Argentina Tapped as MIPCOM Country of Honor

CANNES: Liliana Mazure, the president of the Argentine National Film Board (Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales/INCAA), spoke to World Screen Newsflash in Cannes today about the significance of Argentina being selected as the country of honor at MIPCOM 2013.

Mazure told World Screen that the goal of the MIPCOM spotlight on Argentina is to showcase "the diversity of our content," with some 600 active production companies in the country delivering a broad slate of films, scripted series, documentaries, animation and entertainment. Argentina’s strong ties to both the rest of Latin America and the European continent, Mazure said, influences the variety of content the country has to offer. The Focus on Argentina will run throughout MIPJunior and MIPCOM.

Announcing the Argentine focus, Laurine Garaude, the director of Reed MIDEM’s television division, stated, “Argentina is a global TV production powerhouse, renowned for its international award-winning TV series and films. The Argentine National Film Board plays a critical role in supporting the growing contingency of independent Argentine producers attending our markets. This country focus at MIPCOM will invite delegates from across the globe to discover the diversity and richness of content produced across Argentina. We are thrilled to name Argentina as our 2013 country of honor.”

At MIPCOM, there were some 144 delegates from 48 Argentine companies. The Argentine pavilion, hosted by INCAA in association with Argentina Audiovisual and Construir TV at MIPTV, has grown over the last few years, says Robert Marking, the VP of sales and business development at Reed MIDEM. Marking notes that in addition to showcasing Argentine content, matchmaking sessions will be organized to assist Argentine producers in finding partners for their projects on the international market.