TV France International (TVFI), a firm which promotes the production of French Television programmes abroad, kicked off the seventh edition of its international marketplace Le Rendezvous (the French TV Screenings) today.

There is a large contingent representing Indian industry at the event that includes Sandeep Goyal, Zee Telefilms broadcast CEO, Monica Dalton (also of Zee), Tomali Bhattacharaya of Eenadu TV, Naresh Chahal of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Shailaja Kejriwal of Star Plus, Rathikant Basu of Tara TV - Broadcast Worldwide and Sanjay Bhattacharji of UTV, among others.

More than 170 buyers have registered to sample the 650 new programmes that 59 French companies like France Animation, CNDP and Gaumont will have on display at the provençal seaside resort of Saint-Tropez. The approach of the meet centers around content and ends on 14 September.

The productions cover a wide range of genres like drama series, movies made for the tube, features films and documentaries. Participants can view programmes of their choice at the video library, which is open everyday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. For the convenience of international visitors most programs have two versions: French and English.

This event has seen many important transactions occur in the past several years. Last year, the new channels of the Canadian group Astral (the Fiction Channel and the History Channel) which began transmitting last January acquired more than 500 hours of programming for more than 25 million francs.

TVFI also maximises the efforts of French companies participating at international markets, festivals, and special events, such as Le Rendez Vous, MIP-ASIA, The Sitenghi Market, the Tokyo Showcase, NATPE and the US Television Showcase.

TVFI was created in 1994 to support promotion and world sales of French television programmes. TVFI serves as a trade association, providing information and advice on international strategies to its 170 member companies, whose activities encompass programme production, broadcasting, distribution and finance.

 

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