Susan Zirinsky,President of See It Now Studios, to Keynote at MIPDOC Co-Production Summit

MIPTV today announced that Susan Zirinsky, one of the era’s preeminent journalists, newsroom executives and programme producers will give a headline keynote at the annual MIPDOC COPRODUCTION SUMMIT on Monday April 17 in Cannes as part of the 25th MIPDOC International Documentary & Factual Co-Production Market at MIPTV.

Currently President of See It Now Studios, Zirinsky will give a special headline keynote at the MIPDOC COPRODUCTION SUMMIT on the first day of the market in Cannes’ renowned Palais des Festivals; drawing both on her current role and extensive experience as the multi-award-winning former President of CBS News when covering events which have included Watergate, wars in the Middle East, the Tiananmen Square massacre and 9/11 attacks.

The annual MIPDOC COPRODUCTION SUMMIT gathers invited decision-makers within factual and documentary to draw inspiration from talks, case studies, analyse current co-production models and forge partnerships. This year’s featured in depth case study will be Citizens at War: A Year in Ukraine, where Kyiv’s Film UA production company, in collaboration with producers from Australia and the UK, have over the last year recorded the fate of the Ukranian nation through the eyes of the nation’s citizens, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena. The summit will be chaired by Amanda Groom, founder and MD The Bridge, specialists in co-productions between East and West media markets across specialist factual & factual, formats, documentaries, drama and film. 

“We are in transformative times with a tsunami of content coming at us and how you break through that is key. It is all about the story, the characters, and revelations,” said Susan Zirinsky, President of See It Now Studios. “A good story has to take you on a journey and when that journey has ended, you want to have impact. You want viewers moved and unable to forget what they’ve seen.”

“Co-production is a critical element of the new extended MIPDOC offering,” said RX France Entertainment Division Director & Director of MIPTV Lucy Smith. “This summit not only serves as a catalyst for the next wave of productions; it will shine a light on how stories from inside the Ukraine are being accessed and told, whilst providing unmissable first-hand insights from one of the most esteemed journalists of a generation in Susan Zirinsky.”

In addition to the MIPDOC COPRODUCTION SUMMIT, MIPDOC’s expanded footprint for 2023 also includes the introduction of new world-class screenings a new ‘Super Sunday’ pre-market event, the much-anticipated return of the MIPDOC Screenings Library, (open in advance for online screenings and with a dedicated space on Level 3 of the Palais des Festivals), and the build out of an MIPDOC & MIPFORMATS Producers Hub and Lounge in the Riviera Hall of the Palais des Festivals – both of which are open from the Sunday morning to all MIPTV badge holders. 

Running within the 60th edition of MIPTV (17-19 April) and billed as the ‘biggest week in unscripted’, MIPDOC joins MIPTV strands for Formats (MIPFORMATS), Drama (MIPDRAMA), Kids (THE FUTURE OF KIDS TV SUMMIT) and FAST & GLOBAL – the Fast Channel Summit, all accessible with one pass.

Among the hundreds of leading documentary and factual buyers confirmed to attend the market are representatives from A+E Networks, Aljazeera Media Network, Amazon Studios, American Public Television, ARTE, CBC/Radio-Canada, Channel 4, Foxtel, France Télévisions, Globo, The HISTORY Channel, ITV, National Geographic Television, Network Ten, NHK Enterprises, PBS International, RMC Découverte, RTE, Seven.One Entertainment Group, Sky, SBS, TF1, Warner Bros. Discovery.

MIPTV is expected to welcome more than 530 exhibiting companies and 1600 buyers this April with participants currently hailing from over 80 countries.