RENDEZ-VOUS BI@RRITZ 2020: A POSITIVE BALANCE AT A UNIQUE DIGITAL EDITION

Rendez-Vous Bi@rritz 2020 concluded its unique digital edition with a very positive balance. “This 26th edition of the Rendez-Vous Bi@rritz from 7 to 9 September was quite unique”, stressed Hervé Michel, President and Sarah Hemar, Executive Director of TV France International. “The hybrid format of the event, combining a digital platform with a television studio, enabled us, in view of the indicators and the feedback from our members and buyers from around the world, to blend good communication and the conviviality we sought to give them, despite the limits imposed by the health crisis”.

POSITIVE INDICATORS

• 400 buyers and commissioning editors from 64 countries registered, i.e. up 1/3 over 2019, with increased attendance from buyers from far afield – Asia: China (+167%), Taiwan (+200%) and Japan (+250%), Canada (+160%) and the US (+120%)

• 58 French exporting companies participating

• 9 highlights programmes presented from the studio by their producers, distributors, and French talent

• 15 pitches of projects original documentaries

• 600 new programmes available for international sales in the Rendez-Vous 2020 Screening Room

• More than 3,000 visits recorded on the registered site

• More than 3,400 consultations of programmes from the dedicated Screening Room on Screenopsis with a big appetite for documentaries (58% des consultations) and fiction leading the views

KEYNOTES ON THE INDUSTRY

2019 export figures, presented jointly by the CNC and TV France International showed records and big increases and an unpublished study by the CNC and Ampere Analysis explored the pivotal position occupied by VoD platforms around the world and the growing presence of French programmes in the various offers. Along with this, and for the first time during the Rendez-Vous, commissioning editors were invited to share their expectations concerning documentaries.

EXPORT AWARDS

The TV France International Export Awards were held exceptionally during the Rendez-Vous this year, to compensate for the cancellation of the ceremony initially planned to take place last April. The 2020 winners were: Mediatoon Distribution for "La Famille Blaireau-Renard" (Animation Export Award); The Party Film Sales (ex. Doc & Film International) for "Le Cinéma dans l’œil de Magnum" (Documentary Export Award) and Federation Entertainment for "Le Bureau des Légendes" Season 1 (Fiction Export Award).