V I D E O • A G E DE C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 18 (Continued on Page 20) (Continued from Cover) Telenovelas’ Future (Continued from Cover) ATF’s Latin Presence Nahim moderated a seminar on various business models and Latin Media’s Jose Escalante presided over talks about production and content supply. An entire day was devoted to scriptwriting, and Cuban-born, Miami-based Delia Fiallo, one of Latin America’s most well known telenovela writers, received an award for a prolific career. Televisa’s Martha Zavaleta offered an artistic view of telenovelas at the event, illustrating the need for new actors in the TV sector by comparing a star to a leader. “Nowadays the work schedules of the top actors are absurd and the stars cannot keep up with the pace. This is why the industry needs more stars,” she explained. Zavaleta also pointed out that, at times, TV stars lose their leadership roles due to an awkward attitude or troublesome circumstances. Over time, some actors become too passionate on camera, appearing unnatural and unbelievable, she said. Venevision’s Cesar Diaz explained the changing world of international content distribution, touching on the challenges facing telenovela sales internationally. After Europe — first Western Europe and later Eastern Europe — then moving to countries such as Romania and Russia, telenovela sales boomed in Asia, especially during the 1990s. Nevertheless, each territory in the region presented its own unique challenge, since, for example, kissing couldn’t be shown in India, and in Indonesia no violence is allowed on screen. Today’s challenge, according to Diaz, is represented by territories such as Italy, Turkey and Greece. As far as Africa is concerned, the continent is a Babel of languages, key channels are government-controlled and there are too few commercial TV outlets. Peruvian TV director Dan Relayze Gerhardt illustrated the Peruvian experience with telenovela production that began in 1959. “During the initial period,” explained Gerhardt, “they became very popular, but later their popularity declined. Today, however, the Peruvian public is rediscovering the genre and stations are broadcasting up to five telenovelas per day.” Mexican TV director Jorge Rios Villanuevas pointed out that those who publicly say that they only watch news and sports are, in reality, all telenovela viewers. But telenovelas weren’t the only topic being discussed at the event. At times, the equally interesting conversations fell outside the scheduled program. For example MGM Networks’ Marcelo Coltro spoke about En Busca De La Nueva Diva, a reality show that searches for the next diva or estrella (star). The Cumbre is a creation out of the fertile mind of TV Mas’ Amanda Ospina, who tenaciously and, at times single-handedly, managed to bring it to its ninth edition. The Cumbre began in 2003 right here in Miami, in the very same location where the 2011 edition was held. After its inaugural year, it took place in Spain (two years in Madrid and two in Barcelona); Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bogotá, Colombia, and in 2010 it was held in Lima, Perú. This year, the Cumbre returned to its birthplace in Miami where, curiously, it honored the same person whom it honored in 2003. The awards were cleverly dubbed “The Delia Fiallo Awards.” Participants witnessed a very heartwarming and emotional ceremony recognizing this living giant of the telenovela industry. Although it’s a relatively small event in comparison to other markets such as NATPE, theCumbre brings to light new challenges facing Latin America’s most celebrated serialized dramas and offers top-level Latin TV industry executives the unique opportunity to mingle in a cozy environment — a rare treat despite their close proximity to one another. Ospina, a former telenovela actorturned-publisher, is not known for her meticulous organizational skills, and even though each Cumbre is often considered the result of a miracle, the fact remains that her devotion and dedication to the Latin American TV industry—and telenovelas in particular — are well appreciated by participants and sponsors alike. Many may at first resent her persistent sales pitches, but ultimately they relent and let Ospina be Ospina, helping her Cumbre succeed. VideoAge has never been involved in Cumbre’seventstructureororganization, but over the years it’s been one of the few international TV trade publications to give Ospina its support, reporting on the summit’s outcomes. Claudia Romani contributed to this report from Miami. producers and distributors began scaling down their ATF participation and sending junior executives to the threeday market, which begins on December 7 this year. At the market’s zenith, there were over 20 Latin stands, which amounted to 22 percent of the total, in addition to those from Spanish and Portuguese companies. Now, Latin distribution companies constitute approximately 5.5 percent of the ATF exhibition stands, occupying only five out of a total of 90 stands. The companies are: Azteca from Mexico, Colombia’s Caracol, Brazil’s Globo TV International, Latin Media from Florida and Miami-based Televisa Internacional. The aforementioned companies attended the event last year as well, but the numbers have decreased by one since 2010, since Telemundo Internacional, which participated in 2010, opted not to make the trip to Singapore this year. In 2009, seven Latin companies exhibited at the ATF, including Argentina’s Telefe Internacional. There were no Latin buyers registered for this year’s event at press time. VideoAge caught up with some of the Latin distribution companies planning to set up shop at the ATF this year to gauge their expectations for the market. Azteca has been attending for the past 11 years (the market is only in its 12th year). ThisDecember,MarthaContreras, Sales Asia, Comarex/Azteca will be in Singapore along with Comarex’s CEO, Marcel Vinay. Contreras noted that ATF is a valuable market because it gives the company the “opportunity to meet with all the key players in the region.” She added, “Over the years we have established an important business relationship in several countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. We are always looking to target and work in new territories.” And they will certainly have a chance to interact with Asian buyers. Reed Exhibitions’ Yeow Hui Leng, Project directorofATF2011,notedthatorganizers are “pleased to host group delegations from China, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, France and Spain this year.” She continued, “We are also seeing increased buyer participation from [countries in] the region including Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong [and] Taiwan, with new entries such as Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and New Zealand.” Scriptwriter Delia Fiallo was in attendance. A total of 33 panelists participated inCumbre “ Although it’s a relatively small event in comparison to other markets such as NATPE, the Cumbre brings to light new challenges facing Latin America’s most celebrated serialized dramas and offers top-level Latin TV industry executives the unique opportunity to mingle in a cozy environment — a rare treat despite their close proximity to one another.
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