French TV shows: Gallic distributors line up with “Local market in full swing”.

The French TV industry is enjoying a renaissance and this week’s French TV shows are another indication of a rising market.

Taking place today and Wednesday (January 10-11) as part of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris at the Club de l’Etoile, the event will see dozens of international buyers fly in to pick up the latest in Gallic drama, comedy and documentaries . discover. from leading French distributors.

This year will be the first all-in-person screenings, with a hybrid event last year due to the pandemic and nine stores offering screening events. These include Arte Distribution, Federation Studios, France TV Distribution, Mediawan Rights, Newen Connect and Studiocanal.

106 buyers are expected, mostly from Europe, and a total of 63 dealers will promote their wares. The film portion of Rendez-Vous will attract more than 400 acquisitions executives to see nearly 100 screenings. This morning, Unifrance reported that French films will attract 27 million viewers worldwide in 2022 for a gross profit of 167.4 million euros ($180 million).

However, the impact of streaming – push shows how Wolf and Call my agent! Being at the top of global viewers’ watch lists means that there is a lot of hype surrounding the televised event.

“We would be missing out if we didn’t offer TV shows,” says Daniela Elstner, head of Unifrance. “French animation has always been very important as an export product, but our members should not be known for that,” she adds. “Ever since our serials and films have appeared on the major international platforms, they have made an impact. The popularity of Call my agent! while Covid has become a great calling card for many French actors and actresses, and the more people talk about French content, the more trust people gain.

For Randall Broman, Head of International Scripted Sales at Mediawan Rights, who sits on the organizing committee for TV shows, the opportunity comes after a year of lobbying and debates within Unifrance.

“With all the shows already taking place elsewhere, it’s time for France to have one so we can showcase the quality and variety of shows that come out of the country year after year,” he said. “Since the arrival of Wolf and Call my agent If we go globally, there is a French wave that is still going on.

“It made perfect sense to hold the events during Rendez-Vous in Paris, which was already a successful showcase of French cinema and added a TV market for the first time last year. It’s also a good start to the new year.”

Mediawan’s sales team will be in town with three scripted titles: Prime Video aging feature drone games, in which the main character is drawn into the world of drone racing by a gang of youngsters; Six-hour long Arte family thriller haven of mercy, set in the port town of Le Harvest and with a story about drug and human trafficking; and four-hour miniseries Start from scratchabout three people who are transported back a year on New Year’s Eve 2023 knowing that a year in the future a murder will happen.

“The French production market is in full swing,” says Broman. “Production values ​​are increasing as networks and streamers compete for audiences. Linear channels are taking more risks with their content, pushing the boundaries and moving towards more irregular programming.”

Leona Connell, who was promoted to chief commercial officer at Newen Connect yesterday, described the event as “a great opportunity for us to showcase the best of our French content”.

“Markets like MipTv and Mipcom remain key moments in our calendar to showcase our content, but smaller, tailored events, like this week, give us the opportunity to showcase our French offering,” she kindly added.

Newen’s sales department is represented today in a range of events such as [email protected] hand over, pool park, Syndrome EInternational TV Emmy Nominated TV Movie (His and documents such as Paris: The Mystery of the Lost Palace and Russia: the fragile colossus. “We are delighted to be joined by the producers and directors of the shows – our customers are always happy to hear from the creatives,” said Connell. We are also doing a separate show to launch our new series TF1, [email protected] hand overJoining us is lead actor and producer Kev Adams and the creative team.