Videoage International June-July 2019

4 World June 2019 V I D E O A G E London, and York, in northeast England.” Mister Mayfair tells the tale of Max Mitchell, a former New York gangster who’s li- ving the good life in Mayfair, London, rubbing elbows with a glamorous crowd. At 65, no- thing can stop him — except the arrival of his heretofore unknown granddaughter, Bar- bara. Max is stunned to discover that he has a granddaughter, and is desperate to make up for lost time after learning that the daughter he never met died years ago. Pictured at left (l. to r.): SPI’s Stacey Sobel, Max Farhi and his father, SPI’s Loni Farhi, 365Flix International’s Karinne Behr, and Jake Seal of PVS Studios in Baton Rouge and Black Hangar Studios in London. TVFI’s Le Rendez-Vous Turns 25 T his September, Le Ren- dez-Vous — organized by Paris-based TV France International (TVFI), a trade association for French TV pro- gram exporters — will celebra- te 25 years of promoting the in- ternational sales of French TV content and co-productions. Dedicated to sales, meetings, networking opportunities, and screenings, Le Rendez-Vous will gather more than 260 interna- tional acquisition executives from over 60 countries in the seaside town of Biarritz, from September 8-12, 2019. Appro- ximately 130 French exporters will showcase over 1,000 pro- grams, from series and anima- tion to documentaries and TV movies. The 25th edition will be the first for Sarah Hemar (pictured below with Herve Michel, TVFI president), the new executive director of TV France Interna- tional. TVFI expects to maintain a productive streak as a result of the quality programming that will be available at the mar- ket, and its suitability for the shifting digital and global mar- kets. P roduction on Mister Mayfair, a new film trilogy, was announced on June 2 with an elaborate event in Miami Beach, Florida. A co-production between multinational SPI, St. Petersburg, Florida-based 365Flix International, and London-based Goldfinch, Mister Mayfair will consist of three 90-minute episodes, and will be distributed internationally by 365Flix International and SPI. The films will be directed by Philippe Martinez and star Armand Assante, Steven Bauer, and Ken Davitian. SPI’s Loni Farhi will serve as a producer together with Kirsty Bell, Alan Latham, and Martinez, while Karinne Behr (365Flix International CEO and Martinez’s sister), Lee Beasley, and Phil McKenzie have been tapped as executive producers. Ciro Orsini will be billed as a co-producer. At a cocktail reception held at a penthouse at the Miami Beach Hilton Hotel, the co-producers introduced the main cast to some 100 guests, who were later entertained by Brazilian dancers and a buffet dinner on the lawn of the Hilton’s Santorini restaurant. Martinez (who’s also 365Flix’s founder) reported to VideoAge that production “will start in mid-June in Portugal, Mister Mayfair Co-Pro Announced In Miami (Continued on Page 6)