61st Monte-Carlo Television Festival announces plans for June event

During a press conference held today at the Brach Hotel in Paris, Laurent Puons, CEO, and Cécile Menoni, Executive Director of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, outlined the plans for the 61st edition of the festival, which will take place on June 17-21, 2022.

The Opening Ceremony, hosted by Genie Godula, will be held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday June 17. Following a red-carpet arrival featuring a host of talented actors and leading showrunners and creatives, she will present the members of the Fiction and News & Documentaries Juries on stage.

Festival Honorary President, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, will then bestow the very first International Golden Nymph for Most Promising Talent to French actor Théo Christine. This brand-new award recognizes the brilliant and exceptional rising talent of an actor who has elevated the bar of excellence to international acclaim.

Rola Bauer, President of MGM International TV Productions, joined the press conference to announce that the first evening of the Festival will then continue with the world premiere of the first two episodes of the five-part thriller “Last Light,” produced by MGM International TV Productions, in association with Peacock, Viaplay, MBC Group, Stan, and internationally distributed by MGM.

●  GOLDEN NYMPH AWARDS AND OFFICIAL SELECTION

The hosts for the Golden Nymph Awards of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2022, Miss France 2021, Amandine Petit; and magician, comedian, actor and author Eric Antoine, also joined Laurent Puons at the press conference in Paris. They will both be on stage at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum on June 21 to introduce the laureates and to celebrate the highlights of what promises to be a magical Festival in Monaco.

The 2022 Official Selection of the Golden Nymph Awards Competition, which recognizes the very best in international television production, was also announced, with 21 programs from 12 countries, in the Fiction Category, the Documentary & News Category, and the Prince Rainier III Special Prize.

The press conference in Paris then continued with Laurent Puons announcing a brand-new initiative for the 61st Edition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival – the creation of the Prix du Public in partnership with BetaSeries. This innovative inaugural award gives fans the opportunity to participate in a festival as real jurors and reward a program in competition within the Official Selection.

●  JURY MEMBERS

Fiction jury member Darko Peric joined the press conference to announce the full line-up of Jury members for this year’s Festival. The American actor and producer Neal McDonough will lead the Fiction Jury as its President, and Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of National Geographic, is President of the News and Documentaries Jury. To see the full list of Jury Members, click here.

●  BUSINESS CONTENT

The organizers also announced the “Business Content” strand, a strong line-up of business focused panels (June 18-20) taking place at the Grimaldi Forum, at the end of each day. Moderated by a number of highly-regarded trade journalists, each session will include legendary showrunners, international producers and exceptional executives who are collectively shaping the future of production and creativity. Topics to be covered in the “Business Content” strand include “Soap & Telenovelas: Building a Success Story Across Decades”; “Scripted Formats”; “The Unscripted Production Boom”; “International Co-Production”; “New Formats and Fan Engagement with OTT”; and “The Shift Towards Sustainable Production”.

“After two years affected by the global health crisis, the Festival has returned to the highest international level with a very strong competition which includes many world premieres. The digital platforms have reconfirmed their commitment and we are looking forward to an extremely exciting edition in June. Yet again the Monte-Carlo TV Festival is set to be the best in Europe,”  Laurent Puons commented.