Event Preview: MIP Junior

CANNES: More than 1,000 participants are expected at MIP Junior this weekend, which will feature sessions with buyers and commissioners, licensing agents and book publishers, plus a keynote address by Sam Register, the executive VP of creative affairs at Warner Bros. Animation.

“We’re very proud of the growing success of MIP Junior,” says Laurine Garaude, the director of the television division at Reed MIDEM. “The significant progression of MIP Junior reflects the kids’ entertainment industry’s impressive evolution in many directions. Notably, kids publishing and the licensing initiatives now represent important segments of the youth program industry’s business, sustained by the Books-to-TV Exchange and the Licensing Challenge events at MIP Junior 2011.”

The schedule kicks off Saturday morning at the Martinez with a How to Pitch? workshop featuring, among others, Cartoon Network’s Rick Clodfelter, CBeebies’ Henrietta Hurford-Jones and 9 Story’s Natalie Osborne. Next up at 11:45 a.m. is a buyers’ panel featuring Turner Broadcasting System’s Michael Carrington, Channel One Russia’s Natalia Egorova, Disney Channels’ Karen Miller and ABC Australia’s Barbara Uecker, all discussing their programming needs.

The afternoon schedule begins with a look at the teen market and the role of transmedia featuring beActive’s Nuno Bernardo, FremantleMedia Enterprises’ Bob Higgins, Sunwoo Entertainment’s Moonju Kang and Lemonade Creative Consulting’s Donna Friedman Meir. Continuing with the new-media theme is the 4 p.m. session on games, apps, social networks and new devices. Capping off the day is the Kids’ Jury Ceremony Awards, in which kids themselves selected their favorite programs.

Sunday begins with two exclusive matchmaking sessions where pre-registered producers and distributors can meet with top buyers and licensing agents. Later in the day is a new addition to the MIP Junior slate, with the Books-to-TV Exchange, bringing publishers and producers together. One session, moderated by Penguin Group U.K.’s Eric Huang, will offer up case studies on successful book-to-screen adaptations. The second session, introduced by Walker Books and Walker Productions’ Helen McAleer, will serve as a networking opportunity for publishers and producers.

Sam Register’s MIP Junior Mastermind Keynote will take place at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday. He will discuss trends in the animation business and the studio’s upcoming projects, highlighting how Warner Bros. is breathing new life into some of its classic properties. “I am so excited to represent Warner Bros. Animation at MIP Junior,” Register said. “From our new DC Nation programming block featuring Green Lantern: The Animated Series, to our current series, The Looney Tunes Show, Mad, and Thundercats, WBA has an outstanding slate of programming available for global markets. I look forward to presenting our vision to MIP Junior attendees—and I promise it’ll be fun, too.”

The schedule wraps with a premiere screening of the Korean feature film Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild, produced by Myung Films.