MIPCOM Session to Focus on Telenovela Formats

CANNES, September 27: On October 7, the weekend before MIPCOM
begins, executives from Telefe International, Grundy UFA, RCN Television and
Dori Media will take part in panel discussion, to be moderated by Anna
Carugati, the group editorial director of World Screen, on telenovela formats,
as part of MIPCOM’s second annual Telenovelas Screenings.

The session, taking place at 4:30 p.m. on October 7 at the
Carlton Hotel’s Salon Californie, will feature Gonzalo Cilley, the head of
formats and international production at Argentina’s Telefe International; Dr.
Michael W. Esser, the head writer for Grundy UFA TV Produktion in Germany;
María Lucía Hernández, the director of international sales at RCN Television in
Colombia; and Silvana D’Angelo, the head of international sales and marketing
at Dori Media Distribution in Argentina.

Entitled “Crossing into New Frontiers—How to Sell and
Adapt a Telenovela Format,” it will look at how companies from outside of Latin
America are buying and adapting telenovela formats, and what that means for the
entire industry, including the impact on the sales of finished programs.

The Telenovelas Screenings will also feature a session
entitled “Why the World is in Love with Telenovelas,” at 3 p.m. on October 7,
with Virginia Mouseler, the CEO of The WIT.

Reed MIDEM, the organizer of MIPCOM, has put its promotional
weight behind the second annual Telenovelas Screenings, with a dedicated
advertising campaign and a special area on the MIPCOM
website. “We wanted to do something special for the Latin Americans to make
sure that they feel even more relevant within our market and that they see that
we’re not just thinking about the Anglo Saxon world, but looking at all genres
and all productions,” Paul Johnson, the director of the television division at
Reed MIDEM, told World Screen Newsflash.
“The whole thing is about increasing the number of people who are currently
active in commercializing telenovelas. Everyone knows who buys telenovelas.
What’s not known is who the new players are. We’re trying to bring in a fresh
new look to the people who are acquiring and co-producing this genre.”