In today’s Global Bulletin, DJ Khaled signs on to host the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021, Newen corrals its production labels as Newen France, Foxtel snags “The Drew Barrymore Show” in Australia, “SAS: Who Dares Wins” gets a Swedish adaptation, BFI Future Film Festival announces this year’s program, San Sebastian Film Festival director José Luis Rebordinos is honored by France’s Ministry of Culture, and Disney Plus and Hotstar Specials reteam to broaden the “Special Ops Universe.”
AWARDS
Grammy-winning producer, DJ and record exec DJ Khaled will host the MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 (MAMA), broadcasting globally for the first time on MTV Feb. 20. Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, Khaled will host the virtual ceremony from his home in Miami.
MAMA Kampala 2021 features 20 awards handed out to celebrate the best in African talent over the past year. In addition to more general prizes: best male artist, female artist, song and collaboration, the MAMAs will recognize work from Portuguese and French-speaking Africa with the introduction of the Best Lusophone and Best Francophone categories. Other new awards include the MAMA Generation Change Award, Best Fan base, Alone Together Best Lockdown Performance and Personality of the Year.
“MTV has always been a great partner, so I jumped at the opportunity to host this year’s MAMAs,” said DJ Khaled. “I can’t wait to celebrate the incredible music that comes out of Africa, which has inspired me throughout my career.”
PRODUCTION
Newen, the Paris-based international production and distribution company owned by French TV network TF1 Group, is bringing together its French production banners under a new umbrella, Newen France.
Newen France will regroup Telfrance (“Plus belle la vie”), Capa (“Versailles”) and 17 Juin, all owned by Newen.
The management team of Newen France will be headed by Vincent Meslet, producer of the hit daily soaps “Demain nous appartient” and “Ici tout commence.” Appointed CEO of Newen France, Meslet will work closely with Guillaume Thouret, who will act as managing director. Thouret was previously managing director of Capa Group and deputy managing director of Newen in charge of non-scripted programs.
Meslet will also collaborate with Benoît Thevenet, who currently runs 17 Juin and will also now be heading Capa Presse.
Philippe Levasseur, the current managing director of Capa Presse, has been tapped head of international for Newen France. These executives will all report to Romain Bessi, Newen’s managing director.
Newen has a footprint in seven countries and boasts a library of more than 5,500 hours of TV programming and 1,000 films spanning different genres.
STREAMING
ITV Studios in the U.K. has dealt a package of more than 400 hours of scripted content to Brazil’s GloboPlay, the SVOD service of Grupo Globo and largest national streaming service in the world.
Included in the deal are banner British series such as YA series “Noughts + Crosses,” WWII drama “World on Fire,” Mainstreet Pictures’ thriller “Gold Digger,” all three seasons of popular period drama “Victoria,” award-winning series “Poldark,” 14 seasons of “Murdoch Mysteries” and three seasons of family comedy “Mum.”
Non-English language content secured in the deal includes Beauborg Stories’ “Balthazar,” the second most-watched drama in France last year, and Silverprint Pictures “Flesh and Blood.”
DISTRIBUTION
ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group and Australian pay-TV leader Foxtel have struck a deal for the local rights to “The Drew Barrymore Show.” It will begin playing from Feb. 1 on Foxtel’s Fox Arena and On Demand.
The first episode available under the new deal will feature a “Charlie’s Angels” reunion with Barrymore meeting up with guests Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, nearly 20 years since the blockbuster film premiered. The show is produced and distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures Television, with Barrymore, Chris Miller, Ember Truesdell and Jason Kurtz as executive producers.
FORMAT
Sweden’s Jarowskij, a Banijay Nordic company, is bringing Banijay Rights format “SAS: Who Dares Wins” to Swedish network TV4.
Described as one of the “toughest shows on television,” the series puts 18 civilian contestants through a Special Forces training camp, with four hardnosed former instructors pushing them every step of the way.
The U.K. original was produced by Minnow Films and has now been adapted in six markets including the U.K., U.S., France, Australia and Denmark, where three seasons have already aired, and a celebrity version is on the way from Mastiff Denmark.
FESTIVALS
London’s BFI Future Film Festival has announced the program of 45 short films selected for this year’s 14th edition, unspooling Feb. 18-21. Each film will be available to stream in the U.K. on BFI Player for the duration of the festival and is eligible for the Feb. 21 awards ceremony presented with support from Netflix.
Netflix is this year’s main sponsor and will also hand out the Best documentary Award, which includes a year of mentoring with Jonny Taylor, the company’s original documentaries commissioner.
Blackmagic Design, manufactures of state-of-the-art creative video technologies, has also joined the festival as an official partner and will support this year’s New Talent Award and host several Davinci Resolve training workshops.
Awards will be distributed across 10 categories with more than £10,000 ($13,660) in prizes up for grabs. This year’s event is available to filmmakers aged 16-25 and presented free of charge with support from Julia and Hans Rausing. The festival’s events program will be made public on Jan. 29.
RECOGNITION
Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the French Minister of Culture, has announced that San Sebastian Film Festival director José Luis Rebordinos will receive the honorary title of Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic). The French Order of Arts and Letters recognizes “eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.”
Rebordinos’ close ties to the French film Industry are evident not only in his role at San Sebastian, where France regularly contributes a significant portion of the festival’s programming, but in his work abroad, such as co-organizing the Proyecta co-production forum at Latin American film market Ventana Sur, a Cannes Film Market initiative.
“Both myself and the festival consider French filmmaking to be among the most important in the world. I would like to express my gratitude for this recognition. I feel honored to receive it and confirm my efforts to keep French cinema at the forefront as a guiding light in our country,” said Rebordinos.
SERIES
Disney Plus is teaming with Hotstar Specials to grow the creator Neeraj Pandey’s hit series “Special Ops” into a wider “Special Ops Universe” which will see characters and stories from the original program expanded across several formats, each tied into the IP’s overarching narrative.
Series favorite and lead actor Kay Kay Menon will return to the role of Himmat Singh to uncover the character’s origins in “Special Ops Season 1.5: The Himmat Story.” Set in 2001, the series will recall Singh’s formative years as an R&AW agent. As was the case with “Special Ops,” producers Friday Storytellers shot the new program across multiple international locations, promising to scale up the series’ action and drama.
All programs in the “Special Ops Universe” will be released exclusively on Disney Plus Hotstar VIP and Disney Plus Hotstar Premium in India.
