A WARM welcome to Cannes and to a very special 61st and final edition of MIPTV. For those first-timers, I feel your excitement and wish to assure you that we will deliver a stellar market. We are set to welcome thousands of delegates from 76 countries, including 135 exhibiting companies and more than 1,200 buyers.
MIPTV — the Marché International des Programmes de Télévision — launched in Lyon, France in 1963. The first edition attracted 119 companies from 19 countries. Cannes became our irreplaceable home in 1965 in what was then the old Palais Stephanie. MIPTV has since overcome volcanic dust and a global pandemic, and we end our story in 2024 on a high note.
My first MIP market with RX, then Reed MIDEM, was MIPTV in 2006. For MIP veterans, I share your warm memories of markets past and nostalgia for all that MIPTV has contributed to our personal and professional lives. We make up this unique international community of content sellers, buyers, producers, marketers and creators coming together each April across generations, geographies and genres.
We say au revoir to MIPTV, but not to the South of France. We will be back to the Palais des Festivals this October 21-24 for MIPCOM CANNES. Moving forward, all our energies on the Croisette
will be focused on our mission to deliver the mother of all entertainment markets for years to come, in partnership with the city.
This leads us to 2025, where you have likely heard, we will embark on a new chapter with the inaugural MIP LONDON, from February 24-27. Let me state emphatically it has never been a case of relocating MIPTV, which is intrinsically tied to the city of Cannes. But rather acknowledging transformation in the industry and an already-busy events calendar that needed action and consolidation.
MIP LONDON is an all-new venture and will take place the same week as next year’s London TV Screenings. We invite you to learn more this Tuesday at 17.15 at the Riviera Stage for a preview of what to expect, followed by a reception where we can answer your questions.
We thank YOU the international TV industry for your support of MIPTV and tip our hats in gratitude to the city of Cannes for hosting us over these many years.
Award-winning producer, director and founder of Trilogy Films, Dawn Porter, is to give a keynote address to the global documentary community at MIPDOC in Cannes. She spoke to Julian Newby ahead of MIPTV 2024
DAWN PORTER, founder of Trilogy Films, is known for a body of work that focuses on socially and politically significant moments in recent history, and the individuals that shape them.
Her latest film, 2023’s The Lady Bird Diaries, paints a complex portrait of one of the most influential but least understood First Ladies of the US.
“I’m interested in politics and the people involved. I’m interested in what makes people do the extraordinary things they do,” Porter said. “For example how Lady Bird navigated being in the White House when she didn’t expect to be there.”
Her style is to go deep into her subjects rather than to look for the gratuitously controversial, she said. “I don’t think that you need to shock people in order to have them enjoy your work. I certainly like surprise, but I think audiences are smarter than people give them credit for and I think they like to sink into a story. So I like to find something that they can discover.”
For example in 2021, she directed and executive produced The Me You Can’t See, a multi-part documentary series for Apple TV with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, that focused on mental illness and mental wellbe -
ing. Porter said it came as something of a shock to see how Harry was being treated by elements of the British media at the moment when she found herself working with a serious and sympathetic man. “He was a really terrific
“It’s more important than ever to cultivate your relationships, and to be proactive in doing that”
partner,” she said. “And we’d hear about things that he was supposed to have done and we knew it wasn’t true, because he wasn’t doing this or that, he was working with us. And we certainly got an insight into why he’s so frustrated and is working so hard to protect his family. I have a lot of empathy for him. He is trying to understand and to find connections with people struggling with mental wellness.”
Meanwhile the market for factual programming, generally, is difficult at this moment. Consolidation among the big broadcast and digital platforms initially means fewer customers and factual producers and distributors are feeling the pressure. “The budgets are just not there at the moment and so some rates might have to come down,” she said. “But I’m always optimistic. We’re always confronted with new things — that can be annoying, but that’s what we signed up for.” She advises producers and distributors to meet with as many networks as possible “and anyone they’ve ever worked with. But what you did for HBO five years ago is not going to be possible today. So it’s more important than ever to cultivate your relationships, and to be proactive in doing that. Don’t just pitch without
customising your work.” And it’s “more important than ever for us to work across borders, to access money from other territories”. In Cannes, away from the MIPDOC stage, Porter is hoping to meet potential partners for a Nelson Mandela project she is developing. “I will be happy to meet people, see what they’re doing, learn from them, find out what’s working for them, what the reality is and foster some connections.”
Keynote: Trilogy Films’ Dawn Porter
Riviera Stage
Sunday, April 7, 11.45-12.15
Time: A Journey Through Thousands Of Years is the subject of a Case Study session that opens the MIPDOC Co-Production Summit, which takes place on the Palais Stage on Saturday, April 6, from 11.00 to 12.50.
Marking the first-ever co-production partnership between ZDF Studios and China Media Group’s (CMG) Film, Drama and Documentary Programming Center, the two-part documentary spotlights the universal topic of time. Dr Markus Schäfer, president and CEO of ZDF Studios, described it as “a fascinating study on something familiar to us all that is so valuable but elusive. This documentary is about how we can live happier lives, not just as individuals but perhaps as a species.”
“Huge concepts like space in Cosmos and cultural history in Civilisation, were building blocks of the rise of the documentary,” moderator of the Case Study session, Peter Hamilton, founder of DocumentaryBusiness.com, said. “Today’s unscripted sweet spot is a
series that delivers unique access to a celebrity, or that reveals the notorious characters engaged in a true crime.
Time: A Journey Through Thousands Of Years teaches us that with the rightpartners and budget, success can come to docs on ‘big’ topics.” Hamilton added: “The secret of successful co-production is a mix of the right topic, the right people and the right time”.
“The session is about one of the very rare examples of a co-production between a Western European and a Chinese broadcaster,” ZDF Studios’ unscripted director, Nikolas Huelbusch, said. “During the Case Study we will explain why it is exactly the right topic for a co-production. We will also focus on the challenges and the conditions to make a collaboration with China possible. Although most programmes on the ZDF flagship slot Terra X are either commissioned or co-productions by ZDF, this is an exception. It’s a ZDF in-house production, authored and directed by Jens Monath and Heike Schmidt, that then later became a
co-production through the collaboration with ARTE and CMG.”
Of this year’s MIPDOC Co-production Summit, its presenter and producer The Bridge’s Amanda Groom, said: “As commissioning and production models move towards a more egalitarian structure,
The MIPDOC Co-Production Summit: A Vision For The Future Of Unscripted Palais Stage
Saturday, April 6, 11.00-12.50
evolution is the only constant.” She added: “This invite-only session brings together many of the best people possible to shape the future of unscripted programming.”
THE MIPDOC opening session, State Of The Unscripted Nation, focuses on a decade of change in the television industry. The panel includes: Fred Black, principal analyst, Ampere Analysis; Michael O’Connor, vice-president production and content, Insight TV; Yuko Fukuyama, producer, NHK; J Kevin Swain, producer/director, The 339 Company; and Off the Fence CEO Bo Stehmeier.
“The TV industry and its business models are in flux. In order to navigate these uncertain waters, companies need to return to their core
functions, values, creativity and operations,” Stehmeier said. “Once we have done that, we can reach out and reshape the industry. We know from the evolution of the music and magazine business this will feel like a blood bath, but I see the non-scripted space coming back through the ranks very fast — especially non-scripted delivered below the price point of an average scripted project. Scripted had a lot of attention over the years, but like with the death of the dinosaurs, you will now see the ‘smaller genres’ take over the ecosystem.”
TERRANOA presents a special screening of The Birth Of Impressionism, written and directed by Julien Johan and Hugues Nancy, based on new research and unpublished correspondence, bringing back to life Paris in the 1870s with rare archives and unique 3D recreations. In April 1874, in Paris, a group of young painters shunned by the official Salon and mocked by the classical masters, organise their first exhibition. Among them: Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Morisot, Degas, Sisley and Pissarro. How did the public and critics react to the exhibition? Who helped progress their careers and made them famous in London, Berlin and New-York?
A co-production with ARTE France, Musee D’orsay and Gedeon Programmes, this documentary looks back at this key moment in the history of art. Distribution is by Paris-based Terranoa.
Paris 1874: The Birth Of Impressionism (Terranoa)
Paris 1874: The Birth Of Impressionism
Screening presented by Gedeon Programmes/ Terranoa
Auditorium K
Sunday, April 7, 11.00-11.30
THE MIPDOC Pitch is a contest spotlighting documentary and factual TV projects in development, with a focus on their potential across all platforms.
Creators and producers in search of financing or collaboration compete for the chance to present their projects to a jury of influential decision-makers within the global documentary and factual-content industry, live on the MIPDOC stage. Submitted projects were reviewed by an international jury of commissioners and the five finalists present their projects on the MIPDOC stage on Saturday, April 6.
MIPDOC Pitch juror Dr Kristina Hollstein, director, documentary acquisitions and co-productions at ZDF, said most important for a good pitch is “structure. It has to to be clear from the very first slide — what is the project about, what is the USP and what is the format, the budget, the timing and who are already confirmed partners? This is information that can be provided on one slide and does not need more than 30 seconds.” She added: “Then you can start to go into details of the project. And, of course, the convincing content drives the decision-making, but broadcasters like us need to consider format information from the very beginning.”
Juror Jack Oliver, head of co-production at Sky, said; “Everyone one is inspired by depth of storytelling, first and foremost; it’s the compelling component that everyone is seeking — a scale of ambition and a distinctive tone that will entertain and provoke talkability,” he said. “Audiences are at the heart of all decision-making, so think about the story and the audience for it.”
Moderator for the session Ruth Berry from UK-based natural history
content developer Wildberry, said that producers shouldn’t feel constrained by what’s currently popular. “Hitler, mummies and sharks with big teeth are programming perennials. True crime remains strong but it’s a competitive market — exclusive access, new perspectives and innovative storytelling are key.” She adds: “If you have a story with exclusive access, if you are the only person who can tell that story, and if you can inspire a commissioning editor to care about it, then it may not matter if the project doesn’t fit within their programming requirements. If the broadcaster you pitch to is behind your project they will champion it within their network.”
Lauren Billingsley, senior manager, global acquisitions at National Geographic Channels, also features on the live jury, along with Perrine Poubeau, deputy head, international co-productions and acquisitions, factual, at France Televisions
and Tracy Beckett, commissioning editor, coproduction and acquisitions, PBS Distribution.
• Foxtrot Films’ Women At War –The Invisible Army, was a finalist at last year’s MIPDOC Pitch. It didn’t leave with the prize, but was taken up by Jack Oliver’s department at Sky. The film follows women war artists and photographers. “I believe that the female perspective on conflict through art has the power to reveal unimaginable truths,” the film’s creator Margy Kinmonth said. The film gets a theatrical release in 2024 before airing on Sky Arts.
THE MIPDOC PITCH
Riviera Stage
Saturday, April 6, 16.15–17.30
is
From 2023, Michelle Lin, head of data and analysis at UK-based research company K7 Media, will present for the first time, at MIPTV, market intelligence in the formats sector, based on sales data for the year 2023.
One finding is that in some parts of the sector people are playing it safe. “The global format market weathered another dynamic year in 2023, marked by challenges in various international territories amid a shifting economic landscape,” Lin said ahead of her presentation, an exclusive for MIPFORMATS. “Against the backdrop of dwindling TV advertising revenues and tighter programme budgets, broadcasters navigated cautiously, gravitating towards formats with established success stories.”
This response to economic uncertainty was evident in the resurgence of classic formats and beloved franchises, making a triumphant return to screens worldwide,” she said, “Notably, the realms of quiz and game shows emerged as leaders in this revival, offering broadcasters cost-effective production options, flexibility in execution, and the potential for high-volume output. As networks sought stability and audience engagement in uncertain times, these enduring formats reclaimed their positions as pillars of the industry.
The top-three selling territories re-
main at the top. “Looking at the territories that exported the most formats in 2023, K7 Media saw little change among the top-three markets, which have traditionally been the UK, US and the Netherlands,” she said. ”Moving further down the list of top format exporters in 2023, we also observed positive growth for Japan, Belgium and France, while in South Korea we saw some year-on-year declines as the roll-out for The Masked Singer slows down following its global domination in previous years.”
“We observed positive growth for Japan, Belgium and France”
In unscripted generally, entertainment is slightly up and factual, slightly down. “While the number of new reality launches only grew slightly year-on-year to represent one quarter of all new launches in 2023, there were more significant gains in the number of entertainment launches (up from 47% to 53%) with corresponding declines for factual entertainment
Tracking the Giants: Analysing Global Format Sales from 2023
Presented by K7 Media
Riviera Stage
Saturday, April 6, 12.00-12.30
series (down from 28% to 21%),” Lin said. “However within the reality genre, the growth in popularity for adventure-reality shows has been an emerging genre trend over the past few years, both in terms of revivals of classic formats and newer formats which both gained multiple brand new launches versions in 2023.”
The top-three buying territories for 2023 were Germany, Spain and Belgium. “Germany remained the top format buyer in 2023, with more than one third of new adaptations (38%) coming from formats originated in the US. The largest proportion of imported formats into Spain came from UK- and
K7 Media’s Michelle Lin
Dutch-originated titles,” Lin said. “Belgium remained stable year-onyear, with UK-originated formats making up more than one half of new adaptations last year.”
Big news is that The Masked Singer’s remarkable reign at the top of the best-selling unscripted format charts every year since 2019, finally came to an end. But “a new successor has emerged to claim the throne for 2023,” Lin said. “The identity of this year’s champion remains shrouded in mystery, awaiting revelation at the upcoming MIPFORMATS opening session. Stay tuned to uncover the latest sensation that has captured the industry’s attention!”
Directed by Dylan River
DISTRIBUTED BY
A Ludo Studio & Since1788 Production for Stan with production funding from Screen Australia and in association with South Australian Film Corporation, Screen Queensland & Screen Territory
8x30’ / 4x60’ DramaHELD DURING the MIPTV pre-opening weekend, the MIPFORMATS Pitch is staged for the first time in partnership with ZDF Studios. Following a global call for entries, the pitch will see a shortlist of five finalists selected to present their concepts to a jury of international format experts. One winner will be selected. Ralf Rückauer, vice-president unscripted at ZDF Studios — and a MIPFORMATS Pitch juror — said: “All popular shows known to a large, global audience are based on a simple but clever idea — but they are not easy to find. With RX France, we are looking forward to finding that next big hit. In addition to the prize money of €2,000, we want to create additional value for the winners through coaching and mentoring from format specialists at ZDF Studios.”
Current downward pressure on budgets creates “a kind of risk aversion among clients,” Rückauer said, which he’s seeing in many “more-ofthe-same” formats — reboots of formats with a proven track record, even if they have high budgets.
The current risk-aversion is a key reason why ZDF Studios decided to come on board as a sponsor. “For us as a distributor it is almost impossible to realise a format without a broadcaster. That’s why the MIPFORMATS Pitch competition is an excellent opportunity to provide a platform for talent and to see what ideas and potential are still out there.”
Jury members also include Glow Media founder Siobhan Crawford, who agrees that the current big trends in the global entertainment sector are: “Proven formats and big entertainment. These are not new, and they are forever trends, but they seem to really matter currently. And this makes the Pitch more important than ever. “The fact
people keep trying to come up with new ideas is vital. Formats are about knocking ideas around until one sticks and good feedback is essential.” She added: “For me originality, plus a well formatted structure, will be the things I look for.”
But a win isn’t the only goal: “Personal reputation and brand building is what can be achieved at this Pitch. You might not get the first format commissioned, but the quality of your work and innovation will get you noticed.”
Also on the jury are Julien Degroote, executive vice-president, head of content development, TF1 le Groupe; Ilan Astrug, vice-president, formats acquisition and sales at Warner Bros. International TV Production/Warner Bros. UK; and Ella Umansky, vice-president format acquisitions at ITV Studios, who said: “With limited spend, broadcasters and platforms are looking either for big-scale and splashy content, or volume, repeatable and cost-effective.” She added: “The dream is to find the next non-scripted ‘mechanism’ that can be translated into different genres. I’d love to see a new approach to judging — how do we move on from a panel of experts, or a classic audience vote?.”
Like her fellow jurors, Umansky sees the competition as an opportunity to nurture new talent: “Broadcasters and distributors need to be pulling ideas from a broader, more diverse pool,” she said. “Only by working with new creatives with different experiences will we avoid just re-making the same show.”
The MIPFORMATS Pitch, sponsored by ZDF Studios Riviera Stage Sunday, April 7, 16:30-17.45
25, LGH Entertainment
Twenty-five people in the age range of 18-60 come together to challenge their bodies against the average 25-year-old.
A.I. Of The Beholder, developer David Tobiasz
Real people seeking change let a custom AI bot named ‘Pandora’ make all their life decisions for them for 30 days. What happens when every aspect of a person’s life and fate is determined by AI?
The Stupid House, Chulapo Pictures
Celebs play dumb to avoid elimination— because kicking out the smartest ones means more jackpot cash. The last one standing donates the final sum to charity.
Unknown Champions, developer Philipp Sindermann
Celebrities pick a candidate from a conveyor belt to represent them in the next game. But they don’t know anything about the candidates. The only thing they can rely on is intuition.
Villa Incognito, Tuvalu Media
Nine celebrities in disguise spend six hours together in one villa. Do the well-known candidates know which other celebrities they are spending an afternoon with?
The big reveal is ‘vital to almost every genre’
FORMATS have never been in greater demand, with broadcasters and streamers vying for the rights to shows that have either stood the test of time or been hits in other territories. The buzz of activity around originals including The Traitors and The 1% Club, and reboots like Wheel Of Fortune and Deal Or No Deal all prove the point.
But what exactly are buyers after in Q2, 2024? That’s the $64,000 question in MIPFORMATS: Commissioning: What Do Buyers Want?. In this session, delegates hear from unscripted TV experts on current global format trends and acquisition and development strategies. Panelists will share insights into how they identify promising formats, and what they view as zeitgeisty trends for success in the international market.
The panel is moderated by Clare Thompson, director, K7 Media, who is a student of the formats business. She hopes the discussion will explore “the tension between the desire of big broadcasters and streamers for those ‘fewer, bigger, better’ ideas that will grab audiences and subscribers; and the parallel need for high-volume, low-cost shows to deliver cheaper content in bulk. Where does this leave the middle?”
Thompson believes sessions like this provide useful insights for delegates. “What buyers want intel is more valuable than ever right now. Companies that have relied on a few buyers to keep them in business are realising that their commissioning can suddenly dry up — as it has done with
Channel 4 in the UK right now. They need to spread their bets and know where ALL the opportunities for their content might be,” she said. She added: “The most obvious trend is in the types of ‘playalong’ format that provoke audience debate and online chatter. Shows with multiple questions and reveals: Who’s behind the mask? Who’s the traitor? Did they commit the crime? Who’s really in this for love? It’s vital to almost every genre.”
Also on the panel are Banijay head of format acquisitions Helen Greatorex and Globo’s head of acquisition and co-production Guilherme Barros. Greatorex said: “From our perspective at Banijay, I would say
“There is a refreshed appetite for dating shows”
Helen Greatorex
that there is a strong global trend for reality formats with strategy and game-play woven into the show. This genre is easily scaled, and we see interest spreading through different price points and time slots.”
In this area, Banijay has had success from titles from multiple markets and sources. “We represent third-party titles like The Fortune Hotel from Tuesday’s Child which launches soon on ITV; Bloody Game from MBC Korea; and Genius Game from CJ ENM, which will be adapted by Ban-
jay label Remarkable with [actor] David Tennant hosting,” she said.
Greatorex added that there is a refreshed appetite for dating shows “and we are always on the look-out for IP with an innovative twist to complement and enhance the dating formats already in our existing catalogue, like Save The Date and Love Triangle. I’m also genuinely excited by the prospect of discovering a new primetime quiz.”
Breaking through is not easy of course. So how would she advise emerging creators? “Risks can be inherent in this business, but collaborative working helps address these and can turn into growth opportunities. At the moment, it is challenging for us to acquire paper formats without a broadcast partner, however, our recent global accelerator programme, Banijay Launch, was designed exclusively to support women creators with promising non-scripted formats.”
Globo’s Barros is hoping the panel will help him forge new connections: “I would love to encourage delegates
to connect with our team to discuss future format opportunities. We are constantly looking for content to become Brazil’s next big hit.”
Barros is particularly looking for “family shows that the entire household can watch and have fun together. Playalong elements would be a plus.”
Barros still sees an appetite for “mystery/guessing formats. It might have peaked now, but there is still a solid tendency towards new launches. Another trend to highlight is the recent boom on relaunching old formats, either with a tech or visual revamp, spin-offs, or just as a nostalgic ‘as was’.”
With some good news for creators, Clare Thompson added: “The market is hungrier than ever for creative voices.”
MIPFORMATS:
Commissioning: What Do Buyers Want?
Palais Stage
Monday, April 8, 16:30-17:00
AFTER the global success of The Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice and Squid Game: The Challenge, all eyes are on Asian powerhouse Korea as the potential source of the next breakout format. And there is sure to be a packed house for the Korean Formats Super Session, which features a mix of case studies and new launches.
MBC global formats director Jean Hur said her company is launching two new entertainment formats at MIPTV. “The first is Song Stealer, a singing competition show where singers cover each other’s songs on stage in an attempt to ‘steal’ the song by singing it better than the original singer. Audiences vote on the version they like better — the cover song vs the original song.”
Song Stealer premiered as a two-episode pilot for Lunar New Year in 2024. The show got a high rating of 2.8% and thanks to its success, MBC has commissioned it as a Sunday night weekly show.
Another new title is Gone Producer, an experimental reality competition show, which is cast, directed, and edited solely by a generative AI producer. “The title signifies that the human producer is gone, with AI taking over. 10 human contestants learn that their appearance fee is determined based on the video edited by the AI producer. The fun factor, Hur said, “is not only that the show is produced by AI; it is also the contestants getting confused and bewildered confronting the AI.” Gone Producer has just been optioned to Norway and Denmark.
During the session MBC is showcasing Bloody Game, a two-yearold format acquired by Banijay and produced in Norway by its Mastiff label. Known in Norway as The
Game, it’s a competition where one fierce survivor walks away with a big cash prize. To win, they must beat a series of competitors, who live together in a secret house.
Mastiff CEO Jostein Olseng said: “Both TV viewers and critics have embraced the show. Its premiere was the best VOD premiere for TV2 ever. And within a week, the TSR numbers for episode one passed one million. That’s absolutely fantastic in a country of 5.4 million people.” He added: “The fact that the eliminated do not get kicked out of the game — but can continue to play in secret — is a dream for any reality producer. The elimination engine with hidden and secret voting is also ingenious.”
“The fun factor is contestants getting bewildered confronting the AI”
Jean Hur
The Mastiff chief said that his company “worked hard with TV2 to adapt the format for a Norwegian market. The goal for us was to make the programme broad family entertainment. We’ve made several adjustments to popularise and broaden the content. We are already in negotiations with TV2 about season two.”
Joining MBC in the session are CJ ENM global team director Sehee Jang and Cheol-min Jeong, the creator of hit show Apartment 404.
“Apartment 404’ is a mystery variety-show format based on true unprecedented events in Korean
apartments,” its creator Jeong said. “Six residents travel to a different time in each episode, bringing retro vibes, laughter, and the residents’ fantastic chemistry. The six cast members split up into two teams, along with special guests, and compete against one another. At the end of the series, one person will be crowned the winner of the show.”
“Apartment404 has captured global fans beyond Korea since its first broadcast and continued to be a hot topic worldwide,” Jang said. “Apartment404 airs on tvN every Friday in South Korea and is available on Prime Video globally. After its launch, it was listed in the top-10 category of Prime Video TV show in a total of 21 countries around the world, based on the ranking site FlixPatrol.
ChanMi Shin, vice-president, sales and head of licensing at leading producer, Something Special is bringing Still Alive, “a reality game show format where 10 contestants find clues and complete challenges in a mysterious mansion and must stay alive for 24-72 hours, depending on the production budget, by not following the new rules presented every four hours. With a hidden ‘death rule’ that causes immediate elimination, contestants need to solve riddles to try and stay alive.”
Shin said two pilot episodes were produced in 2021 and aired on iHQ. “These garnered 130% viewership compared to the channel’s average. The pilots were used to test the feasibility of the format and we are now working on a full series.”
Korean Formats Super Session: Case Studies –MBC’s Bloody Game, CJ ENM’s Apartment404 and Something Special’s Still Alive
Riviera Stage
Sunday, April 7, 10:15-11:30
First staged in 2016, MIPDRAMA returns for its eighth edition as a standalone event, at 14.30 on Sunday, April 7, in the Hi5 Studio of the Palais des Festivals. Up to 15-minute-long previews of 10 upcoming series are featured. After the screening the audience will be invited to vote for their Coup de Coeur at a networking cocktail, where the winner will be revealed…
MIPTV has long played an active role in helping connect storytellers with potential partners. This is particularly evident with MIPDRAMA, which has established itself as an important drama showcase in the industry calendar. Covering all genres, including comedy, MIPDRAMA provides international buyers with an exclusive first look at some of the most anticipated high-end drama series.
Since 2016, MIPDRAMA has helped launch series from markets including Belgium (Public Enemy), Spain (Dangerous Moms) and Sweden (Agatha Christie’s Sven Hjerson). The latter, distributed by ZDF Studios, went on to be a global sales hit, securing deals in French-speaking territories, the US, Australia and the UK & Ireland.
Each year, dozens of high-quality series are presented in the hope of securing a spot in the MIPDRAMA showcase and winning the prestigious Coup de Coeur. To be eligible, they must be an upcoming new high-
end drama series in early stages of production. They must also be 100% financed, in their first season, and never previously presented at a festival or market prior to MIPDRAMA.
Productions are then put through a rigorous selection process by an international jury of experts and RX France’s Editorial Team. Based on their writing and production values, originality and worldwide appeal, 10 are selected for an exclusive screening in front of leading acquisition executives and commissioners.
This year’s jury is an illustrious group that includes Nine Network Australia director of programming and acquisitions, UK and Europe, Geraldine Easter; Sky Group director of acquisitions, UK/ROI and Europe Katie Keenan; BBC Studios Nordic Productions format consultant Anette Rømer; Prime Video Italy head of content Dr Viktoria Wasilewski; CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) senior director, acquisitions Jenna Bourdeau; and Radio-Canada senior di-
rector, acquisitions, Simon Dupuis. Speaking to the MIPTV Magazine, Dupuis said he is seeing a lot of crime series coming across his desk: “I can’t count the number of six-part murder mysteries I review each year. Crime still pays, but it is getting harder to distinguish yourself in that area.”
Among current trends, he has noted that “eco-anxiety seems to be inspiring writers, with more environmental thrillers coming out. There’s a fine line between scaring people and raising awareness through entertainment, but some shows pull it off.”
In terms of what he was looking for as a juror, he identifies several areas: “I look for original premises and storylines that sets shows apart. Diversity in the cast, great cinematography, production values and global commercial potential are also key.”
Referring to financial pressures that producers face, he acknowledged that “the total number of days on set are getting fewer and that’s a concern. But coming from French-Canada, where we produce high-end dramas and comedies with very low budgets, I’m well aware that tight money doesn’t dampen creativity. We need to give productions the proper amount of time, but a good storyline and great writers are the baseline. People want to be told a great story. Sometimes less is better.”
Easter is witnessing similar themes in the content market: “From the UK there is a plethora of short-run (no more than six eps and often less) crime dramas in the style of ‘traditional British detective’ with a quirky central investigator. I’m also seeing a lot of docu-dramas based on real characters — generally in the crime area.”
Looking more globally, she notes how “drama that isn’t produced for a streaming platform is becoming much more local”. She also highlights a trend towards “contemporary drama with a twist based on ordinary people’s extraordinary lives”.
Like Dupuis, Easter said she is impressed by the way talent always shines irrespective of the financial challenges. “Creators are always finding ways to tell amazing stories and I’m always in awe of a great script.” As a juror, Easter said: “I work for a commercial channel, so I am looking for commercial dramas that will work for our audience.” She said it is advantageous to be involved in a project from the earliest stage — though she is very clear about what captures her attention: “It’s very difficult to judge a drama from a trailer, because you can make anything look good in two or three minutes. Reading scripts tells you so much more.”
The 10 finalists for this year’s screenings are…
EVA & NICOLE: 8 x 50 mins. Comedy drama
Distributor: Atresmedia TV International Sales
Logline: The rivalry between two women to control the nightlife in Marbella in the 1980s
ICEBREAKER: 6 x 45 mins . Supernatural/horror thriller
Distributor: About Premium Content
Logline: An icebreaker is stranded in a winter storm, and the rescue operation becomes a fight for survival and a freezing nightmare
IRREVERSIBLE: 6 x 50 mins. Crime
Distributor: RTP - Radio Television Portugal
Logline: Love justifies everything. Irreversible tackles contemporary themes, including mental health, illegal adoptions, bullying, homophobia and motherhood
MISS AUSTEN: 4 x 60 mins. Historical (pre-1900)
Distributor: Federation Studios
Logline: A production of Gill Hornby’s novel Miss Austen, adapted by BAFTA-winning writer Andrea Gibb, directed by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Aisling Walsh
PALO ALTO: 7 x 45 mins. Crime
Distributor: Keshet International
Logline: When an additional corpse appears in the lab of a medical school, detective Iris senses foul play, igniting a bloody struggle between Jewish and Arab mobsters
SEE HER AGAIN: 18 x 45 mins. Crime
Distributor: Drama Apple Limited
Logline: It tells the story of a police officer who traces a serial murder case across 25 years in Hong Kong, using clues from 1993 and technology from 2018
THE BLACK FOREST MURDERS: 4 x 45 mins. True Crime
Distributor: StudioCanal
Logline: Two young women are brutally murdered in a peaceful German countryside. The case seems unsolvable, but a team of detectives follow the path to the truth
THE SENTINELS: 8 x 52 mins. Action
Distributor: StudioCanal
Logline: A mysterious group of French soldiers with superhuman abilities are sent on an undercover mission to put an end to the First World War
VALHALLA PROJECT: 6 x 45 mins. Drama/Thriller/Sci-Fi
Distributor: Keshet International
Logline: A climate scientist is lured into a quest to find a path to a parallel universe researched by her father who disappeared in Lapland over 30 years ago
Logline: It’s the 1980s in communist Czechoslovakia and the Cold War is raging: the Soviets as well as the Americans experiment with telepathy and paranormal activities See Her Again
WE’RE ON IT, COMRADES!: 8 x 60 mins. Drama/Paranormal
Distributor: ZDF Studios
Miss Austen
Ubongo, the African creator of children’s edutainment, and Open Planet, a free-access environmental footage library, are each being recognised with a MIP SDG Award, presented in association with the United Nations
IN JUST over a decade, Ubongo has evolved from a grassroots initiative in Tanzania to a pan-African social enterprise, harnessing the reach of mass media in TV, radio and mobile to provide quality educational content and transforming the learning experiences for an estimated 500 million children across the continent.
Reaching an estimated 42 million families in 23 countries, the non-profit organisation — which calls itself ‘Africa’s biggest classroom’ — serves children and families with child-centric early-learning resources. It is being presented with a MIP SDG Award in recognition of its achievements towards SDG Nº4: “To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunity for all.”
The Open Planet library, which launched this year, offers free access to “high-quality footage and scientifically accurate visuals, unlocking barriers for content creators and storytellers to better explain and
respond to the planet’s challenges and solutions”. It was launched in 2023 by Studio Silverback, a previous MIP SDG Award winner, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, creator of interactive, data-driven stories about the planet from the EarthTime platform. The Open Planet library is being presented with the MIP SDG Innovation Award, in recognition of its originality and for accelerating action across several of the 17 SDGs.
Ubongo CEO Mwasi Wilmore said: “We are deeply honoured to receive the MIP SDG Award in recognition of our commitment to providing inclusive and equitable quality education across Africa. This Award reaffirms our dedication to leveraging the power of media to transform the learning experiences of millions of children, empowering them to realise their full potential.”
Open Planet director of operations, Emily Renshaw-Smith, said: “We are proud to receive this Award as a
new initiative supporting the SDGs. Only by harnessing the transformative powers of storytelling, technology and creativity can we shift narratives and make meaningful strides towards addressing the most pressing challenges of our time. We have already seen incredible impact from unlocking visual content for storytellers through Open Planet — whether on the world’s most influential stages or in classrooms and communities — and are grateful to MIPTV and the United Nations for recognising our contributions to the SDGs so far.”
The SDGs — Sustainable Developpment Goals — are the United Nations’ blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
The MIP SDG Award was established in 2020 to support the UN’s Decade of Action campaign, which calls for more ambitious action to achieve the SDGs by 2030. The Award recognises how progress on the SDGs can be accelerated by editorial, campaigning and business practices within the television industry.
This year’s call for entries attracted submissions from 24 countries. The winners were selected from over 70 entries by an international
jury of social responsibility experts, producers and past winners including: Mo Abudu, CEO, EbonyLife Media; Troy Armour, CEO, Junk Kouture; Márcia Balisciano, chief sustainability officer, RELX Group; Amanda Hill, CEO, We Are On Purpose; and Hyeonza Hong founder and director, Green Goals Singapore.
“Broadcasters and producers have a role to play in inspiring people to care”
“The number and diversity of entries for this year’s edition of the MIP SDG Awards demonstrate that the audiovisual industry can be an important ally in many areas of the UN’s work: from sustainable development to human rights,” UN deputy director for the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe, Caroline Petit, said. “Broadcasters and producers have a role to play in creating and distributing factual, scientific content, and also in motivating and inspiring people to care through stories.”
Television’s power to accelerate progress has never been more needed,” MIPTV director Lucy Smith said. “This year’s winners are just two examples from an incredibly encouraging range of inspiring, progressive initiatives from across the industry — initiatives we will continue to use our platform to highlight.”
The MIP SDG Award forms part of RX France’s ongoing commitment to the United Nations’ SDG Media Compact. Founded in 2018, this alliance of media and entertainment companies now numbers over 450 members from 160 countries who pledge to leverage their respective resources to amplify and accelerate progress towards achieving the SDGs.
Riviera Stage
Tuesday, April 9, 11.45-12.30
The Open Planet library: free acces to scientifically accurate visuals
Ubongo: Africa’s biggest classroom
The UN’s Caroline Petit
MIP SDG Keynote & Awards Ceremony
THE HIGHLY anticipated Natural History event series
The Americas is previewed during The Americas: Worldwide Preview And Fireside Chat session on Tuesday, April 9. The epic 10-part tentpole event series for NBC in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS) features Tom Hanks debut as narrator on an unscripted entertainment series, and music by Hans Zimmer.
Toby Gorman, president, UTAS; executive producer Mike Gunton; and series editor Holly Spearing take to the MIPYTV stage to introduce the 10-part series. The session features first-look footage from the series, and the panel will also offer behind-thescenes insights into the revolutionary filmmaking technology used in the production. The series travels across North America, Central America and South America, exploring the vast landscapes, remote wilderness and mysterious creatures that inhabit the region.
Employing “best-in-class filmmakers, industry-leading technology and innovation in storytelling”, the four-year project has resulted in a series that marks NBC’s first venture into the natural-history space for a global audience. NBC has retained significant distribution rights globally and across platforms.
The Americas is executive produced by renowned wildlife producer Mike Gunton (Life, Planet Earth II and Dynasties) for BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the world’s largest production unit dedicated to wildlife filmmaking, in association with UTAS. Gunton said the series “will bring an entirely new and intense perspective of this vast, diverse and extraordinary super-continent. For a natural history filmmaker, it has everything — spanning 8,700 miles, poles at each end and the Equator at its heart, it really does stand apart. This is the chance to tell a unique story of scale and drama — also of the interconnectivity and fragility of life.”
“The New World is a massive piece of four-quadrant commercial entertainment that has the capacity to capture the curiosity and minds of millions,” Paul Telegdy, chairman, NBC Entertainment, said. “I believe that great storytelling told on a broad scale has the power to produce wide-sweeping cultural change, and this project has all the makings to deliver on that potential.” Distribution of the series is being handled by NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution. The Americas premieres on NBC in 2025.
The Americas: Worldwide Preview And Fireside Chat
Riviera Stage Tuesday, April 9, 11.00-11.30
Come see us at R7.K23
‘Too much choice is no choice
During his MIPTV opening keynote Mark Endemaño, senior partner at global consulting firm AlixPartners, presents exclusive insights on the company’s industry trends predictions for 2024, from bundling to AI. He spoke to Julian Newby ahead of his presentation
THE INDUSTRY today faces significant challenges, as well as “huge opportunities” and it is these elements that AlixPartners’ Mark Endemaño will be bringing to life during his MIPTV opening keynote.
“Streaming services have caused immense disruption in the industry, including leaving many consumers with multiple paidfor subscriptions. We’re now at the point where the total cost of those subscriptions is testing affordability, exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis,” Endemaño said. “The streamers are also facing major challenges as they battle with churn, higher acquisition costs for new subscriptions and attempt to break even.”
And advertising has a “vital role” to play in this context. “Having long enabled consumers to access free television and YouTube, advertisers are now expanding further into streaming and enabling paid-for platforms to be provided to customers at a lower price point. We are also seeing a significant increase in ad-driven FAST channels,” he said.
But there is a finite number of brands able to advertise, as well as a limit on what people will pay for all of their subscription services. “As such, we’ll always see a battle for a share of consumer wallets and ad-spend.”
A further challenge facing the industry, is “the need for greater curation as customers navigate
the ever-expanding and disparate range of content available. We’ve all faced the challenge of finding something to watch — sometimes it feels like too much choice is no choice at all.”
And if the streamers have caused “immense disruption”, what can we expect of AI? “AI is likely to be the single biggest development facing the industry, although that’s inevitably a very broad church and I’m very conscious of ‘AI-washing’,” he said.
“Great distribution is essential for great content to reach as many eyeballs and make as much money as possible”
from pre-visualisation storytelling and storyboarding, through to faster animation cycles and low-cost advertising solutions, the impact will be felt far and wide.”
“The recent announcement of Open AI’s text-to-video AI model, Sora, sent shockwaves through our industry and has significant implications for the next generation of creatives. I do believe it will genuinely be a game-changer:
The increasing array of AI tools, too, “will lead to more efficient or effective production of content, such as dubbing or subtitling for markets where it would have been expensive to do this in the past”. Endemaño’s career in content began at Disney, where technology has always been “a key enabler to making, distributing and consuming content — not a means in itself. Walt Disney understood that — he was an incredible innovator. Pixar has always developed and utilised the very latest animation tools… to serve incredible storytelling.” He added: “The partnership between content and distribution, however, is always going to be critically important. Great distribution is essential for great content to reach as many eyeballs and make as much money as possible.” Away from the MIPTV stage,
Endemaño is looking forward to the networking opportunities that are always there in Cannes. “Human beings like to meet, engage and tell stories, and people in our industry are incredibly curious and are always looking at how they can learn from other peers in the industry. MIPTV has always been a fantastic place to do that. Relationships are critical and, while technology has enabled us to do more things remotely than ever before, I think that the best things are done with some face-to-face engagement.”
Keynote: AlixPartners’ Mark Endemaño
Riviera Stage
Monday, April 8, 11.00-11.30
MIPTV’s Monday conference offering kicks-off at 09.00 on the Riviera Stage with One TV Year In The World: Cracking Audience Trends, a presentation by Frédéric Vaulpré, senior vice-president at Paris-based audience and content analysts Glance.
Vaulpré will first give an overview of the most recent patterns in terms of TV and video consumption, including the evolution of SVOD services.
“Thanks to our access to official audience ratings across the globe, we are able to offer the most recent data for daily viewing time per individual, which is a central KPI for the whole of the industry. We will also list the numerous challenges current players have to face
in a dramatic and disrupted time for the industry. A large part of our presentation will be a very upto-date review of content trends in scripted and unscripted programmes,” he said.
“For broadcasters, the first challenge is how to compensate for the decline of linear viewing with alternative approaches and especially with the recent BVOD initiatives launched as destination platforms,” he said. “But the streamers are also under huge pressure, either from their customers, or their shareholders.”
With the notable exception of Netflix in the last quarter, the streamers have now reached a plateau and so are planning to reduce content costs and debt on the one
One TV Year In The World: Cracking Audience Trends
Riviera Stage
Monday, April 8, 09.00-09.40
We still like crime but not just murder
FACTUAL content producers and distributors at MIPTV will gain compelling insights into key documentary commissioning trends on Sunday, April 7, in the session Commissioning Trends & Business Models Insights. Led by Glance head of global business Beatrice Rossmanith, it will explore both creative and commercial trends, providing practical insights into this complex ecosystem. “We still see a huge appetite for true-crime documentaries, but not always necessarily connected to a murder,” Rossmanith said. “Scams and master manipulators fascinate audiences, as
well as crime with a social media component. Crimes with a resolution or new elements uncovering the hidden truth, being especially sought after.” Conspiracy-related topics are also very popular. “There is a thirst for truth as audiences try to make sense of our world’s murky underbelly. Other staples of the genre like natural history remain strong. In the documentary space we’ve also seen projects tackling environmental themes, but not always from a doom and gloom perspective. There is an appetite for hopeful, positive storytelling around that topic and for highlighting what
future innovation could bring.”
Glance has recently observed “more feature length documentaries in production or about to be launched,” Rossmanith said. “However series of at least three episodes continue to be easier to schedule.”
There is a consensus that “socalled ‘peak TV’ is over, and it would seem logical that unscripted would benefit from this as it is cheaper to produce and to acquire. However, it is not that simple. While global platforms have become active in the factual space, the overall volume of unscripted shows launched over the last 12 months has decreased.”
side, and to increase their prices to customers on the other.
“Some are considering opening their inventory to advertising. After focusing on attracting subscribers, now their main objective is to have a decent profit and loss balance, and of course this will impact the customer,” he said.
Alongside Glance’s head of global business Béatrice Rossmanith, Vaulpré will give some examples of programmes that perform well with the all-important 15-34 demographic.
In terms of what shows work best where, Vaulpré said the streaming platforms have opened up the path of “global programme sourcing”, where inspiration and great stories can come from “anywhere and everywhere. It is very much worth noting that a country like Turkey is now systematically one of the top TV exporting countries with numerous shows and formats being aired around the world.”
Commissioning Trends & Business Models Insights
Palais Stage
Sunday, April 7, 15.15-15.45
‘At the end of the day, it’s all content’
sessions presented by The WIT co-founder and CEO Virginia Mouseler, are among the most popular events in Cannes. And she’s back at MIPTV with more packed sessions.
Reflecting on the trends she has detected in TV fiction over the last six months, Mouseler sees genre changes: “There is a bit less crime, more comedy, and much more diversity of all shapes, everywhere. But the fundamentals are unchanged, in that fiction based on existing IPs such as books, movies and webtoons — as well as true facts — is still gaining audience share.”
And the big question as to whether super-sized budgets really matter anymore remains unresolved: “Big-budget is not the only way to make great drama and get big ratings, and viewing ratings are not correlated to production budgets. Financing and distribution models have to adapt, but the market is always driven by great talent and good stories, and there’s certainly plenty of energy out there.”
As for social media and fiction, “there is room for experimentation”, she said. “Short episodes are still in demand, but longer content is now available and is gaining traction.”
In the Fresh TV Formats session, Mouseler will be looking at creativity and originality: “Adventure seems to be the genre able to offer plenty of new twists and turns, especially now that dating seems to have been twisted in every direction. But originality is not the only rule in formats. ‘Simple’, ‘natural’ and ‘obvious’ carry the most value
here. And, while Belgium is currently coming up with some interesting formats, the most effective providers of new formats are still the UK and the Netherlands.
Given the global economic situation, there is a growing demand for cost-effective formats, “but the challenge is that launching a new format is not that cost-effective”, Mouseler said. “The most cost-effective solution is often to recommission a long-running format or to revive a sleeping format brand, and that’s happening a lot right now. But after all this time, I can still be genuinely surprised by what formats come along. This time I was surprised by a reality dance contest paper format where contestants have to create choreography combining dance and sign language. I’m extremely curious to see it on screen.”
The new Fresh TV presentation Fresh Garden is focused on social media and its growing relationship with TV. As Mouseler said, stories are not the exclusive preserve of traditional media. “Earlier this year, a 50-episode TikTok reality series Who the F*** Did I Marry, went viral, and the creator is said to be about to sign a TV or streaming adaptation. So it is not just YouTube that’s the natural place for longform expression, stories can come from everywhere,” she said. In terms of social networks seeding ideas that create a standard multi-episode series, so far the landscape remains ‘in development’: “We’ll see later this year if the move of the global Nº1 YouTuber Mr Beast signing a deal with Amazon Prime Video for a 10-episode reality
game show series with full creative control, is an ingenious idea for him, for streaming and for other YouTubers. Up to now, no one from YouTube has been really successful outside of YouTube, so it will be a major test.”
Mouseler continued: “Social media stars try hard, but most of them have difficulties going beyond their core audience, and this is partly due to the fact that their content is centred around their personality, their universe and their community. In a way they’re owned by their fanbase and the world they built around themselves. Sometimes they can be too big, and too free-minded to fit in the rest of the media world — where, so far at least, they’re never as good as when they are just being themselves.” She added: “But at the end of the day, it’s all content. And demand for content for different targets has never been so high.”
Fresh Garden Content Creators
Riviera Stage
Saturday, April 6, 14.00-14.45
Fresh TV Formats
Riviera Stage
Monday, April 8, 13:00-14:00
Fresh TV Fiction
Riviera Stage
Tuesday, April 9, 13:15-14:00
October 2024
Palais des Festivals
Cannes, France
The post-COVID era has not been easy for producers and distributors, with strikes, inflation and budget cutbacks creating a perfect storm of financial challenges. But content creators are a resourceful group and have tapped into numerous solutions from brand funding to co-production, soft money to crowdfunding. Enter the MIPTV Finance Lab
MIPTV is launching a new strand of events under the Finance Lab umbrella, starting at the weekend at both MIPFORMATS and MIPDOC giving delegates the opportunity to garner insights from producers, distributors, finance specialists and VCs from around the world.
The Finance Lab programme includes the Sustainable Production Financing session and then pivots towards distribution in Rights & Licensing – Monetising Your IP. With global streamers increasingly open to licensing content rights, distribution is back in favour in 2024.
But as the global market continues to fragment, making the right call on monetising IP is more complex than ever. Discussing this point will be execs including Amplify Pictures chief content officer Rachel Eggebeen, whose career has taken her via Netflix, Fox, Shondaland and Paramount Vantage. The session will be moderated by Anne-Marie Pecoraro, attorney at law at UGGC.
Amplify Pictures has already made its mark with 100 Foot Wave, an Emmy-winning documentary for HBO. Eggebeen is now expanding Amplify’s content slate, working with writers, directors and producers in Europe, Hollywood and other regions. Addressing recent shifts in the content market, she said: “For Amplify
Pictures, the way forward for series is through an indie-financing model. This has long existed as a path in the film space, but has very rarely been applied to series. By finding the right type of show that can be shot in a cost-effective location — it’s possible to make a whole series for the cost of an indie film. For Amplify it’s been successful for our doc series and now we’re transitioning the model to scripted.”
Eggebeen doesn’t believe complex or constrained financing gets in the way of great storytelling: “I firmly believe that creativity doesn’t stop, it finds a way to emerge even in the toughest moments. As storytellers we need to be nimble — it’s not always the biggest budget or what a buyer thinks they want that makes the best shows. Being bold and imaginative and flexible, focusing on character, finding interesting places to set your stories, and being open to new models whether you’re a buyer, financier or talent — this is the key to finding our way through this moment of change.”
In terms of takeaways, Eggebeen wants delegates to embrace the idea that “a thriving indie-TV market within the larger TV business is where the business has to go.”
One of key challenges in today’s climate is knowing how to sus-
tain companies through a period of constant market upheaval. The ability to stay ahead of the curve is explored further in Future Proof Your Company, another Finance Lab session, taking place on Tuesday on the Palais Stage. Speakers including GRB Media Ranch president Sophie Ferron will explore the strategies, partnerships and cultural characteristics that can help content owners pave the way for a profitable future.
According to Ferron, there are two pivotal trends reshaping content financing from her perspective. The first is the rapid growth of streaming platforms, which “significantly impacts content financing. As audiences shift towards on-demand services, it challenges traditional television networks. This is driving a demand for fresh and engaging material, prompting increased content financing through licens-
ing agreements, co-productions and strategic partnerships with streaming platforms.”
At the same time, she said, this growth in platforms, “especially those embracing FAST channels catering to clearly-defined audience groups, allows us to leverage existing content libraries and revitalise archived content. It also makes it possible to introduce innovative monetisation approaches, aligned with evolving digital viewing habits.”
Alongside these interconnected trends, Ferron said the rise of data-driven insights has become
“The rise of datadriven insights has become pivotal in decision-making processes”
Sophie Ferron
“pivotal” in decision-making processes. “Leveraging analytics and audience behaviour patterns not only refines our content acquisition strategies but also attracts investors seeking more targeted and profitable content investments.”
Ferron is hoping that her panel will give delegates the confidence to face the challenges in the competitive market. “Success isn’t guaranteed, but is achievable through informed risk-taking, new business models and visionary approaches,” she said. “You can’t just be a bystander: you need to be a change architect, embracing challenges with enthusiasm and approaching
dealmaking as an art form.”
She has no concerns that creativity is suffering as a result of the current financial landscape. “I believe that the financial challenges, coupled with the rise of streamers, FAST, on-demand and social platforms, has fueled creativity. The democratisation of content creation empowers creators to reach wider audiences and experiment with storytelling techniques that might not have found a place in traditional mediums. I think this is exemplified by compelling IP like Who the F*** Did I Marry On TikTok,” she said. One area that has seen renewed vigour in the last couple of years is branded entertainment, the subject of another intriguing Finance Lab session, How Brands Are Becoming Part Of The Funding Story, on Tuesday on the Riviera Stage. With content creators on the hunt for new finance solutions and brands looking for innovative ways to get close to audiences, the latter have emerged as compelling partners for producers, distributors and commissioners. In this session, Banijay Group’s head of branded entertainment business development Carlotta Rossi Spencer, House of Oddities chief creative officer Darren Smith and House of Oddities CEO Sachini Imbuldeniya will explore a range of opportunities to team up with brands. They will also outline the way OTT platforms are approaching branded content, and ask how content creators need to deal with IP management when more parties are involved — particularly when they are approaching content with different objectives.
Spencer oversees the company’s newly-unveiled division, BBE (Banijay Branded Entertainment), which is leveraging the
Inside The Finance Lab
– How To Package For Success
Riviera Stage
Sunday, April 7, 14.30-15.00
MIPDOC
Evolving Commercial Models & Funding Opportunities
Riviera Stage
Sunday, April 7, 16.00-16.30
Sustainable Production Financing
Palais Stage
Monday, April 8, 15:15-15:45
Rights & Licensing – Monetising Your IP
Palais Stage
Tuesday, April 9, 10:30-11:00
Future Proof Your Company
Palais Stage
Tuesday, April 9, 14:15-14:45
How Brands Are Becoming Part Of The Funding Story
Riviera Stage
Tuesday, April 9, 15.00-15.30
group’s global production expertise to deliver against brand briefs both at a local and global level.
Explaining why Banijay launched BBE, she says: “As home to some of the best and most experienced producers, and having honed a track record in delivering content and IP that gets the world talking, we’re the perfect partner for brands seeking more premium storytelling, and innovative ways to connect with their consumers.”
In her role, Spencer is “specifically working on content that is majority or wholly financed by a brand partner. Banijay is constantly diversifying and expanding its portfolio, and working with brands is complementary to our existing business.”
In terms of the panel’s likely themes, she warns: “It’s important for producers to understand that branded entertainment doesn’t give access to an unlimited pot of money. You have agencies, brands, producers and platforms all part of the mix — the process can be complex and there isn’t a set formula to getting shows off the ground.”
That said, she stresses there is “huge demand from brands to create meaningful connections with consumers. And with the right show and brand partner, it can be attractive for broadcasters and platforms to have content with funding attached.”
Echoing Ferron, Spencer stresses that this burgeoning area isn’t just about the money: “I would argue that branded entertainment has opened up new opportunities for our creatives. We are producing for every platform, for new audiences and demographics, and across different genres, tackling fresh subjects, with different show lengths and episode numbers for each project. There is a sense of creative freedom.”
Olivia Screpel-Chiverton 1974-2024
Topics don’t come much hotter than AI, and now that the initial reactions have faded away, MIPTV’s Tech and AI Summit aims to focus on a positive-minded approach to harnessing the many benefits the technology can offer
TECHNOLOGICAL innovation has continually reshaped the course of human history. The Innovation Summit: Tech & AI aims to explore the practical applications of cognitive media and generative AI, shedding light on how these advancements can be effectively integrated across various segments of the TV and media industry value chain. The objective is to demystify the use of AI, fostering a proper understanding of this transformative technology, and exploring integration possibilities within the media and TV sectors.
According to Peter Robinson, founder of Gone With, and the host of the 105-minute, multi-segment session in the Palais des Festivals on Wednesday, April 10, we still aren’t really sure what AI actually means, and how it works in the real world. “The speakers have the ability to unpack the conversation around how we talk about AI in the context of our roles, as well as when, where and why it can support the creation, development and distribution of IP,” Robinson said. “And these sessions will help us to collect our thoughts. We know AI can do so much, but what should it be doing and how can it become a truly useful tool across the board? The key takeaways will be allowing a room full of human intelligence (HI) to share a common understanding of
how we talk about AI, where we can tool-up — and perhaps, most importantly, how we protect our creative rights. This conversation is so important in this nascent period of AI development — and disruption of the media industry — because now is the time to agree the rules and boundaries that will support the evolution of a truly supportive tool.”
Guy Bisson, executive director, Ampere Analysis, is a leading entertainment market analyst with a specialisation in the global television business, a frequent media commentator in print and broadcast and author of numerous reports and research articles on the business and strategy of the global television industry.
Bisson’s introductory session “is designed as a primer for AI practical applications in entertainment.
I’ll be running through the key terminology and then looking at actual applications that can be applied to the origination, analysis and creation of content from treatment and script through development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution,” he said.
During his session, Bisson will aim to “guide people as to what can actually be done with AI right now, and how it can be helpful in the entertainment creation and distribution chain. In this respect, the session is a primer and practi-
cal guide to AI application in entertainment.”
He added: “If there are specific points to make, it would be that right now there are hundreds of applications that can be useful, and at the same time, really very little that can fully replace current processes. But we are seeing an exciting pace of development that is likely to move to the stage where professional long-form content can be fully originated and created in AI applications within the next five years.”
The second session dedicated to Creation & Production will feature Tom Bowers, founder & CEO of Hypothesis Media. Tom is to address how tech and AI integration can open up new opportunities for creativity by streamlining the processes and leveraging the production workflows. “I will be trying to help dispel the myth that AI is something to be feared in the production industry, and that if it is creatively embraced in the right way, it could unlock a swathe of new, breakout global
Hypothesis Media’s Tom Bowers Vionlabs’ Arash Pendari Ampére Analysis’ Guy Bisson Getty Images’ Craig Peters
format hits. A lot of AI is seen as productivity tools, but I want to talk about how they can be used creatively if time is invested — by production creatives particularly — in the areas of virtual production and interactivity.”
With a rich history in media and game production, particularly in creating special effects through cutting-edge technology, Arash Pendari is also the visionary behind a pioneering solution that is transforming the media entertainment industry. Vionlabs is at the forefront of producing rich, automated metadata from films and TV series, including mood analytics, keyword extraction, and the production of thumbnails and preview clips. This has empowered streaming platforms to showcase their content more effectively, optimising viewer engagement while enhancing the overall entertainment experience and reducing viewer frustrations. During his Distribution And Discovery session, Pendari said: “I will focus my talk on how AI can help content find its audience today through personalisation, and personalisation/ discovery that is not just like the recommendations on a streaming service, because personalisation is important in marketing as well as in the user experience. And, as many people are curious about AI, and some even fear it, I will focus on how we can use AI to scale our creativity.”
He added: “Instead of having AI doing the creative work for us, I always say: create with humans, scale with AI. Not the opposite.”
Craig Peters CEO of Getty Images, echoes Pendari’s point. In
his session he intends to “focus on the process of developing commercially-safe and responsible AI tools for the benefit of creators. Tools that are trained on permissioned content — versus scraping third-party content — and that then reward the people who created the training data. Also, tools that respect third-party intellectual property
“If AI is creatively embraced in the right way, it could unlock a swathe of new, breakout global format hits”
Tom Bowers
— brands, characters, designs, for example — and individual privacy, and align to the requirements of the EU’s AI legislation. Alongside that, tools that enable creators to heighten their creativity and efficiency without any legal risks. In pursuit of these aims, we launched tools in partnership with NVIDIA and BRIA and have announced a relationship with Runway that we expect to launch this year.”
CONTENT Business Strategies Across Global Entertainment With AI + Data, is the title of a Fireside Chat with Atul Phadnis and Faz Aftab, on the Riviera Stage on Tuesday, April 8, 16.30-17.00.
Faz Aftab is director of media partnerships at Google, where she leads the Media and Entertainment team across EMEA and APAC. Atul Phadnis is founder and CEO of Vitrina.ai, a data and intelligence operation based in Silicon Valley, and an expert in the field of media and metadata. In conversation with moderator Sanjay Reddy — a venture capitalist with a background in entertainment — they will together explore how AI and industry data are key to the content industry’s rapid evolution.
Wednesday, April 10, 10.30-12.15
Sanjay Reddy
Faz Aftab
Atul Phadnis
The Innovation Summit: Tech & AI Riviera Stage
MIPTV’s highly popular FAST Summit has been re-invented for 2024 as the Global FAST & AVOD Summit, in partnership with OTTera and Vevo. Across two-action-packed hours, the Summit will take a comprehensive look at opportunities in ad-supported streaming, and how the model can be sustainable and profitable over time and across territories. The summit is hosted by Alan Wolk, co-founder and lead analyst at US-based TVREV, whose core expertise lies in the intersection of advertising and streaming. Wolk will kick off by presenting a drilled down insight into The State Of FAST. During this talk, he will map out the different business models emerging in the sector and explore hot topics like the push for better quality programming, the
growth in sports and live events and the development of more localised FAST channels.
Speaking to the MIPTV Magazine, Wolk said: “If there is one thing I would like delegates to take away it is this: there are FAST services and FAST channels and they are two different things. The former, services like Tubi, Rakuten and Samsung TV+, are aggregators that provide apps, interfaces, curation and ad platforms. The latter are linear content streams on those services.”
That said, both pieces of the puzzle are doing fine. “The FAST services are growing, expanding internationally and gaining viewers. They’re also producing originals. Jury Duty on Amazon freevee was even nominated for an Emmy. Meanwhile, FAST channels are
undergoing a ‘shift to quality’ as higher-profile fare from big name studios becomes available on FAST services and better integration between linear and on-demand leads to better experiences for viewers.”
The arrival of big players in FAST may suggest it’s game-over for smaller players. But Wolk is not convinced: “At a time when everyone in the industry seems to be looking to bigname players, there is still room for niche channels with loyal audiences. acTVe FAST Channels runs several very popular action sports channels — SurferTV, PowderTV, TransworldSkateTV, BikeMagTV and SnowboarderMagTV — that have proven to be very successful. “That is an alternate formula for success on the FASTs: cater to a loyal niche audience by giving them the
sort of content they want.”
On the definitional question outlined above, Wolk takes the view that the term AVOD is about to go the way of OTT. “There’s too much confusion about what it actually means. So the terms being used are FAST (for free services) and SVOD (for subscription). In my view, better integration between on-demand and linear on FAST services will mean that viewers can have a more intuitive experience — they can start watching on linear, then do a deeper dive on-demand without leaving the service.”
THE GLOBAL FAST & AVOD Summit roster of speakers includes Peyton Lombardo of global content and TV consultancy 3Vision, who is cautiously optimistic for the sector: “FAST is still gathering pace, but its development is more refined now. How the market develops outside the US will be very different, so stakeholders are having to take different — more measured — approaches.”
Lombardo said 3Vision is observing “an improvement in quality. As more players move into the sector, lower-level channels are falling out. We’re also seeing more local players getting involved.” In terms of the changing profile
of the sector, she points to the increasingly blurred line between traditional channels and their FAST counterparts. “It’s exciting to see pay-TV operators integrate FAST into their services. Seeing that there are FAST channels strong enough to compete with traditional TV just proves that, while FAST is still small in terms of all global TV revenues, it is an area not to be ignored. Onscreen improvements in channel identities is also a great sign of increased investment.”
For Lombardo it is critical that delegates keep ahead of the curve on the changes in the market. “FAST channels continue to
launch but we are entering a new phase of more considered growth, with channel refinement, consolidation and churn. FAST is a great new development but it remains only a small slice of the larger AVOD market and social video remains huge, so you ignore the others at your own peril,” she said.
ONE OF the undoubted strengths of the upcoming Summit is the lineup of speakers. These include David Salmon, managing director, international, Tubi Media Group who will provide an insight into Tubi’s planned launch in the UK. The UK is a highly competitive streaming market dominated by some of the world’s leading BVOD and SVOD services. So Salmon will explain why Tubi believes it can win over consumers and advertisers, and outline the data that drives the platform’s decision-making. Also on board is Robert Andrae, partnerships lead EMEA at Google TV. Having joined Google in 2019, he is now leading a number of initiatives with his main focus on scaling the Google TV platform and building strategic partner rela-
tionships in western Europe. He says FAST is “still hot, though the explosive growth of the past few years may be slowing slightly. But major players continue to invest heavily in content, technology and targeted advertising. This growth is driven by consumers seeking budget-friendly entertainment options in a time of subscription fatigue and economic uncertainty. The overall mood of all players I’m engaged with is still very optimistic.”
Quizzed on trends, Andrae says: “Innovation is so fast paced, it’s difficult to pinpoint a single theme for 2024. It’s likely to be a combination of emerging AI features driving user experiences, consolidation, more mature monetisation and growing audiences.”
Viewers are ‘happy to lean-back and lean-in’
VEVO executive vice-president, revenue, distribution & data operations Natalie Gabathuler-Scully is also taking part in the Summit. Like her counterparts, she is extremely buoyant: “FAST is absolutely still expanding and poised for more growth, especially regarding viewership adoption. The conversation around FAST is evolving to focus on content offering, discoverability and overall user experience — as this is a major point of differentiation for FAST players.”
Gabathuler-Scully says the key challenge will be maintaining editorial quality while pushing to grow the revenue pie: “FAST is affording us
more unique monetisation opportunities, carried over from digital, such as shoppable ad formats. We can monetise content in a way that goes beyond a traditional ad break and complements lean-back viewing in the living room. But balancing innovative monetisation with quality, curated programming will be critical for FAST players not only to secure an engaged audience, but also reduce churn.”
On the issue of industry distinctions between different modes of ad-supported consumption, Gabathuler-Scully said: “FAST is growing in adoption as the content offering expands. However, consumers are not
On AI, he says: “Groundbreaking models will emerge rapidly and will be used to personalise content recommendations and ad experiences. This could provide users with a ‘next generation lean-back’ experience. Imagine a FAST platform that anticipates better than ever what channel or show a viewer might like.”
Google, of course, is the owner of YouTube, but Andrae says that doesn’t make FAST less interesting. “Consumers are craving accessible, engaging content. FAST is more than a trend, it’s a transformation of how many perceive and consume TV, which will complement the existing linear experience. Google isn’t merely entering FAST; we’re forging the path towards its future. Our mission is three-fold: best-inclass personalisation; all streaming ser-
vices in one place, powered by Google search and recommendation; and the combination of FAST and OTT subscription with Google TV.”
thinking about the distinctions between FAST or AVOD; they enjoy both lean-back and lean-in viewing formats. Ultimately, consumers just want to view their favourite content in the most accessible way. It’s also important to remember that YouTube is a huge part of the TV ecosystem and is seeing sustained TV viewership growth.”
THE MIPTV GLOBAL FAST & AVOD SUMMIT is also hosting roundtable discussions in partnership with Okast.TV and Cineflix Rights. Running on Tuesday, April 9, from 09:0010:00 (Matchmaking Area, Palais 3), expert table hosts include Cineflix Rights senior vicepresident, digital, Mike Gould; Okast.TV CEO Cedric Monnier; Rlaxx TV vice-president, content partnerships Teresa Alonso López; Samsung TV Plus UK lead, content acquisition, Stuart Pearson; and Samsung TV Plus Italy lead Cristina Sala. Other tables are hosted by Wurl, FilmRise and Pluto TV.
Delegates wishing to attend should pre-register.
Google TV’s Robert Andrae Vevo’s Natalie Gabathuler-Scully Tubi’s David Salmon
19-22 November 2024
MIPTV continues to welcome influential and enthusiastic budget-holders from every corner of the globe. Last year, 1,600 buyers made the trip and this year there will be key figures from the Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. Not only will they be screenings, but they will take part in panels and act as judges at events, including MIPDRAMA
RTE IRELAND director of co-productions and acquisitions
Dermot Horan is primarily on the hunt for great drama this year. “We are looking for serialised dramas, 4/6/8- partners with a full set of linear and VOD rights, mainly in the English language,” Horan said. “We like crime, domestic thrillers, character-led dramas, and are not interested in the paranormal or sci-fi. Real people in real situations work in Ireland.”
In terms of trends, Horan acknowledged it’s a tough market right now. “With my co-pro hat on, there are currently fewer potential partners available, particularly in the US, but also in the UK, as the SVOD boom dies away and budgets are cut. This will hopefully sort itself out in due course, but will probably need more consolidation and alliances.”
In his acquisitions role he is more optimistic: “Some series have been delayed due to the two US strikes, but most are back in production. At the same time, the US Studios are now offering their series made for their streamers; with decent VOD rights.” Darren Nartey, senior acquisitions manager, films and kids, at ITV in the UK, said his company’s expansion into streaming has opened up new opportunities in terms of buying — though he agrees with Horan that the market is soft right now. “Our streaming platform ITVX Kids allows us to explore a more diverse pool of kids content, but things are slowing down given the challenging UK ad market. That said, we’re open to pre-buys or
straight acquisition of both live-action and animated programmes.”
The decline in the number of funded projects has been a major trend this year,” Nartey said. “Everyone is grappling with tighter budgets while trying to deliver high-quality content for our audience. This is not the first challenge the industry has faced in recent years, so I hope things will improve soon.”
One response has been greater flexibility: “From an ITV perspective, we’ve had to be open-minded in terms of the level of rights we secure, coupled with the delivery timelines.
We’ve found some opportunities in pre-buys where we come on board projects with a large majority of its funding already in place [for example the farmyard animation Coop Troop, an international co-production]. Our content mix has both homegrown and international programmes, so the criteria we use to make decisions differ from title to title, or genre to genre.”
Where AI is concerned, Nartey said “it’s interesting but not something we’ve explored at this stage. There are legitimate concerns about how it can impact creativity and roles in
the kids business so it’s an issue that requires debate and discussion.” He added: “As for FAST, we operate two FAST channels on our ITVX platform. One single IP channel and a mixed IP channel. They’re both performing well and bringing in a new audience daily, which is great to see. It is something we’re looking to build on.”
Zia Sands, lead acquisitions, partnerships and co-productions, Kids EMEA, at WarnerMedia, is in Cannes to find shows for her company’s kids channels. “Cartoonito is a dedicated offering for kids 2-6,” she said. “Dedicated to fun, engaging and culturally relevant storytelling, we’re looking for animated series that complement our existing slate. They should be aesthetically unique with a fun sense of comedy.” Flagship channel Cartoon Network, meanwhile, is aimed at six- to12-yearolds and houses world-class comedy animation. “We are looking for inclusive and diverse series that reflect the world kids in EMEA are growing up in,” Sands said. “We want to see unique and contemporary depictions of characters, stories and themes.”
Optimistic about her trip to Cannes, Sands said: “There is an array of positive trends we’re seeing in the submissions coming through, including an elevation of inclusive projects featuring neurodiversity and differently abled characters; a wider range of modern families being reflected; and stories that focus on kindness and wellness for children. We are also seeing spooky and horror-inspired series made for kids, mirroring the appeal of popular shows like Stranger Things and Wednesday.” Sands is also seeing IP cross over from traditional areas including publishing and gaming, “with an emergence of personalised interactive experiences including escape game-inspired series and gaming in connection with Roblox, physical games and audio experiences with a push into podcasts”.
RTE Ireland’s Dermot Horan TV Unam’s Manuel Villanueva ITV’s Darren Nartey
Sands said she and her team are committed “to reviewing every pitch we receive and like to see pitches that are somewhat developed but early enough in the process to be a meaningful financial contributor and help shape the series creatively. As budgets are a challenging area for our industry right now, we welcome the opportunity to partner with like-minded commissioners as a meaningful investment partner, for the scope of rights and exploitation we require.” In EMEA, she said, “50% of our current slate is original commissions and 50% is third-party co-productions.”
In kids animation, she said she has started to see producers utilising AI to help visualise their intentions for the series, but with the intention of producing the series with human artistic talent. “Our view is that AI is a tool which can help
creators to realise their visions, rather than replace those creators.”
There will be a strong LatAm contingent at MIPTV, using the event to connect with global partners. From Mexico, TV Unam sub-director of programming Manuel Villanueva is on the hunt for factual content. “This year I’m looking for documentaries. They can be one-offs or series with the following themes: history [except WWII], science, arts and culture, as well as gender equality and against violence of vulnerable groups,” he said. “The slot is one hour, so they have to be of this length,” he said. Meanwhile, Globo’s head of acquisition and co-production Guilherme Barros is jetting in from Brazil. He is taking part in a panel session and will be on the lookout for formats. In terms of advice to delegates, he urges them to find “innovation
through simplicity: not only regarding the idea itself, but also the way you deliver your message. If you have a great project but it is too complex to explain, it is going to be
DURING the Unscripted weekend two documentary and factual-focused sessions titled What Do Buyers Want, give delegates a chance to “leap into the minds of some of the industry’s top buyers and commissioners” to gain an understanding as to how to meet their audiences’ viewing habits and tastes. The sessions also present the opportunity to find out “what buyers’ budgets allow for and their preferred way to work with
difficult for the viewers to understand as well. Also, it’s important that you study your clients and the market they are in, understanding their needs, culture and habits.”
partners in the industry”. Speakers at the sessions are Jack Oliver, head of co-production, Sky UK; and Kristina Hollstein, director acquisitions, co-productions, documentaries, children & youth, ZDF Studios.
What Do Buyers Want?
Palais Stage
Jack Oliver, Sky UK
Sunday April 7, 9.30-10.00
Kristina Hollstein, ZDF Studios
Sunday April 7, 14.30-15.00
Over 130 studio and distribution exhibitors, delegates from 85 countries, a world-class line-up of workshops and conference sessions… MIPTV continues to be a crucial staging post for companies in the business of programme sales and acquisitions, content discovery, co-productions and development across all genres. We spoke to representatives of some of the exhibiting companies coming to Cannes ahead of MIPTV 2024
CHEVONNE O’Shaughnessy, co-founder of film producer and distributor American Cinema Inspires (ACI) is back. “I have been absent for a while due to a variety of reasons including COVID. However, MIPTV includes a wide variety of channels and distributors that align with my customers. I also want to be where new potential customers will be.”
O’Shaughnessy has multiple reasons for being in Cannes. “My main objective is to sell my content to TV channels in the European market. Additionally, I am interested in finding new titles to potentially acquire for my channel in the US.” She is also hoping that up close and personal meetings will help address one of the key challenges in her sector: “My business has been affected by European markets creating more product instead of outsourcing. This change in buyer demand has made it harder for us to get a time slot for product. Face-to-face events provide an opportunity for more meaningful interactions with customers. They allow for an engaging exchange to better understand the unique needs and objectives of each company.”
KESHET International is at MIPTV with a slate of shows that includes Backmann & Hoderoff’s 6 x 60 mins thriller Conflict; Spiro Films’ 8 x 60 mins romantic drama The Best Worst Thing; Ritual Arts’ 6 x 60 mins docuseries Earthbound, executive produced and narrated by Orlando Bloom; and Extractors, a Czech political spy thriller inspired by real events.
Keshet International acquired the Voyo Original film Extractors (Extraktori/6 x 60 mins) from Czechia’s biggest commercial channel, TV Nova, and will be offering the drama as both a finished series and a format. Inspired by true events, Extractors tracks the activities of a covert Czech intelligence unit tasked with rescuing and repatriating endangered Czech citizens from abroad and bringing them home. In this first season, the team suspect two Czech women have been kidnapped when they disappear in Pakistan while traveling along the Hippie Trail to India. Explaining why Keshet International liked the title, managing director of distribution Kelly Wright, said: “I love the way this drama depicts international covert operations in such a believable way. The extensive amount of English dialogue and beautifully-crafted scenes shot on location really elevate this spy thriller and boost its appeal. Having got such a positive response when we previewed this title, we can’t wait to launch it to buyers at MIPTV.”
LEADING independent distributor All3Media International has entered into a partnership with Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) in Japan, and the two companies are presenting their joint projects internationally for the first time at MIPTV. The first fruit of the partnership sees All3Media group company North One Productions join the collaboration to develop Lovers Or Liars?, a new studio entertainment format, which the companies are presenting during MIPFORMATS. In each episode of Lovers Or Liars?, a celebrity panel must try to identify the real (married) couple from among other couples that have actually only met for the first time that day. The collaboration brings together two of the global market’s most successful format creators/distributors. Together they handle global hits including The Traitors (IDTV), Gogglebox (Studio Lambert), Race Across The World (Studio Lambert); and from TBS, Ninja Warrior, Takeshi’s Castle and America’s Funniest Home Videos. Nick Smith, All3Media executive vice-president, formats, said Lovers Or Liars? “will be the first of many collaborations through this exciting new partnership with TBS. I can’t wait for the global format community — and viewers at home — to be able to take part in trying to separate the lovers from the liars.”
GEMELLI Films founder and CEO Candice Cain has been a regular at both MIPTV and MIPCOM since she first attended MIPCOM in 2018. She freely admits that she had no idea the scale of impact the Cannes markets would have. “The MIP markets helped grow Gemelli into what we are now,” Cain said. “They helped enable creatives to grow their own distribution arm, while providing the tools to be successful at what we love.” Cain, who just finished production on her 20th title, A Jar Full Of Christmas, said: “Thanks to the MIP markets every single one of my films and series has obtained international distribution. I can say with confidence that future projects will get the same, if not better distribution, and it’s all thanks to my presence at MIP. “I have made so many connections that have evolved into partnerships. One is with Content Rocket to produce A Jar Full Of Christmas, which was forged through a meeting at MIPCOM.” The markets are also suggesting new opportunities for Gemelli. For example, Cain connected with Made In Spanish which dubbed her film A Holiday Homecoming into Latin American Spanish. “We are beyond thankful to have forged a relationship with Made in Spanish. The work they put into the dub is beyond appreciated. Being surrounded by such visionaries at the MIP markets continues to inspire me.” She added: “We will be bringing our team to all of the MIP markets, wherever they take place. Since we are finally getting our content dubbed into Spanish, it only makes sense for us to attend MIP Cancun. I look forward to every market and can’t wait to see what happens in Mexico.”
JAMES WARD BYRKIT
MIPTV newcomers include showrunner/writer/director James Ward Byrkit, who arrives in Cannes having enjoyed widespread acclaim for his sci-fi film Coherence. “This is my first time at MIPTV. After success with Coherence in surprisingly diverse markets, our show Shatter Belt seems perfectly situated to follow-up with the fans of that movie. And since I’ve never been to France, what better way to experience this incredible country than by sitting in a convention centre hoping a stranger will watch our trailer?” Byrkit, a regular collaborator with director Gore Verbinski, is hoping MIPTV can unlock finance from global partners: “We created Shatter Belt in such an unusual manner, fuelled by fever dreams and adrenaline from the corpses of mutant clones, and it became clear we would have to get our project to the world in any way possible. We have the first four episodes complete, but more in the chamber ready to fire and we need financing to broaden the scope of the show. As an anthology, the episodes can be set in any country, with any cast. They can be reskinned and remapped just about anywhere and we hope to find partners that understand the potential of the show.”
Byrkit is convinced face-to-face is the right way to go with Shatter Belt: “Our show is so personal and utterly void of any interference from studio executives, it connects with audiences on a completely clean channel. Face-to-face connection is really crucial with something like this for vetting partners and sharing our passion. Sci-fi trends are changing, and the complexity of audiences is rapidly maturing. We’re looking for partners who understand that and can demonstrate enough awareness to survive the oncoming battle with our robot overlords.”
“What better way to experience this incredible country, France, than by sitting in a convention centre hoping a stranger will watch our trailer?”
NIPPON TV comes to Cannes with an intriguing slate of two new scripted formats and one unscripted format. These include Trespassers, a dramedy about three women who break into an apartment looking for off-the-books cash their company’s CEO is rumoured to be hiding, only to encounter a series of unexpected events. There’s also Stars On The Shelf, a cutting-edge business reality format that invites celebrities to develop a product to compete against professionally-made items. Tom Miyauchi, head of unscripted formats, global business, Nippon TV, said: “As the original creator of Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank, we are delighted to introduce Stars On The Shelf. In today’s dynamic market, buyers are drawn to unscripted formats that offer a fresh blend of creativity and competition. We believe this series has the versatility and universal appeal to be easily adapted and well received globally.”
MIPTV is not just about the content industry’s big guns. It’s also a platform for established boutiques and first-timers, niche players and tech providers. Producer/distributor Nicely Entertainment, for example, is making the trip with a team of executives: CEO Vanessa Shapiro, executive vice-president distribution and co-productions Scott Kirkpatrick, and vice-president, international sales Rachel Siegenthaler. According to Kirkpatrick, Nicely “has had a consistent presence at MIPTV from the company’s founding, in 2020. It’s always valuable to be face-to-face with our key European buyers in Q2.”
As a production/distribution company, Kirkpatrick says Nicely Entertainment’s core objective is “to broker distribution deals and set up new opportunities for co-productions. We’ll be bringing a slate of films — including our new Lifetime thriller Hunting Housewives starring Denise Richards — and a slate of Christmas films.”
Shapiro added: “Indies are an entrepreneurial bunch and times of change are golden for out-ofthe-box opportunities.” In particular, the Nicely team relishes the opportunity to meet clients in person: “You cannot beat face-to-face,” Siegenthaler says. “It’s far easier to establish new contacts and new business in person..”
NEWCOMER Paul Suijk, president and CEO of The Great Courses Studios, is excited to be attending his first MIPTV. “Face-to-face events like MIPTV offer that unbeatable human touch you just cannot replicate on Zoom. Seeing whom we are talking to adds a much deeper level of connection and clarity.”
In terms of his agenda during MIPTV, Suijk says: “Great Courses has been producing and distributing in-depth factual content for over 30 years,” he says, “predominantly in the US and English-speaking world. Now we see enormous international potential. We’re set up to deliver productions suitable for TV markets and we’re partnering with West One International to bring a slate of titles to the Cannes market.”
As for staying ahead of the curve, Suijk said: “The media business is in a state of flux. For us, this means focusing on what our core customers and audiences are seeking — original, high-quality, in-depth content that emphasises engaging learning experiences over flash and gimmicks.” It’s also important to embrace tech innovation, he added: “AI will be a game-changer and is already enhancing our production capabilities such as translating our content into different languages.”
“Thanks to the MIP markets every single one of my films and series has obtained international distribution”
Candice Cain
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MIPTV and CANNESSERIES have joined together for the third time, in a series of sessions that examine content strategies in drama, that all come under the brand Connection – Drama by MIP & CANNESERIES. Sunday sees a limited number of around 50 high-profile executives selected by CANNESERIES and MIPTV, coming together for “qualitative interaction and synergies” with a series of closed-door roundtable discussions, masterclasses and exchange with the screenwriters from the CANNESERIES Writers Club. The day ends as participants take to the steps of the Palais, where there will be a screening of a series from the Festival’s Official Selection, followed by the CANNESERIES party.
Monday is drama-focused and the Connection – Drama by MIP & CANNESERIES sessions in the Palais des Festivals are open to all MIPTV participants. The programme offers roundtable discussions, masterclasses and showcases, with a particular accent on TV-content creation.
The programme includes a case study titled Becoming Karl Lagerfeld – From Book To Series. Produced by Gaumont and Jour First exclusively for Disney+, Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is set in 1970s in Paris, Monaco and Rome and follows the emergence of this controversial and iconic figure of Parisian couture, driven by the ambition to become “the Emperor of fashion”. The story, told for the first time on
screen, is adapted from the best-sell er Kaiser Karl by Raphaëlle Bacqué. Spearheaded by Gaumont depu ty general Christophe Riandee, the series is produced by Isabelle Degeorges for Gaumont and Ar naud de Crémiers for Jour Pre mier. The first two episodes of the series will be presented out of competition at the CANNES SERIES festival.
The six-part series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld is created by Isau re Pisani-Ferry, Jennifer Have, Raphaëlle Bacqué and directed by Jérôme Salle and Audrey Es trougo. The cast includes Daniel Brühl, Théodore Pellerin, Arnaud Valois, Alex Lutz, Agnès Jaoui. Sales are handled by The Walt Disney Company, Benelux.
Case Study: Becoming Karl Largerfeld – From Book To Series Riviera Stage, April 8, 09.45-10.30
Finding The Silver Linings In Challenging Times, Palais Stage, April 8, 11.30-12.15
K-Contents Showcase, Audi K, April 8, 13.00-14.00
Small Is Beautiful – Focus On Public Broadcasters, Palais Stage, April 8, 14.30-15.00
ALONG with Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, the other five titles selected out of competition for screening at CANNESSERIES are: Fallout, from the US, based on the video-game series, created by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Jonathan Nolan and Graham Wagner for Prime Video; Fiasco, from France, co-created by Igor Gotesman and Pierre Niney for Netflix; Franklin, from the US, directed by Tim Van Patten for Apple TV+; Máxima, directed by Saskia Diesing, Joosie Duk and Iván López Núñez for Videoland, with sales by Beta Film; and Terminal, from France, created by Azedine Bendjilali, Giulio Callegari, Andréas Georgiou, Xavier Lacaille, Paul Mirabel and Angela Soupe for Canal+, with sales by StudioCanal.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
Seven years ago, Cannes city hall created CANNESSERIES, an international series festival, free and open to all. This year, once again, CANNESSERIES presents Short Form and Documentary competitions, alongside the prestigious Long Form competition. The screenings are open to all MIPTV delegates on presentation of a MIPTV badge. Here we present the eight titles selected in the CANNESERIES 2024 Long Form competition.
Not
Natiomal and regional pavilions are part of the DNA of the MIP markets, providing a platform for companies of all shapes and sizes to make the trip to Cannes. We heard from some of the pavilions’ organisers ahead of MIPTV
ONE OF the most high-profile organisations at MIPTV is Canada’s Telefilm, which is providing the umbrella for around 25 Canadian companies, according to senior vice-president, programme strategy and industry development, Francesca Accinelli — “with registration still ongoing”.
“Our priorities are to support the Canadian companies by giving them a more sustainable pavilion design and offering meeting spaces where Canada’s talents and creative teams can exchange and connect,” Accinelli said. “We also offer turnkey services at a reduced cost and present a strong brand image that can help promote the Canadian projects.”
The big priority for Telefilm’s cohort at MIPTV is “to sell projects, and find partners or co-producers”. As always, Accinelli said, the Ca-
nadians are bringing “high-level dramas, documentaries and kids content, so we’re eager to see these projects and see what speaks to and inspires partners.” She also notes that several Canadian shows are in competition at CANNESERIES, “so we will organise a photocall”. In terms of flying the flag for the land of the Maple Leaf, she says: “Canada has a lot to offer: world-renowned producers, creators and technicians, all ready to contribute to the success of a wide variety of projects. Canada is also a leader in international co-production, with over 60 official co-pros annually. We are currently seeing many successes from co-pros between Canada and other countries.
Telefilm Canada is proud to be a partner in this process.”
Canada’s presence in Cannes is
reinforced by the participation of SODEC and Quebec Creatif, champions of French-speaking Canada’s cultural sector. The SODEC delegation says the Quebec Creatif Pavilion at MIPTV will be home to a dozen companies this year, ranging from giants like Bell Média to boutique distributors including KO Distribution and Muse Distribution International. Highlights in 2024 include three French-Canadian productions selected for CANNESERIES: Teenagers, La Terre Appelle Mathilde and Saint-Jean-du-Lac. There will be around 12 pavilions at MIPTV, with delegates coming from as far afield as China, Korea, Turkey, Ukraine and Romania. Closer to home, Unifrance will be present with a diverse array of French producers. In 2023, it
brought more than 40 firms. There will be both a Spanish Pavilion (Audiovisual from Spain) and a Catalonian Pavilion (Catalan Films) — broadly analogous to the relationship between Canada and Quebec. For Catalonia, an autonomous region in northern Spain, the trip to MIPTV fits into a broad blueprint, Edgar Garcia, director of the Catalan Institute for Cultural Companies (ICEC) said. “Our government has made a commitment to the audiovisual sector with an investment of more than €50m in 2023, with special emphasis on cinema, but also on seeking to promote the creation of great fiction series with an international ambition.”
Catalan Films’ job, Garcia said, is to promote Catalan audiovisual content by representing the in-
dustry at major markets and festivals. “Through strategic initiatives and partnerships, we showcase the richness and diversity of Catalan productions, fostering networking opportunities and facilitating distribution deals. Our presence at events like MIPTV underscores our commitment to promoting Catalan talent and production globally.”
For MIPTV 2024, Garcia expects to bring a delegation of more than 30 companies. “Our pavilion represents a diverse range of companies, including production houses, distribution companies, animation studios, TV formats developers and our public broadcaster. While each company brings its unique strengths and offerings, collectively, they showcase the innovation, creativity, and expertise prevalent in the Catalan audiovisual landscape.”
The primary agenda, Garcia said, revolves around “promoting Catalan audiovisual content, and expanding our network of partners and collaborators. We aim to showcase our productions, encouraging international partnerships and co-productions. By working with us, partners can gain access to a rich pool of creative talent, competitive
companies, funding and compelling storytelling that resonates with global audiences.”
In addition, he is keen to showcase the Catalan government’s HighEnd TV Series Fund, worth up to €1.5m per project. “Our fund aims to empower visionary creators and production companies to bring their ambitious series projects to life. We recognise the growing demand for premium scripted content and are committed to nurturing and financing projects in Catalan language that push creative boundaries and resonate with audiences worldwide.”
In a timely development, This Is Not Sweden has been selected for CANNESERIES. Garcia calls this “a very good example of our HighEnd TV Series Fund in action.”
MIPTV is also a great platform for learning: “We’re keen on exploring emerging trends. We’ll be attending various key events, including panel discussions, workshops and market screenings, to gain insights into these trends and how they impact content creation and distribution. Additionally, we look forward to connecting with industry leaders and fellow professionals to
exchange ideas and projects.”
KOCCA, the Korea Creative Content Agency, is a long-standing supporter of MIPTV and arrives in Cannes with a robust cohort of companies under its umbrella: “In total, 12 content companies will participate in MIPTV 2024. We expect companies of various genres, including dramas, entertainment and documentaries, will participate, resulting in various businesses outcomes such as co-production and rights sales contracts.”
KOCCA said Korean-based companies have a strong track record of doing business in Cannes. “Last year, our MIPTV participants showed a strong performance in signing contracts through their excellent IP. This year, the Korean pavilion will again provide business opportunities to outstanding Korean content companies.”
And the KOCCA delegation seeks to make contacts beyond its stand: “The K-drama Showcase will be held on Monday, April 8, from 14:30 to 15:30. At the showcase, a talk will be held about the co-production of a remake with a British production company of The Kidnapping Day, which was selected
THE CHINA Pavilion is jointly presented by more than 20 entities and their senior executives, including national and local television stations China Media Group (CMG), Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation, Hunan Satellite TV and Mango TV, Fujian Media Group/Fujian Provincial Administration of Radio and Television, Sichuan Radio and Television (SRT) and China Intercontinental Communication Center (CICC). In addition, China’s streaming platforms Youku Information Technology (Beijing), iQIYI, and Tencent Video are represented.
This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. In recognition of this moment in the two countries’ histories, the forum Marking the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations Between China and France: Witnessing Time, Sharing the Future–Audiovisual Co-operation, takes place on Monday, April 8, in Auditorium K at 10.00.
Among the companies at the China Pavilion, Huace Group is launching the historical series Flourished Peony. Set in the Tang Dynasty, it tells the story of He Wei Fang, who started a business cultivating rare peonies and led a group of women to run a flower shop and build the brand. There is a world premiere of the trailer, as well as an announcement of global co-operation on the title, on April 8 at the China Pavilion.
as the Best Korean Drama of 2023 by Forbes.” And the popular Korean Formats Super Session, which features a mix of case studies and new launches, is on Sunday, April 7, from 10:15 to 11:30.
Also making the trip to MIPTV is Film Austria. Speaking to the MIPTV Magazine, co-ordinator Jakob Pochlatko said around 10 companies are coming as part of the pavilion, with many active in co-production. “Our main goal,” he said, “will be the promotion of Austria as an amazing country to work with. In 2023 our film-funding system was re-imagined and offers great possibilities for structuring co-pros and service productions.”
While most of the pavilions are domestic in character, one delegation that crosses borders is the Creative Europe MEDIA stand at MIPTV, in the Salon des Ambassadeurs. That stand is staging workshops and buyers’ briefings, and offers dedicated meeting areas and an online catalogue. Access to markets like MIPTV is one strand of Creative Europe MEDIA’s work, which is supported by an annual budget of €100m across development, production, promotion and distribution.
THE EUROPEAN Co-ordination of Audiovisual Distributors (ECAD), is run by Pauline Mazenod, of Paris-based distribution company Windrose; Anne Littardi, of Paris-based documentary distributor Béliane; and Thierry Detaille, of Brussels-based factual distributor and co-production company Visible Film. ECAD’s aims are to promote the business of international programme sales, and to support and develop practical responses to the needs of its independent members. These goals put the association at the heart of new developments in the sales and distribution sector, both commercially and politically. For example, on Dec 13, 2023, the European Parliament was asked to vote on whether or not to maintain the exception for the audiovisual industries to the 2018 geo-blocking regulation. “The question was whether to keep the exclusion for TV and cinema, or to end it and apply the scope of the law — in view of a single digital European market — and remove geo-blocking for the TV and cinema industry,” ECAD board member Littardi said. “Ending this exclusion would have meant that all TV content would become available anytime, online, in each of the 27 EU member states. If the MEPs had voted for the end of the exclusion, it would have hit the TV industry, whose investments depend on territoriality and exclusivity. Thanks to our European positioning, we co-ordinated action with other national and European unions and associations of producers, distributors and TV stations, among others; we explained the stakes to MEPs and submitted to them our suggestions to improve the circulation of audiovisual works
within the EU, while respecting the funding model of our industry —and the MEPs voted to keep the exclusion of the TV and cinema industries from this regulation.”
But there is always a risk that the threat could return in the near future. ECAD secretary general Pauline Mazenod said the association will remain alert to this risk: “While abolishing geo-blocking would destroy our European media industry, rather than help create a single market, we must nevertheless be proactive to increase the circulation of European works primarily in Europe,” she said. “The European Commission and its Commissioner, Thierry Breton, want to take new concrete measures by 2025. In-
“We need in-depth studies on who we are”
Thierry Detaille
ternational audiovisual distributors based in Europe, as they sell European works outside their country of origin, are the solution.”
She added: “As private companies that have to be profitable, we are called upon every day to make choices about the acquisition of works on which we are going to invest our sales efforts. The globalisation of our media market and its increasingly competitive nature create a growing pressure to acquire works with the highest commercial potential, which more and more often do not come from Europe.
“A new scheme should be initiated as
soon as possible by Creative Europe
Media for the benefit of audiovisual independent international distributors based within the EU — selling primarily to TV, streamers, the educational market and transportation, not for theatrical release — to support our work in the circulation of audiovisual works in Europe,” Mazenod said. “Subsidies would be awarded to us based on a points system. Points would be attributed if we work on European content; and extra points would be given if we acquire a European work coming from a country with a low production
capacity. We would also receive points if we acquire a work from a European ‘linguistic-minority’ country — and for inclusivity of minority groups, and sustainability, where this is in line with EU policies. We would welcome if extra points were also given for kids’ works and Ukrainian ones.”
“We would also get points depending on the number of sold territories in Europe and outside. As well as taking account of our sales in Europe, including those outside Europe would also have a beneficial impact on the soft power we can play, promoting the diversity of points of view vehiculated by the works we sell, in a world threatened by disinformation and in which the ideas and representations contained in cultural content are becoming geopolitical weapons,” ECAD president Thierry Detaille said. “For audiovisual international distributors, the level of subsidies awarded would be proportional to the number of points won.
“We need in-depth studies on who we are, our business models, our economic weight — our turnover in comparison to that of cinema international sales companies. That would give accurate information on the international distribution business, its health and its contribution to the cultural industry and society. Less is known about the pressures on the sales and distribution sector. There is an urgent need to increase the licence fees paid by European public TV broadcasters.”
Mazenod added that, at their Cannes ECAD session, she and her colleagues “will answer any questions producers may have, without taboos and with the passion that drives us!”
Palais Stage Tuesday, April 9, 15.00-15.30
A curation of new shows hitting the global market...
Check out what’s making waves and why they’re sked-worthy.
Here we highlight some of the content brought to MIPTV by companies from around the world
TOP TITLES from Spain’s The Mediapro Studio include: eight-episode triller Quiet, set in 2020 when the streets of Barcelona are almost empty when a series of homeless people are murdered; Witness 36, a spy thriller series about a female writer who creates fictional identities; The Famous Five, series based on novels by Enid Blyton; and The Crime Of Father Amaro, about a 19th-century priest’s love affair. From the non-scripted slate come: singing competition Timeless (10 x 90 mins) in which candidates compete in each episode with music from a different decade; Call Me When You Get There (6 x 30 mins), a competition for TikTok influencers on a road trip; and You’re It! (8 x 50 mins), a late-night talk show where a comedian interviews ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
JAPAN’s Nippon TV is at MIPTV with two new scripted formats: Trespassers (1 x 90 mins), a dramedy, from the creators of the Rebooting, where three women break into a luxury apartment looking for the off-the-books cash their company’s CEO is rumoured to be hiding, only to encounter a series of unexpected events; and Alice In Wonderful Kitchen (10 x 60 mins), a drama mystery about an extraordinary cook, who is on the spectrum, a story that seeks to bring healing to those who have such struggles in life. Nippon TV also highlights unscripted format
Stars On The Shelf, scalable from 60 mins-120mins, which taps into celebrities’ creativity, showcasing their prowess to shine in the competitive business arena.
DATES In Real Life (7 x 30 mins) is a drama following Ida, a twentysomething with no relationship experiences outside of her bedroom because her social life has been spent entirely online. Further titles from the US company include: drama series Pirate’s Bay (6 x 45 mins), based on a true story about a team who create one of the world’s largest BitTorrent indexes; the third season of crime drama Harry Wild (6 x 60 mins), starring Jane Seymour; and Savage River (6 x 60 mins), about a woman who returns home after eight years in prison, but then comes under suspicion after a local murder. She sets out to prove her innocence, uncovering long-buried secrets that will cast doubt on everything she thought she knew.
URBAN Canyons, the UK- and Malta-based history specialist presents the docu-drama Knights Of The North, The Baltic Crusades (2 x 52 mins/1 x 90 mins/4K/HD) at MIPTV, due in 2025. In the 12th century there was a crusade at the eastern frontier of Christendom. It was the beginning of 250 years of brutal slaughter. The story follows a Swedish knight, a German warrior monk and chronicler, and a female leader of the pagan Semigallian tribe. Using the latest research this is the story of how the traditions and religion of medieval Europe clashed with Baltic culture.
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POORHOUSE
INTERNATIONAL
POORHOUSE International highlights its new production The Pilgrimage Of Gilbert & George (1 x 88 mins) at MIPTV. From their house and studio in London, Gilbert & George — two-people-one-artist — have been at the forefront of British art for over half a century. Their art is stark, urban, poetic, profoundly romantic, brutally realistic, and wholly visionary. Their 2007 Tate Modern retrospective remains the most extensive exhibition of any artist in the history of the gallery. This film offers a captivating insight into their search for life through art and embraces the Gilbert & George mantra of “art for all”. Produced by Supercollider/Zinc TV and shot in UHD and 5.1 audio, the film is directed by Mike Christie.
Aiming For Glory (ZED)
© Tohubohu
ZED RETURNS to Cannes with an extensive catalogue recently enhanced by a selection of sports titles, an area of expansion for the German distributor. A highlight from this slate is Aiming For Glory, a 52-minute film, produced by Tohubohu & Falabracks for France Télévisions, which is slated for completion in time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The documentary puts the spotlight on four differently-abled athletes, including 17-time Paralympian medalist Oksana Masters, striving to qualify for the Paralympics.
AT MIPTV French animation producer and distributor Dandelooo is offering a pre-school CGI series Pol The Pirate Mouse and the stop-motion animation series Birds & Bees, which features sexuality, emotions and body development. Produced by Submarine (Netherlands), Pol The Pirate Mouse (13 x 7 mins + 1 x 26 mins special), is about little Pol and her forest friends who set sail for adventure. Birds & Bees (20 x 3 mins), produced by Tournez S’il Vous Plaît (TSVP), is targeted at 8- to 11-year-olds. In the series Lili, an expert in sexual and emotional education, answers questions that kids may have and guides young viewers through her poetic and quirky stop-motion world. The series uses paper-cut anatomical representations.
Birds & Bees (Dandelooo)
IN MEMORIAM (8 x 60 mins), from Passez-Go and C3 Media for Canada’s Crave, and brought to Cannes by the UK’s Cineflix Rights, is a gripping French-language psychological thriller, unpicking complex and deep-rooted family dynamics within an increasingly sinister competition which forces rival siblings to battle each other to inherit their estranged father’s untold wealth.
In Memoriam (Cineflix Rights)
The Pilgrimage Of Gilbert & George (Poorhouse International)
CREATED by producer StudioCanal and Rabbit Track Pictures for the UK’s ITV, Playing Nice (4 x 60 mins) is a new thriller series set against the landscape of Cornwall, in the southwest of England. Two couples discover that their toddlers were switched at birth in a hospital mix-up, and face a horrifying dilemma: do they keep the sons they have raised and loved, or reclaim their biological child? Pete and Maddie are jettisoned into the world of the other couple, Miles and Lucy. At first it seems all four are agreed on a solution, but it soon becomes clear that hidden motives are at play. The series stars James Norton, Niamh Algar, James McArdle and Jessica Brown Findlay, it is an adaptation of a JP Delaney novel.
MUSE Distribution International has expanded its TV-movie catalogue with a new chapter in Hallmark Movies and Mysteries franchise Aurora Teagarden Mysteries (21 x 90 mins). When the 25-year-old Aurora Teagarden, now played by Skyler Samuels, moves back to her hometown she takes a job working at a local diner while completing her thesis. She has moved back in with her mother, and is attempting to make peace with her. Soon she learns that her best friend Sally has been ghosted by her fiancé at the wedding rehearsal. With the help of Aurora’s friend Arthur, a rookie police officer who still holds a candle for Aurora, they go in search of him, only to discover a body. But when the body turns out to be someone else, the groom becomes the main suspect, forcing Aurora and Arthur to find out the truth before Sally walks down the aisle with a possible killer.
LEONINE Studios is highlighting two new 6 x 60 series at MIPTV. In The Seed, two detectives hunt for a missing activist in Norway’s far north, uncovering an international conspiracy to gain control of the world’s food supplies. Ruthless multinationals, power-hungry politicians and international institutions fight for the ultimate control of food supplies. The second series from Germany’s Leonine is Juliet, about a detective who, after a devastating loss, leaves the city of Brussels for the serene town of De Haan on the Belgian coast, joining the local police force. While working on cases Juliet also probes her father’s mysterious death and cares for her rebellious 14-year-old niece, Chloë, with whom she develops a strong bond.
DRAMA series Thou Shalt Not Steal (8 x 30 mins/4 x 60 mins) features a road trip in Central and South Australia in the 1980s. On a search for the truth behind a mysterious family secret, Robyn, a young Aboriginal delinquent, escapes from detention and reluctantly teams up with awkward teenager Gidge. Together they flee her small desert community on a perilous journey across the outback, learning some hard life lessons along the way. Hot on their heels are Maxine, a sex worker whose taxi Robyn stole, and Gidge’s domineering father Robert, a fraudulent preacher. Brought to MIPTV by London-based DCD Rights, the series is a Ludo Studio/Since1788 Productions creation and stars Noah Taylor, Miranda Otto, Sherry-Lee Watson and Will McDonald.
Thou
Not Steal (DCD Rights)
Shalt The Seed (Leonine Studios) Playing Nice (StudioCanal)FRANCE’s GO-N Productions is currently in production with France Televisions on the fifth season of pre-school animation Simon Super Rabbit. Simon Super Rabbit is at an age when little rabbits (and children) are starting to come into their own — challenging relationships with parents, starting school and learning about the world in general. The new series sees Simon and his friends play at being superheroes, use their creativity and imagination to overcome fears and defeat Professor Wolf and his mischievous schemes — and they meet the Professor’s grandmother and little cousin who are adorable and not at all villains. The series is distributed by Federation Kids & Family.
DISTRIBUTR Federation Kids & Family is showcasing the tween live-action drama series Gangnam Project at MIPTV. Produced by Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures, Gangnam Project (10 x 30 mins) is set in Korea and tells the story of Hannah Shin, a spirited Canadian/Korean teen with dreams of connecting with her Korean heritage. One summer, she accepts a job as an English tutor and flies to South Korea to work at an elite K-pop training school. She is tasked with tutoring one of the school’s top students and in a bid to win her and the other students over, Hannah showcases her talent with some impromptu performances, but instead her talents attract the attention of the school’s owner which leads to the opportunity to become a K-pop student herself.
ITALIAN animation studio Gruppo Alcuni highlights at MIPTV the tween series The Black Diamond Race (9 x 45 mins). Currently in production and set to launch later this year, the series is a co-production with RAI Kids, Spain’s RTVE and India’s Broadvision Perspectives. The story is set against the backdrop of car racing as it was taking Europe and India by storm in 1929. Shady criminal Mister K has organised a rally across India and has cajoled a Maharaja into gambling a family heirloom gem that Mister K covets, along with other diamonds in museums along the route. Part of the deal is that their offspring must race. However, he has not reckoned with the Maharajah’s daughter who sees her chance to fulfill the dream of becoming a professional driver. What follows is a chase across the stunning landscape of India, including diamonds disappearing from museums, an old mystic prophecy and a series of twists and turns in the quest to beat the bad guys to the finish line.
DETECTIVE Touré is an immigrant in Bilbao, whose skills as an amateur detective make him a vital player for the local police, who use him to help them with a complex investigation into the Nigerian mafia. The series, Detective Touré, introduces an unusual hero, demonstrating that the best detective in the Basque region has no badge. Spain’s RTVE also highlights The Law Of The Sea, a drama based on real events that developed on the open sea when 10 crew members of a fishing boat had to decide whether to rescue 51 sub-Saharan migrants who were adrift. While the law of the sea seems final, on land the consequences of their actions trigger a series of unpredictable events.
PRODUCED by Score Draw Media, commissioned by the BBC and distributed by the UK’s Aardman, Yukee is a new 52 x 7 mins music-lead preschool series created by musicians for the musicians of the future. As well as having themes of community, friendship and co-operation at its heart, with a humorous tone, Yukee offers a child-centred introduction to music. Another priority for Aardman is Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures (6 x 26 mins). From Eagle Eye Drama, co-produced with Creative Conspiracy, the series is a collection of animated stories from the famous illustrator and storyteller, from Jack and Nancy’s exhilarating island adventure to Zagazoo’s offbeat antics.
HIGHLIGHTS from kids programming brought to MIPTV by Germany’s ZDF Studios include: live-action series Surviving Summer (18 x 25 mins), about a young New York teenager who moves to Australia and embraces the thrill of surfing; Truth Or Dare (13 × 20 mins), a live-action series that paints a poignant tale of first love; and the second season of live-action series Theodosia (26 x 26 mins), in which, in 1905, the intrepid daughter of Egyptologists unearths a tomb and the Eye of Horus in the Valley of the Kings. From the drama genre comes: The Zweiflers (6 × 45 mins), in which family patriarch Symcha Zweifler wants to sell his delicatessen empire when he is confronted with his past in Frankfurt’s red light district just after World War II; Concordia (6 × 45 mins), in which twin catastrophes strike a city in the future, a murder and a hack of the town’s impenetrable AI; We’re On it, Comrades! (8 × 45 mins), set in the Institute of Paranormal Phenomena; and Suplex (4 x 42 mins), set in a small town where a young talented wrestler is brutally murdered.
Surviving Summer (ZDF Studios)
Quentin Blake’s Box Of Treasures (Aardman)
ON THE slate of drama from Encore Television-Distribution are two seasons of Dark Soul – Those Left Behind (12 x 45 mins), a psychological legal thriller that follows a team of investigators led by a psychiatrist and part-time coroner, and Sergeant Boisvert, an oldschool crime investigator. Other titles from the French-Canadian distributor include: two seasons of A Criminal Affair (16 x 45 mins), each series about a cold case involving police errors; two seasons of Before The Crash (20 x 45 mins), about a man who after leaving the rat race behind is persuaded to go back into the banking world; The Candidate (10 x 45 mins), loosely inspired by a true story, about a nail technician and struggling single mother who is offered an opportunity to run as a paper candidate for a third party; and drama The Emperor – The Fall Of The Emperor (17 x 45 mins).
PARIS-based Superights’ highlights for MIPTV include: Chasing Horrifox (1 x 26 mins), a special following three marmots — Yaya, Mo and Pic — who venture into the snowy mountains to ask Horrifox to finish their bedtime story since they can’t wait for their first hibernation; the second season of Koumi’s Animated Picture Book (52 x 5 mins), presenting 52 new animals, as well as a new spin-off show called Draw Animals With Koumi (52 x 5 mins), teaching kids how to draw the 52 animals from the first series; a second season of edutainment series Croco Doc (26 x 7 mins), which highlights health problems and solutions; and a new third season of pre-school series Clay Time (30 x 4.30 mins), which includes new stories and tutorials that teach kids how to make animals in modelling clay.
ISRAEL-based yes Studios is launching a new series at MIPTV, a 10-part psychological drama called Night Therapy. The series tells the story of Louie, played by Yousef Sweid, an Arab-Israeli psychologist struggling to raise his two children after the suicide of his Jewish-Israeli wife. To strike a better work/homelife balance and support his kids during the day as they rebuild their lives, he decides to shift his practice to receive patients at night. Shira Haas plays a patient, a computer genius who rarely leaves her home, preferring to lead her life in the virtual world. Through the late clinic hours, and flashback scenes where Louie acts as an unseen observer, the series depicts refreshing points of view on life, which often require unusual treatments and includes therapy sessions written with the input of practicing psychologists. The series also stars Lucy Ayoub, Yaakov Zada Daniel and Firas Nassar.
BEIJING Time Flying Fish is the distributor in Asia for various IMC Toys’ animation series, including: Cry Babies Magic Tears (116 x 5 mins), which explores an imaginative world where tears are magical and aims to change the way kids feel about crying; BFF (26 x 7 mins), which features the main characters of Cry Babies Magic Tears who are now empowered teenagers, fighting for their friendship against all odds and becoming best friends forever; VIP Pets (48 x 7 mins), which focusses on self-esteem, teamwork and friendship; Bloopies (26 x 5 mins), about a group of divers who swirl through the plug in the bathtub and reach the sea where they are transformed into mermaids; and Meta Zells (24 x 5 mins), featuring Jazz and his friends who play a game online were the Wrockers want to conquer the Zells energy and the Woodies frustrate their plans while protecting nature.
AT MIPTV LiveFun China is representing various animation series — including Simon Super Rabbit, Rainbow Bubblegem and The BigFoots — across mainland China. The company, which has strong distribution links with CCTV, Tencent Video and YouKu, among others, also works across the publishing and master-toy licensing sectors.
WITH a second season already under way, Macy Murdoch (8 x 11 mins) is a spin-off drama from the Murdoch Mysteries series, brought to Cannes by Quebec-based HG Distribution. The stories are crafted specifically for a younger audience. Another priority is La Terre Appelle Mathilde (6 x 12 mins), about a 17-year-old with a passion for astronautics, who suffers an accident while trying to tinker with a homemade rocket prototype which results in her losing an arm. Forced to spend the next few weeks in a rehabilitation centre for young amputees, Mathilde is confronted with the various stages of rehabilitation, before finally learning to thrive. Worldwide rights are available.
Macy Murdoch (HG Distribution) Night Therapy (yes Studios)
THE WORLD’s Biggest Cruise Ship (2 x 60 mins) is made with exclusive access to Royal Caribbean’s record-breaking ship Icon of the Seas and features captivating visuals and stories from crew and passengers from all over the world. Focusing on the inner workings of the vessel, episode one showcases the specialist staff and logistics behind this floating city, and explores how Icon of the Seas was built. From departure to disembarkation, episode two features the maiden passenger voyage and follows a core cast of staff and around 7,600 passengers on the first sailing from Miami to The Caribbean and back.
BUDDING Italian animation and distribution company, Green Ink Animation, showcases edutainment project Gateway 66 (26 x 6 mins) at MIPTV. In co-production with RAI Kids and Gruppo Alcuni, and partnering with Muse, the Natural Science Museum in Trento, TFC and the Renzo Piano Foundation, the live-action/animation hybrid series, for 6- to 10-year-olds, aims to show how science can be a thrilling and fun-filled experience. The story follows a research scientist trapped in her own hyperspace portal experiment and two teen heroes who set off on a rescue mission, time-travelling back 66 million years. Gateway 66 is set to air on RAI Kids.
A NEW title brought to Cannes by the UK’s Hat Trick International is Spinal Destination (6 x 30 mins), from Whitiora Productions and Great Southern Film and Television, for Sky New Zealand. The ground-breaking and uplifting comedy is set in a spinal unit. Tessa Rivers is a go-getter with a busy life and loving family. When a mysterious illness leaves her paralysed, Tessa is sent to Goldfield’s Spinal Unit where she learns to navigate the new version of herself that she has suddenly become. With the help of her alter-ego ‘Walking Tessa’, she becomes determined to walk again, by any means necessary.
BAVARIA Media International presents a diverse line-up at MIPTV, including the gripping crime drama Port Poison (8 x 25 mins), about 25-year-old student Santeri who puts moral questions aside to help his mother. However he learns that he must bear the consequences for his actions. In contrast, Bavaria Media highlights the uplifting comedy Last X-Mas (1 x 95 mins), a heartwarming romantic story wrapped in a Christmas movie.
2024 sees the 40th anniversary of the Pet Shop Boys and following the global theatrical release of a concert film to more than 1,400 theatres across 50 territories worldwide earlier this year, White Light Distribution brings the film, Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live At The Royal Arena Copenhagen, to MIPTV. The film is produced by White Light Film Productions and directed by David Barnard in a 14-camera 4K shoot. White Light has secured broadcast presales with PBS America and Hollywood Suite Canada, ZDF Germany and Globo Brazil.
Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live At The Royal Arena Copenhagen (White Lifght Distribution)
THE PERFECT Meal – The Secrets Of The Mediterranean Diet, which is available as a one-hour or feature-length show — or a series, explores the many effects of plant-based foods on our wellbeing, from the heart to the mind. Narrated by Jean-Marc Barr, the film is also a testament to the transformative power of food as medicine. First Hand Films, a producer based in Zürich, is also a distributor in Switzerland’s four language regions.
FRANCE’s Xilam Animation highlights My Life In Versailles (6 x 26 mins) at MIPTV. A modern-day story, the series follows Violette, who at eight years old suddenly becomes an orphan and is sent to live with her uncle Regis, who she barely knows. He is a gruff man and works as the caretaker of the Palace of Versailles. After a tough start, Violette finds self-confidence and begins to move on, thanks to Regis, her best friend Malcolm, her kindly social worker Genevieve and all of the new friends she makes. My Life In Versailles is a sequel to a multi-award winning TV special. Delivery of the series is due later this year.
PARIS-based Prime Entertainment Group is at MIPTV with a range of new programmes. Highlights include the latest season of Close Up (120 x 26 mins), bringing a new roster of celebrity portraits, including 2023 footage. Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are among the stars. Their latest biography film focuses on the life of legendary director Mike Nichols (1 x 52 mins), and to commemorate the 80th anniversary of one of the most significant military operations comes 6 June 44 – The Light Of Dawn (2 x 52 mins). Highlights from the Prime animation catalogue include Runes (26 x 22 mins), an epic fantasy adventure of a young boy reclaiming his throne and defeating evil with magic; and family special Vanille, A Caribbean Tale (1 x 31 mins), a magical adventure set in the beautiful scenery of Guadeloupe.
Lexi And Lingo (Omens Studios)
SINGAPORE’s Omens Studios is bringing new original animated series Lexi And Lingo (52 x 7 mins) to MIPTV. The CG animated series is created for kids aged three to six. Lexi and Lingo aims to help children struggling to learn to read through fantastical storytelling and music, encouraging pre-schoolers to expand their vocabulary in a fun and fresh way. At the end of each day six-year-old Lexi snuggles down on her bed and recalls in story form what she has done that day for her lovable old dog, Lingo. Through Lexi’s vivid imagination her creative and funny stories come to life in unexpected ways. Creator, producer and distributor Omens Studios has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, China, the UK and the US.
JAPAN’s Yomiuri TV is at MIPTV with drama series, Although I Love You, And You? (10 x 30 mins). Sakae, an open-minded and approachable chef, works at a small restaurant in Osaka. He speaks with a strong Osaka dialect and cooks fantastic local food. Sakae is attracted to Hisashi, who has just relocated from Tokyo. Impulsively he says “I love you, and you?” to Hisahi who hesitates to say ‘Yes’ because he thinks the dialect sounds brutal and that Osaka people are too direct. Can they overcome such a cultural barrier to get together? Other priorities for Yomiuri TV include Birdman Rally, a physical competition featuring human-powered aircraft; and Child’s Play, a game show inspired by children’s games.
Although Love You, And You? (Yomiuri TV)
ALONE: Australia (12 x 60 mins) follows 10 participants who travel to the Tasmanian west coast where they shed modern possessions and comforts, surviving solely on what the land and water around them provides. The last one standing wins a life-changing $250,000. Another priority from A+E Networks is Theresa Caputo: Raising Spirits (4 x 60 mins), about the psychic as she balances the responsibility of her gift, a busy career, an (almost) empty nest and her close-knit, ever-growing family. Theresa stops at cities on her tour, visits local hotspots, surprises people with spontaneous readings and even connects spirits with unsuspecting celebrities.
Alone Australia (A+E Networks)
NETHERLANDS-based Incredible Film presents Saïd & Anna (16 x 6.5 mins) in Cannes. Six-year-old Saïd and seven-year-old Anna are best friends. Every day after school, they hang out at the repair shop belonging to Saïd’s parents. While broken things from the locals are given a new life, the children figure out how to fix their own concerns, in their own creative way. The series is a coproduction from Amsterdam-based Phanta Basta! with three public broadcasters — the Netherlands’ EO/ NPO Zappelin, Germany’s SWR/KiKa, and Belgium’s VRT/Ketnet and Indi Film.
(6 x 52 mins) is an ecological thriller featuring Abigail, a marine scientist sent to her hometown to research a mysterious shipwreck. While her research progresses mysterious phenomena begin occurring at sea, interfering with the work of fishermen. Abigail realises that an underwater presence is about to upset the fragile balance between man and nature. Other top titles from France tv distribution include: Enjoy! (6 x 45 mins), a drama about a group of delivery drivers for a home-delivery app, all waiting for opportunities to join the various professions they really want; crime series Beyond The Grave (2 x 90 mins), a new case for Inspector Adamsberg to investigate, a series of deaths in Brittany; and the fourth season of comedy Parliament (10 x 26 mins).
LOST In Fuseta follows Inspector Leander Lost, a high-functioning autistic police detective, who is transferred to the Portuguese fishing village of Fuseta as part of a European exchange programme. While there, he teams up with two local police officers, Graciana Rosado and Carlos Esteves, to investigate a murder. But their investigation soon sees them entangled in a web of organised crime and corruption. The third and fourth episode of the series returns to the sunny town of Fuseta, Portugal, where Inspector Lost discovers that his colleague Teresa is missing and he searches for her with Rosado and Esteves. The series is brought to MIPTV by Hamburg-based OneGate Media.
FINLAND’s Gigglebug Entertainment is highlighting A Super Epic Tadpole Journey To The Surface Of Croak Creek (52 x 11 mins) at MIPTV. Currently in development and targeted at kids aged six to nine, the series follows the underwater odyssey of two seemingly insignificant tadpoles who brave many dangers as they try to reach the surface. The series is produced by Gigglebug Entertainment, the delivery date is set for 2026, and worldwide rights are available.
THE SECOND season of Cops Gone Bad (7 x 60 mins), from ITN Productions for broadcaster Crime + Investigation, is brought to Cannes by the UK’s Passion Distribution. The series lifts the lid on the betrayal of trust involved when cops become criminals. Featuring crimes from around the world, including the UK, Australia and the US, TV star and true-crime obsessive Will Mellor explores seven cases including rape, murder, drug trafficking and even poisoning baby food. By examining the evidence, including police recordings, photographs and news footage, he uncovers the planning that went into each crime.
ZAP’S Last Stand is a science-fiction story that takes place in the world of computers. All the characters are computer programs and the hero, Zap, has amnesia. While searching for memories he has already made friends and prevented a villain from taking over Computer City. In the process of finding himself, he finds purpose in his life. The message of the film is that even in a difficult situation, we must keep hope and positivity. The show is produced by Jilin JAI Vixo Pictures with Jilin Animation Institute, Jilin JAI Cultural Arts Group, Jilin JAI TianBo Film and TV Production and She Dream Pictures — and is brought to Cannes by Jilin Animation Institute.
A Super Epic Tadpole Journey To The Surface Of Croak Creek (Gigglebug Entertainment) Saïd & Anna (Incredible Film)
Zap’s Last Stand (Jilin Animation Institute)
Sea Shadows (France tv distribution)
WHEN There’s A Will, There’s A Way?
Is a drama featuring Kari, a famous and influential designer who loses everything because of her husband, Paulo Simone, a high-class guru and life coach. He draws her into a scam that ruins her career and her life. At 40 years old, Kari must return to the neighbourhood where she was born and start over to recover everything she had lost. The drama is also available as a format and is licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.
THE SLATE from LA-headquartered distributor Electric Entertainment includes: The Librarians: The Next Chapter (12 x 60 mins), a spin-off from the original series, which follows a Librarian from the past who finds himself stuck in the present and inadvertently releases magic that a new team has to clean up; two seasons (29 x 60 mins) — with a third in production (10 x 60 mins) — of Leverage: Redemption, in which the team challenges a power broker, a Mayor, a pool hustler and an industrialist exploiting child labour; two seasons of sci-fi drama The Ark (24 x 60 mins); and two seasons of Almost Paradise (20 x 60 mins), which follows retired US DEA agent Alex Walker in the Philippines, who is still managing to put away criminals.
COOKING Buddies (10 x 20 mins), brought to Cannes by London-based Cake Entertainment, is hosted by 13-year-old Buddy, son of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Buddy invites kids to join him as he teaches them how to cook a simple meal and in return his guests teach him a skill they are passionate about — including basketball, street art, football, karate, ice skating, boxing, BMX, hiphop and salsa, among other themes. With delicious food, helpful tips and guest appearances by Jamie Oliver and the rest of the family, Cooking Buddies promotes healthy eating and aims to inspire kids to start cooking. The series premieres in the UK on CBBC later this year. Cake holds distribution rights worldwide, excluding the UK.
HEADING the scripted line-up for Canada’s Boat Rocker is American Rust: Broken Justice (10 x 60 mins), starring Jeff Daniels as police detective Del Harris, who attempts to infiltrate and bring down the Brotherhood, a corrupt ring of fellow officers operating out of the Pittsburgh Police Department, while at the same time a fracking company disrupts the local community. Other priority titles include: the second season of How I Got Here (10 x 60 mins), in which young adults accompany their immigrant parents back to their country of origin on a 10-day trip; and two series of Olga Da Polga (13 x 11 mins/15 x 11 mins), based on books by Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond, which follows the loveable guinea pig heroine Olga Da Polga and her animal friends in a heart-warming live-action series.
FREMANTLE returns to Cannes with a range of scripted entertainment. Costiera (working title), co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Lux Vide for Prime Video in Italy, Spain, France and Portugal, features ex-Marine Daniel de Luca, who lives rent-free in a hotel on the Amalfi coast in exchange for fixing problems for the elite guests, including tracking down the hotelier’s missing daughter. Fremantle handles global sales outside of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, where Amazon holds exclusive rights. Element Pictures’ The Listeners, starring Rebecca Hall, is a thriller about a mother who is tormented by a sound it seems no one else can hear. Nightsleeper, from Euston Films, is a new real-time thriller where an overnight train is taken over by a mysterious hacker.
BETA Film’s MIPTV line-up includes thriller drama Operation Sabre (8 x 60 mins), from This and That Productions, Agitprop and Radio Television of Serbia, which follows a journalist investigating the murder of the Serbian prime minister in 2003. Royal drama Maxima (6 x 60 mins), from Millstreet Films, is based on the real-life story of Maxima Zorreguieta’s journey from childhood to her engagement to Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander. Krank Berlin (8 x 60 mins), from Violet Pictures, Real Film Berlin and ZDFneo, is a high-octane medical drama set in a Berlin emergency room. The German distributor also brings new seasons featuring crime-solving veterans Professor T (24 x 60 mins) and Hudson And Rex (100 x 60 mins).
APC Studios’ distribution arm About Premium Content (APC) brings two scripted dramas to MIPTV. Bariau (6 x 30 mins) is a gritty series set in a contemporary UK prison. Based on testimonies from real prisoners and guards, the series centres on four characters — a ruthless gangster, a small-time drug-dealer, a female prison officer and a privileged young man with an addiction. The second season of political thriller Pandore (6 x 52 mins) is set two years after the first series. Mark is now Minister of Justice, Claire is fighting two new legal battles, this time as an independent lawyer. APC Kids, also part APC Studios, brings two new live-action series to MIPTV. Tween sci-fi drama Hawa & Adam (13 x 24 mins) follows Adam (17), who wakes up from a coma after three years, and Hawa (15), who is having difficulty adapting to her new school. These two strangers are suddenly able to communicate through a magic journal. Walter’s Christmas: Keeper Of The Forest (24 x 26’) is a fantasy series which has already been commissioned for a second season. The Danish-language series is about Walter, who is looking forward to Christmas at the family farm, when he discovers a creature from the magical Endless Forest.
CANADIAN distributor WildBrain is debuting the second season of animation Tata & Kuma (13 x 11 mins) to the international market at MIPTV. Genius inventor dog, Tata, and his easy-going feline companion, Kuma, reside alongside their owner, Mei, in the cozy confines of Room 1004 in an unassuming apartment building. As Mei departs for work each day Tata or Kuma try to claim their coveted spots on the couch, but they have to contend with an eccentric array of characters and neighbours — from Pobi the vampire bunny, to Chen Pong the kung-fu-using analog cellphone, and Captain Storm and his mouse mercenary corps — all fiercely competing for dominance over the living room of Room 1004. Tata & Kuma is produced by 5Bricks.
Tata & Kuma (WildBrain)
AIMED at children from six to 10, Cyber Group Studios unveils its new esport-based animation Alex Player (26 x 22 mins/CGI/2D) at MIPTV. The series follows Alex, a beginner player with untapped talent, and his teammates, on their journey to win the esports national inter-schools championship, Land of Titans. To fully embrace the esport theme, the production combines 2D and the Unreal Engine, creating two distinct worlds, using 2D for real life events and CGI to render a video-game universe. The company also highlights the new adventures of a family of fire fighters in McFire Family (52 x 11 mins), which is in production. Another upcoming series is Press Start! (52 x 11 mins/CGI), aimed at 4- to 7-year-olds and set in the cubic video-game world of Super Rabbit Boy.
HIGHLIGHTS on the slate from New York-based distributor FilmRise include: true-crime series Forensic Files (376 x 30 mins), presenting the science behind crime-solving, with dramatic recreations and expert interviews; Unsolved Mysteries (408 x 60 mins), hosted by Robert Stack, covering crimes, tales of lost love, unexplained history and paranormal events; Cheaters (681 x 30 mins/346 x 60 mins), in which a hidden camera crew investigates relationship cheats; Dr. G: Medical Examiner (89 x 60 mins), featuring coroner Jan Garavaglia who provides theories for her morgue’s most puzzling cases; Death Valley Days (452 x 30 mins), a long-running anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West; drama series Highway To Heaven (111 x 60 mins); and classic TV comedy The Dick Van Dyke Show (158 x 30 mins).
NETHERLANDS-based Insight TV, a distributor, producer and channel provider, showcases in Cannes nearly 700 hours of UHD HDR and HD content featuring lifestyle, travel, adventure, cooking, motoring and action sports, all aimed at millennial and Gen-Z audiences. Among the latest titles at MIPTV are: The Ride Life With Sung Kang, featuring Hollywood star Sung Kang as he explores car cultures worldwide; Resilience: The Els Visser Story, the incredible survival story of triathlete Els Visser; and Roads Unknown: India, an exhilarating journey through rugged landscapes in India.
WBITVP returns to Cannes with a range of programming including: Britain Behind Bars (3 x 60 mins), hosted by Rob Rinder, who uncovers the hidden past of three prisons — also available as a format; Born From The Same Stranger (4 x 60 mins), an emotional and intimate format in which people born from sperm and egg donors are helped to find their unknown blood relations; D Day: The Unheard Voices (3 x 60 mins), which draws on a trove of original recorded interviews from British, American and German soldiers, as well as French witnesses, to tell the story of D-Day as it was experienced on the ground; Stupid Pet Tricks (10 x 30 mins), inspired by the long-running segment of the same name on The Late Show and, before that, Late Night with David Letterman, hosted by Sarah Silverman; and Flordelis – A Family Crime (4 x 60 mins), a true-crime docu-drama about Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, who was jailed for 50 years after being found guilty of plotting the murder of her husband and pastor Anderson do Carmo.
AT MIPTV a highlight for Fox is Animal Control, the workplace comedy starring Joel McHale, which is the company’s most streamed live-action comedy premiere ever, and which now returns for a second season, ahead of its third season renewal. The single-camera series follows animal-control workers Frank (Joel McHale), whose opinionated and curmudgeonly demeanor remains intact despite his rookie partner Shred’s (Michael Rowland) eternal optimism; their endearingly awkward boss, Emily (Vella Lovell); and fellow employees Amit (Ravi Patel) and Victoria (Grace Palmer), who are still complete opposites.
KOREAN creator MooAm Productions, which specialises in feature films and scripted dramas is at MIPTV, open to international co-production as well as sales deals. Two new leading titles from the catalogue are: Death Business (1 x 110 mins), a feature film about the fall of a Korean startup in the cryptocurrency arena; and Sticker, a drama series in production, about an influencer who hunts down her stalker.
PGS Entertainment and The Smiley Company launch Mini Smiley, a new animated sing-along series for pre-schoolers to the international market at MIPTV. Mini Smiley aims to foster family-friendly connections through music, exploring themes of friendship, kindness and curiosity to inspire and teach young viewers in a fun, accessible manner. The show emphasises Smiley’s ethos of happiness and positivity, making each episode an opportunity for emotional and social growth.
Animal Control (Fox)
CREATOR Yeo Hwan, participating at MIPTV under the CJ ENM O’pen programme, which is designed to encourage new storywriters, is showcasing his new project. The Anatomy is a bizarre omnibus horror-drama series that sees eight dead human body organs become alive and active. In each episode, particular body organs are revived in several forms to represent human dark emotions and instincts, including desires, obsession, hatred, resentment, revenge, hope and love.
Here we highlight some of the doc and factual content brought to MIPTV by companies from around the world
UK-BASED 3DD Productions brings a new 4 x 60 mins series to Cannes, Myths & Legends; Delving Into The Mysterious Unknown. Delving into many mysterious unanswered questions, the series looks at what happened to figures who seemed to simply disappear from history, including great adventurers of the past, who was behind some of the most notorious killings and who are the real-life characters who inspired some of our most enduring myths and legends. Episodes include: Ancient Tales Of Britain; Gone Without A Trace; Who Dun It?; and Voyages Into The Unknown.
VIKING American Quest (6 x 60 mins) features an international team combining Norwegian shipbuilders, sailors and adventurers, along with Atlantic Canadian scientists and filmmakers, who are documenting the earliest evidence of Vikings in North America. Produced by Arcadia Entertainment, and brought to Cannes by London-based West One International, the series follows the recent 1,000th-anniversary transatlantic voyage along the Viking route to North America via Greenland. While charting this epic adventure, the most recent revelations in science, history and research uncover a more complete picture of the Viking story.
AMONG the many titles brought to MIPTV by US distributor PBS International are: The Choice (1 x 180 mins/HD), which explores the character of the candidates as the US voters go to the polls this year, and features interviews with those close to the candidates; A.I. Revolution (1 x 60 mins/HD), featuring leading experts who examine what A.I. can and can’t do today, and what lies ahead; Democracy On Trial (2 x 60 mins/HD), looking at the criminal cases against former President Trump; Concorde: The Untold Story (2 x 47 mins/HD), which looks at the history and possible future of supersonic flight; and Netanyahu, America And The Road To War In Gaza (1 x 90 mins/1 x 120 mins/HD).
TWO-PART series Titanic In Colour (2 x 45 mins), produced by Woodcut Media, is a highlight at MIPTV from the UK’s Woodcut International. Thanks to painstaking research and unique colourisation techniques, this documentary brings to life everything from the lavish interiors of the ship, artefacts and clothing from passengers, through to the people who built, sailed on and ultimately survived the sinking. Featuring interviews with relatives of the passengers and the crew, Titanic In Colour uncovers little-known stories. Another Woodcut Media production brought to Cannes by Woodcut International is new true-crime series for Discovery UK, The Suitcase Murders (8 x 44 mins). Criminal psychologists identify the personality traits and sociopathic motivations required to become a ‘Suitcase Murderer’, while forensic experts and detectives unravel the clues they leave behind.
INSPIRED by Bill Gates’ book How To Avoid A Climate Disaster, and featuring Bill Gates himself, feature-length documentary Reversing The Climate Disaster (1 x 52 mins) is an informative and inspiring exploration into how everything we do needs to be done differently to adapt to rising sea levels, droughts and other climate-related challenges. The documentary takes on the issue that it is not leaders within governments who are shaping the response to the climate crisis but innovators working hand-in-hand with big business. From low-carbon cement to astonishing devices that harness the energy of the stars, this programmes looks at the revolutionary technologies helping to solve the climate crisis, and is a co-production between The Great Courses Studios and Blue Chalk Media, and is distributed by West One International.
LAST year’s MIPDOC Pitch Winner, Prison Project: Little Scandinavia (3 x 60 mins/1 x 99 mins/4K), produced by Sveriges Television SVT, is brought to MIPTV by Finland’s YLE, with rights excluding the US and the Nordic countries. The series looks at how a US correctional facility could adapt to more humane principals and methods and if Scandinavian practices could work inside an American prison, on the basis of treating every inmate with respect and dignity. SCI Chester in Pennsylvania implements these practices in a unit that is dubbed Little Scandinavia. This policy comes from a visit to correctional facilities in Sweden and Norway in June 2019, where key staff worked for three weeks to observe how prisons there are run.
TWO TITLES top the documentary slate for Canadian distributor HG Distribution. Ukranian Mothers And The Children Of War (1 x 90 mins) unveils the harrowing journey of women who, against all odds, rescue their children from the ravages of conflict. As they seek refuge in Canada, this documentary captures their relentless pursuit of rebuilding their lives, finding hope and the compassionate embrace of Canadian families who become pillars of support in their quest for a new beginning. Everest Invaders (1 x 60 mins) follows the investigations of Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb all 14 peaks over 8,000 metres without supplemental oxygen, as he observes that mountains are transforming into an immense playground. The author returned to the slopes of this mountain and witnessed the world’s highest garbage dump. New climbers and tourists are causing pollution and causing an inevitable collapse of the environment. Worldwide rights are available for both programmes.
PRODUCED by ZDF in co-production with CMG, ARTE and ZDF Studios, Time: A Journey Through Thousands Of Years (2 x 50 mins/UHD) is a thought-provoking film that traces how humankind’s perception and measurement of time has changed and how different people, cultures and worldviews have altered our interpretations of time. Drawing on science and history, the film encourages us to focus on the present, and contemplate how to cherish our time on this Earth — and use it wisely. Further titles from Germany’s ZDF include: The Lost Woman Spies (6 × 50 mins), looking at top-secret files belonging to spymistress Vera Atkins that were found in a garden shed in 2000, detailing the lives of Britain’s first female agents; and Namibia’s Natural Wonders (2 × 50 mins/UHD, a visual journey through Namibia and its breathtaking natural marvels.
Time: A Journey Through Thousands Of Years (ZDF Studios)
THE SWALLOWS Will Return (1 x 72 mins/working title) documents the work of Anya Neistat, a war-crimes investigator from the Clooney Foundation for Justice — and her team — as they expose the human-rights violations of Russian forces and work to bring the perpetrators to justice in courts around the world. Neistat, the Russian-born investigator, martial-arts expert and mother, is on a mission to hold Putin to account. This film follows Anya and six survivors as they battle through trauma to take a stand against the individuals who committed crimes against them. The three class-action cases she is pursuing are rape, torture, detention and execution of civilians and illegal bombing of civilian areas. The documentary’s producer is Hiddenlight, the broadcaster is Channel 4 and it is brought to MIPTV by Abacus Media Rights.
FRANCE-based distributor Balanga unveils documentary series 2080, Our Futures (4 x 52 mins). Produced for Canal+ primetime and boasting cutting-edge VFX and augmented reality, the series, co-produced by BETV, RTBF and Radio-Canada, explores the future of transportation, healthcare, food and entertainment. Through interviews with leading scientists, the series looks at different issues including technology, environment, energy and demographics as it affects the daily life of fictional characters. The show’s ambition is to provide an immersive experience, a glimpse into the world of 2080.
THE CANNES slate from Spanish-German distributor 3Boxmedia includes Antarctica. Searching For Adaptation (1 x 55 mins), which follows the investigation into the adaptability of the flora and fauna to global warming. The Great Enigma (1 x 52 mins) explores what differentiates humans from other animal species. The Island Of The Giant Mothers (1 x 52 mins) features the island of Poilao, where up to 40,000 green sea turtles lay their eggs on a two-kilometre beach. The Monk Vulture (1 x 49 mins) follows a pair of the largest birds of prey in Europe striving to raise their only chick. 75 Years Fighting For Human Rights (1 x 55 mins) looks at the state of human rights in the world and the international legal system protecting them.
PRIORITY titles in Cannes for Big Media includes Convicting A Murderer (0 x 60 mins), an American truecrime documentary, a rebuttal to the 2015–2018 Netflix documentary series Making A Murderer, which argued for the innocence of Steven Avery, a man wrongly convicted of sexual assault and later freed only to be charged with, and convicted of, the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach. Convicting A Murderer argues that Avery is in fact guilty. Churchill’s Secret Missions (6 x 60 mins), unveils the clandestine operations orchestrated by Winston Churchill during World War II; and Fatal Engineering (6 x 60 mins), which in each episode unravels the details of high-profile accidents — from structural collapses to technological failures.
TWO FOOD-focussed shows top the roster from Korea’s Daehan Mediaworld. Bread In Asia (6 x 30 mins/4K) looks at how since ancient times the staple food in Asia has been rice, and that therefore the introduction of wheat was delayed. Bread is forming a new trend in Asia and this series looks at the bread traditions in China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. People choose a vegetarian diet for many reasons including to be healthier, concern for animal rights or environmental worries and documentary Delicious Vegan (2 x 52 mins/4K) provides a pathway for those interested in a transition to veganism.
CANADA’s KO Distribution is introducing a new touching documentary series to the international market at MIPTV. Teenagers (12 x 60 mins) is the result of a film crew that followed 10 teenagers over a period of five years from different parts of Quebec. The youngsters, barely out of childhood, go through adolescence in front of the cameras, generously sharing their dreams, passions and challenges.
FRANCE’s Webedia Rights introduces documentary Ora at MIPTV. Ora is a Polynesian word signifying life and welfare and this documentary follows the journey of three surfers with disabilities as they triumph over challenges through the power of the ocean. In Tahiti they aim to share their determination, experiences and expertise in prosthetics while advocating for making surfing accessible to all.
2024 marks the 150th anniversary of the very first Impressionist exhibition, with two major exhibitions opening in Paris and Washington. The 1874 collective exhibition stands out as a pivotal event in the emergence of modern art, revealing a new generation of young artists with a vision and impulse to change the world — including Degas, Renoir, Monet, Manet and Cézanne. Based on new research, unpublished correspondence, rare archives and unique 3D recreations, 1874, The Birth Of Impressionism recounts this artistic adventure. The Gedeon Programmes film is distributed by Terranoa.
EVERYTHING from elephants to spotted hyenas, the world of female leadership in the animal kingdom is explored in Nature’s Leading Ladies (1 x 52 mins/4K), brought to Cannes by Leipzig, Germany-based Albatross World Sales. The company also brings: Parents In The Wild (2 x 52 mins/4K), providing insights into animal family life; Good News From Planet Earth (6 x 52 mins/HD), looking at individuals and projects making a positive impact through climate-friendly solutions and environmental initiatives; and Buffalo Bill – The Inventor Of The Wild West (1 x 52 mins/4K), which tells the story of William ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody, who travelled through the US and Europe with his Western show. He became a world superstar, founder of modern showbusiness, and the inventor of the Wild West.
NEW FACTUAL titles from the UK’s Passion Distribution include: Help! We Bought A Hotel (6 x 60 mins), produced by True North, an aspirational, observational documentary series which tells the stories of some of the brave people who have given up their jobs, homes and way of life to chase that dream in some of the prettiest locations in Europe; Churchill’s Forgotten War (1 x 60 mins), from Unity House, which looks at how Churchill ordered the arrests of 30,000 Germans, Austrians and Italians resident in the UK in order to prevent the feared ‘fifth column’ of Nazi spies and sympathisers; and The Fab Five: The King’s Grandchildren (1 x 90 mins).
TERRANOA brings to a raft of newly released history and science titles to Cannes. African Glory sheds light on the untold story of the first transatlantic crossing from the West African Mandingo Empire in the 13th century by Abubakari II. In the science genre, Collisions: Life And Death From Outer Space brings stunning visualisation and understanding of asteroids in the follow-up of the Deep Impact mission, and has been pre-bought by SVT. And the upcoming film Oumuamua: The Messenger, explores the first extraterrestrial object ever identified. It is due for delivery in December 2024 and is open to prebuys.
THE UK’s Windfall Films launches new documentary Why Planes Vanish: The Hunt For MH370 (1 x 60 mins) at MIPTV. It is 10 years since Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared with 239 passengers and crew on board. This documentary examines whether new radio technology may finally help locate the missing aircraft and asks what lessons can be learned to make aviation safer. The film features interviews with relatives of the missing, aviation experts and pilots, and uses archive, audio and CGI animation to examine other aviation incidents to try and piece together what may really have happened.
NEW DOCS presents its new line-up at MIPTV. One of the highlights from the Germany-based company is When War Came To Our Newsroom (3 x 30 mins), co-produced by DocDays Productions and BR/ARTE. This mini-series accompanies Ukrainian journalists reporting for Radio Free Europe as they navigate editorial meetings in bomb shelters and their frontline investigations. Other highlights are two science documentaries: Heatwaves (1 x 52 mins), produced by mobyDok for HR/ARTE, looks at how heat affects our lives and how European hotspots are preparing to handle the impact of heatwaves in the future; and The Immune System – Guardian Of Our Health (1 x 52 mins), from Hamburg Producers for NDR/ARTE, offers an insightful and entertaining view of the immune system, showing when it can fail and how we can boost it.
FASTER, Higher, Stronger (1 x 52 mins/90 mins/4K) explores what historians know about the origins of the Olympic Games and, in the run-up to the Paris Olympics, looks at the performance secrets of top athletes. Other titles from the French distributor include: The Dream Whisperer (1 x 57 mins/4K), about the allblack Tennessee A&I Tigers and the quest to ensure the civil rights-era basketball team is not forgotton; medical series From Handsaw To Scalpel (6 x 29 mins/3 x 56 mins/4K); Destination Ancient Rome (1 x 54 mins/91 mins/4K); Sigourney Weaver, The Most Iconic Action Heroine (1 x 52 mins/HD); and opera L’Incoronazione Di Poppea (1 x 186 mins/HD).
Fado With Gisela (EuroArts)
THE ACCIDENTAL President (1 x 90 mins) follows the story of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who was thrust onto the international political stage when her husband was arrested for challenging Alexander Lukashenko for the presidency of Belarus. With her husband a political prisoner, Sviatlana courageously stepped forward and won the popular vote — but was robbed of her democratic victory by Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime. Unbowed by deadly threats from her political rival and the KGB, Sviatlana became a beacon of hope for change. Also from the All3Media factual slate comes Ukraine’s Frontline Fighters (aka Ukraine: Enemy In The Woods/1 x 60 mins), which presents a ground-level view of the war through the eyes of the soldiers fighting it and, with extraordinary access to the tightly controlled frontline, the documentary follows the mission of a Ukrainian assault company.
A Cheetah’s Pride (Autentic Distribution)
Faster, Higher, Stronger (GAD)
TOP TITLES from Berlin-based distributor EuroArts include: Klaus Mäkelä – Towards The Flame, a portrait of the Finnish conductor by filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon who discovered the young maestro’s genius for the first time in 2021 at a concert by the Orchestre de Paris, when he was just 25 years old; Women Of Resilience – Tales Of Kurdish Identity, about two former female Kurdish guerrilla fighters who reconnect over their shared history and their decision to leave the movement to fight for Kurdish freedom in a non-violent way; Fado With Gisela, about an artist with her own idiosyncratic take on the musical genre; and Living Bach, a journey across six continents featuring amateur musicians and singers.
FACTUAL specialist Autentic Distribution brings a raft of new documentaries to MIPTV. Rivers At Risk – The Global Water Crisis Unveiled (2 × 45/1 x 90 mins) investigates the existential conflicts over the world’s most crucial resource. Capital B – Who Owns Berlin? (5 x 52 mins) explores how Berlin transformed itself from a provincial city into a global metropolis. A Cheetah’s Pride (3 x 50 mins) features a hybrid cheetah family. Other new titles from the German distributor include: Beyond Seoul: The Natural Wonders Of South Korea (2 x 45 mins); science doc The Sun (2 x 50 mins/1 x 90 mins); history portrait Emilie Schindler – Women In The Shadow (1 x 52 mins); true-crime series Death On Mallorca – The Beer King Killings (3 x 45 mins); and Autentic Studios’ How Democracies Die (2 x 45 mins).
UNSUSPECTED (4 x 52 mins) profiles a psychiatrist with expertise in serial killers who becomes fascinated by the ‘Pockmarked Man’, a famous French cold case, which has been recently solved. Under the guise of an unremarkable man — a respected policeman, husband and family man — the killer managed to evade the police for over 35 years. As he digs deeper into the case and the police officers of the time delve into their memories, his research reveals a Jekyll-andHyde story. Produced by Imagissime (Mediawan) for broadcaster France 2, the series is brought to Cannes by France tv distribution. Unsuspected
IN THE series Michael Mosley: Secrets Of Your Big Shop (4 x 60 mins), Dr Mosley uncovers the truth behind the nation’s health problems by going undercover in supermarkets to find out what’s in our shopping trolleys, and how it affects our health. Another factual highlight from the UK’s Hat Trick International is Zara McDermott: Inside Ibiza (4 x 60 mins), in which the presenter explores parallel worlds of light and dark on this beautiful island, world famous for its club scene. With unprecedented access to armed units of the National Police Force, she uncovers the truth about the dark economy underpinning the island’s glamorous exterior.
FOCUSSING on a different country in each episode, The World According To Football, brought to MIPTV by Paramount Global Content Distribution, looks at how soccer teams and fans in that country face global issues through the sport. It tackles women’s rights, income inequality, labour rights, mental health, racism, nationalism and LGBTQ+ rights. The countries featured include Brazil, US, UK, France and Qatar.
ONE OF the highlights from the Off the Fence slate for MIPTV is Flying Knights (4 x 60 mins), produced by INA and Histoire TV, in partnership with the National Air and Space Museum of France. In less than 50 years, aviation went from flying objects made of wood and fabric to weapons of war. This series profiles the first fighter pilots in history, the evolution of planes during the two world wars and technological advances, foolish bets, courage and sacrifice using testimonies, archive footage and 3D modelling.
MICHAEL Palin: This Is Nigeria (3 x 60 mins), from ITN Productions for Channel 5, is brought to the international market by the UK’s Orange Smarty. The series follows broadcaster and writer Michael Palin’s 1,300-mile journey across Nigeria — a country characterised by contrasting extremes, stunning natural beauty and welcoming people. Michael has never visited Nigeria and by experiencing what life is like in this dynamic country, through the voices, opinions and experiences of Nigerians from all walks of life, he finds a place where optimism can rule in the face of adversity, where world history casts a shadow, and where the modern world and contemporary Africa’s dilemma of wealth and poverty are found side by side.
The World According To Football (Paramount Global Content Distribution)
ARTE Distribution returns to MIPTV with a line-up from its catalogue of more than 4,000 titles, including: Right-Wing Extremism: The New Terrorist Threat (1 x 52 mins), investigating the rise of right-wing terrorism and its ties to political polarisation in the western world, featuring insights from former ultra-right-wing activists, domestic intelligence officials and researchers; The Curse Of Sugar (2 x 52 mins), exposing centuries of brutal exploitation, where countless lives have been sacrificed to satisfy others’ desires, using diverse archival footage and contributions from historians; and When Animals Grieve (1 x 52 mins).
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PRODUCED by Polygram Entertainment and executive produced by Mick Jagger and Questlove, James Brown: Say It Loud (4 x 60 mins), heads the MIPTV factual roster from A+E Networks. Few stars reflected the African-American experience in 20th-century US better than music legend James Brown. A complicated man, his vast influence both shaped and reflected the changing times.
ESCAPING Utopia (3 x 60 mins) is an investigation into New Zealand’s most extreme religious cult, and follows the true stories of people attempting to break free. With agreed access to the group of dedicated people known as The Gloriavale Leaver’s Trust, the series documents the intricate planning behind the escapes — the disguises, subterfuge and elaborate rouses. Loved ones work tirelessly to find ways to get messages to the inside, trying to break through the formidable barriers decades of isolation have created. The series explores the original intention of Australian preacher Neville Cooper and his followers — known as ‘The Cooperites’ — and how it evolved into the dysfunctional and extremist community. The series is produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand and is brought to Cannes by Fifth Season.
A Brief History Of The Future
ELIZABETH Taylor: Rebel Superstar (working title), from Passion Pictures for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, is a three-part series about the life and times of a superstar who transformed not just Hollywood but the culture of fame itself. She was the studio child star who demanded the first-ever million-dollar fee; the activist who changed the path of the AIDS crisis; the tabloid obsession who married eight times and fought addiction and fat-shaming; and the box-office star and serious actress who embraced and rebelled against her celebrity. The series is executive produced by Kim Kardashian, who was the last person to interview her in 2011. Another documentary highlight brought to MIPTV by Fremantle is A Brief History Of The Future, a six-part PBS series, hosted by renowned futurist Ari Wallach, which journeys around the world looking at inspiring science and technologies that bring hope for the future, featuring interviews with French President Emmanuel Macron, sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur, musician Grimes and soccer player Kylian Mbappé, among others.
FROM the diverse line-up at MIPTV from Bavaria Media International comes documentary Souls Without Walls (1 x 90 mins). The film follows figure skater Katarina Witt’s comeback for the 1994 Olympics, competing for a unified Germany. Together with her former coach she is determined to prove herself and show the world that she is more than just the ‘GDR Ice Princess’. The film is a story about team spirit, disagreement and the search for identity in a new German reality.
LEADING the factual slate from the UK distributor Cineflix Rights is Ramesses The Great: King Of Ancient Egypt (6 x 60 mins), from Pernel Media for Planète+ and C8 in France. The series features cutting-edge science and CGI, and unique access to the latest archaeological discoveries. To expose the man behind the myth the episodes reveal how — for the past few thousand years — this mighty ruler, who turned a fallen empire into one of the most powerful realms of all time, has remained a caricature of his own propaganda.
(Fremantle)Here we highlight some of the formats brought to MIPTV by companies from around the world
THE UK’s BBC Studios brings a range of formats to MIPTV. In Uncanny each 60-minute episode follows the story of a seemingly supernatural encounter, featuring re-enactments alongside historical research and scientific analysis, with experts helping the host to investigate possible answers. Bargain King has two teams of celebrities compete in an antiques-based 30-minute game show to earn the most money across three rounds. The duos sell, auction and bargain to win their own antique prize. In 45-minute format Will You Marry Me? lovestruck proposers enlist the help of event planners to help them ask the biggest question of their lives. Proposals range from personalised escape rooms to dramatic sky dives.
ALL3MEDIA International brings two new formats to Cannes. The Underdog, co-produced by Primal Media and GroupM Motion Entertainment, sees a cast of conventionally popular contestants — all with big online followings — compete in a popularity contest. However, in the group is an underdog that no one is expecting. None of the cast, including the underdog, know that a group made up of TV’s most iconic reality stars are living next door and controlling the game by setting tasks and using all that they’ve learnt about reality shows to make sure the underdog wins — at any cost. The format is launching soon on E4 in the UK as The Underdog: Josh Must Win. The Unknown, from IDTV, the creators of the global format The Traitors, is a psychological adventurous journey game. Two teams of strangers are challenged to choose between the known and the unknown option during their time in the game. Choosing the unknown can be rewarding, but sometimes…it isn’t.
BROUGHT to MIPTV by RTS Formats, part of Radio Télévision Suisse, is new format The Call Of The Forest. The series follows four men and women — looking for new experiences in their lives — who single-handedly run a team of sled dogs and take on the challenge to ride the mythical 600-km trail that connects southern to northern Sweden. Another format exploring the great outdoors, Yukon, follows two families leaving it all behind to survive in the vast expanse of Yukon. In doing so they confront raw versions of themselves that are not always welcome. RTS Formats is also highlighting Good Riddance, in which upcycling enthusiasts produce new creations from items destined for waste sites.
ZDF STUDIOS’ new format takes a tried-and-tested quizshow format to a new level. In Skydive Quiz, the questions are easy, but the contestants must answer them while falling from the sky. Each episode of the family-friendly show features six contestants, who are first-time jumpers, in a plane at an altitude of 15,000 feet preparing for their first skydive. When they take that leap, they have three seconds to answer questions before their parachute deploys. A twist is that as each episode closes a TV star enters the game. Contestants can bet part of their winnings on how many questions the celebrity answers correctly.
WARNER Bros. International Television Production (WBITVP) is at MIPTV with a slate of new formats. Leading the charge is vocational competition format Bring The Drama, which sees eight people who have dreamed of becoming professional actors, but have never had the chance, take on an audition process by re-creating scenes from the nation’s most loved dramas. They receive advice and encouragement from some of the country’s top actors, as well as a casting director who acts as their mentor. At the end, the most promising three get the chance to secure representation from a leading agent. Boys Like Boys is an unscripted reality dating format in which eight gay guys live together for a week in the hope of finding love. There’s no manufactured drama or eliminations, just a focus on relationships. My Family Mystery is a personal-discovery format that starts with a single clue — anything from an old photograph to a birth certificate, diary or memento — to take participants on a journey to solve a family mystery that impacts on their life.
FRANCE’s Webedia Originals introduces Next Creator to the market at MIPTV. The reality-show format features eight aspiring digital creators. After a first round of pre-selection, four competitors create and share a video — based on guidelines including budget, deadline and theme — set by a prominent influencer. The influencer will offer valuable advice to enhance the content and select the standout creation. The ultimate winner is named the ‘creator of the week’ and receives professional and material support to grow their audience.
The
The Joe Schmo Show is brought to Cannes by US distributor Paramount Global Content Distribution. The reality parody series features one regular ‘schmo’ who is led to believe that they are part of the cast of a reality show. Unbeknown to them, they are the main character and everyone else is an actor. The series is an elaborate hoax designed to see how far actors can push the unsuspecting schmo and features outrageous challenges and a production team poised to react to what the schmo might do.
THE SECOND season of Better Date Than Never (7 x 30 mins), which is available as a format, is produced by Northern Pictures for broadcaster ABC, and is brought to Cannes by the UK’s Passion Distribution. Better Date Than Never returns with more stories of a diverse group of single love seekers as they take their first step into the dating world. From the whirlwind of speed-dating to romantic candlelight dinners and playful theme-park dates, the series follows participants on what is sometimes a rocky road to finding love.
HOT MESS Summer is a new format in which eight hard-partying people go to the Greek island of Zante for what they think is a summer of fun. They get a shock when they discover that instead of propping up the bar, they’ll be running Zante’s busiest pool bar. They have all been nominated by their friends who are fed up with their irresponsible partying. Hosted by Rylan Clark, the eight contestants do everything including running events, looking after VIPs and cleaning the toilets, all overseen by a strict bar manager. There is a cash reward on offer if they succeed. Further formats from Fremantle include: Freeze, a Japanese format for which Fremantle now holds global production rights, in which people compete by attempting to remain completely still in front of a panel of judges while they encounter crazy distractions; and Sense Of Attraction, a new psychological dating show that sees young hopefuls go on ‘eyes only’ dates where they can’t talk, they just have to rely on body language; and ‘ears only’ dates where they can’t see each other and can only talk.
AMSTERDAM-based independent distributor Lineup Industries is presenting Whodunnit at MIPTV. The eight-episode, stripped daily, holiday-themed murder-mystery format. In the family-friendly show 10 celebrities and one host go to a remote resort in the Norwegian mountains. They are told that they have been summoned by a celebrity-obsessed murderer and must play the murderer’s holiday-themed games. The loser of each competition gets killed in a theatrical way, often in homage to a familiar film or murder mystery. The celebs must follow clues and unmask the murderer — who is also a household name — before they are all bumped off. The series can be themed as Easter, Thanksgiving or with any other holiday-related games. Another Lineup format is Mommy Knows Best, in which singletons go on dates in the company of their mothers who take the reins of the situation in order to find the best match.
Still Alive (Something Special)
SPOOKY game-show format Still Alive is brought to Cannes by Korean company Something Special, under the auspices of KOCCA. Still Alive is a reality game-show format set in a mysterious mansion where 10 contestants find clues, complete challenges and solve riddles in an effort to stay alive for 24 hours. To do this they must not break hidden rules — given to trick them — especially the one that causes immediate elimination.
Whodunnit (Lineup Industries)
New frontiers for financing / Data Driven IP Distribution / Tech & AI: your keys to success / Opening the door on data & market intel / Creating social & environmental impact / The next big hit in content
Saturday 6 April, 10:00 - 11:00 - Riviera Stage
Dawn Porter
Filmmaker, Founder Trilogy Films
Sunday 7 April, 11:45 - 12:15 - Riviera Stage
Dive into Dawn Porter’s insights on how to navigate the challenges, and grasp opportunities, that face the global documentary sector.
Sunday 7 April, 15:15 - 15:45 - Palais Stage
Sunday 7 April, 16:00 - 16:30 - Palais Stage
Timo Argillander Managing Partner IPR VC Finland
Saturday 6 April, 16:15 - 17:30 - Riviera Stage
MIPDOC Pitch 2024, Doc and Factual producers pitch their latest projects in development.
An exclusive opening session to discuss the Doc & Factual Industry transformation. Amanda Groom MD & Founder The Bridge UK Béatrice Rossmanith Head of Global Business GLANCE UK
Saturday 6 April, 12:00 - 12:30 - Riviera Stage
Tracking the Giants:
Analysing Global Format Sales from 2023
Results of the report revealed exclusively at MIPFORMATS
Fresh Garden Content Creators
Saturday 6 April, 14:00 - 14:45
Riviera Stage
Fresh content from the digital space targeting YA
Fresh TV Formats
Saturday 6 April, 16:15 - 16:45 - Palais Stage
Technological innovations bringing fresh creativity to TV Formats
With Hypothesis Media, Gaggl.tv & The Famous Group
Monday 8 April, 16:30 - 17:00 - Palais Stage
Hear from Format Acquisition & Programming executives from Banijay & Globo.
A DEDICATED WEEK-END FOR THE COMMUNITY TO EXCHANGE AND CRAFT TOMORROW’S INDUSTRY
Virginia Mouseler The WIT With
Monday 8 April, 13:00 - 14:00
Riviera Stage
The latest content trends from around the world
Sunday 7 April, 14:30 - 15:00 - Riviera Stage
With A+E Media Group, Artists Group Unscripted, Entertainment MasterClass & ITV Studios
Sunday 7 April, 16:30 - 17:45 - Riviera Stage MIPFORMATS Pitch 2024, discover groundbreaking concepts from fresh, non-scripted entertainment formats.
Sustainable Production Financing
Monday 8 April, 15:15 - 15:45 - Palais Stage
With IPR VC, SquareOne Entertainment / Vuelta Group
Tuesday 9 April, 10:30 - 11:00 - Palais Stage
How to benefit from the fragmented TV landscape while protecting your IP
With Amplify Pictures , ITV Studios & UGGC Avocats
Future-Proof Your Company
Tuesday 9 April, 14:15 - 14:45 - Palais Stage
Pave the way for a profitable future & understand which direction is best for you
With ACF Investment Bank, BluTV, GRB Media Ranch, & Jazz Maps Ltd.
Branded Entertainment
Tuesday 9 April, 15:00 - 15:30 - Riviera Stage
How brands are becoming part of the funding story?
With Banijay Branded Entertainment & House of Oddities
KEYNOTE
Back To The Future: Bridging the Past and Present to Shape Tomorrow’s TV Landscape
Monday 8 April, 11:00 - 11:30 - Riviera Stage
• Mark Endemaño, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners
FIRESIDE CHATS
The Americas: Worldwide Preview and Fireside Chat
Tuesday 9 April, 11:00 - 11:30 - Riviera Stage
An epic natural history series. Narrated by Tom Hanks. Feature music by Hans Zimmer.
• Toby Gorman, President, Universal Television Alternative Studio
• Mike Gunton, Creative Director, BBC Studios Natural History Unit, and Executive Producer of The Americas
• Holly Spearing, Series Editor, BBC
• Moderator: Anna Carugati, World Screen
Content Business Strategies across Global Entertainment with AI + Data
Tuesday 9 April, 16:30 - 17:00 - Riviera Stage
The SDG Goals are a call to action for ending poverty, boosting the economy, tackling climate change, improving healthcare and ending inequality.
In Partnership with the United Nations
Tuesday 9 April, 11:45 - 12:30 - Riviera Stage
With winners
• MIP SDG Award: UBONGO, Mwasi Wilmore, CEO
• MIP SDG Innovation Award: OPEN PLANET, Emily Renshaw-Smith, Director of Operations
The International Women in Global Entertainment Mentoring Breakfast, in partnership with MediaClub’ELLES
Wednesday 10 April, 8:30 - 10:00 - Riviera Stage
Pre-Registration recommended
Wednesday 10 April, 10:30 - 12:15 - The MIP Lab, Riviera Stage
Discover how Tech & AI advancements can be effectively integrated across the TV and media industry value chain to leverage your business.
Presented by Peter Robinson, Gone With Ltd.
Featuring world-class executives from Ampere Analysis, Getty Images, Hypothesis Media & Vionlabs.
Monday 8 April, 09:00 - 09:40 - Riviera Stage
Presented by
Fresh TV Fiction
Tuesday 9 April, 13:15 - 14:00 - Riviera Stage
Presented by
Tech & AI
Wednesday 10 April, 10:30 - 12:15 - Riviera Stage
Research & highlights on where AI can be best leveraged across the industry’s value chain with Ampere Analysis
Presented by Guy Bisson
Wednesday, 10 April, 12:30 - 13:00 - Riviera Stage
Presented by
Monday 8 April, 15:30 - 17:30
The MIP Lab, Riviera Stage
Presented by Alan Wolk, TVREV.
Featuring world-class executives from 3Vision, Google, OTTera, Samsung TV Plus, Titan OS, Tubi Media Group, Vevo, Warner Bros. Discovery – TVN.
Tuesday 9 April, 9:00 - 10:00 - Matchmaking Area
Presenting partner: OKAST.TV
Pre-Registration recommended
Meet and learn from hosts:
Cineflix Rights, FilmRise, Pluto TV, OKAST.TV, rlaxx TV, Samsung TV Plus, Wurl
Keynote & Awards Ceremony In Partnership with the United Nations
Tuesday April 9 | 11.45 - 12.30 | Riviera Stage
MIP SDG Awards Winners
MIP SDG Award
UBONGO
Mwasi Wilmore, CEO, Ubungo
Mo Abudu, CEO, EbonyLife Group
Troy Armour, CEO, Junk Kouture
MIP SDG Innovation Award
OPEN PLANET
Emily Renshaw-Smith, Director of Operations, Open Planet
Jury Members
Dr Marcia Balisciano, Chief Sustainability Officer, RELX
Amanda Hill, CEO & Founder of We Are on Purpose + Co-Founder of Go Forth Workshops
Founder & Director, Green Goals Pte Ltd
Hyeonza Hong,Tracking the Giants: Analysing Global Format Sales from 2023 Presented by K7 Media
Fresh Garden: Content Creators Presented by The WIT
CANNESERIES
Selection
Screenings
Audience Winning Tech Innovations
Destination X Case Study - Building a Global Format with NBCUNIVERSAL & BBC Sponsors
09:30 - 10:00
What Do Buyers Want
• Jack Oliver, SKY UK Followed by Q&A
Korean Formats Super Session - Case-studies
• Bloody Game / MBC & Mastiff
• Apartment 404 / CJ ENM
• Still Alive / Something Special
KEYNOTE
Keynote Dawn Porter, Filmmaker - Founder / Trilogy Films
11:45 - 12:15
Taking Reality TV Seriously
Entertainment’s Social Impact
Presented by EMC THINK SPACE
12:30 - 13:00
Branded Entertainment Formats Leading the way
Speed Matchmaking Doc & Factual Pre-registration required
1874 The Birth of Impressionism Presented by Gedeon Programmes / Terranoa
FINANCE LAB
Inside the Finance Lab: How to Package For Success
FIRESIDE CHAT
Meet the Creative Minds behind The Mediapro Studio’s Formats
• Ran Tellem, Head of International Development
• Salva Romero, Head of Format Strategy (Non-Scripted)
16:30 - 17:45
MIPFORMATS Pitch
In partnership with ZDF Studios
14:30 - 15:00
What do Buyers Want
• Kristina Hollstein - ZDF Studios
Followed by Q&A
15:15 - 15:45
Commissioning Trends & Business Models Insights Presented by GLANCE
16:00 - 16:30
FINANCE LAB
Evolving Commercial Models & Funding Opportunities Followed by Q&A
17:00 - 17:30
The role of the Documentary in the Quest for Truth vs Misinformation
MIPDRAMA Selection of Early-Stage Drama Series For Buyers and Press
14:00 Welcome Coffee
Networking Drinks
MIPDRAMA and Buyers
Coup de Cœur
MIPDOC & MIPFORMATS
Happy Hour
Sponsors & Partners
18:45 - 20:00
AUDITORIUM LUMIÈRE Pink Carpet
Becoming Karl Lagerfeld Out of Competition Screening
As of 29 March 2024, Subject to change
09:00 - 09:40
One TV Year in the World Cracking Audience Trends
Presented by Glance
Case Study on Becoming Karl Lagerfeld - From Book to Series
11:00 - 11:30
Back To The Future - Bridging the Past and Present to Shape
Tomorrow’s TV Landscape
Mark Endemaño, Partner & MD, AlixPartners
13:00 - 14:00
Fresh TV Formats
Presented by The WIT
Limited seating, please arrive early
09:45 - 10.45
First Timer Orientation & Presentation
15:30 - 17:30
MIP Global FAST & AVOD Summit
Ad-Supported Licensing & Distribution
Hosted by TVREV
With 3Vision, Google, OTTera, Samsung TV Plus, Titan OS, Tubi Media Group, Vevo, Warner Bros. Discovery – TVN.
15:00
Sponsors & Partners
Finding the Silver Linings in Challenging Times - Reactions across the Board - Development, Production, Distribution, Streaming
Navigating Japan: Insights, Co-productions, and New Format from TBS
Presented by All3Media International / Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS) / K7 Media
“Witnessing Time, Sharing the Future” China - France
Audiovisual Cooperation Forum
Presented by China Pavillion
Dumbsday In Competition Screening
14:30 - 15:00
CONNECTION DRAMA
By MIP x CANNESERIES
Small is Beautiful: Focus on Public Broadcasters
FINANCE LAB
MATCHMAKING AREA (P3)
Meet the Expert
Julie Link / GLISK GmbH
Agents: How They Develop, Pitch & Manage Projects for the Streamers
K-Contents Showcase
Presented by KCA K-DRAMA Showcase
The Kidnapping Day
Sustainable Production Financing
15:15 - 15:45 16:30 - 17:00
Commissioning: What do Buyers Want?
• Banijay, UK
• Globo, Brazil
Speed Matchmaking – Kids
Pre-registration required
Presented by KOCCA Secret of Pearls
Presented by KANAL D International
Operation Sabre In Competition Screening
19:00 - 23:00
MAJESTIC HOTEL
MIPTV Opening Night Party
Fiasco Out of Competition Screening
Pre-Registration Required
The Americas: Worldwide Preview & Fireside
Rights & Licensing:
Monetising your IP Thriving in The Sport Frenzy: Evaluating Sports as the Ultimate Viewer and Advertiser Magnet
09:00 - 10:00
MATCHMAKING AREA (P3)
MIP Global FAST & AVOD: Ad-Supported Licensing & Distribution
Roundtable Discussions
08:30 Welcome Coffee
Limited seats, pre-registration recommended
by KCA
Tax Incentives Presented by Media Insurance Network
Fresh TV Fiction Presented by The WIT
FINANCE LAB
Branded Entertainment
How Brands Are Becoming Part of the Funding Story ?
Shoppable TV: From Screen to Cart
Turning TV Viewing into an extended Lifestyle Experience
14:15 - 14:45
FINANCE LAB
Future Proof your Company
Int. Audiovisual Distributors - your Best Allies Presented by European Coordination of Audiovisual Distributors (ECAD)
16:30 - 17:00
What Do Buyers Want?
Streamers Content Strategy
Meet the Expert Joe Barrett & Tracy Beckett / PBS Distribution How to Navigate the Changing Distribution Landscape for Your Documentary
Speed Matchmaking – Fiction
Pre-registration required
MIP LONDON Happy Hour
18:45 - 20:00
AUDITORIUM LUMIÈRE
Pink Carpet
20:00 - 21:45
AUDITORIUM LUMIÈRE
Konbini Commitment Award
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez
Máxima
Out of Competition Screening
As of 29 March 2024, Subject to change
Sponsors & Partners
