The biggest French-language TV market of the year kicks off next week, marking its third year in the city of Le Havre in northern France.
Organized by Unifrance, the org that promotes French TV and cinema, the annual Rendez-Vous has a different vibe to most markets. There’s a calendar of events meaning buyers and sellers eat, drink and attend a diary of events together, over and above screening shows and dealmaking through the day.
Even though it’s a sizable event, the set-up gives the Rendez-Vous a unique feel. In an international TV biz that is changing fast, and with many events feeling the squeeze, creating that ambience is part of the plan, says Unifrance Executive Director Daniela Elstner.
“The question is, how do you keep up with what people want from a market in a moment when things are shifting,” she says. “We have to somehow answer a lot of these questions. Maybe we don’t have all the answers, but what we can do is to create a moment where everyone is together. These are all people who love what they’re doing and are passionate, and we want to bring French programs to the world.
Watch on Deadline
“It is not only about what they are screening during the day, but it’s also about how we can be a place where everyone exchanges ideas and information and then discover new things.”
Gathering In Le Havre
Unifrance
The main French distributors are in town, as usual. Buyer numbers are in line with last year, with about 135 expected in Le Havre. There’s an international spread, with acquisition execs mostly coming from Europe, but also first-time attendees from Brazil and South Korea are making the trip. Heavyweight European broadcasters including RAI, RTVE and ZDF will be there, as well as pay TV outfits including Sky Italia and HBO buyers covering central Europe.
Having historically been in Saint Tropez and then Biarritz, Le Havre has hosted the Rendez-Vous for three years. Gaining support from the host city and region has helped the Rendez-Vous, which has a large sales floor, a theater for screenings and screening booths for buyers. The city and wider Normandy region have become embedded in proceedings, with the opening party held at the city’s Museum of Modern Art, and hosted by Édouard Philippe, Mayor of Le Havre. The closer is held at the historic Montivilliers Abbey and hosted by Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy Region.
“The involvement of the city of Le Havre and also the region is like really great because this we didn’t experience it so much before [in previous locations],” Elstner says.
Every Meeting Counts
Patrick Fouque, FTV – JLA
Support from the region helps, but the reality is buyers are attending fewer events and both programming and travel budgets are under pressure.
Against that backdrop, market organizers must ensure any event offers buyers and sellers a clear return on investment.
“They need to be reassured, and everything has to be very convenient and perfect in terms of organization, so that they can really concentrate on their meetings, what they are watching and the market,” says Elstner.
The buyer-seller dynamic also shifts with fewer trips meaning fewer face-to-face meetings, she adds. “In previous times, you had many markets, so maybe a buyer having a meeting with a sales agent would be having one out of five such meetings with them in a year. But if it’s now just one out of two meetings a year, there is more pressure.”
Industry Shifts
The industry part of proceedings at Rendez-Vous traditionally sees the annual export stats for French-language programming revealed. This year there will be an additional layer of info presented with France’s National Cinema Centre, the CNC, providing the figures.
In recent times the data has illustrated how France has become a big producer of cozy crime, with the likes of France TV Distribution’s Astrid et Raphaëlle, Gaumont’s L’Art Du Crime, Federation International’s Tropiques Criminels and TF1’s High Intellectual Potential leading the charge, the latter being remade as High Potential for U.S. network ABC. Animation, for so long a mainstay of the French biz, however, has been suffering.
More broadly, linear channels in particular, are really feeling the pinch, with budgets and new slots declining. That’s a wider trend that will likely influence this year’s French TV export numbers.
Irrespective of the challenges, the role of Unifrance is to bolster the international market for French shows, Elstner says.
“We’re all facing more or less the same challenges worldwide. We can’t really help the programs themselves to be sold, but we can help our sales agents to be in a good shape and make their lives easier.”
The Deadline French TV Disruptor Award will be presented to Jeremy Zag, founder of the studio behind French-originated global smash animated franchise Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, which is a bright spot in terms of the French animation industry. The event, at the aforementioned Montivilliers Abbey, captures the spirit of the Rendez-Vous, with acquisition execs and sales folks mingling as local chefs showcase regional fare.
Zag takes the Deadline honor, which was given to Fanny Herrero last year. “His career is really exceptional,” Elstner says. “It’s very interesting how from the very beginning he put a whole system in place, to not only create a series or film, but also a whole universe with great values.”
The Unifrance Rendez-Vous runs from September 7 to 10 in Le Havre.
