Co-Productions Take Center Stage at MIPTV Producers’ Forum

PARIS: Co-productions will be a running theme throughout a number of events at MIPTV, particularly during the Producers’ Forum, which takes place April 4 and 5.

The Producers’ Forum, back in its second year, will have a special focus on fiction co-production, during two days of conferences and networking sessions held around a new lounge area dedicated to Producers’ Forum meetings. On April 4, five case studies will spotlight the inside story of co-producing high-end drama, with presentations by BBC Worldwide, Zentropa, Windmill Lane Entertainment, Muse Distribution International and Atlantique Productions. On the same day, two interview sessions will explore global co-production strategies, with a focus on co-financing in a TV market that is increasingly fragmented. Participants include Screentime, ZDF Enterprises, Starz, CBC, Disney Channel EMEA and Fox Television Studios. Rodolphe Belmer, the COO of Canal+ and a MIPTV keynote speaker, will outline how co-production is key to international fiction for the French pay-TV channel, looking at the upcoming series XIII and Borgia. The Irish-Canadian co-pro Camelot will also be showcased at the MIPTV World Premiere TV Screening, followed by a Q&A with the project’s creator and stars, Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green.

On April 5, workshops and networking sessions will focus on co-productions with Asia and Latin America.

“Co-production is essential to making quality projects with international ambition, and MIPTV is the ideal place for producers from around the world to meet, develop relationships and reach co-production agreements for television drama,” commented Laurine Garaude, the director of the television division at Reed MIDEM. “At this year’s Producers’ Forum, MIPTV is making a special effort to bring together leading international producers with their counterparts from Asia and Latin America, to facilitate co-productions with partners in these two vast continents which offer new opportunities.”