A Note from World Screen’s Anna Carugati

CANNES: Anna Carugati, the group editorial director of World Screen, reflects on the events of the last week at MIPCOM.

I have been attending MIPCOM since the very first one, and I’ve witnessed all sorts of inclement weather: I’ve seen flooded stands, outside tents damaged by rain and waves. There have been years when the heat and humidity made dashing around from meeting to meeting most unpleasant. And last year’s rain was something—and I was on crutches!

But the devastation that occurred in such a brief span of time last weekend was horrendous. I speak for myself and everyone at World Screen when I say that our hearts go out to the people in Cannes who suffered loss of loved ones and property.

I would also like to express gratitude to the Reed MIDEM team for how they quickly moved MIPJunior from the Grand Hyatt Hotel Martinez to the Palais and dealt with the countless other problems that resulted from the storm.

To Paul Zilk, Laurine Garaude and Jérôme Delhaye: it’s one thing to be professional and at the top of your game under normal circumstances—by normal I mean a market that has the usual countless hitches and glitches that we attendees never even see because you solve them so efficiently. It’s quite another thing to manage an enormous crisis with speed, competence and class. As the French say, “Chapeau.” It is an honor and a privilege to be your partners and friends.

I have a debt of gratitude also toward Lucy Smith and her phenomenal team: Maria, Amandine, Julie and Laurence. Thank you for offering me the panels and keynotes I moderated. I get such a kick out of learning new aspects of our business, and boy, this year was an abundance of riches: From Hasbro’s Stephen Davis I learned storytelling drives all of Hasbro’s businesses; from our Kids’ Content Trendsetters I learned about the intricacies of choosing appropriate content for today’s media-savvy youngsters; from the Turkey Megasession I saw how universal themes in Turkish dramas cross the ocean and resonate with viewers in North and South America; from ITV’s CEO, Adam Crozier, I was reminded how powerful the broadcast business still is when supported by world-class content; CBS’s Armando Nuñez and Showtime’s David Nevins affirmed the demand for addictive programming in the U.S. and around the world; our Content Trendsetters outlined the constant need for sufficient rights so they can offer hit shows on whatever screen viewers want; and from the Personalities of the Year, Dana Walden and Gary Newman, I heard that risk-taking pays off and big, bold programs like The X-Files, 24 and, most recently, Empire satisfy audiences worldwide. They also embody the key elements of a successful partnership: trust, respect and good communication—invaluable take-away, professionally and personally.