See It Now Studios’ President Susan Zirinsky To Keynote at Mipdoc Coproduction Summit

 MIPTV has selected Susan Zirinsky to give a headline keynote at the annual Mipdoc Coproduction Summit, scheduled to take place on Monday 17 April in Cannes as part of the 25th MIPDOC International Documentary & Factual Co-Production Market at MIPTV. “Co-production is a critical element of the new extended Mipdocoffering,” said RX France Entertainment Division Director & Director of MIPTV Lucy Smith. “This summit not only serves as a catalyst for the next wave of productions; it will shine a light on how stories from inside the Ukraine are being accessed and told, whilst providing unmissable first-hand insights from one of the most esteemed journalists of a generation in Susan Zirinsky.”

Currently President of See It Now Studios, Zirinsky will give a special headline keynote on the first day of the market in Cannes’ renowned Palais des Festivals. She will discuss her current role and extensive experience as the former President of CBS News when covering important, infamous events..“We are in transformative times with a tsunami of content coming at us and how you break through that is key. It is all about the story, the characters, and revelations,” Zirinsky said. “A good story has to take you on a journey and when that journey has ended, you want to have impact. You want viewers moved and unable to forget what they’ve seen.”

Launched in 2021, See It Now Studios develops and produces documentaries and docuseries for Paramount+, the CBS Television Network, Paramount Global networks, and third-party platforms, with projects including "11 Minutes," "FBI True," "Never Seen Again," "The Gift: Kindness Goes Viral With Steve Hartman," "Race Against Time: The CIA" and "9/11," "The 26th Street Garage: The FBI’s Untold Story of 9/11," "Secrets of the Oligarch Wives," "Indivisible - Healing Hate," "Ghislaine - Partner in Crime," "Watergate: High Crimes In The White House" and specials with Halle Berry, Chris Rock and Prince Harry.

MIPTV expects 530 exhibiting companies and 1600 buyers this April, with participants arriving from over 80 countries. The documentary and factual buyers confirmed to attend the 60th edition of the market are representatives from A+E Networks, Aljazeera Media Network, Amazon Studios, American Public Television, ARTE, CBC/Radio-Canada, Channel 4, Foxtel, France Télévisions, Globo, The HISTORY Channel, ITV, National Geographic Television, Network Ten, NHK Enterprises, PBS International, RMC Découverte, RTE, Seven.One Entertainment Group, Sky, SBS, TF1, Warner Bros. Discovery.

The annual summit gathers invited decision-makers within factual and documentary to hear talks, case studies, analyse current co-production models and forge partnerships. This year’s featured in depth case study will be "Citizens at War: A Year in Ukraine," where Kyiv’s Film UA production company, in collaboration with producers from Australia and the UK, have over the last year recorded the fate of the Ukranian nation through the eyes of the nation’s citizens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena. The summit will be led by Amanda Groom, founder and MD The Bridge, specialists in co-productions between East and West media markets across specialist factual & factual, formats, documentaries, drama and film. In addition to the summit, Mipdoc'sexpanded footprint for 2023 also includes the introduction of new world-class screenings a new ‘Super Sunday’ pre-market event, the much-anticipated return of the MIPDOC Screenings Library, and the build out of an Mipdoc & Mipformat Producers Hub and Lounge in the Riviera Hall of the Palais des Festivals, both of which are open from the Sunday morning to all MIPTV badge holders.