The sixty fourth version of the Monte-Carlo Tv Pageant, the world’s oldest TV pageant, opened Friday. Selection spoke to Laurent Puons, the pageant’s normal supervisor, about what he has deliberate.
The pageant, which Puons says exists to “rejoice excellence in world tv,” is a triple menace: first, it’s a public pageant and encourages a excessive stage of engagement with the followers; second, it’s a gathering level for European press, the place TV firms can promote their exhibits; and third, it offers a possibility for members of the business to fulfill one another and attend topical panels as a part of the Enterprise Content material program.
The pageant has a trump card up its sleeve: its patron is Prince Albert II of Monaco, who attends each the opening and shutting ceremonies. Among the many pageant visitors he’ll welcome on the Grimaldi Discussion board this yr are Robin Wright, Judith Gentle, Rachel Griffiths, Jaz Sinclair and Sope Dirisu.
In three respects, this yr’s version will standout: First, it’s the first time that the heads of each the fiction jury and the factual jury – Gentle and French journalist Mireille Dumas – have been girls; second, it sees the launch of the Digital Award, created to honor “innovation, creativity and the cultural impression of digital-native expertise”; and third, it sees the launch of the Younger Creator Pitch.
This yr’s recipient of the Digital Award is Squeezie, who’s France’s main content material creator with over 19 million YouTube subscribers. He’s “the perfect on this discipline,” Puons says. The award is being launched as a result of “the audiovisual panorama is altering quick,” and the pageant “should all the time keep forward [of developments],” Puons says.
Different excessive factors on the pageant, Puons says, embrace the Crystal Nymph Award going to Wright to honor “a person from the tv world for his or her distinctive profession and lasting impression on the business; the Golden Nymph for many promising expertise going to Sinclair; and the Crystal Nymph Award for French actor Pierre Arditi, a tribute to his tv profession.
Amongst highlights of the Enterprise Content material program is a session with govt producer Rola Bauer in dialog with Wright speaking about turning factors of their careers, titled “Embracing Challenges: Journey Through the Lens of Two Ladies.” Wright stars, directs and is an govt producer for the upcoming psychological thriller “The Girlfriend” for Prime Video, which Bauer had a serious position in kick-starting when she was at Amazon MGM Studios.
One other standout is a dialog between David W. Zucker, chief inventive officer of Scott Free and govt producer of the crime drama “Dope Thief” for Apple, and “Alien: Earth” for FX, and Bauer. Within the session, titled “Embracing Chaos: Journeys Through the Tv Multiverse,” they may talk about their partnership on pioneering worldwide co-productions akin to “The Pillars of the Earth” (Starz/Channel 4), “The Firm” (TNT) and “Labyrinth” (Channel 4), on via their present collaboration with author Michael Hirst (“Vikings”) for the Amazon MGM Studios restricted sequence “Pompeii: A Day of Hearth.”
The pageant opened with the French premiere of “Watson,” a medical present with a powerful investigative backbone. The present, produced by CBS Studios, stars Morris Chestnut who’s attending the pageant. “Watson” has “already confirmed itself within the U.S. and I’m certain will probably be a global success too,” Puons says.
