Mipcom opens on October 14th with Alessandro Borghi, Kasia Smutiniak and Patrick Dempsey, protagonists of “Devils”,the international thriller set in the world of high finance, the worldwide premiere of which will be presented to professionals attending the Cannes international entertainment market.
“Devils” is a series of ten 60-minute episodes based on the bestseller by Guido Maria Brera, co-produced by Sky Italia and Lux Vide, in association with Orange Studio and with the participation of OCS, financed by Sky Studios, the world sales of which will be handled by NBC Universal Global Distribution.
The series, filmed in Rome and London, is directed by Nick Hurran (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Fortitude, Altered Carbon) and Jan Michelini (Medici). The scriptwriters are: Alessandro Sermoneta, Mario Ruggeri, Elena Bucaccio, Guido Maria Brera, Chris Lunt, Michael Walker, Ben Harris, Daniele Cesarano, Ezio Abate and Barbara Petronio.
“We are delighted to have this world premiere starring Dempsey and Borghi”, comments Laurine Garaude, Director of the Television Division of Reed Midem. “This is looking to be a very vibrant Mipcom , we are so excited for the many program launches and world premiere screenings. Plus, the theme of this year, The Streaming Offensive, is extremely timely as we look at the major industry changes which are also creating major opportunities in the world of content. There are so many important topics and personalities that we are happy to host”.
These include the screenwriter and showrunner Jed Mercurio, Maria Kyriacou,President, ITV Studios InternationalandMax Conze, CEO of ProSiebenSat.1whowill explain why this offer – a joint venture between ProSiebenSat.1 and Discovery – is unique in Germany, and discuss the role of Joyn in ProSiebenSat.1’s digital strategy.Bibiane Godfroid, CEO of Newenthat has been acquiring production companies will talk about the Group’s ambitions and greatest challenge.
Part of this Streaming Offensiveis also the look at the AVOD Model with Tubi,the world’s largest ad-supported video on demand service with over 15,000 movies and television shows from over 200 content partners and over 20 million monthly active users. TheFounder and CEO Farhad Massoudi and the Chief Content Officer Adam Lewinson will turn the spotlight on the rapid growth of ad-supported video on demand in their keynote “AVOD: The Rise Of Free”.
James Farrell, Amazon Studios Head of International Originals,will give a special keynote on the company’s growing slate of local originals in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain, as well as its increased local production around the world.
“People are really bringing content developed internationally to Mipcom”, says Garaude, who also points out that “Italian products are becoming more and more international and we are looking forward to seeing them. There is quite a big presence of animation companies this year inside the Italian Pavilion”.
Italian animation will also be the protagonist at Mipjunior, the two days dedicated to kids’ content just before Mipcom (October 12-13), with Iginio Straffi, the founder of Rainbow, who will be part of the Creators Super panelat Mipjunior which celebrates the gifted individuals driving modern excellence in children’s television.
TheWomen in Global Entertainment Lunchwill also return for the 8thedition where the headline speakers will be dream hampton and Brie Miranda Bryant, two of the executive producers of the documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” from A+E Network’s Lifetime channel. “This has become a truly iconic event” comments Garaude. And speaking about icons, she adds: “we are really delighted to have RuPaul Charles who will receive the Variety Vanguard Award for his “RuPaul’s Drag Race”.
The other news for this year is that there will be 4 countries in Focus: Argentina, Russia, China and Japan: “they have all recently been our countries of honor and we selected them in order to look at how their content has become more and more international in recent years” explains Garaude.
Japan will be doing many showcases, especially on 8k, in a dedicated 8k auditorium, where professionals will also be able to see the 8k version of the period drama “The Return” which will be one of the Mipcom world premiere screenings.
“Also Sony, which has been our partner for many years and has been showing different technologies, will be featuring 8 k content inside their theater” concludes Garaude.
Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainmentand Direct-to-Consumer, is the Mipcom 2019 Personality of the Year.
