Can Do in Cannes

CHRIS LEE of Moray-based Wildbird reports from his first visit to MipTV in Cannes – a tough assignment, but someone has to do it …

IF THIS was an article for the Sun newspaper the headline would run something like this:

MipTV VIRGIN IN BOOZE FUELED LOVE ROMP!

A tad sensational perhaps, and only slightly true, but a pretty accurate reflection of how I felt by the end of this trade show to beat all trade shows. For those like me who until a few weeks ago had never heard of MipTV, here’s a quick summary.

It’s simply the content market for the worlds TV industry, where programmes are bought and sold, deals are done; money, a lot of money – about five billion Euros – changes hands and people forge partnerships for new productions in every conceivable broadcast genre. And it’s very exciting.

Of course to a TV and media outsider like myself the whole thing is vast, bewildering and intimidating. Men in suits and glamorous business women stride around purposefully looking driven, important and above all busy. Very busy. All I have to hold on to is that it’s in Cannes at the heart of the Cote d‘Azur, home of the film festival and therefore incredibly chic.

It’s undeniable that there is a wow factor, but more important perhaps is the work factor. This is no film world photo op, this is business. Everyone’s here to work hard from nine in the morning to three in the morning, this is uber networking on a grand scale in an almost perfect setting.

The weather alas is not overly sunny, although the sun is good enough to shine for my one and only cocktail on a yacht. This is fortunately when my wife phones me so I’m able to whisper gleefully into the phone ‘I’m on a yacht talking to a producer, I’ll phone you back in a few minutes’. At home it’s snowing and I feel strangely guilty, but then I think, what the hell, this is work. And it is.

Luckily Amanda Millen from the BBC is here to hold my hand and guide me through the experience. It’s Amanda who’s brought me here as part of her industry development role for BBC in the Highlands. She was impressed by an idea I discussed with her at our second meeting in a Forres garden centre following a seminar she ran in Findhorn.

That was only six weeks or so ago and here I am in Cannes. Like most virgins I’m not sure I’m ready but what the hell. I’m still nervous though, hell notwithstanding, I want to repay the faith she’s shown in me by doing well but I don’t know where to start.

The orientation cocktail at the Palais des Festivals is at five. It’s where all the other virgins will be. Champagne followed by a tour. Sounds good. The tour is great, I can’t hear a thing but I don’t really care as I begin to relax a bit. One of the other first timers starts to talk to me and pretty soon we’re chatting over dinner.

Louise from Primate Planet productions is a bubbly South African who runs a very successful production company from Monkey World in Dorset. She’s not precisely the kind of person I should be networking with, but she proves to be an invaluable ally and support throughout the week.

She’s not been to MipTV before either but she knows the industry and doesn’t see the kind of barriers that loom up at me like Aintree fences. I tell her about my big idea and she genuinely likes it. It’s good practice and I find myself talking easily and above all sensibly about what I’m expecting to get out of this.

The evening finishes at a party with the UK Indies people, independent producers from around the UK who are sharing a stand because there’s strength in numbers. Then it’s an early night all round at 12.30ish.

Monday dawns with a clang, but it’s almost pleasantly warm and I feel good despite what I thought was a late night. I go straight to the Palais, log on to a computer and begin work. I’m researching, looking at company profiles thinking about who I should meet and introduce myself to. I have a meeting arranged for later in the afternoon and I’m dreading it.

I arrive stupidly early and eye the people around me. I have no idea what the guy looks like and I don’t want to miss him. Time ticks by as I try to look cool and professional but he doesn’t show up. I can’t believe it, my first meeting and he’s avoiding me. Paranoia freezes my soul.

I’m just preparing myself for a shameful retreat from the stand when a fellow Scot taps me on the shoulder. ‘Hi’ she says, ‘Amanda was talking to me about you, I think we need to chat’. Thank you Amanda! It’s a good chat. ‘Why don’t you practice your pitch on me’ she says.

So I do, but of course it’s not really practice, it’s serious and she likes what she hears. Next thing we’re on the yacht, sipping Champagne in the sunshine, and talking seriously about options for my project. I’m delighted. First meeting, first offer. I begin to chill out and enjoy myself.

Of course that’s the key really. Just be yourself, be honest about your background and skills, and trust your own ideas and instincts. From here on in the whole event is great. I’m attending seminars, discussions and live pitching sessions and soaking up information like a sponge. It’s so different to theatre; more positive, less cynical. It’s can do, will do all the way, and I really like it.

My second meeting looms. It’s off the Palais in a café above a glorious patisserie behind the Hotel Gray Albion. My stomach’s churning again, this guy’s done TV, blockbuster international movie hits, co-productions with the BBC…. and he’s agreed to see me.

I’ve prepared well and have notes in front of me and I’m ready for a frantic thirty minute pitch. Once again MipTV surprises me. He’s in his fifties, been there, done that, assurance oozing out of him; and of course he’s utterly charming, and he’s done his homework too.

He knows who I am and where I’m coming from so there’s no faking it here. I relax and we talk. An hour and twenty minutes later we’re shaking hands and he’s promised to support my project, not with actual money, but more importantly at this stage, with actual practical help finding the right people to work with me and the right platform for the work. By now I’m thinking MipTV is great.

At the Irish reception on the beach that night, chance meetings lead to more opportunities. New projects this time, and in the rosy glow of the Cannes sunset they sound brilliant. We check the next day and unbelievably they still sound brilliant. A few quick meetings and they’re underway and its all the stuff I like best, stories and ideas that seem to flow as easily as the white sparkling stuff.

Friday morning and its time to leave, flying back to Luton with Amanda and reflecting on the experience. It’s been overwhelmingly positive for me. I’ve come away with much more than I brought, and I’m buzzing with new possibilities and new directions. For a man who’s earned very little pay of late, MipTV is like the Champagne – cool, refreshing and a little addictive.

I’ve bared all in Cannes and I’m no longer a virgin. My first time was great.

© Chris Lee, 2008

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