Lights, Camera, Cannes 🎬

From the sun-kissed shores of the French Riviera to vibrant metropolises around the globe, join us in this week’s edition of Entertainment Supply Chain Digest as we delve into the latest developments in sales, acquisitions, tax incentives, and partnerships.

We at Vitrina AI, the global sourcing hub for the entertainment supply-chain, strive to keep you informed of the latest happenings in the industry, so you don’t have to spend countless hours researching and keeping up to date.

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• A Japanese version of the South Korean dating show “Exchange” has been commissioned by Amazon’s Prime Video 🇯🇵 🇰🇷
• NBC to bring back “Deal or No Deal” with a new twist called “Deal or No Deal Island”,a mix between the original format and popular reality show, “Survivor”. It is set on the Banker’s private island, where teams must retrieve cases with millions of dollars split between them, and compete against the Banker for the biggest prize in the show’s history 🇺🇸
• Cognito Entertainment, a recently launched prodco, has optioned the rights to Grace Chan’s award-winning novel “Every Version of You”. It will be adapted into an sci-fi film about a couple separated by the boundary between our world and the metaverse 🌐
• Disney+ is filming “Yo, addicted”, based on Javier Giner’s book about his battle with addiction “Yo, adicto “. The show follows Giner’s decision to enter a detox center at age 30 after struggling with addiction to alcohol, drugs, and sex 🇺🇸
• Participant and Bunya Productions will produce the film adaptation of the theater sensation “Prima Facie.” Cynthia Erivo, an Oscar nominee, will star as Tessa, the confident and ambitious defense attorney 🇺🇸

• Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology initiates a co-production grant scheme, supported by the National Cultural Endowment Fund, to foster collaboration between Indonesian and international filmmakers, covering areas such as development, production, post-production, promotion, and distribution 🇮🇩
• Connekkt Media Network has partnered with AVS Studios to enter the content creation market as a full-fledged film studio in India. Connekkt Media will invest $36.5 million USD in three films produced in multiple languages as part of the initial phase of the partnership 🇮🇳
• Sunny Side of the Doc’s 34th edition scheduled in June 2023, will feature seven themed pitching sessions, showcasing 42 projects from 23 countries, with 46% directed by women. The event is a crucial opportunity for funding international documentary co-productions and programme circulation 🌐
• The Australian film industry is set to receive a boost with the Federal Budget’s decision to permanently increase the location offset to 30%. Ausfilm will also receive $6.9 million over the next 4 years to promote Australia as a production destination 🇦🇺
• Comedy “Honorary Male” is up for pre-sales by OneTwoThree Media at Cannes. The story follows Chip, a drag queen, who teaches disco at a retirement home and gets recruited by a Chinese American family to produce an heir. Filming will start in New York later this year and is produced by Bonachia Films’ Canete and Orpheus Group Casting/Liberty Film Group 🇺🇸

• OGM Pictures’ drama series “Ömer” and “Golden Boy” have been renewed by Turkish broadcaster Star TV 🇹🇷
• Fox has renewed Gordon Ramsay’s cooking competition series “Next Level Chef” for Seasons 3 and 4 🇺🇸
• David Mitchell’s “Outsiders” has been recommissioned for a third season by UKTV. The show produced by Wall to Wall, features David Mitchell testing fellow comedians’ survival skills in a post-apocalyptic world 🇬🇧
• Broadcaster TV2 renews “Innebandykrigerne,” the comedy series, for Season 2, with Espen PA Lervaag and Steffan Ludvigsen returning to craft the hilarious adventures of the Sveiva Wild Boys indoor bandy team. The sereies will be produced by Salto Film og Fjernsyn 🇳🇴
• Comedy Central greenlights Season 2 of “Digman!”, Andy Samberg’s adult animated series, which takes place in a celebrity archaeologist world following Rip Digman’s escapades 🇺🇸

• EST Studios secures global sales rights, excluding South Korea, for the Korean horror thriller “Chabak – Night Of Murder And Romance,” showcasing it to potential buyers at Cannes’ Marché du Film 🌐 🇰🇷 🇺🇸
• Anthony Chen, the Camera d’Or winner for “Ilo Ilo,” brings “The Breaking Ice” to Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, with Nour Films acquiring French rights and Rediance handling global sales 🇨🇳 🇫🇷 🌐
• New Europe Film Sales has announced new deals for Ulaa Salim’s sci-fi drama film “Eternal” with distributors like Kimbo Films, Cineart, Galapagos, Five Stars, and Mozinet 🇫🇷 🇧🇪 🇵🇱 🇭🇺 (ex-Yugoslavia)
• Loco Films secures worldwide sales rights for Joanna Arnow’s comedy “The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed,” starring Arnow as a disillusioned woman facing challenges in her job, BDSM relationship, and family life. The film premieres at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
• Cinephil secures global sales rights for Maciek Hamela’s “In The Rearview,” premiering at Cannes’ ACID program, that depicts Ukrainians seeking refuge during conflict 🇺🇦 🇺🇸

• The Africa Channel (TAC) and Demand Africa partner with MTV, BBC, and MNET, to feature shows like “Housewives,” “Queen Nanny,” and “The Rising,” alongside BBC’s news program “Focus on Africa” 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
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• “The Ghastly Ghoul,” the Lupus Films and Dream Logic Animation Studios’ Halloween special, lands European sales with Canal+, KMBO, YLE, DR, and SVT securing distribution rights 🇩🇰 🇸🇪 🇫🇮 🇫🇷
• Latin American broadcasters Telefuturo, Imagen, Telemetro, and RPC acquire Turkish drama “Golden Boy,” produced by OGM Pictures and distributed by Eccho Rights 🇹🇷 🇲🇽 🇵🇦
• Israeli streamer HOT acquires the comedy series “Kid Sister”, produced by Greenstone TV, and the anthology series “Summer of Love”, produced by Gristmill, from Red Arrow Studios International 🇺🇸 🇦🇺 🇮🇱 🇳🇿 🇦🇺
• Thymos Media, creator of BTS’s animated series “Bastions,” partners with Crunchyroll, and grants global rights (excluding a few regions) for the show 🇰🇷

• Virgin Media UK and Amdocs’ Vubiquity have expanded their collaboration with the delivery of Amdocs’ cloud-native Entertainment Suite solution, enabling Virgin Media customers to access EST and future TVOD content 🇬🇧
• Kids’ entertainment veteran Mevelyn J Noriega has launched Wonderworld.Fun, a LA based company that will collaborate with Kintop Pictures, ReDefine, and Prime Focus Studios to produce and distribute content specifically for children 🌐
• PikoTV which provides cloud-based streaming solutions, partners with MwareTV to deliver cost-effective live TV channel management on multiple devices 🇳🇱 🇹🇷
• ERA partners with Tedial, expanding its IT workflow solutions with media supply chain automation and Asset Management services using Tedial’s platforms 🇬🇧 🇪🇸
• Spanish broadcaster RTVE has chosen LiveU to enhance its video coverage. RTVE will use LiveU’s IP bonding technology and cloud-based services to improve content gathering and production efficiency. The broadcaster has acquired multiple LiveU units to be deployed in major cities globally 🇪🇸 🇺🇸

• New York approves a $700 million tax incentive package for the film industry, highlighting the importance of promoting film production and its socio-economic advantages, while Brazil seeks a national incentive to attract more international productions besides São Paulo’s $8 million program 🇺🇸 🇧🇷
• Bruce Berman (CEO, Village Roadshow Pictures) and Aditya Chand (CEO & Chairman, Through the Lens Entertainment) collaborate to establish a pan-Asian film ecosystem, combining East-West opportunities and creating a digital-age studio platform headquartered in Singapore 🇸🇬
• Content delivery provider STN expands its services to include MENAFLIX, enabling viewers worldwide to access the rapidly growing Arabic language OTT service on any internet-connected device 🇦🇪
• Mo Abudu, renowned Nigerian media executive and founder of EbonyLife Media, launches Mo Abudu Films, dedicated to amplifying the voices of minority communities by creating “personal and intimate” films 🇳🇬
• SVF Entertainment’s Bengali streaming platform, Hoichoi, expands into the world of theatrical films with the launch of Hoichoi Studios 🇮🇳

• TAG Video Systems introduces Content Matching at CABSAT, a technology to detect similar content across streams by creating unique fingerprints for video frames and audio envelopes, simplifying workflows and ensuring efficient content delivery 🇮🇱
• LucidLink has added DC Thomson and Minute Media to streamline remote collaboration, eliminating upload/download cycles and enhancing efficiency for editors, photographers, and videographers across different locations 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
• A1 Croatia collaborates with Appear to optimize live OTT channel encoding and distribution. Appear’s NEO Series platform enables delivery of 300+ high-capacity channels across devices, offering efficient compression 🇭🇷 🇳🇴
• Wurl unveils ContentDiscovery, an AI-driven ad platform for streamers and content publishers, boosting viewer acquisition and profitability through targeted content promotion 🇺🇸

• ZOO Digital acquires 30% stake in Spanish dubbing provider AM Group, expanding its presence in Iberia and gaining access to facilities in Madrid and Valencia 🇺🇸 🇪🇸
• XL8 introduces ‘Projects,’ the advanced version 2.0 of its MediaCAT platform, revolutionizing localization and translation by enabling seamless API integrations with existing systems of localization service providers (LSPs)
• 9iFX celebrates 10 years of success by expanding their state-of-the-art studio space for ambitious projects. Spanning 4200 square feet, the fully remodelled facility empowers the 9iFX team to push the boundaries of visual effects in a dynamic and inspiring environment

• Sony’s ET&S establishes a virtual production unit with Crystal-LED technology at Pinewood Studios, UK, enabling collaboration with cinematography experts 🇬🇧
• Annapurna Studios and Qube Cinema launch the ANR Virtual Production Stage in Hyderabad, enabling filmmakers to unleash their storytelling potential unrestricted by physical boundaries 🇮🇳
• Oxford Metrics’ subsidiary, Vicon, secures contract with Digital Kinetics to deploy the industry-leading Valkyrie solution and Shōgun software platform for motion measurement in the life sciences, entertainment, and engineering markets 🇭🇷

• Rakuten TV expands its FAST channels lineup by introducing TED talks. It is now accessible on Rakuten TV in the UK, Netherlands, and the Nordics 🇪🇸 🇬🇧 🇳🇱
• A+E Networks EMEA has recently launched three new FAST channels on Amazon Freevee: Inside Crime, Mystery TV, and World War TV as a step to bring its factual content to Amazon’s AVoD platform
• Hasbro’s Entertainment One (eOne) is preparing to launch a new FAST streaming channel for Dungeons & Dragons fans. It will feature original celebrity-focused unscripted series, catalog content including the 1980s animated series, and third-party content from internet creators and influencers, with a focus on live gameplay 🇺🇸
• Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and AMC Networks have agreed to add 12 FAST channels. The channels will soon be available and can be accessed through the Redbox app on Roku, Samsung TVs, and many other devices 🇺🇸
• DraftKings introduces a FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus, showcasing original shows hosted by popular personalities and collaborating with Meadowlark Media

• Netflix’s highly anticipated K-Drama “Black Knight” releases globally 🌐
• The 10th installment of long-running Fast & Furious franchise “FAST X’” gets a grand release in theaters globally 🌐
• Experience the captivating debut of the Brazilian telenovela “Terra e Paixão” as it graces the screens of Globoplay and Globo TV, transporting viewers into a world of love and intrigue 🇧🇷
• Paramount’s 2022 psychological horror film “Smile” comes to scare the Australian viewers on Binge in May 🇦🇺
• Disney’s next live action spectacle “The Little Mermaid” comes to theaters across the globe in May 🌐