There is an interesting new angle for Italian audiovisuals at Cannes this year.
In fact, whilst traditionally the visibility, if any, of Italian products at MipTv (and certainly at Mipcom), was obtained through the animation genre, this year it is linked to Television series which, in turn, are linked to two new initiatives for Mip Tv 2016, scheduled to be held from 4 -7 April.
The series in question are the co-productions “Medici, Masters of Florence” (Lux Vide- Rai Fiction-Big Light) and the Italian format of “Braccialetti Rossi” (Palomar–Rai Fiction- -Big Bang Media). We have dedicated a good amount of space to them in the following pages; here we will outline the context.
“Medici” is one of the 12 series selected by an international jury to take part in the Mip Drama Screenings which will take place a day before the market begins, 3 April, when around 350 buy- ers will get an opportunity to view 15-20 minutes of each series.
Interviewed by Cinema & Video International, Laurine Garaude, director of the television division of Reed Midem, motivated this initiative as a desire to satisfy “the hunger for quality” of Mip’s clients and also provide them with a ‘guide’ so that they can get an advance peek at what’s new.
For its part, “Braccialetti rossi” is understandably included in the packed list of kids’ products that this year will be highlighted by the International Emmy Kids Awards, the fourth edition of which will be held for the first time at Mip Tv.
This Italian format – a great success with domestic audiences – has received a nomination, although it will be competing against another 3 international series. So we will have to wait until the presentation evening on 5 April to find out how it does.
In any case, this is an important result for Italian audiovisuals.
To conclude, it is interesting to note how the evolution of Mip from a simple Market to a more complex event (a dress rehearsal for a parallel to the Television Festival?), has converged with the quality of Italian products.
A quality, it should be emphasized, closely linked to the co- production formula, as is the case for animation.
