Content Americas, the fast-rising trade event in Miami, has unveiled the finalists for its 2024 Content Americas CoPro Pitch and Content Americas Hispanic Kids Programming Pitch.
According to event organizer C21, more than 80 submissions rolled in for the CoPro Pitch and over 50 for the Kids Pitch from seasoned producers across Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
Among the CoPro Pitch finalists are scripted series “Hot Sur,” an adaptation of the Laura Restrepo bestseller about an undocumented Mexican immigrant looking after her bipolar sister in the U.S. This hails from Chilean powerhouse shingle, Fabula, run by Pablo and Juan de Dios Larrain, in partnership with Fremantle. Spain’s The Mediapro Studio submitted “El mal,” an 8-episode thriller based on actual events. Set in Barcelona during the pandemic lockdown, a serial killer has been targeting those who literally have no refuge, the homeless.
Leading the Hispanic Kids Programming Pitch entries are animated adventure pic, “The Ballad of the Phoenix” from Manolo Caro’s Woo Films, and Spanish-Argentine adventure comedy “Norbert” from Spain’s Captain Araña and Aqui y Alli Films and Argentina’s Vista Sur.
The selected eight finalists for the Copro Pitch and seven for the Kids Pitch will be pitched in live sessions at the annual event on Jan. 23 and 24. Winners will receive $20,000 worth of marketing across C21Media’s digital, print and event products towards their development and pre-sales promotion.
Now merely on its second edition, Content Americas, running Jan. 23-25 at the newly renovated Hilton Miami Downtown, is expecting some 2,000 delegates of which 750 are buyers. “The content business needs smart, cost effective events that deliver. C21 is the leading player in the sector and people know when they come to our events, they will be super-served,” said C21 editor-in-chief & managing director David Jenkinson.
Widely deemed as a promising new market for anyone working in the Latin American marketplace, it’s hosting several new events that include the pitches, an AI Academy afternoon and the inaugural Rose d’Or Latinos Awards, an extension of Europe’s Rose d’Or Awards founded in 1961.
Led by jury chairman, Mas Ros Media CEO, Marcos Santana, the awards night will be held on Jan. 23 at the Hilton Miami Downtown. “It is humbling to see the scale and breadth of creativity across the sector, and we are looking forward to celebrating the best of the best,” said Santana.
Asked what lessons they have learned after running the first successful edition, Jenkinson replied: “That the Hispanic market deserves respect. For too many years it played second fiddle to the North American business in Miami. Content Americas changed that. The challenge for everyone in the business remains the same; to ride the ever-changing waves of progress while remaining profitable.”
“Content Americas serves a dual purpose. It allows us to meet up with key Latin American, U.S. and international players and being based in Miami, allows us to meet with local companies to advance our co-production and distribution efforts,” said Eze Olzanski of EO Media, who will be presenting his company’s upcoming slate.
“It has become, as it traditionally has, the kick-off point of our work year, allowing us to close deals of the past year and open up new pacts,” he added.
A raft of speakers and jurors includes a Who’s Who of top executives and creatives in the biz, taking in ViX CEO Pierluigi Gazzolo, Secuoya Content Group’s Raúl Berdonés, Wild Sheep Content’s Erik Barmack, Banijay Americas CEO Ben Samek, Rubicon Global Media’s Chris Albrecht and Jorge Granier, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s head of content, Mariano César.
Spanish director-producer Alex de la Iglesia and his Pokeepsie Films co-founder Carolina Bang and Argentina’s Oscar-winning Juan José Campanella (“The Secret in their Eyes”) participate in a panel on creative producers of the future.
Meanwhile, Floresta VP and managing director Adriana ‘Dida’ Silva, Boxfish TV president Diego Guebel, and The Mediapro Studio’s head of non-fiction content, Amparo Castellano, take part in a panel on unscripted co-production between Latin America and Spain.
In other areas of the agenda, Telemundo’s Sandra Smester participates in a U.S. Hispanic panel and RTVE’s José Pastor joins a Spanish commissioners line-up.