Roberto Mitrani

TV Kids
Weekly, April 8, 2008

Managing
Director

Ypsilon Films

Roberto
Mitrani, the managing director of Ypsilon Films, got his start in the
television industry at a Spanish distributor in 1990, selling movies to the
international marketplace. He eventually made the switch to the kids’ business,
working with companies such as the U.S.-based Gunther-Wahl Productions and
Saban International for their co-productions in Spain. Later, he moved to
Neptuno Films, where he served as the director of international operations and
co-productions for nearly ten years. “I started in the kids’ business by
chance, but I soon realized there was a different approach to the content and
the relationships,” says Mitrani. “It’s family friendly, I enjoy the markets,
it is always exciting and I love putting together co-pro deals between
different territories.”

Led by a
desire to “diversify into new entertainment venues” and expand his focus from
animation to include genres such as live action and documentaries, Mitrani set
up his own distribution company, Ypsilon Films, which had its official launch
at MIPCOM last October. The preschool arena is familiar to Mitrani, as he
covered it for a number of years, but he is now on the hunt for programming that
reaches from pre-schoolers all the way up to teens. In addition to a broader
program catalogue, Mitrani is eager to reach other content platforms and tap
into the growing popularity of new media.

Mitrani says
that Ypsilon Films strives to build relationships with local producers, noting
that when it comes to animation, “Spain is on the front line of creativity and
production capability.” However, he admits that while “some Spanish production
houses have been able to build brands that are currently in the U.S., Japan and
other key markets, the industry lacks the support other markets may receive.”
With this in mind, Mitrani says that “the international market is key to the
financing of Ypsilon Films’ properties, even if some of them have a strong
backup of financial investors and capital-risk companies.”

Establishing
global partnerships is also an important part of Mitrani’s goals for Ypsilon
Films. The company is currently setting up co-ventures with international
distributors and producers to expand its lineup.

Ypsilon Films
will be offering buyers at MIPTV three key properties: the puppet show 7Pets (a.k.a. Real Pets); the CGI-animated series Nanigugu and the live-action musical The
Magic of the Ki-Kids.
Both 7Pets and Nanigugu have already sold into the U.S.

—By
Irene Lew