International Insider: French Focus; Big 12 Months For Spacey; China’s New Year; United Agents Buzz

13.01.2023 - 16:01 / deadline.com

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here relaying a hugely busy week in the world of film and TV as the post-Christmas blues are very much washed away. Read on.

Rendez-Vous: Mel Goodfellow here reporting from the 25th edition of French film and TV promotional body Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris, which unfolded in the French capital this week in its first fully physical iteration since 2020. Some 450 buyers from 50 territories attended its film market and screening program, showcasing some 80 new French language titles and presentations by nine broadcasters and content companies including Mediawan, Newen, Arte, Federation Entertainment and France Télévisions. The event kicked off with Unifrance’s third Export Day on Tuesday looking at the fortunes of French film and TV content internationally. Its annual international box office report revealed less than stellar results – with French minority and majority productions clocking just 27M admissions outside of France in 2022, against an average of 40M for the preceding decade. The general mood was optimistic, however, as sellers and buyers met face-to-face in Paris for the first time in three years, with the former also pointing out that box office results are no longer the only measure of a film’s success and reach in the age of the streamers. Another highlight of the Export Day was a brief in-conversation with Mediawan CEO and co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton (pictured), who put more flesh on the thinking around his company’s acquisition of Brad Pitt’s Plan B in December. “I’m very happy we did this deal with Brad Pitt. There are lots of French producers who have contacted me since and said, ‘It’s fantastic for the whole sector because you’re going to represent us and