EVENTS | PRODUCTION | CONTENTS | BUSINESS
Mike Villanueva, Geraldine Gonard, Luisa Ribeiro, Susana Gato, Alex Medeiros
The seventh edition closed with attendance records, with more than 1,000 accredited professionals from 41 countries.
The seventh edition of Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT concludes today in Toledo, meeting point for a large group of professionals from the global fiction and entertainment industry, gathered for four days with the aim of promoting co-production between America and Europe.
The press conference at which the summary of this international event was presented this morning, has been attended by Mike Villanueva, Manager of the Castilla La-Mancha Film Commission and the Director of Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT, Géraldine Gonard.
Villanueva highlighted how the celebration of Conecta FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT last year has helped Castilla-La Mancha to turn the audiovisual industry into one of its growth vectors. “So far in 2023, we have almost doubled the number of shootings in our region, with a significant increase in entertainment programmes”.
Gonard provided the main figures of this second edition held in Toledo: with a total of 1,031 accredited professionals (around 30% more than last year) from 41 countries from both continents, the seventh edition broke all attendance records to date.
In terms of participation by country, she mentioned that 68% of the participants were Spain, while the presence of European and American executives was very balanced, with the United States, France, Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, Poland, the United Kingdom and Germany being the countries with the largest number of delegates.
As for the profile of the participants, the director pointed out that the majority of the participants were producers, scriptwriters, distributors, TV channels, platforms, talent and institutions, as well as national and regional audiovisual support organisations, both Spanish and from other countries.
More than 5,000 face-to-face meetings were held at the Palacio de Congresos El Greco, and a total of 23 panels, 8 keynotes, 6 open pitching sessions, 6 private pitching sessions, 8 workshops, 6 tips and 5 after work meetings were offered to the attendees. Of these, 5 were part of the special programme dedicated to Mexico and Poland as focus countries.
Finally, the successful first edition of the Spain Content Showcase brought together around thirty international buyers and acquisition executives, who were able to see first-hand the latest contents presented by Atresmedia Television, Filmax, Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group, Movistar Plus+ International, Onza Distribution and The Mediapro Studio Distribution.
Next focus countries: Brazil and Portugal
During the press conference, the countries that will be the protagonists of the next edition of the event were announced. Returning to the classic Conecta formula, once again a European and an American country have been chosen as Focus Countries: Brazil and Portugal with their respective industries, content and talent. Both countries have been represented during the press conference by Alex Medeiros, Director of Drama and Documentary Content at Globoplay+; Luisa Ribeiro, Financial Director and Member of the Executive Board of public broadcaster RTP, and Susana Gato, Executive President of APIT (Association of Independent Television Producers), spoke on behalf of Portugal.
Redacción TVMAS