15 November 2022

First come, first served

A new day in MIP Cancun! It began with a breakfast with buyers from different content distribution companies in Latin America, such as Amazon, HBO, TV Azteca, Telemundo and Disney Star just to name a few

Precisely, Disney + Star was in charge of starting the series of Keynotes and talks that took place during this day.

The idea of ​​the local and cultural identity as perspectives for the development of television projects was a constant during the second Day of MIP Cancun 2022.

This was the case of Mariana Perez, VP of Development and Production at Disney, Argentina, and Leonardo Aranguibel, VP of Production Operations and Strategy at Disney, USA, who mentioned the importance of telling local stories, both in history and in development and production.

On how to produce successful content within the Disney+ Star catalogues, they advised the delegates to appeal to viewers' empathy, and their sensibilities, with the aim of generating deep engagement.

The speakers took the opportunity to present for the first time some of the hundreds of television projects that Disney+ Star is developing with  and for the Latin American region.To name a few , there is "Prime Time", "Santo Maldito", "El Mantequilla" and El Grito de las Mariposas"; to finally close with "NADA", an original Star+ production for Argentina, starring Robert De Niro.

The talks program continued with "Women at the Helm". A talk between Coty Cagliolo, Head of Latin American Production in Fremantle, Mexico; Fidela Navarro, CEO at Dopamine/Grupo Salinas, Mexico; and Catalina Porto, Head of TMS Content at MediaPro; Karina Dolgiej, Vice President of Sales of Latin American and Hispanic Content in the United States, BBC. They highlighted the difficulty of being part of the television industry for many women to this day.

In addition, they recognized the fact that every day it is more common to see women in charge of productions, especially independent ones.

"It is important to support each other, to reverse this situation, not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Latin America and the rest of the world." Karina Dolgiej

They made it clear that it is possible to generate a change, but that there is still a lot to be done, mainly, to question and modify the gender roles that cause women producers, directors, executives and writers to have to take charge, in most of the cases, the role of mothers and housewives.

At the same time that these two conversations were taking place, the Distribution Market and the Co-Production Forum were held. Two spaces dedicated to creating business opportunities for producers, distributors and commissioners, through MIP Cancun’s characteristic one to one  format of pre-scheduled meetings

Day 2 was complemented by moments of rest and networking opportunities for all delegates, as was the case with the Coffee Break presented by Sony, in which attendees took the opportunity to take a break before continuing with the day's talks.

Subsequently, there was a talk between Pablo Cullel, Vice President of Content at UNDERGROUND/NBC Universal and Telemundo Enterprises; and Julia Freid, Art Director, Telemundo Streaming Studios/ Underground Producciones, to talk to the public about the multidisciplinary nature that the television industry must take into account to carry out innovative projects that capture the attention of the public in an ever-greater demand.

They presented some examples of what Telemundo Streaming Studios/ Underground Producciones is doing in terms of production design, in collaboration with different Latin American countries, to achieve the creative vision required to tell a good story.

The award-winning Turkish distribution company celebrated its 30th anniversary with an exclusive screening for MIP Cancun of its successful projects, such as “Deception”, “Poison Ivy” and “Another Chance”, presented by Beatriz Cea Okan, Vice President and Director of Sales and Acquisitions at Inter Medya.

The day's itinerary continued with conversations with Ana Paula Valdovinos, Director of Production and Content Development for Latam & US Hispanic at Buendía Estudios; and Manuel Marti, Head of Script Development at Fremantle. Both conversations were moderated by Ana Celia Urquidi, CEO Executive Producer at ATENEA MEDIA.

The objective was to talk about successful scripted projects for streaming platforms, as well as techniques to sell such projects and make them attractive to distributors. At this point, the importance of appealing to viewers' empathy and affection was mentioned again:

To conclude the day's talks, Marcelo Tamburri, Director of Scripted Content Development at Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Media & HBO, shares his perspective on the importance of production and distribution companies paying primary attention to what young people see in the stories.

Tamburri highlighted the need for all areas of entertainment, music, cinema, television, literature, to be authentic, to deal with issues that really concern young people, such as climate change, sexual identity and the crises they are going through. In these times when, on many occasions, entertainment is their only escape from a chaotic world.

Day 2 of MIP Cancun came to an end with the opening party, presented by The Mediapro Studio, with a huge buffet, nice music and the best ambiance for delegates to enjoy a night of fun under the stars, in the garden of the Moon Palace Resort Convention Center.

This is how Day 2 of MIP Cancun ended, and we can't wait to share a day full of activities and surprises with you again, on Day 3 !