Rendez-Vous, the content marketplace organized by Unifrance, officially started its 2023 edition, with a ceremony on Sunday, September 3, where Unifrance’ General Director Daniela Elstner, who welcomed all participants and introduced and introduced the newly elected president of the organization, Gilles Pélisson.

‘I have to thank those who made this 29th edition possible, the contributions of the CNC, the Ministry of Europe, and the Mayor of Biarritz, Maïder Arosteguy, for their support in organizing the event’, added Pélisson, who also highlighted the figures of the market: ‘This is a milestone, more than 200 buyers from more than 40 countries and more than 120 sellers from more than 55 companies, confirm our commitment to consolidate Biarritz as a leading destination for audiovisual creation in the region, building on the success of the International Festival of Cinema held last July’.

The market had a strong start on Monday morning, with attendance similar to previous years and some new buyers from the Asian market, including Thailand, China and Taiwan. This was followed by a relaxed and informal themed luncheon sponsored by STUDIOCANAL, where the distributor previewed Lagerfeld: Ambitions, its highly anticipated documentary series exploring the life and death of legend and fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Meanwhile, as one of the main market events, Unifrance and the Center national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) presented the 2022 report French TV Exports, in which Sarah Hemar, Audiovisual Director of Unifrance, Randall Broman, director and vice president of Mediawan Rights, and Cécile Lacoue, director of studies, statistics and forecasts at the CNC, highlighted the strong recovery of international sales in 2022.

'In 2022, sales of French television programs skyrocketed to an unprecedented level of 214.8 million euros, an increase of 15.4% compared to 2021 and 4.7% compared to 2017, the record before 2021. This significant increase can be attributed to the growing international appeal of French programmes, combined with a more favorable environment as the effects of the pandemic gradually abate and professional markets regain strength’, commented Lacoue.

At the end of the press conference, the new president of Unifrance, Gilles Pélisson, highlighted the role of the big players in television channels and streaming platforms in the recovery of the market: ‘The competition that offers viewers a better way to see content and large investments In France, for example, the average production cost per 52 minutes has increased from less than one million to 2 million due to high competition and a more open market for foreign audiences. a very optimistic vision for the future of our industry’.

Alberto Buitron, and Mariano Gutiérrez from Biarritz, France

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