Newen & Keshet International Enter Drama Development Pact

PARIS: Newen and Keshet International have struck up a partnership for a new development initiative aimed at French and Israeli writers of high-end drama series.

The two outfits are calling for professional writers to submit proposals and projects in either English or Hebrew for unique one-hour or half-hour drama series with appeal for European audiences. The companies have committed to selecting at least one and up to three projects, which they will co-develop and co-produce if appropriate. The finalists, to be announced in January 2017, will be given the opportunity to work with an experienced European showrunner, development and production team.

Tanguy de Franclieu, the general manager for international at Newen, said, “Creation and partnerships involving international talent are at the very heart of Newen’s strategy to best serve its French and international clients.”

Sandra Ouaiss, the head of co-productions for Newen, added, “We value the writing of Israeli authors a lot, as they have often proved to be exceptionally strong when it comes to the skill of characterization. We are very proud to work with such a renowned company as Keshet.”

Atar Dekel, the head of global scripted co-productions at Keshet International, said, “Within KI’s aim to grow its global drama co-productions, we are excited to be partnering up with a company as prestigious as Newen. This is a unique opportunity for the creative communities in both France and Israel to take their local stories to the international stage. There is a keen appetite in the global market for Israeli and French scripted content and we hope this collaboration will instigate several high-end international co-productions.”