MIPTV Unveils Digital Short Form Series Pitch

PARIS: MIPTV is launching the Digital Short Form Series Pitch for drama and kids’ content, with executives from Disney, the BBC and more set to serve on the inaugural judging panels.

The MIPTV Digital Short Form Series Pitch is a brand-new forum for creators and producers of digital-native short-form series. The inaugural event will be held during the first two days of MIPTV 2017, which will run from April 3 to 6 in Cannes, France.

The MIPTV Digital Short Form Series Pitch will feature two categories, with one serving all genres of drama and the other animation and youth live-action for children aged 6 to 11. Projects submitted for review will be seen by an international jury of commissioners from leading networks and digital platforms.

The inaugural jury for the drama category will include Aline Marrache-Tesseraud, the senior VP of international acquisitions at Canal+ International/Studio+ (France); Marco Liberini, the VP of digital at Caracol Televisión (Colombia); Claire McArdle, the VP of multiplatform at Comedy Central International (the U.S.); Damon Berger, the VP of global strategic partnerships at Fullscreen (the U.S.); and Sam Toles, the head of global content acquisitions and distribution at Vimeo (the U.S.).

The kids’ content panel will be comprised of Jackie Edwards, the head of BBC Children’s acquisitions and independent animation at the BBC (the U.K.); Julien Borde, the head of VOD at France Télévisions (France); Janine Weigold, the head of children’s content at Super RTL (Germany); Vincent P. Aricco, the executive director of multiplatform content development for Disney Channel and Disney XD (the U.S.); and Anuradha Javeri, creative director at YoBoHo (India).

The six finalists in each category will be announced at the beginning of March and will pitch their projects to the MIPTV audience. They will also benefit from one-on-one meetings with jury members. The MIPTV Digital Short Form Series Pitch is backed by some of the top names scouting the best in web series worldwide, including the Buenos Aires Web Fest, KWeb Fest, Melbourne Web Fest, Vancouver Web Fest, WebFest Berlin and Web Séries Mag.