INTERNATIONAL www.VideoAge.org THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, STREAMING, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION August/September 2024 - VOL. 44 NO. 5 - $9.75 (Continued on Page 10) U.K. Planning FTA Online Move, U.S. Sticks With DTT Back in April, VideoAge (along with other industry publications) reported on the U.K.’s decision to make a future move to delivering TV content away from the historical tower/transmitter to a more modern online system, via Freely TV. On the surface it seemed a simple deal — turn off the tower, turn on the web! But on closer inspection it seems such a move isn’t going to be that easy. Going back to that announcement, Freely TV is an umbrella name for the U.K.’s BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 linear broadcasters. The BBC is the only broadcaster in that group not airing commercials, and a recent survey indicated that U.K. advertisers are turning off linear TV quicker than the viewers are. Plus, Brit viewers have the highest percentage of linear turn-off, according to a European survey by Audience Project. (Continued on Page 12) VideoAge had a talk with New York City-based distributor Bruce Rabinowitz about the potential for African TV content, some of which he represents. Media experts have been saying for years that Africa is the next big thing in TV entertainment. But is it really? Those who work in and around international media have been hearing this stated for a decade now, evoking previous eras in which other global regions came online and A View of African Content Production & Sales Challenges (Continued on Page 14) The call to Cape Town, South Africa is getting louder. A July official list of MIP Africa participants indicates 60 companies listed as “distributors.” The most significant international content MIP Africa Gets Another Chance At Relevance Venice Film mart rides on the success of the Film Fest Siskel & Ebert: There are always two sides to every story MIP London: Logistics and logic explained My 2¢: Legacy media was led down the wrong path Page 14 Page 8 Page 4 Page 3 CASTADIVA The production factory that turns creativity into great programs Fabio Nesi, CEO Massimo Righini, CCO www.castadivagroup.com
AMERICAN CINEMA / AMERICAN CINEMA INSPIRES To schedule a meeting, please contact Chevonne O’Shaughnessy at chevonne@americancinemainspires.com
3 My 2¢ September 2024 MAIN OFFICES 216 EAST 75TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10021 TEL: (212) 288-3933 WWW.VIDEOAGEINTERNATIONAL.COM WWW.VIDEOAGE.ORG VIALE ABRUZZI 30 20131 MILAN, ITALY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DOM SERAFINI EDITORIAL TEAM SARA ALESSI (NY) BILL BRIOUX (CANADA) ENZO CHIARULLO (ITALY) LEAH HOCHBAUM ROSNER (NY) SUSAN HORNIK (L.A.) CAROLINE INTERTAGLIA (FRANCE) OMAR MENDEZ (ARGENTINA) LUIS POLANCO (NY) MIKE REYNOLDS (L.A.) MARIA ZUPPELLO (BRAZIL) PUBLISHER MONICA GORGHETTO BUSINESS OFFICE LEN FINKEL LEGAL OFFICE STEVE SCHIFFMAN WEB MANAGER BRUNO MARRACINO DESIGN/LAYOUT CLAUDIO MATTIONI, CARMINE RASPAOLO © TV TRADE MEDIA INC. 2024 The phrase muttered by some studio content sales executive when asked to sell programs that they consider to be of poor quality, is: “If they want me to watch it, I have to be paid extra.” This expression came to mind when looking at the opening weekend boxoffice revenue for the R-rated film Deadpool & Wolverine, which reached $205 million in the U.S. and an additional $233 million overseas — huge returns for a movie that I and some studio sales executives would never voluntarily watch. However, the Disney executive who greenlit the project probably received a bonus for the winning decision. It also proved that legacy media is still alive. But it might even be considered well if only the industry were to become accustomed to lower overall returns, and didn’t always depend on big box office results. Those in the C suites might have to deal with legacy media entities like boutique operations with reduced revenues. These include international content sales, cable, broadcast TV, and cinema. When combined they could still represent good business. The idea of doing away with low-performing divisions (making them “no core businesses”) in order to concentrate on high-revenue operations will ultimately prove disastrous for legacy media. Legacy media cannot compete or be placed on the same level of deep-pocketed tech companies worth trillions whose reps are happy to use content to sell other products. For studios, as well as many public legacy media companies, in order to lift their share prices the growth has to be reconsidered and resized. Their competitive edge has to be creativity and production of popular content — not trying to find a fix mimicking the tech companies. The 2024 Paris Olympics demonstrated the risk for a legacy event trying to change tradition and has been criticized for many so-called “innovations,” including the shallow depths of the swimming pools, the poor food served at the Olympic Village, the supposed parody of the Last Supper during the opening ceremony, and using the polluted waters of the river Seine for swimmers. Tradition made Hollywood all about capital efficiency. Today, in order to follow tech companies, the studios abandoned the first rule of Hollywood: Never spend your own money. In the past, entertainment companies ran their businesses as creative enterprises leveraging technological means. Today, they want to manage creative businesses inside utility businesses, but it will not work well for legacy media. And examples were provided when Japan’s Matsushita bought Universal Studios and Spain’s Telefonica acquired Argentina’s Telefe. Neither of these worked out well. Their businesses were different, and their cultures were like distant relatives growing up in different countries. The bad examples continued with AOL acquiring Time Warner, and persisted with AT&T acquiring Warner Bros. Today’s tech companies that are out-moneying legacy media work outside the TV industry’s traditional MO. They don’t advertise in the trades. They don’t support trade shows. They don’t license their productions. And they don’t provide residuals to the talents and creative people. I might be wrong, but I’m still betting on the Chinese military strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu, who said, “If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” This emphasizes the importance of patience, strategy, and the passage of time in achieving success. After all, the river is already littered with the bodies of Matsushita, AOL, Telefonica, and AT&T. I’ve been a supporter of Skydance’s acquisition of Paramount from the very beginning, but I’m not convinced that Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison’s strategy of transforming Paramount into a “media and tech hybrid” is the right way to go for a legacy entity. Dom Serafini After surviving 100-plus years, legacy media is in trouble because it was led down the wrong path by deep-pocketed tech companies. “Let me introduce myself: I’m the new chairman of the board.” The studios abandoned the first rule of Hollywood: Never spend your own money.
4 World VIDEOAGE September 2024 (Continued on Page 6) ing for VideoAge. Both venues are adjacent to each other and located on Savoy Place, facing the River Thames, but they’re not interconnected, meaning that in order to access each venue one must walk outside. The main entrance of the Savoy Hotel proper is on Strand Street, which is parallel to Savoy Place. The Savoy is also interconnected with its conference area. Combined, the two facilities will have plenty of meeting and exhibition rooms, but attendees should be prepared to go up and down many stairs as there are three floors at the Savoy (including a ground floor) and four at the IET venue (including a ground floor), plus a terrace on level five. Attendees should also expect long lines at the limited number of entrances. The IET venue also has two large screening room facilities. One, the Kelvin Theater, seats 451 people, while the other, the Turing Theater, seats 175 people. In total, the IET offers 15 exhibition rooms on three floors, while the Savoy has nine small and medium rooms on two floors. Before agreeing to attend, some London-based distributors said that they’d reconsider their objections to the market if MIP London were to become a replica of what the BBC Showcase used to be, thereby filling in the gap between what they already do at the London Screenings and what MIP London would offer. But before moving on to how to fill in the “gap” let’s continue with the logistics. Across from the very expensive Savoy hotel there are more affordable choices, such as the four-star Strand Palace. Other nearby hotels include The Resident, The Z Hotel, Me London and One Aldwych. However, buyers will most likely stay as close to Leicester Square and Soho as possible because that is where the London Screenings take place. There are Cinemas on Leicester Square, like the Odeon, where All3Media, ITV, and Fremantle screen. BAFTA is on Piccadilly. That’s where Banijay and Paramount screen. And the Ham Yard Hotel is where Studio Canal, Sony, and Lionsgate screen. The Savoy is a 10-to-15 minute walk from Leicester Square. Underground stations in London warn riders to: “Mind the gap.” In the case of MIP London and London-based content distribution companies, the “gap” that they’re looking at is between what the London Screenings (taking place February 24-28, 2025) already offer and what RX, the organizers of MIP London (running February 24-27, 2025), could offer at no additional cost. RX seems charged up by the prospect of having so many content buyers in London (an estimated 700 attended February’s London Screenings, after all) despite weather that is expected to be mostly cold and damp (although there is still the possibility of experiencing days with deep blue skies). RX expects some 1,300 participants at its maiden London market. RX organized a tour of both the conference area of the Savoy Hotel and the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) buildMIP London: Logistics and Logic Explained A NEW ERA OF ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT & CO-PRODUCTION It’s all about great content across film, TV, & emerging media GET YOUR PASSES NOW! 25% SAVINGS on your All-Access Pass until October 25 3 DEC | The ATF Leaders Dialogue 4 – 6 DEC | Market & Conference Marina Bay Sands, Singapore s ln the business of building businesse Produced by: Hosted by: Held in: Supported by: ATF24-Fulfilment-VideoAge-Print Ad Ph2-27x36cm.indd 1 8/22/24 5:56 PM
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6 World VIDEOAGE September 2024 First-time market attendees Darrin Holender of Los Angeles’ Multicom, Sophie Ferron of Los Angeles’ GRB Media Ranch, and Edi Mils of Rome’s Treetone did the same. On the other hand, Mary Joe Pascua and Rochella Salvador of the Philippines’ GMA attended for the first time, but with a table. First-timers and nonexhibitors brought the total number of participating sales companies to 145. There were 13 conferences held in the ballroom, located on the first floor. There was also a “Meet an Expert” session held on Tuesday, but it was off limits to the press. In terms of buyers, the organizers registered 430 total acquisition executives (but a few didn’t show up, according to some reports), an 18 percent increase over last year. An official 850 executives took part in the event (up 12 percent from 2023), and it seemed like they all showed up at the crowded opening night party on Monday, June 24, at the hotel’s ground-floor restaurant, as well as at the popular boat party, which took off from a nearby dock on the Danube river on Tuesday. The market closed on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Pictured above: Mary Joe Pascua and Rochella Salvador of the Philippines’ GMA. Judging from the good number of printed trade publications published for the occasion and distributed at NATPE Budapest, the CEE market could probably be considered a success. It has been pointed out that participating exhibitors don’t invest in promotion for markets that they don’t consider worthwhile. In terms of exhibitors, NATPE Budapest registered 125 companies, of which 24 had suites on the 2nd floor of the InterContinental Hotel, while 101 could be found on the first floor in a large space divided by zones. One was reserved for pavilions (including ones for France, Spain, and Turkey). In addition, there were companies at meeting tables, at viewing stations, and in meeting rooms. A few companies, including Luxembourg’s United Media, which was represented by Eric Muller, attended without exhibiting. Budapest Solidifies NATPE’s CEE Grip The MIP London venues are also conveniently connected by five nearby underground (metro) lines: Circle and District (Embarkment and Temple stations), Piccadilly (Covent Garden), Northern (Charing Cross), and Bakerloo (Charing Cross and Embarkment). For those participants who will not print their badges in advance, the registration area will be on a side street near the Savoy conference area. (Continued from Page 4) MIP London: Logistics and Logic Explained Let your MIPCOM marketing strategy be carried over by the premier league of a trade publication
8 Book Review VIDEOAGE September 2024 Editor and film critic Matt Singer chronicles how two men from the heartland of the United States popularized film criticism for the common man and turned the art of debate into a TV format. There are Always Two Sides to Every Story: U.S. TV Critics Siskel and Ebert Debate the Movies By Luis Polanco Siskel & Ebert starred the eponymous film critics, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, as they dished out reviews of the latest films. The intro promo of their TV program opens with a view of the downtown Chicago skyline. A newspaper swirls into the foreground, and the headline reads: “Siskel & Ebert.” The next shot finds Siskel, dressed in a tan blazer and V-neck sweater, typing away on his desktop computer, the desk covered in stacks of books and Post-Its. Next there’s a shot of Ebert, dressed similarly but with a red tie and in darker colors, typing away on an assignment too, except he’s typing on a typewriter (as the year is 1986), his desk covered in knickknacks and miniature sculptures. The following few shots go by quickly: Ebert walks past a printing press; Siskel hails a yellow cab; Ebert gives a thumbs up to passersby; Siskel asks a newsstand employee where the papers are when a blue truck (“Read Siskel” printed on its side) pulls up; next up is a red truck with “Trust Ebert” printed on its side. Then the two men pick up their respective papers and walk side by side, presumably arguing about whose opinion on the latest blockbuster wins out: Siskel stabs his fingers into the newsprint to make his point while Ebert shakes his head no in disagreement. Disagreement, differences in opinion, a strong-willed contrarianism — these are qualities that become emblematic of Siskel and Ebert’s interactions with one another on screen. ScreenCrush editor and film critic Matt Singer contends that these qualities make the duo stand out in his book Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever (352 pgs., G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2023, $29). A dual biography of Siskel and Ebert, a work of movie criticism, and a history of how two men influenced an industry — Opposable Thumbs tells the two decadesplus story of when film criticism was dramatic and exciting. Produced by The Walt Disney Company, Siskel & Ebert aired from 1986 to 1999, but before that, their collaboration on TV had a handful of different iterations and names. Their collaboration first started in 1975 on the local Chicago TV station WTTW with the show Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, but the mouthful of a title was soon shortened to Opening Soon, and two years into working together, the show was renamed to the snackable Sneak Previews, which was syndicated nationally from 1977 to 1982. From 1982 to 1986, their collaboration was renamed again to At the Movies and distributed by Tribune Broadcasting. After that, they ran with Siskel & Ebert & The Movies (Siskel & Ebert, for short). Their collaboration ended when Siskel suddenly died of terminal brain cancer in 1999. Ebert would continue on with the format, bringing in other critics to assist him. The two critics worked together professionally for more than two decades, and in that time, they showed how to make film criticism entertaining by fueling longstanding competition, sparking heated debates, and establishing a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” rating system as part of their brand. Singer, who worked as a contributing critic on Ebert Presents: At the Movies in college, found the old dictum, “There are always two sides to every story,” to be inexhaustible when your subjects could hardly agree. Every big step and new venture in their working relationship is narrated as if through a glass prism, with each person’s telling highlighting an inconspicuous detail. In the story of how they finally worked together, Ebert maintained that neither wanted to work with the author, but early show producer at Chicago’s TV station WTTW Thea Flaum recalled that Siskel took the harder stance. By the time Siskel and Ebert started working together, the differences between the two critics couldn’t have been starker. Siskel, 29 years old in 1975, was raised in Chicago and received an Ivy League education at Yale. Ebert, three years older, was raised in the middle of Illinois, in Urbana, where he went to college at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Siskel loved staying up late, gambling, competition, and brutal honesty. He was an idealist, a dogged interviewer, and a fiercely private person, although to friends and family he was kind and selfless. In Singer’s chapter on Ebert, the critic comes across as a precocious young journalist. Despite experiencing isolation in childhood, he was a charming storyteller and could be the life of a work party. He was hungry for knowledge and observed life like a hawk. His skills as a writer brought him to co-write the screenplay of the cult film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (released in 1970). Through Singer’s excellent research, the movie might be one interesting source for the beginning of the rivalry between Siskel and Ebert. In a harsh review of the film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls Siskel noted, “Boredom aplenty is provided by a screenplay which for some reason had been turned over to a screenwriting neophyte.” Never mind that five years later, that neophyte would earn a Pulitzer Prize for his criticism. Their rivalry was fully stoked as critics at competing newspapers, Siskel at the Chicago Tribune, and Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times. Out of their competing tastes and sharp wit came one of the most memorable professional collaborations. Singer writes, “Siskel & Ebert was the first and perhaps greatest TV show in history where the struggle between the two antagonists was entirely intellectual,” writes Singer. “Tensions were never resolved with fistfights or shoot-outs, but with conversation and analysis.” Matt Singer has written a touching remembrance of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in Opposable Thumbs. His childhood fandom of both critics, his countless interviews with their colleagues and fellow journalists, his years of watching the entire catalog of episodes have resulted in a thoughtful book. He’s praising and honest of their contribution to the journalism and entertainment industries. “[Siskel and Ebert] turned film criticism from a solitary pursuit plied by a handful of journalists and scholars into a massively popular endeavor — and sometimes a spectator sport — practiced by thousands and watched by millions,” he writes. Elsewhere in the book, Singer remarks that “[Siskel and Ebert] turned the idea of two guys talking about movies into a veritable multimedia empire.”
VIDEOAGE September 2024 FTA vs. DTT 10 (Continued from Cover) Some critics may suggest that the BBC’s move to partner with other linear outlets may have been an attempt to boost revenues considering that it’s set to lose national TV license fee payments in 2027 under a decision by the former Conservative party government. The new Labor government victory has thrown a financial lifeline to the BBC in rescinding that decision, so the BBC coffers are secure in keeping that revenue. Some people had thought the move to an Internet delivery would have saved money in delivery costs, allowing that money to go toward content. The Washington, D.C.- based National Association of Broadcasters’ chief technology officer, Sam Matheny, was quick to point out that that would not be the case. “The idea to turn off the towers and we could invest in programming just doesn’t ring true to me,” he said. In checking up on how America would deal with the possibility of U.S. linear channels going online, this reporter was surprised to learn that most calls and emails to terrestrial broadcasters resulted in having to explain the whole U.K. process with Freely TV. Which means it could very well take longer for the U.S. to make such a move. NAB’s Sam Matheny was somewhat vague, but adamant that the Freely TV idea in the U.K. was not even something on the discussion table in the U.S. Numerous calls and emails to the FCC, the U.S. regulatory agency, failed to produce a single response. Sadly, the same has to be said for OFCOM, the regulatory organization overseeing broadband, phone, mobile, TV, radio, and postal services in the U.K. However, Ed Leighton, OFCOM’s director of Strategy and Policy, has been quoted in a report as saying, “Digital Terrestrial Television faces big long-term challenges and audiences who rely on it deserve a solution that is sustainable and fit for the future. It requires a new vision and planning across industry and government.” The report also noted that, “a significant number of broadcasters had ‘voiced concerns’ that maintaining the current terrestrial infrastructure was ‘unlikely to be commercially attractive after the mid-2030s.’” A BBC submission to the government regarding the future of broadcasting in the U.K. suggested it “expected a ‘tipping point’ in the ‘coming years’ where the ‘cost per head’ of terrestrial TV and satellite distribution ‘is no longer viable’ for many broadcasters.” In a report to the government about a TV distribution future, OFCOM noted that “one of its proposed models would be to move towards switch-off (of traditional TV delivery) in the ‘longer term.’” While delivery of all TV content in the future seems to be a given, how everyone gets there safely and what they do once there has not been addressed at all. The BBC did respond to VideoAge, via Ian Watkins in its press office, who admitted, “This a long-term undertaking — at least a decade in the planning. That’s why we are so clear we won’t leave anyone behind as we move from broadcast to online viewing and listening. We do not believe that DTT [Digital Terrestrial Television] should be switched off until universality can be delivered.” Obviously this includes several aspects needing to be reviewed and tested but they clearly haven’t been addressed (or even thought of in the U.S.). The recent failure of cybesecurity firm CrowdStrike demonstrated one of the reasons to be wary of TV content being exclusively delivered safely and securely via the web. In the CrowdStrike case, TV channels were affected and went off air, several U.S. airlines were seriously affected, as were banking and healthcare facilities, along with many other different industries around the globe. The CrowdStrike outage reportedly affected around 8.5 million computers operating Microsoft Windows. Imagine that happening in an Internet-delivered TV world? Flaws in a system delivering communications to a nation have to be at an incredibly high “water-tight” security level and that is not currently possible. So, how long will it take to make it possible — if at all? Because of that the BBC’s Watkins admitted, “This change to an online-only world is a long-way off. We can’t and won’t make this transition alone. We are already working with other PSBs [Public Service Broadcasters] and we are committed to collaborating with the wider media industry and supply chains to ensure a positive future for TV and radio distribution and to maximize the opportunities of this once-in-a-generation shift.” However, the BBC added that it expected a “tipping point” in the “coming years” where the “cost per head” of terrestrial TV and satellite distribution “is no longer viable for many broadcasters.” (By Mike Reynolds) Some critics may suggest that the BBC’s move to partner with other linear outlets may have been an attempt to boost revenues considering that it’s set to lose national TV license fee payments in 2027. NAB’s Sam Matheny
VIDEOAGE September 2024 African Content 12 (Continued from Cover) took a place among the North Americans and Western Europeans who first saw the value in working on an international scale. All of this is, of course, very tantalizing to content buyers and sellers alike. The question in 2024 though is whether this moment is still coming for Africa, or if it has already come and gone and was barely noticed. For sure, Africa holds incredible potential. No right-minded contemporary person isn’t familiar with the basic fact that the continent is on the fast track to becoming more populous, more youthful, more urban, more mobile, and more networked. We all know this. However, in terms of how this will impact the international content landscape and whether buyers and sellers should be getting excited, that’s a little tougher to say. The entrance to the global stage in the past coincided with a time of inflated license fees and a limited number of platforms — chiefly cable and satellite. That’s not the case now. Acquisition executives the world over are buying for subscription platforms on a good day, and advertising driven platforms on a less good day. And so, in most cases, regardless of the quality, genre, and running time of the content being acquired, this just isn’t 1997, when the popularity of cable and satellite was peaking around the world. Coupled with that is the fact that even with the best African series and films now getting a look over by broadcasters and platforms outside the continent, there’s also just so much more content — old and new — coming out from Africa, and so many more ways to watch it, often for free. Again, that’s not to say that the content being produced in Africa isn’t world-class. It’s just that it may be entering the greater world at a less opportune moment. And the African-made content is indeed world-class. Those broadcasters and platforms that have dived in have typically been rewarded. Lance Schwulst, EVP of Content Strategy for U.S.-based MHz Choice, an SVoD platform specializing in international series and films, has repeatedly found success with the series he’s acquired from South Africabased MultiChoice. “It’s exciting to see this recent wave of wellcrafted and compelling storytelling coming out of the African market,” Schwulst said. He then continued: “It’s imbued new life and given audiences a perspective into the world of international television that has been well received by our viewers.” MHz Choice just closed on a significant package of titles that included the second season of the hit series Lioness, as well as Donkerbos, a series that first premiered at the Berlinale Series Markets Selects. Both were from MultiChoice. Bruce Rabinowitz, who has been representing several catalogs of African content, including MultiChoice, for the past decade, agrees. “Once TV acquisition executives are introduced to the African content, they immediately see the potential. The quality and diversity in the storytelling, the state-of-the-art production values, and in many cases their interest to having Africa represented among their other selections of international programming are all incentives, and of course all this is coupled with the ease of doing business with the continent,” Rabinowitz said. “Clearly, there’s a lot of untapped value in the African continent’s content. South Africa in particular, and MultiChoice as Africa’s leader in video entertainment and a producer of authentic African stories, offers international buyers the broadest range of genres. Everything that a content buyer would expect from a global platform: A classic library of feature films, long running and limited series, reality and documentaries from award-winning African and international filmmakers. But that’s not to say that other commercial channels and platforms throughout Africa and various state broadcasters aren’t also producing content that deserves to be seen, and should be seen, globally.” Rabinowitz also commented on the premier African TV market: “MIP Africa this month is still a relatively new market and for the global buyer it’s not clear yet whether it’s an essential market to attend for everyone. Certainly, if one is determined to get a concentrated sense of what’s happening in Africa, MIP Africa is a must-attend. But on the other hand, if one is going to look at Africa as having had, for a while now, the level of compelling content and business savvy to get its content out to the rest of the world (as many of us believe has been strongly demonstrated) any global market anywhere in the world should be appropriate for African content to be presented and licensed.” That’s not to say that the content being produced in Africa isn’t world-class. It’s just that it may be entering the greater world at a less opportune moment.
Palais des Festivals Cannes, France 21 → 24 Oct. 2024 The Mother of all Entertainment Content Markets More information
VIDEOAGE September 2024 MIP Africa 14 (Continued from Cover) sales companies are 30 (see list below). However, including all other sectors (like producers, associations, and service companies) that will have a presence on opening day, September 2, 2024, over 340 entities will converge at the Cape Town International Convention Center 2 for the third annual three-day market to be held on September 2-4, 2024. This is an increase over the 289 companies that participated in the event last year. Among the actual sales distribution companies are All3Media, ACI, A&E, ATV, GMA, Inter Medya, Global Agency, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Television, Impact(ed) International (formerly, Discovery Learning Alliance), and Entertainment Studios. “This year marks [ACI’s] third exploration of MIP Africa as we continue to strengthen relationships with African producers and broadcasters,” said Chevonne O’Shaughnessy, CEO of the Los Angelesbased ACI. She also added: “We’ve already collaborated on several films with our South African partner, AED, and together have licensed South African TV content. The positive response from our international markets on this content has been both encouraging and validating.” Under the banner of “Your Africa, Your Story,” RX Africa, the organizers of FAME Week Africa, have promised to whisk participants away to a world of inspiration from September 1-7, 2024, right in the heart of Cape Town. The first four days, September 1-4, will be the MIP Africa marketplace, and will feature enlightening content sessions from Cape Town International Animation Festival (CTIAF), Muziki Africa, and MIP Africa, as well as networking opportunities and pitching sessions. Then, from September 5-7, there will be the spectacle known as FAME After Dark, and the FAME Shorts Film Festival, a celebration of African cinema. Hollywood is also responding to MIP Africa’s call. American television host, comedian, and producer Steve Harvey will be in attendance at FAME Week Africa 2024. Harvey will deliver a keynote address on Monday, September 2, at MIP Africa, one of the key events of FAME. In his keynote, Harvey will share his journey from a young comedian to a prominent global television figure. He will also detail his commitment to the Botswana Ignite! initiative, emphasizing its potential benefits for Botswana and the entire continent of Africa. Harvey will then participate in a fireside chat with Duncan Irvine, the Botswana Ignite Project director, and a member of the Botswana government. They will discuss the Botswana TV Academy, the Botswana Wildlife Film School, and the newly planned Film Commission and rebate scheme, outlining how these elements aim to benefit Africa’s creative industries. Harvey will also engage in networking opportunities, representing Botswana’s growing creative sector and his foundation’s dedication to expanding the local film and television industry. Key Participating Distribution Companies • A+E Networks, U.K. • AAA Entertainment, South Africa • All3Media, U.K. • America Cinema International, USA • ATV, Turkey • Deutsche Welle, Germany • DIFFA, Cote d’Ivoire • Entertainment Studios, USA • FCCE, Netherlands • FilmOne Entertainment, Nigeria • Fremantle, UAE • Global Agency, Turkey • GMA Worldwide, Philippines • Go-Quest Media, India • Impact(ed) International, USA • IMPS (The Smurfs), Belgium • Indigo Entertainment, U.K. • Inter Medya, Turkey • Moonbug, U.K. • NBCUniversal, USA • Rapid Blue, South Africa • Red Arrow, Germany • Redemption TV, Nigeria • Safe Media, Lebanon • Sony Pictures, U.K. • SPI International, Italy • The Media Hub TV, India • The Walt Disney Company, India • Wordsword Creations, India • ZDF Studios, Germany The Less Glamorous Business Side of the Venice Film Fest The 81st Venice International Film Festival is not just art, red carpets, celebrities, and controversies (such as those for onscreen sex scenes from films like Queer and Diva Futura), but also business dealings, as indicated by the Venice Production Bridge, which includes the Venice Gap-Financing Market, the Book Adaptation Rights Market, and the Venice Immersive Market. The Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and will be held at Palazzo del Cinema and Palazzo del Casino on the island of Lido di Venezia from August 28 to September 7, 2024. The longstanding event is officially recognized by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association). On the other hand, the 11th edition of the business section of the Festival runs from August 29 to September 3, 2024, and is held at the Excelsior Hotel, also located at the Venice Lido, and at the nearby Lazzaretto Vecchio island, where the countries’ pavilions (including ones from France, Luxembourg & WallonieBrussels, Japan, and Baltic Films, among others), will be located. The Venice Gap-Financing Market is a platform for selected projects that aims to support European and international producers to secure financing for their projects through one-to-one meetings with potential international partners. This year, the Book Adaptation Rights Market focuses on crime-thrillers and features a panel about “The Future of Audiovisual Rights.” The third annual Venice Immersive Market will be held at Lazzaretto Vecchio and includes the presentation of immersive content, which basically relies on two technologies: Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). As for this year’s official poster, Italian illustrator and artist Lorenzo Mattotti is, for the seventh consecutive year, the creative designer of the poster’s image, which depicts an elephant in the lagoon (pictured).
15 September 2024 Event Planner Airline Travel Now Podcasts’ Favorite Topic The joys and tribulations of airline travel can now be relived through a series of podcast features generated in the U.S. Recently, The New York Times identified six podcasts worth listening to, including The Next Trip, for aviation news; Layovers, about experiences with airlines, aircrafts, and airports; and The Flight Deck, which recounts air travel in the past. And for those who love thrills more than frills, there’s also: Black Box Down, about different air disasters, and Deep Dive: MH370, which delves into the mystery surrounding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished over the Indian Ocean. Finally, for more business-oriented listeners, there is Business Wars: Boeing Vs. Airbus. VENICE FILM FESTIVAL August 28 – September 7 Venice, Italy Tel: (39 041) 521 8718 www.labiennale.org MIP AFRICA September 2-4 Cape Town, South Africa Tel: (27 010) 496 3500 www.mipafrica.com TIFF September 5-15 Toronto, Canada Tel: (1 888) 258-8433 www.tiff.net JORNADAS INTERNACIONALES October 7-8 Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel: (54 11) 4968-8041/3 www.atvc.org.ar MIPCOM October 21-24 Cannes, France Tel: (33) 77769 3496 www.mipcom.com AMERICAN FILM MARKET November 5-10 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Tel: (1 310) 446-1000 www.americanfilmmarket.com DUBAI INTERNATIONAL CONTENT MARKET November 12-13 Dubai. UAE Tel: (971 4) 520 8888 www.dicm.ae Recognized standard of quality in Audio Description descriptivevideoworks.com With more than 40,000 television shows, feature films and LIVE shows completed, you can rely on us to deliver your project on budget and on time. Our technical expertise guarantees a top quality product - a commitment we’ve made to our clients for more than 20 years. Descriptive Video Works is committed to providing access to all forms of visual media Request a Quote info@descriptivevideoworks.com
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