artist and her sisters Traci, Towanda, Trina and Tamar, who grew up together in Maryland and were signed to Arista Records. The series also chronicles the sisters’ conflicts and medical dramas, including the tragic death at the age of 50 of Traci.
“We licensed the show for our AVOD AMC Reality on ITVX,” said Charlotte Wood, head of acquisitions at AMC Networks International UK. Braxton Family Values, which was initially produced for We TV in the US, has aired on networks around the world, including M-Net in South Africa.
Distributor GRB Media Ranch represents more than 100 formats, including its flagship series Untold Stories Of The ER, which centres on medicine practised under pressure and in unpredictable circumstances.
FilmRise’s Jonitha Keymoore
Adventr’s Devon ‘Devo’ Harris
AMC Network International UK’s Charlotte Wood (left) and GRB Media Ranch’s Sophie Ferron
India brings its biggest-ever delegation reflecting a growing creative economy
‘MIPCOM CANNES is one of the most productive markets for India’s companies’
Abhay Sinha
Council (SEPC) with support from the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and the ministry of commerce & industry. The pavilion also has state pavilions from the southern Indian states of Telangana and Karnataka which are being positioned as very progressive for the media and entertainment ecosystem.
“We have been expanding our presence at MIPCOM CANNES for the past three years as it is one of the most productive markets for India’s animation studios, film and TV distribution companies,” SEPC director general Abhay Sinha said. “The MIB has a very strong focus on building a global connect for India’s burgeoning creative
economy and the messaging is Create in India as a part of the country’s brand positioning strategy as a content hub of and for the world. Close to 70 companies from India with a delegation of 225 creative and distribution professionals are busy doing deals with global players during Mipcom 2024.’’
Among the big Indian players to be a part of the Indian pavilion is pubcaster Prasar Bharti whose CEO Gaurav Dwivedi is promoting India’s first English global news channel in DD India. According to Dwivedi, the pubcaster has been gradually adding stringers to its network of reporters and work is on with European distribution platforms to ensure it gets as deep
The Apprentice In Wonderland
THE APPRENTICE In Wonderland session tomorrow will be presented by Ramin Setoodeh, Variety co-editor in chief and the author of Apprentice In Wonderland: How Donald Trump And Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass. The book is regarded as the definitive behind-the-scenes story of the NBC series that arguably changed the course of US history.
Setoodeh will provide a comprehensive analysis of the rise of Donald Trump, sharing insights from his six on-the-record interviews. This is in addition to conversations with over 50 key players involved in The Apprentice franchise including network executives Jeff Zucker and Mark Burnett, as well as access to Trump family members, crew members, advisors and contestants.
Setoodeh said: “I interviewed Trump in my early 20s as a reporter at Newsweek, covering The Apprentice. And when he was in the White House, I remember watching him on TV and wondering if the presidency had changed him. My six interviews, which took place after he left the White House, answered that question for me. Trump hadn’t changed. He still views the world, even the presidency, through the lens of ‘putting on a show’, ratings and creating drama and division for viewers — the American public.”
Setoodeh is in no doubt that Trump’s time on The Apprentice shaped his political philosophy.
“Reality TV created Trump as a national figure in the US. And he still views the world through the lens of reality TV. He, in many ways,
governs using the tropes of reality TV — where drama, chaos and confusion are rewarded. Trump is fixated on crowd sizes because he was taught by NBC executives that’s how you get renewed, by generating big ratings.
The session is especially timely given the imminent US Presidential election. So what does Setoodeh
and as wide a penetration of it as possible. He is also looking at building relationships with other pubcasters in Europe and Latin America. The latest initiative to create a digital-streaming platform with local and international content is what is keeping the Prasar Bharti’s team busy. He is especially on the lookout for kids’ content partnerships.
The MIB has also come out with a new tax rebate and incentive policy for co-productions between Indian and foreign producers which are being promoted on the India pavilion. The Indian government is offering as much as 30% of incentives of a project’s budget to co-production initiatives.
make of the current build-up?
“This has been an unprecedented election cycle, made all the more remarkable by Joe Biden’s decision to drop out and Kamala Harris stepping in as the Democratic nominee. Trump’s first term was characterised by chaos, uncertainty and constant drama. As the star of a reality series, he thrives in chaotic environments.”
Turning to wider trends, he said:
“The biggest story in the industry right now is how Hollywood has adjusted, after last year’s strikes.
“In many cases, this has meant scaling back. But the election — and the outcome of it — will also be a big story for the industry, depending on who wins and how it changes the economic landscape and media consumption habits.”
‘‘APPRENTICE IN WONDERLAND’’ DONALD TRUMP’S RISE THROUGH REALITY TV GRAND AUDITORIUM, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 12.00-12.45
Ramin Setoodeh
Delivering gripping detective dramas
Thrilling scripted content from genre-leading creators
WOODCUT INTERNATIONAL
UK DISTRIBUTOR Woodcut International presents a new documentary series to buyers at MIPCOM CANNES. Commissioned by A+E Networks EMEA and produced by Woodcut Media, Faces Of Evil (6 x 45 MINS) revisits the flawed investigations into some of the most notorious killers in the US and UK. These include the socalled Death House Landlady Dorothea Puente, who managed to fool everyone into thinking she was harmless for over a decade, before she was arraigned on nine counts of murder in California, and the Kansas City Butcher, Robert Berdella Jr, who kidnapped, raped and murdered at least six young men in the 1980s, before the law finally caught up with him. The series explores the missteps and flawed procedures, which resulted in these killers evading conviction for so long, and the persistence of those who brought them to justice. Woodcut International is handling worldwide sales.
ONLY DISTRIB
FRENCH distributor Only Distrib is at MIPCOM CANNES with a slate of new content. True-crime series Left To Their Own (5 x 26 mins) investigates the disappearance of children in the 1980s in the Azores. They were allegedly sold to American couples who worked at the Lajes military base. Nearly 40 years later, some of these children are shedding light on the story. Other priorities include: Eating: The Power To Save The Ocean (1 x 90 mins/52 mins); and World In Sight (8 x 26 mins).
TOON2TANGO
KIDS and family specialist Toon2Tango brings a MIPCOM CANNES slate that includes: Agent 203 (26 x 22 mins), about Zoe, who finds out her dad used to be a secret agent protecting the planet from aliens, and then follows in his footsteps; Monster Loving Maniacs (52 x 11 mins), about three siblings trained as monster hunters by their grandfather; and The Wee Littles (46 x 5 mins), for three- to six-year-olds, about a family of very small creatures living in a forest. Available next year, and previewing at MIPCOM CANNES, is Hey Fuzzy Yellow (52 x 11 mins), a 2D series for kids aged three to five, with a magazine-style format based on early-education concepts. Scheduled for early 2025, Dinomite & Lucy (39 x 11 mins) is set in an a prehistoric world where dinosaurs are the superior species, and Showtime is a 2D concept, soon entering production, about kids setting up their own musical-theatre show.
THE MOST recent scripted series acquired by Keshet International (KI) is Save The Date (6 x 60 mins), which is also available as a format. Wedding planner Dassy’s grandmother casts a spell to summon up true love, but it goes wrong and Dassy is propositioned by four potential suitors. KI is also launching two dramas. Valhalla Project follows a climate researcher who travels to Finnish Lapland to seek access to a parallel universe with the hopes of finding solutions to the climate crisis — a parallel universe researched by her Russian-scientist father, who disappeared over 30 years ago. In The 11th Body (7 x 60 mins), police detective Iris Abramov suspects foul play when an additional corpse appears in the lab of a medical school. Other drama titles include: Rough Diamonds, Echo 3, Too Much Love and Conflict.
Dinomite & Lucy (Toon2Tango)
Valhalla Project (Keshet International)
Faces Of Evil (Woodcut Media)
Distrib)
LOOKS FILM
GERMANY’s Looks Film is prioritising two titles at MIPCOM CANNES. A World Divided is a six-episode historical series, seamlessly integrating never-before-seen archival footage with drama. From Germany, Israel and France, to the US and Russia, the series follows the dreams and struggles of six different men and women whose destinies touch the nexus of power — Wernher von Braun, Hedwig Höß, Nikita Khrushchev, Joan Hinton, Golda Meir and Frantz Fanon. Mao (3 x 52 mins) is a comprehensive exploration of Mao Zedong, his beliefs and his methods. It shows how these have shaped the philosophy and reality of today’s China, with unique archives and interviews with contemporary witnesses, historians, journalists and other experts.
PARAMOUNT GLOBAL CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
HIGHLIGHTS for MIPCOM CANNES from Paramount Global Content Distribution include: NCIS: Origins, which follows a young Leroy Jethro Gibbs in 1991, years prior to the events of the original NCIS series, and is narrated by Mark Harmon. In the series, Gibbs starts his career as a new special agent at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office; Matlock, starring Kathy Bates as a brilliant septuagenarian who rejoins the workforce at a prestigious law firm where she uses her unassuming demeanour and wily tactics to win cases; and Poppa’s House, starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr, about a radio talk-show host who is challenged by a new female co-presenter.
Delivering sparkling prime time programming
Thrilling scripted content from genre-leading creators
A World Divided (Looks Film)
DAEHAN MEDIAWORLD
NEW PROGRAMMING from Korea’s Daehan Mediaworld includes How Architecture Is About (8 x 52 mins), a look at how to understand the ways we inhabit buildings, looking at the role that architecture plays in today’s society. Tasty Born (4 x 52 mins) looks at some of the unique recipes in famous Korean cities. There is a huge range of dishes on offer, reflecting the culinary heritage and pride in the gastronomic identities of different areas.
FILM.UA DISTRIBUTION
FILM.UA Distribution unveils My Dear Mother, a chilling six-part psychological Nordic-noir drama series, at MIPCOM CANNES. My Dear Mother tells the story of Alina, a woman trapped in a living nightmare when she is accused of murdering her mother. The narrative probes the unsettling complexities of victimhood and manipulation, challenging viewers to explore the possibilities of truth and deception. The project is a collaborative effort between Estonia’s Elisa and Zolba Productions, and Ukrainian media group Film.UA. Film.UA Distribution oversees global distribution.
My Dear Mother (Film.UA Distribution)
How Architecture Is About (Daehan Mediaworld)
MIAM! DISTRIBUTION
MIAM! Animation unveils the first episode of its new 3D series, The Tinies (52 x 11 mins + 52 x 3 mins), a co-production with Panique! and Lunanime, commissioned by Canal+ and VRT. The comedy, aimed at four to seven-year-olds, is set in Attic Town, and the series includes tutorials blending real-time, stop-motion and 2D animation, fostering creativity, promoting DIY projects and building self-confidence. Another highlight is Our Summer Of Freedom (6 x 26 mins), set in 1950s Algiers, which explores themes of community, social justice and intergenerational dialogue.
MEDIASET DISTRIBUTION
MEDIASET Distribution, the sales arm of Mediaset Italy, highlights a range of new titles in Cannes. Scripted shows include: The Corsaro Brothers (4 x 100 mins), based on the novels of Salvo Toscano, a detective series set in Palermo mixing family dynamics with crime-solving; the second season of The Good Family (16 x 50 mins), a drama set in 1990s Bari, as Maria fights to protect her community from criminal organizations; and light-crime series Alex Bravo (12 x 50 mins). The unscripted line-up includes: the return of kids’ singing competition, Io Canto Generation (6 x 150 mins), in which 10- to 15-year-olds are coached by celebrities; reality comedy Max Working (4 x 110 mins), featuring stand-up comedian Max Angioni; and Back To School (11 x 50 mins), a game show in which children become teachers and celebrities become students.
The Corsaro Brothers (Mediaset Distribution)
The Tinies (Miam! Distribution)
LEONINE STUDIOS
GERMANY’s Leonine Studios latest production is eco-thriller The Seed, featuring a young environmental journalist’s sudden disappearance in the stunning landscapes of northern Norway. The incident ignites a police chase with global repercussions in this tale of power, deception and the fight for food supply. Another priority title is set in the sun-soaked, crocodile-infested waters of North Queensland, Australia. Troppo, based on Candice Fox’s Crimson Lake novels, features ex-cop Ted Conkaffey and brilliant ex-con detective Amanda Pharrell as they navigate a shadowy world of dark secrets. The second season centres on a double murder and the duo are forced to battle rising dangers to prove a local teen’s innocence.
ZONE3
CANADA’s Zone3 is presenting Legends Of Likes (8 x 30 mins) at MIPCOM CANNES, a spoof reality series in which four fame-hungry youths compete to become the ultimate influencer, taking part in challenges presented by the unscrupulous host. From the unscripted genre comes Toolbox Throwdown (10 x 60 mins), a new competition reality format that sees DIY enthusiasts trying to impress the judges in order to avoid ‘Catastrophe House’. In the daily reality competition format Build It To Win It (40 x 30 mins), 12 couples battle it out in a two-house renovation showdown over 10 weeks. One of the couples will see their dream come true and become homeowners.
ANIMAJ
PARIS-based Animaj is launching the new iteration of the character Pocoyo at MIPCOM CANNES. The fifth season is currently in production, with 52 seven-minute episodes. In the upcoming heart-warming series Pocoyo takes on a new role as a big brother with the arrival of his sister Bea. Pocoyo and his friends, along with Bea, embark on adventures and discoveries, as they learn about the enduring magic of friendship.
ENCORE TELEVISION
HORROR drama Crows (6 x 45 mins) is the story of a series of gruesome murders. Gabrielle, a young rebellious investigator, newly settled in the area, must team up with Clémence, a veteran investigator on the verge of retirement, to investigate the crimes. From the factual slate for Canada’s Encore Television comes The Good Virus (1 x 52 mins), a documentary that explores phage therapy, a revolutionary treatment for life-threatening bacterial infections. As the global medical community is out of solutions for drug-resistant superbugs, scientists are turning to bacteria’s ancient enemy: bacteriophages.
ZED
AT MIPCOM CANNES Zed highlights premium history titles to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. The Sound And The Fury (4 x 52 mins), due in early 2025, features archives and animation and was produced by Program33 for France 2. Auschwitz, Voices Of Survivors (5 x 45 mins) is a poignant testimony through the words of 46 Jewish survivors, produced by Kuiv Productions and INA for FTV, Česká Televize, Canal+ Polska and TV5 Monde. The Nazis’ Cut And Run (1 x 52 mins) investigates the Catholic Church’s secret network that helped Nazis flee Europe, produced by Muse Médias and La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse for FTV, with delivery scheduled for November 2025.
ABC COMMERCIAL
ABC COMMERCIAL’s MIPCOM CANNES roster includes: new drama Ladies In Black (6 x 60 mins), starring Debi Mazar and Miranda Otto, set in a world of 1960s fun and fashion; White Fever (6 x 30 mins), a new comedy about a Korean-Australian adoptee who sets out to ‘reprogramme’ her romantic and sexual leanings; and factual titles I Was Actually There (6 x 30 mins), Maggie Beer’s Big Mission (3 x 60 mins) and the third season of Muster Dogs (4 x 60 mins). From the kids slate comes: pre-school series Fizzy & Suds (26 x 15 mins); sci-fi coming-of-age series Planet Lulin (10 x 30 mins); family series Show Me The Honey (7 x 30 mins); Ready, Steady, Wiggle!; a Wiggles country-music special; and Gardening Australia Junior (20 x 15 mins).
Crows (Encore Television)
Troppo (Leonine Studios)
Planet Lulin (ABC Commercial)
Legends Of Likes (Zone3)
Pocoyo (Animaj)
The Nazis’ Cut And Run (Zed)
3BOXMEDIA
SPANISH-German distributor 3Boxmedia is at MIPCOM CANNES with four headline nature titles. Polecat. Europe’s Relentless Hunter (1 x 52 mins/4K) reveals one of Europe’s most ferocious and least-studied carnivores. Iceland: The Awakening Of Life (1 x 50 mins/4K) explores how animals overcome the island’s inhospitable territory. The line-up is completed with Greece: The Land Of Birds Of Prey (1 x 51 mins/HD) and Harrier’s Plight (1 x 52 mins/HD). Other documentaries on offer are: Revolution 3.0 (1 x 52 mins/78 mins/HD), highlighting the impact of social media on the protests in Iran; and the French production In The Shade Of The Hills (1 x 52 mins/83 mins/HD), about the efforts of a group of young people to prevent another Rwandan genocide.
DYNAMIC TELEVISION
THE THIRD series of Harry Wild (6 x 60 mins) is brought to MIPCOM CANNES by Dynamic Television. Starring Jane Seymour as a recently retired English professor who interferes with her police-detective son’s cases. Season three picks up where season two left off with Fergus, guided by Harry, planning to contest a custody claim. Other priorities for the US distributor include Swedish drama The Pirate’s Bay (6 x 45 mins), based on the true story of a team who created one of the world’s largest BitTorrent indexes; and romantic drama Dates In Real Life (7 x 30 mins), about a twentysomething who turns her back on her digital world in order to find a real-world partner.
Polecat. Europe’s Relentless Hunter (3Boxmedia)
Dates In Real Life (Dynamic Television)
CHINA’s Huace Group headlines its MIPCOM CANNES slate with two of its latest drama series. Snowy Night: Timeless Love follows a rebellious swordsman who, when looking for medicine for a friend’s son, meets a master herbalist. Over eight years the two gradually deepen their affection, but due to their responsibilities, they are unable to properly express their love. In Bank On Me a deputy director of the credit approval department of a bank is relegated to the bottom branch of the office, with his colleague and best friend, because of the unwillingness to allow what he thought were problematic loans. He then sets up a team to challenge the system while striving to maintain the rules of the banking industry.
GOLDBEE
GOLDBEE, a kids and family distributor from Barcelona, introduces heartwarming animated upper-preschool musical series DoReMi Dalimi at MIPCOM CANNES. Produced by Seoulbased Sunwoo & Company, in collaboration with KBS and Tooniverse, DoReMi Dalimi features the adventures of five-year-old Dalimi, her parents and younger sister, her kindergarten pals, her wise grandfather and loyal pet dog, and includes 79 original songs. Two seasons, totalling 39 x 11 mins, are available. A third season comprising 13 x 11 mins is in production, due for delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
AARDMAN
THE UK’s Aardman has acquired a range of third-party preschool content for distribution, including: Big Lizard (52 x 7 mins), a new 3D/CGI comedy series about a young astronaut, called Cosima, and friend Big Lizard, with themes of science and prehistory; Lí Ban (13 x 11 mins), a 2D anime series for seven- to nine-year-olds, featuring fantasy heroes and villains, and including Celtic magic and the adventures of sassy 12-year-old, Lí Ban. A second and third series, both 26 x 11 mins, are also currently in development; and Mojo Swoptops (52 x 11 mins), a 3D action and comedy series about Mojo and Bo, who are always ready to help out and have fun in their town, Swoppiton.
ABOUT PREMIUM CONTENT (APC)
APC LAUNCHES three new scripted series at MIPCOM CANNES. In Finnish-language Icebreaker (6 x 45 mins) a ship is stranded in a storm. A rescue team, led by Sanna and her colleague finds survivors — and a frozen body tied to an air vent. After losing her colleague to the icy waters, Sanna tries to find out what happened, but everyone on the ship is hiding something. Boglands (6 x 45 mins) is an Irish-language series set in an isolated village where a murder investigation begins when a police officer’s missing mother is discovered buried after 15 years. Historical drama The Council (5 x 50 mins) is a tragic war story of a father and daughter during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, each trying to do the right thing and, in the process, becoming increasingly opposed to one another. Kids titles include: Lana Longbeard (52 x 11 mins); High Hoops; and Ewilan’s Quest (8 x 26 mins).
HUACE GROUP
Bank On Me (Huace Group)
The Council (APC)
DoReMi Dalimi (GoldBee)
Big Lizard (Aardman)
Define your future in The New Content Economy
FEDERATION STUDIOS
PARIS-based production and distribution group Federation Studios comes to MIPCOM CANNES with a line-up that features several premium English- and French-language series. Sherlock And Daughter is a fresh portrayal of the famous detective, starring David Thewlis; Curfew (6 x 52 mins) is a glossy, aspirational and provocative thriller for Paramount+; and Miss Austen (4 x 60 mins) is a period drama for BBC and Masterpiece PBS. More exclusive content is set to be unveiled in Cannes.
BLUE ANT STUDIOS
PRODUCER and distributor Blue Ant Studios brings Northwoods Survival (8 x 60 mins) — a Blue Ant Studios production — to MIPCOM CANNES, which follows a diverse group of young Canadians as they embark on a challenging four-season mission: to build a life in the vast and unforgiving Canadian wilderness. The series takes in some of the country’s most remote and rugged landscapes as these aspiring homesteaders face the harsh realities of living off the land, building shelter and foraging for food and water. The Toronto-based company also brings Pride Rules (5 x 60 mins), which reveals with stunning cinematography how lion prides survive and thrive in the Chobe region of Botswana.
GWR STUDIOS
GWR Studios is relaunching kids show Officially Amazing (49 x 28 mins). Acquired by ABC Australia, this newly edited series follows Ben Shires on his mission to reveal the scariest and funniest record attempts from around the world. Also highlighted at MIPCOM CANNES is Best In The World (40 x 15 mins), a kids clip show featuring comedian Nick Frost, with segments, including: guess the winner; predict what happens next; and take on a record-breaking challenge at home. Suitable for all the family, The One Thing (26 x 15 mins) sees Guinness World Records presenters go behind the scenes to learn new skills and find out how record holders hone their talents.
MUNHWA BROADCASTING CORP (MBC)
KOREA’s MBC returns to MIPCOM CANNES with a music show that features some of the country’s most beloved and chart-topping songs. Song Stealer is a studio-based show that invites performers to take to the stage and interpret another singer’s song, in an opportunity to rediscover the charm of the originals, but from a new voice.
SIDEWAYS FILM
BARCELONA-base Sideways Film presents Fortitude: Forging The Trillion Dollar Space Economy (1 x 52 mins/90 mins) at MIPCOM CANNES. Sparked by humanity’s thirst for exploration and recent technological breakthroughs, this documentary investigates the new space renaissance. Another priority is Aquarius: Dreamers, Tree-Huggers And Radical Ratbags (1 x 52 mins/80 mins), the story of a 10-day festival in 1973 held in Nimbin in Australia, where the participants face down police interference, internal chaos, drugs and personal drama in order to imagine a blueprint for future survival. Further titles on offer include Bull Run (1 x 56 mins/80 mins), following one woman’s obsession with Crypto trading, and The Caravan (1 x 52 mins/76 mins), following a family from Honduras to the US.
TVP
HEADLINE titles for TVP (Polish Public Television) at MIPCOM CANNES include: romantic period drama Uncertainty (1 x 113 mins), which tells the story of the youthful love of the greatest Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz; Go Against The Flow (1 x 97 mins), a biographical tale of the early days of Polish punk music, marked by the struggle against the communist system; and God’s Little Republic (1 x 132 mins), depicting the adventures of the residents of an idyllic village in contemporary Poland. Other new TVP series include spy thriller Shadow Play (13 x 45 mins), set in Stalinist Poland in the 1950s; The Kings (80 x 25 mins), profiling two monarchs from the medieval Jagiellonian dynasty; and Imperfect Time (8 x 45 mins), a multi-generational saga that pays tribute to the female heroes who contributed to the Solidarity movement.
Tree-Huggers And Radical (Sideways Film)
Curfew (Federation Studios)
Uncertainty (TVP)
Pride Rules (Blue Ant Studios)
The One Thing (GWR Studios)
Song Stealer (MBC)
ZDF STUDIOS
SCRIPTED shows from Germany’s ZDF Studios include: crime dramas Weiss & Morales (4 x 90 mins), Love Sucks (8 x 30 mins) and The Puzzle Lady (6 x 60 mins); family saga The Zweiflers (6 × 45 mins); romance Top End Bub (8 x 30 mins); and Concordia (6 × 45 mins), set in a municipality of the future. The kids’ slate includes: Dinomite & Lucy (39 x 11 mins); the second season of Surviving Summer (18 x 25 mins); the third season of Zoom – The White Dolphin (52 x 12 mins); the second season of live-action Superhero Academy (20 x 15 mins); the second season of Spellbound (13 x 26 mins); and Clan - Choose Your Destiny.
ITV STUDIOS
HEADING the drama list for the UK’s ITV Studios is The Crow Girl (6 x 60 mins), a psychological crime thriller set in a dangerous world of fight clubs, murder and historical abuse. From the non-scripted slate comes Made In Korea: The K-Pop Experience (6 x 60 mins), featuring five boys from the UK who are put through the K-pop talent process in Seoul, where cameras go behind closed doors at music powerhouse SM Entertainment. The company also brings format Shark! Celebrity Infested Waters (6 x 60 mins), in which ocean-phobic celebrities come face-to-face with nature’s most terrifying underwater predators.
XILAM ANIMATION
PIGGY Builders (52 x 11 mins) follows three charismatic piggy siblings living in Fine Forest. While they are all different, they have things in common — they love building, solving problems, their community and each other. They learn that when they don’t work as a team, the projects they’re working on can go wrong. But when they work together, the impossible becomes possible. The preschool series aims to highlight team spirit, kindness and respect for others. French producer and distributor Xilam Animation’s partners for the project include France Télévisions, BBC and ZDF. Delivery is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.
MERCURY FILMWORKS
BASED on a hit YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers and over eight million views, comes a new original animated anthology horror/suspense series for tweens and teens, currently in development, Don’t Walk Home Alone After Dark (12 x 13 mins). A co-production between Canada’s Mercury Filmworks and France’s La Chouette, the series is a collection of modern folk tales that explore coming-of-age themes intended to be scary as well as heartfelt. The series embraces the crossover between podcast and lo-fi YouTube content that allows the audience to watch, listen or both. Each episode is a stand-alone mini-film, but all are part of a larger world.
NEWEN CONNECT
COMMISSIONED by TF1, Cat’s Eyes is a live-action adaptation of a 1980s cult manga story from Tsukasa Hojo, and is brought to MIPCOM CANNES by France’s Newen Connect. The series — a mix of action, romance and comedy — features the three Chamade sisters who reconnect to find out the truth about the death of their father in a mysterious fire 10 years previously. When they see an artwork belonging to him is displayed at the Eiffel Tower, they resolve to steal it. However, the heist has caught the attention of Quentin Chapuis, a police captain tasked with arresting the thieves. What he doesn’t realise is that one of them is his life-long love.
Don’t Walk Home Alone After Dark (Mercury Filmworks)
