Bernd Hellthaler

World Screen Weekly, October 9, 2008

Managing Director

EuroArts Medien

Music and art have the ability to stir emotions and make a deep connection with viewers, and Medici Arts has a range of programming that is dedicated to doing just that. It represents the catalogues of EuroArts (Berlin and Leipzig) and Ideale Audience (Paris) plus programs from more than 15 independent producers. The Berlin- and Paris- based distributor has gained a reputation as a leading provider of audiovisual classical music, jazz and other arts programs for TV and home video. But this evolution into a niche producer was built off a broader business base that was founded in 1979 by Bernd Hellthaler.

“Between ’79 and ’86 I was involved with producing how-to videos, which were real business at the time, and children’s programs, which I was producing together with Ravensburger Film und TV,” explains Hellthaler of EuroArts. “In 1986, I started to get involved in other content areas, especially music. So, operating in production and sales, the group concentrated on music programs, narrowing them down to classical music, jazz and world music in the mid ’90s,” explains Hellthaler. The company later formally established its post-production operations and founded Elektrofilm in Berlin and Stuttgart.

In 2004, EuroArts Medien and all of its subsidiaries were acquired by U.S.-based Medici Group, which now owns 100 percent of EuroArts. The distribution organization, now in the process of changing its name to Medici Arts, houses the Medici Arts DVD label; the Medici Arts CD labels such as “BBC Legends,” the “Royal Opera House Heritage Series”; the VOD platform medici.tv and has launched a linear channel in Taiwan (www.titv.com.tw) with plans to increase the number of countries it is available in.

In addition to providing music fare, including concerts and operas, the company also supplies a range of documentaries and event-driven crossover projects. “We’re now supplying the world with great programming ranging from Classic Archive to the Berlin Philharmonic, from Sir Simon Rattle to Alfred Brendel, from the current lead show Salute Petra: Celebrating the Life of Luciano Pavarotti to the documentary El Sistema,” says Hellthaler. “We’re not only supporting our two production outlets, EuroArts Music International in Leipzig and Ideale Audience in Paris, but are also a major contributor to many independent producers in France and Germany.”

For MIPCOM, the company is offering the Pavarotti Memorial Concert, which features classical and popular music artists performing on Pavarotti’s birthday in remembrance of his talent. Also on offer is Arturo Toscanini in His Own Words (in production), featuring actors who play Toscanini, his son Walter and a few other visitors who prompt the maestro to recount his life. Other titles included in the catalogue are The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim in Ravello, Verdi: Rigoletto, Mozart: Zaide and Lucerne Festival 2008.

Hellthaler is responsible for marketing, sales, co-production and acquisitions for the Medici Group, where he serves as a member of the board as well. For someone who is as passionate as Hellthaler is, the job is a perfect fit.

He says that what he enjoys most of all is meeting people who share his same interest in music. “Within a world devoid of music either mankind could not live or would have a completely different life,” says Hellthaler. “I leave it to the reader to imagine what this would be like!”