Videoage International January 2021

14 January 2021 V I D E O A G E L ike any trade show, NATPE Miami will ultimately be judged by the sales achieved, by the potential new clients found, and by the amount of new content available. In order to get a true account of what is planned and what is expected to occur, observers such as VideoAge have no choice but to turn to the companies directly involved with the market, and to ask them questions that cut through the polished press releases and niceties, and go directly to the nitty-gritty of the business at hand. Is it possible that NATPE Miami will be the last virtual market that you participate in? “Unfortunately not,” was the sharp answer of Sonia Mehandjiyska , the Los Angeles-based head of International Distribution for Vancouver’s Electric Entertainment. “We don’t expect to travel to markets until early fall 2021.” Hud Woodle , EVP, International Sales and Operations, for Sherman Oaks, California-based GRB Studios, concurred. “No,” he said. “We’re optimistic, but if we’re being realists, MIPCOM in Cannes this fall will probably be the first real- worldmarket of the year following the pandemic.” EmreGorentas , Content Sales deputymanager for Turkey’s ATV, was similarly assertive: “We will not be attending any physical market until MIPCOM in October 2021, so NATPE Miami will not be the last virtual market.” “Q1 of 2021 will be very tough,” said Kerim Emrah Turna , executive director of Turkey’s Kanal D International. “We have a very limited visibility of the future and it is really not possible to foresee even the next month’s situation, [but] NATPE Miami 2021 will not be the final virtual market we are attending. If we’re optimistic, NATPE Budapest in June might possibly be the first physical market. But in reality the first physical market we will attend looks like it will be MIPCOM 2021 in Cannes.” “We all hope we will be able to get back to in- person markets this year,” said Janel Downing , VP, Sales, Latin America, for England’s All3media International, “but it seems too soon to say if that will be the case. We are grateful that technology has allowed us to keep in touch with clients so seamlessly through the pandemic.” “Most likely not,” said Chevonne O’Shau- ghnessy , president of the Van Nuys, California- based American Cinema International. “We are still virtually attending [Berlin’s] EFM 2021, as well as MIP-TV. Also, since the current global situation is still under transition with the advent of the vaccines to combat COVID-19, we are keeping an eye on other film markets and the positions they take towards this subject.” “We already know that MIP-TV is going to be virtual,” said Maria Bonaria Fois , CEO of Madrid-based Mondo TV Iberoamérica. “It looks like we’ll still be seeing each other via digital devices rather than in person until the second part of this year.” “I believe we won’t be at a non-virtual market until third or fourth quarter of 2021,” concurred MelissaWohl , head of Sales at the NewYork City- based FilmRise, from her Pasadena, California office. “I would say it’s likely that we will participate in more virtual markets in the future,” said Jesse Baritz , director of Content Acquisition and Development for the Beverly Hills, California- based Multicom Entertainment Group. “The cost of attending a live event in terms of airfare, hotels, exhibition spaces, sales materials, and time versus the ease of a virtual market makes in- person events less enticing.” Do you have new content for NATPE Miami? “We were prepared for different scenarios in order to supply our clients the best possible content during these hard times,” said Turna. “Thanks to our large library, we can do that. Hekimoglu (the Turkish remake of U.S. series House M.D. ) continues with its second season on Kanal D. Then there’s Ruthless City , and our romantic comedy Love Trap . In addition, we have Fatmagul . Its Spanish adaption Alba will be on air this year.” O’Shaughnessy’s American Cinema Inter- national [ACI] will “bring five new projects to the market.” “We have a slate of scripted, non-scripted, and format titles to present at NATPE Miami,” said Downing. “We are presenting two new dramas: Eden , a young adult thriller, and The Drowning , a taut family drama. On the formats side, we will be presenting The Cube , which is coming to screens in the U.S. following a successful revival on U.K. TV. We’re also presenting a non-scripted slate, including inspiring entrepreneurial series I Quit and The Savoy , about of one of London’s most iconic hotels.” Bonaria Fois said that one of Mondo’s most important shows is the animated series MeteoHeroes , a Mondo TV and Meteo Expert Center co-production currently broadcasting on Cartoonito Italia. “ MeteoHeroes is a cartoon series that combines scientific storylines about the environment, ecology, and biodiversity with comedy and adventure.” Another big project for the company in 2021 is Grisù , a Mondo TV Group co-production with ZDF Enterprises and Toon2Tango. “Yes,” answered Baritz. “Multicom is bringing new release films and series and recently restored library titles to NATPE. We’re also proud to showcase our ‘TheArchive’ channel, available on all major devices, streaming in 4K with two linear channel feeds.” Mehandjiyska announced: “We’ll be selling our new series Leverage 2.0, Almost Paradise , and The Outpost .” GRB’s Woodle will have “ Death Walker (season two now in production), and On The Case .” “We just launched our new series Akinci, the Exhibitors Move To The Virtual Podium To Share Their Insight NATPE Miami 2021 Janel Downing, vice president of Sales, Latin America, for All3media International Emre Gorentas, Content Sales deputy manager of ATV Kerim Emrah Turna, executive director of Kanal D International (Continued on Page 16)