Tag: MIPCOM 2016

Two popular BMX content creators join XTreme video multi-platform network

CANNES: XTreme Video, the leading Multi-Platform Network (MPN) for extreme athletes and creators with over 200 million views each month and more than 50 million social followers, today announced the addition of two of YouTube’s top BMX creators, KinkBMX and Boqer123, to the XTreme Video network. Heading into MIPCOM 2016, XTreme Video’s social networks provide a space for prime cross-promotion with the creators, most of whom have already amassed a huge social following themselves before joining the XTreme Video team.

“We are in awe of how Boqer123 and KinkBMX grew their own devoted audiences within the extreme sports fan base through their zealous use of social media and great content creation,”says Gregg Bywalski, CEO of XTreme Video. “We’re very excited to welcome our new creators to the XTreme Video family and introduce them to our passionate and international growing community. We look forward to create new opportunities with our creators to think, create and share exciting new stories tailored to their millennial audiences with broadcasters and major platforms.”

Founded in 2011, Boqer123 is a crew that creates original BMX webisodes. Alongside his YouTube shenanigans, the founder of Boqer123, Josh James, has also launched a clothing brand. Boqer123 grew its community into one of the most followed BMX and lifestyle brand on social network channels with +320K subscribers across all social platforms.

“I’ve used a few MCN’s before I signed with XTreme Video, and I can safely say I’ve felt used by all of them,”said James. “However, XTreme Video are completely different. They make you feel like you’re their only client, giving off a very personal feel to the relationship. Not only that, but there’s a personal level to the communication which makes you feel like friends as opposed to partners. I’ve only been signed for a short period of time, but I know it’ll be a great future together.”

KinkBMX is a BMX bike part supplier based out of Rochester, NY who also create high-quality videos, highlighting the newest gear, tricks and the BMX lifestyle. KinkBMX has build over the years an engaged community around its brand with +512K subscribers across their social platforms.

XTreme Video continues to discover, develop, and support independent creators by enabling them to produce and sell their work, such as video content and merchandise, through their digital distribution network, Agency and e-commerce site. XTreme Video is the number one Multi-Platform Network for extreme creators. Since 1994, XTreme Video has been the home of extreme creators capturing and documenting the culture, locations and stories of extreme activities.

October 19, 2016
Two popular BMX content creators join XTreme video multi-platform network

CANNES: XTreme Video, the leading Multi-Platform Network (MPN) for extreme athletes and creators with over 200 million views each month and more than 50 million social followers, today announced the addition of two of YouTube’s top BMX creators, KinkBMX and Boqer123, to the XTreme Video network. Heading into MIPCOM 2016, XTreme Video’s social networks provide a space for prime cross-promotion with the creators, most of whom have already amassed a huge social following themselves before joining the XTreme Video team.

“We are in awe of how Boqer123 and KinkBMX grew their own devoted audiences within the extreme sports fan base through their zealous use of social media and great content creation,”says Gregg Bywalski, CEO of XTreme Video. “We’re very excited to welcome our new creators to the XTreme Video family and introduce them to our passionate and international growing community. We look forward to create new opportunities with our creators to think, create and share exciting new stories tailored to their millennial audiences with broadcasters and major platforms.”

Founded in 2011, Boqer123 is a crew that creates original BMX webisodes. Alongside his YouTube shenanigans, the founder of Boqer123, Josh James, has also launched a clothing brand. Boqer123 grew its community into one of the most followed BMX and lifestyle brand on social network channels with +320K subscribers across all social platforms.

“I’ve used a few MCN’s before I signed with XTreme Video, and I can safely say I’ve felt used by all of them,”said James. “However, XTreme Video are completely different. They make you feel like you’re their only client, giving off a very personal feel to the relationship. Not only that, but there’s a personal level to the communication which makes you feel like friends as opposed to partners. I’ve only been signed for a short period of time, but I know it’ll be a great future together.”

KinkBMX is a BMX bike part supplier based out of Rochester, NY who also create high-quality videos, highlighting the newest gear, tricks and the BMX lifestyle. KinkBMX has build over the years an engaged community around its brand with +512K subscribers across their social platforms.

XTreme Video continues to discover, develop, and support independent creators by enabling them to produce and sell their work, such as video content and merchandise, through their digital distribution network, Agency and e-commerce site. XTreme Video is the number one Multi-Platform Network for extreme creators. Since 1994, XTreme Video has been the home of extreme creators capturing and documenting the culture, locations and stories of extreme activities.

October 19, 2016
Studiocanal sells ‘Midnight Sun’ to international broadcasters

CANNES: Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of TV series and feature films, Studiocanal has sold breakthrough Swedish-French drama Midnight Sun, a CANAL+/SVT/Filmpool Nordcoproduction, to a host of international broadcasters, it was announced today.

Produced by Atlantique Productions and Nice Drama, the 8 x 1 hour thriller series has been secured ahead of its premiere by ZDF in Germany, SBS in Australia, HOT in Israel,NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark, RUV in Iceland, MTV3 in Finland, VRT in Belgium, and Lumière in Benelux.

Starring Leïla Bekhti (The Prophet) and Gustaf Hammarsten (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Midnight Sun will first air on 23 October on SVT and later this year on CANAL+ under the Création Originale brand.

ZDF executive director, feature films and international co-productions, Susanne Mueller, says: “Midnight Sun is a wonderfully crafted, nail-biting thriller series and will be an absolute highlight in our 2017 schedule. It is a perfect fit for our Sunday late night crime slot, where we air the finest European crime drama. Midnight Sun is the next big Scandi-series with a twist after our successful coproductions like The Bridge, Modusand also the upcoming Springtide.”

SBS director of television and online content, Marshall Heald, commented: “Midnight Sun is Nordic Noir at its finest, delivering a thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seat to the very last. This truly international series offers sweeping scenery, compelling storytelling and stunning performances, and is an exciting addition to our program offering as we continue to showcase the very best in world drama.”

Lumière head of acquisitions & coproductions for TV series, Marike Muselaers, says: “We have been following Midnight Sun from a very early stage and we are thrilled to start working with Studiocanal on this topical, gripping and beautiful drama/thriller series. As both Studiocanal and Lumière specialize in bringing high-end quality TV series to the public, we are sure this will be the start of a long and fruitful partnership. Soon the Midnight Sun will shine everywhere in Benelux!”

Studiocanal EVP sales and marketing Katrina Neylon, added, “Midnight Sun is a beautifully shot, absorbing drama series which also raises real and current issues such as racism and damage to our environment. The series has hit a nerve with buyers internationally already ahead of its premiere, appealing to both Free and Pay TV networks and we’re in advanced negotiations to close additional sales in the coming months.”

Created by Mårlind & Stein (Bron/Broen), based on an idea by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Patrick Nebout, Midnight Sun is a high concept thriller set in a small mining community in remote northern Sweden where a series of brutal murders – which contrast starkly against the beauty of the landscape and the ethereal daylight – conceal a secret conspiracy. Midnight Sun received the Audience Award at SeriesMania in Paris in April.

Visit Studiocanal at MIPCOM 2016 at stand P1.A1.

Image available here: https://we.tl/el7UsG1pfg

ZDF German Television is Germany’s national public television broadcaster and one of Europe’s leading public television corporations. It is run as an independent non-profit corporation under the authority of the 16 federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany.

With a background as Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape. As described in the SBS Charter, SBS’s principal function is to provide multilingual, multicultural and Indigenous radio, television and digital media services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians, reflecting Australia’s diverse society.

The Lumière Group is an all rights / all media Benelux distribution and production company, with offices in Ghent and Amsterdam and cinemas in Bruges and Antwerp. Lumière is known for bringing Scandinavian drama to the Benelux and has been among the first to pick up shows like The Bridge, Wallander, The Killing, Borgen, Springtide, Modus, The Legacy, Follow The Money, Occupied and many more.

Studiocanal is Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series. Operating directly in all three major European markets, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, Studiocanal has fully-financed recent box office hits such as Paddington, Shaun the Sheep and Non-Stop. Upcoming films backed by Studiocanal include The Commuter featuring Liam Neeson, and Nick Park’s stop-motion movie Early Man, with Aardman Studios.

October 17, 2016
Studiocanal sells ‘Midnight Sun’ to international broadcasters

CANNES: Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of TV series and feature films, Studiocanal has sold breakthrough Swedish-French drama Midnight Sun, a CANAL+/SVT/Filmpool Nordcoproduction, to a host of international broadcasters, it was announced today.

Produced by Atlantique Productions and Nice Drama, the 8 x 1 hour thriller series has been secured ahead of its premiere by ZDF in Germany, SBS in Australia, HOT in Israel,NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark, RUV in Iceland, MTV3 in Finland, VRT in Belgium, and Lumière in Benelux.

Starring Leïla Bekhti (The Prophet) and Gustaf Hammarsten (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Midnight Sun will first air on 23 October on SVT and later this year on CANAL+ under the Création Originale brand.

ZDF executive director, feature films and international co-productions, Susanne Mueller, says: “Midnight Sun is a wonderfully crafted, nail-biting thriller series and will be an absolute highlight in our 2017 schedule. It is a perfect fit for our Sunday late night crime slot, where we air the finest European crime drama. Midnight Sun is the next big Scandi-series with a twist after our successful coproductions like The Bridge, Modusand also the upcoming Springtide.”

SBS director of television and online content, Marshall Heald, commented: “Midnight Sun is Nordic Noir at its finest, delivering a thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seat to the very last. This truly international series offers sweeping scenery, compelling storytelling and stunning performances, and is an exciting addition to our program offering as we continue to showcase the very best in world drama.”

Lumière head of acquisitions & coproductions for TV series, Marike Muselaers, says: “We have been following Midnight Sun from a very early stage and we are thrilled to start working with Studiocanal on this topical, gripping and beautiful drama/thriller series. As both Studiocanal and Lumière specialize in bringing high-end quality TV series to the public, we are sure this will be the start of a long and fruitful partnership. Soon the Midnight Sun will shine everywhere in Benelux!”

Studiocanal EVP sales and marketing Katrina Neylon, added, “Midnight Sun is a beautifully shot, absorbing drama series which also raises real and current issues such as racism and damage to our environment. The series has hit a nerve with buyers internationally already ahead of its premiere, appealing to both Free and Pay TV networks and we’re in advanced negotiations to close additional sales in the coming months.”

Created by Mårlind & Stein (Bron/Broen), based on an idea by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Patrick Nebout, Midnight Sun is a high concept thriller set in a small mining community in remote northern Sweden where a series of brutal murders – which contrast starkly against the beauty of the landscape and the ethereal daylight – conceal a secret conspiracy. Midnight Sun received the Audience Award at SeriesMania in Paris in April.

Visit Studiocanal at MIPCOM 2016 at stand P1.A1.

Image available here: https://we.tl/el7UsG1pfg

ZDF German Television is Germany’s national public television broadcaster and one of Europe’s leading public television corporations. It is run as an independent non-profit corporation under the authority of the 16 federal states that make up the Federal Republic of Germany.

With a background as Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape. As described in the SBS Charter, SBS’s principal function is to provide multilingual, multicultural and Indigenous radio, television and digital media services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians, reflecting Australia’s diverse society.

The Lumière Group is an all rights / all media Benelux distribution and production company, with offices in Ghent and Amsterdam and cinemas in Bruges and Antwerp. Lumière is known for bringing Scandinavian drama to the Benelux and has been among the first to pick up shows like The Bridge, Wallander, The Killing, Borgen, Springtide, Modus, The Legacy, Follow The Money, Occupied and many more.

Studiocanal is Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series. Operating directly in all three major European markets, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, Studiocanal has fully-financed recent box office hits such as Paddington, Shaun the Sheep and Non-Stop. Upcoming films backed by Studiocanal include The Commuter featuring Liam Neeson, and Nick Park’s stop-motion movie Early Man, with Aardman Studios.

October 17, 2016
MIPCOM 2016 hosts Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch

MUMBAI: The MIPCOM 2016 Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch once again features some of the industry’s heavy-hitters discussing the role of women, both on and off-screen.

The fifth edition of MIPCOM’s annual thought leadership and networking event for the most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment is run in partnership with A+E Networks and Lifetime, along with The Hollywood Reporter.

The global entertainment content market, MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France, from 17-20 October. The Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch is scheduled for Monday 17 October, at the Hotel Majestic.

The event will be introduced by A+E Networks chief marketing officer Amanda Hill, who will take a deep dive into the female experience, uncovering and highlighting the important issues facing women today via a recent Lifetime study. In addition, Hill will discuss Lifetime’s launch of a new multiplatform initiative called The Fempire, which targets fourth-wave feminists. Its mission is to create content for women, by women, about women, and to engage with them 24/7.

This will be followed by a presentation from Emmy® Award-nominated Constance Zimmer and fellow actress Shiri Appleby, who both star in Lifetime’s “UnREAL”. They will talk about their respective roles in the series, and how it ties into Lifetime’s ethos and what female empowerment means today.

The Women in Global Entertainment programme continues with an inspirational conversation between two leading figures of the film and TV industries, Betsy Beers, Partner at Shondaland, and pioneering French Director, Screenwriter, and Producer Euzhan Palcy.

A multi-award-winning producer, Beers is Executive Producer of ABC Studios’ hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” and “The Catch,” along with the upcoming new Untitled Shondaland Project (formerly known as “Still Star-Crossed”). In 2008, Beers partnered with Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. Prior to her exclusive foray into television, Beers served as President of the Mark Gordon Company, President of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, and developed and produced such films as “200 Cigarettes,” “High Fidelity,” and “Pushing Tin” among many others. In 2014, Beers and Rhimes were honoured by the Directors Guild of America with the coveted Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity hiring and their long record of providing opportunities to women and minorities. (Rhimes is also being honoured as MIPCOM 2016 Personality of the Year.)

Euzhan Palcy is an award-winning filmmaker, and the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio, through her apartheid-themed feature movie, “A Dry White Season” (MGM, 1989). She is also the first black person ever to win a Cesar, the French Film Academy Awards, and the only woman ever to have directed Marlon Brando. Through films such as “Sugar Cane Alley,” “Ruby Bridges” and “The Killing Yard,” her work explores themes of race, gender, and social justice from a decidedly feminist and humanist perspective. In 2016, Palcy received the Honorary Award of the first Positive Cinema Week of Cannes, and The Wrap included her on its list of 17 Most Influential Women Who Revolutionised Hollywood. Palcy will unveil exclusive images in Cannes from an interview she did with the late South African President in a segment entitled “Nelson Mandela and the Role of Women,” an extract from a 25-minute filmed interview.

“For the fifth edition of MIPCOM’s Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, we are delighted to welcome a line-up of women who are behind some of the most creative and challenging content in contemporary television. The summit is thus continuing its mission as a key event for those women who are shaping the future of TV and entertainment,” said Reed MIDEM’s Television Division director Laurine Garaude.

October 7, 2016
MIPCOM 2016 hosts Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch

MUMBAI: The MIPCOM 2016 Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch once again features some of the industry’s heavy-hitters discussing the role of women, both on and off-screen.

The fifth edition of MIPCOM’s annual thought leadership and networking event for the most influential women shaping the future of TV and entertainment is run in partnership with A+E Networks and Lifetime, along with The Hollywood Reporter.

The global entertainment content market, MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France, from 17-20 October. The Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch is scheduled for Monday 17 October, at the Hotel Majestic.

The event will be introduced by A+E Networks chief marketing officer Amanda Hill, who will take a deep dive into the female experience, uncovering and highlighting the important issues facing women today via a recent Lifetime study. In addition, Hill will discuss Lifetime’s launch of a new multiplatform initiative called The Fempire, which targets fourth-wave feminists. Its mission is to create content for women, by women, about women, and to engage with them 24/7.

This will be followed by a presentation from Emmy® Award-nominated Constance Zimmer and fellow actress Shiri Appleby, who both star in Lifetime’s “UnREAL”. They will talk about their respective roles in the series, and how it ties into Lifetime’s ethos and what female empowerment means today.

The Women in Global Entertainment programme continues with an inspirational conversation between two leading figures of the film and TV industries, Betsy Beers, Partner at Shondaland, and pioneering French Director, Screenwriter, and Producer Euzhan Palcy.

A multi-award-winning producer, Beers is Executive Producer of ABC Studios’ hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” and “The Catch,” along with the upcoming new Untitled Shondaland Project (formerly known as “Still Star-Crossed”). In 2008, Beers partnered with Shonda Rhimes and her company Shondaland to develop and produce additional feature film and television projects. Prior to her exclusive foray into television, Beers served as President of the Mark Gordon Company, President of director Mike Newell’s Dogstar Films, and developed and produced such films as “200 Cigarettes,” “High Fidelity,” and “Pushing Tin” among many others. In 2014, Beers and Rhimes were honoured by the Directors Guild of America with the coveted Diversity Award for their commitment to diversity hiring and their long record of providing opportunities to women and minorities. (Rhimes is also being honoured as MIPCOM 2016 Personality of the Year.)

Euzhan Palcy is an award-winning filmmaker, and the first black female director produced by a major Hollywood studio, through her apartheid-themed feature movie, “A Dry White Season” (MGM, 1989). She is also the first black person ever to win a Cesar, the French Film Academy Awards, and the only woman ever to have directed Marlon Brando. Through films such as “Sugar Cane Alley,” “Ruby Bridges” and “The Killing Yard,” her work explores themes of race, gender, and social justice from a decidedly feminist and humanist perspective. In 2016, Palcy received the Honorary Award of the first Positive Cinema Week of Cannes, and The Wrap included her on its list of 17 Most Influential Women Who Revolutionised Hollywood. Palcy will unveil exclusive images in Cannes from an interview she did with the late South African President in a segment entitled “Nelson Mandela and the Role of Women,” an extract from a 25-minute filmed interview.

“For the fifth edition of MIPCOM’s Women in Global Entertainment Power Lunch, we are delighted to welcome a line-up of women who are behind some of the most creative and challenging content in contemporary television. The summit is thus continuing its mission as a key event for those women who are shaping the future of TV and entertainment,” said Reed MIDEM’s Television Division director Laurine Garaude.

October 7, 2016
GoQuest to present its formats at MIPCOM 2016

MUMBAI: GoQuest Formats, a non-fiction and fiction formats subsidiary of GoQuest Media Ventures- a global multi -platform for content syndication, distribution & production, is keeping up to its promise made at MIPTV 2016 to various global clients that GoQuest will be producing pilots of its 2 formats and presenting it at MIPCOM 2016.

The formats are:

Ultimate Cinderella: A life makeover show, this unique TV program gives a second chance to deserving women changing their lives forever.

Friends ForNever: An exhilarating quiz game show where best friends go at each-other for a cash prize.

This has come on the back of its having generated considerable interest on its paper formats from the participants at MIPTV 2016. This was announced by Vivek Lath, Managing Director and founder of GoQuest Media. The international pilots of the formats have been developed to showcase the novelty and entertainment factor in these FORMATS. The paper format of these shows received great response from participants from China, Greece, France, Germany, Turkey and UAE.

GoQuest Formats will be presenting three more formats at MIPCOM:

Sing-A-Songwriter– A unique singing reality show which wraps all the aspects of a song i.e. singing, songwriting and composing into one super music reality format. On Sing-A-Songwriter, every song is a new song.

Dinner Karaoke: A fun weekend format which searches for a Karaoke star among regular restaurant diners.

Kitchen 50: 50: A cooking show where two cooks who know each other in real life go against each other in a cook off to win a 10,000 dollar prize.

All the formats have been designed to elicit a lot of excitement and drama for the viewer’s globally. Ease in execution is another advantage for broadcasters looking to produce these formats.

Vivek Lath further adds GoQuest has collaborated with vibrant creators from Europe and North America to come up with ideas that have global resonance and cuts across various genres of Reality TV. GoQuest is approaching MIPCOM with an expectation to not only earn a name for itself in the FORMAT space with its offering but also to soak-in the latest trends and the current needs to help our creators and collaborators to continually develop more exciting options in the future”

September 21, 2016
GoQuest to present its formats at MIPCOM 2016

MUMBAI: GoQuest Formats, a non-fiction and fiction formats subsidiary of GoQuest Media Ventures- a global multi -platform for content syndication, distribution & production, is keeping up to its promise made at MIPTV 2016 to various global clients that GoQuest will be producing pilots of its 2 formats and presenting it at MIPCOM 2016.

The formats are:

Ultimate Cinderella: A life makeover show, this unique TV program gives a second chance to deserving women changing their lives forever.

Friends ForNever: An exhilarating quiz game show where best friends go at each-other for a cash prize.

This has come on the back of its having generated considerable interest on its paper formats from the participants at MIPTV 2016. This was announced by Vivek Lath, Managing Director and founder of GoQuest Media. The international pilots of the formats have been developed to showcase the novelty and entertainment factor in these FORMATS. The paper format of these shows received great response from participants from China, Greece, France, Germany, Turkey and UAE.

GoQuest Formats will be presenting three more formats at MIPCOM:

Sing-A-Songwriter– A unique singing reality show which wraps all the aspects of a song i.e. singing, songwriting and composing into one super music reality format. On Sing-A-Songwriter, every song is a new song.

Dinner Karaoke: A fun weekend format which searches for a Karaoke star among regular restaurant diners.

Kitchen 50: 50: A cooking show where two cooks who know each other in real life go against each other in a cook off to win a 10,000 dollar prize.

All the formats have been designed to elicit a lot of excitement and drama for the viewer’s globally. Ease in execution is another advantage for broadcasters looking to produce these formats.

Vivek Lath further adds GoQuest has collaborated with vibrant creators from Europe and North America to come up with ideas that have global resonance and cuts across various genres of Reality TV. GoQuest is approaching MIPCOM with an expectation to not only earn a name for itself in the FORMAT space with its offering but also to soak-in the latest trends and the current needs to help our creators and collaborators to continually develop more exciting options in the future”

September 21, 2016
Keshet bags Croatia crime drama ‘The Paper’s distribution rights

MUMBAI: Keshet International (KI) has bagged the global distribution rights to the new eagerly-anticipated Croatian crime drama series, The Paper. Produced by Drugi Plan and yet to air on HTV1, The Paper is a dark cocktail of political corruption, power struggles, crime and betrayal.

The story is about Mario Kardum, an influential and politically-conservative building contractor from a powerful family who buys a left-liberalist newspaper in deep financial trouble. He has two underlying, questionable motives. Firstly, he wants to keep the investigation of someone close to him as the perpetrator of a high-profile hit-and-run case out of the news. Secondly, he wants to coerce the paper into writing favourably about the presidential candidate he is backing.

The Paper is a blistering, fast-paced account of the obstacles and dilemmas faced by today’s press. Has the profession of journalism, once so important, become nothing more than an instrument to achieve other, even greater interests? It will be available as a finished subtitled series and drama format to buyers at MIPCOM 2016.

Keshet International acquisition head Sebastian Burkhardt said, “We came across The Paper at NEM and were extremely impressed by the quality of the production. Everything from the storytelling, to the direction and the cast leads it to be very timely and universal. With current opportunities for non-English speaking series, and our experience with them, we are confident that The Paper will find its audience outside of Croatia.”

The Paper creator and producer Nebojsa Taraba said, “Through this collaboration with Keshet International, we truly feel as though we have found a common artistic tongue and that our project has — in many ways — come home. The way in which Keshet produces and perceives television is precisely what we’ve tried to emulate and apply in our work for years.”

Created by Ivica Djikic, Nebojsa Taraba and Miodrag Sila and directed by Cannes Film Festival jury prize-winner Dalibor Matanic (Un Certain Regard, The High Sun), The Paper is set in the busy newsroom of a daily newspaper. A highly-acclaimed, provocative drama, it presents an ensemble cast navigating the blurred lines between morality and integrity.

September 13, 2016
Keshet bags Croatia crime drama ‘The Paper’s distribution rights

MUMBAI: Keshet International (KI) has bagged the global distribution rights to the new eagerly-anticipated Croatian crime drama series, The Paper. Produced by Drugi Plan and yet to air on HTV1, The Paper is a dark cocktail of political corruption, power struggles, crime and betrayal.

The story is about Mario Kardum, an influential and politically-conservative building contractor from a powerful family who buys a left-liberalist newspaper in deep financial trouble. He has two underlying, questionable motives. Firstly, he wants to keep the investigation of someone close to him as the perpetrator of a high-profile hit-and-run case out of the news. Secondly, he wants to coerce the paper into writing favourably about the presidential candidate he is backing.

The Paper is a blistering, fast-paced account of the obstacles and dilemmas faced by today’s press. Has the profession of journalism, once so important, become nothing more than an instrument to achieve other, even greater interests? It will be available as a finished subtitled series and drama format to buyers at MIPCOM 2016.

Keshet International acquisition head Sebastian Burkhardt said, “We came across The Paper at NEM and were extremely impressed by the quality of the production. Everything from the storytelling, to the direction and the cast leads it to be very timely and universal. With current opportunities for non-English speaking series, and our experience with them, we are confident that The Paper will find its audience outside of Croatia.”

The Paper creator and producer Nebojsa Taraba said, “Through this collaboration with Keshet International, we truly feel as though we have found a common artistic tongue and that our project has — in many ways — come home. The way in which Keshet produces and perceives television is precisely what we’ve tried to emulate and apply in our work for years.”

Created by Ivica Djikic, Nebojsa Taraba and Miodrag Sila and directed by Cannes Film Festival jury prize-winner Dalibor Matanic (Un Certain Regard, The High Sun), The Paper is set in the busy newsroom of a daily newspaper. A highly-acclaimed, provocative drama, it presents an ensemble cast navigating the blurred lines between morality and integrity.

September 13, 2016