discop link • #11

event dossierLE RENDEZ-VOUS: THE VERY BESTOF FRENCH CONTENTBy Bob JenkinsEvery September, TV France International gathersFrench producers together in the beautifulseaside town of Biarritz on France's southwestern coast for five days showcasing the verybest of the very latest French content.This is not an event open to anyonewho wishes to attend. Attendanceis by invitation only and members of TVFrance International (www.tvfranceintl.com)decide whom they wish toinvite in late spring in readiness for theevent which, in 2008 will be held 8-12September.In addition to allowing invited buyersto view the new offerings at theirleisure in a screening room made overfor that purpose, rather than on sellersstands, and to have quality networkingtime at the many socialevents, and during the day in Biarritz'sconference centre, the event, knownas Le Rendez-Vous, is also an occasionfor TV France International topresent the annual figures on Frenchcontent exports.In 2006 French content exportsrose overall by 4.2% from 2005, hittingtotal sales of €157 million. But,that headline figure hides a number ofinteresting trends. For example, whilethe overall figure for content exportsgrew 4.2%, pre-sales grew 10.1%,while sales of completed programmesrose by a much more modest 2.3%.Of the three main French exportgenres, documentaries, animationand fiction, documentaries was theonly one which saw a rise from 2005sales of 2.1%, as against animationand fiction sales which dropped 6.1%and 1.6% respectively.Despite the drop in sales of 6.1%animation remains the largest of thethree main genres in terms of grosssales, and CEE made a significantlylarger contribution to this sector in2006 than in 2005, with year on yearsales rising from a 2005 figure of€1.7 million to hit €2.5 million in2006. The majority of these saleswere made to trans-national satelliteservices covering several of theregion's countries.Overall sales of French content inthe region rose by €1.7 million, makingit a larger market for Frenchexports than Asia. However, this risewas almost entirely due to sales toRussia, and also with pan-regionalbroadcasters, with sales to many individualcountries in the region decliningfrom the 2005 figure. Mathieu Bejot,managing director of TV France Internationalputs the dominance of Russiain France's regional content salesdown to the Moscow Showcase forFrench producers, which his organisationhas held annually since 2004.Pre-sales of fiction in 2006 weredown slightly at €2.1 million, althoughnoting that, "pre-sales of French fictionare more and more difficult tomake on the international market,"Bejot went on to observe that, "theexception to this are French speakingterritories and CEE."Amongst French producers atthis year's event was leading animationhouse Alphanim, represented byAnne Magnol, senior representativeUK. Amongst the shows attracting alot of interest in Biarritz for Alphanimwere SANTAPPRENTICE, and ZAPJNR HIGH. It is a little known fact thatSanta has to retire every 178 years,and that consequently, a trainee replacementis appointed once every 163years so that he has 15 full years tolearn the job. Nicolas Barnworth is thenext Santa learning the job, and SAN-TAPPRENTICE is the story of hisadventures told over 52 x 13 minutes.When Alistair Heath-Wilson, son ofthe secretary of state for educationdecides to snub the opportunity of aprivileged education in favour of ZapJnr High, a school definitely on thewrong side of the tracks, anythingcould happen. And did. In every one ofthe 52 x 13 minute episodes.Magnol told DISCOP.Link that, "forAlphanim, the markets of CEE are definitelygrowing in importance, especially,Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,Croatia and Slovenia." And she believes,"DISCOP is a great way for us tofocus on these territories," noting, "atDISCOP 2007 we were even visited byRussians who did not come to see usat the previous Moscow Showcase!"These resentiments echoed byCarole Brin, international sales managerAsia, Eastern Europe and Germanyat Carrere Group. "CEE, andespecially Russia," reports Brin, "arebecoming increasingly important toCarrere Group. This," believes Brin,"is partly because the countries themselvesare more significant on theinternational stage, and also becauseof a recent switch in emphasis here atCarrere towards fiction."Leading Carrere's move intodrama are six TV Movie adaptations ofnovels by best selling thriller writer,Patricia MacDonald. Four of thesetitles are available now, and, saysBrin, "we got great feedback on theseat DISCOP." The other two will be readyfor delivery in the Spring of 2008.The final representative of one ofthe 'big three' of French contentexports was Doc & Co, where acquisitionand sales manager CristinaMoya, highlighted SIN CITY LAW asone of the company's strong newofferings. Directed by Denis Poncet,helmer of HBO's Oscar winning MUR-DER ON A SUNDAY MORNING, eachof the four 2 x 1 hour programmesrevisits a famous and notorious crime.}08 DISCOP LINK • #11 • NOVEMBER 07