CANNES, France — “The future began 100 years ago,” read a three-minute clip shown on Globo Cocktail demo on Sunday evening at Mipcomchronicling the evolution of the Brazilian communications giant from a newspaper launched in 1925 to the radio and television network Rede Globo.
The flurry of Globo's international partnerships and deals, confirmed on stage on Sunday at Cannes' Carlton Hotel by Angela Colla, Globo's head of international business and co-productions, goes a long way to indicating that the future is starting anew for Globo.
Brazil, a continent-sized country, has struggled to reach the rest of the world this century, and Globo has been tasked with consolidating the expansion of its portfolio from telenovelas (while ensuring they continue to travel) to other forms of entertainment and business models, joining the global mainstream.
One way to do this is to format your deals. “This year has been pivotal in marking our consolidation in format sales,” Colla said in Cannes.
Other
Credit: Paulo Belote
In one undeclared pact Globoplay entered into an agreement with Anonymous content for the US version of “The Others,” Colla announced. Created by Lucas Paraiso (Under Pressure) and reflecting the current rise of intolerance, he said DiversityThe Others takes place in a gated community in the suburbs of Rio, where a fight between two teenagers escalates into a bloody confrontation between their parents. The format has already been sold to Germany (ndF) and Greece (produced by Primavisione, broadcast by Alpha).
In further deals unveiled by Kolla in partnership with Turkey's Ay Yapim, Globo has seen the revenge saga “Leyla”, the Turkish adaptation of the telenovela phenomenon “Brazilian Avenue”, enter the global market and is now sold in more than 20 countries.
Globo sold the “All the Flowers” format about the struggle of a visually impaired perfumer for freedom and love to the Greek companies Primavisione and Alpha. She also signed a deal with the Portuguese broadcast network SIC for “Pages of Life,” the 2006 modern telenovela classic by Manoel Carlos.
All flowers
Courtesy of Globo
Globo's Ron Leshem, Fox, BBC Studios Co-production
Another way to join the global conversation: international co-productions with key creatives and A-list companies. Shortly before the presentation, his production label Crossing Oceans announced that Ron Leshem, creator of the original song “Euphoria”, will be joining forces with Kobi Gal Raday and Ilda Santiago's Janeiro Studios and Globoplay, Brazil's leading streaming platform, to produce “Paranoia”.
“Paranoia” was co-developed by Leshem and Claudia Jouvin, who became the head writer for Globoplay's smash hit “Perfect Days” this summer. Diversity producers like Black Swan and Whiplash, mixed with the feel-good vibe and punch of Queen's Gambit and the generation-defining impact of Euphoria.
At a presentation on Saturday, Globo and Fox Entertainment Studios – the world's leading producer of Christmas films – announced their partnership to develop and produce an original English-language Christmas film shot in Brazil. Committed to ensuring cultural authenticity, Globo will provide creative direction to accurately reflect Brazilian culture and traditions, including the country's unique Christmas celebration that occurs in the summer in Brazil.
Late last week, BBC Studios and Brazil's Globo signed a landmark deal for the first co-production of a documentary series that will “take viewers into the heart” of Brazil's vast Amazon rainforest. The series, details of which are currently being kept under wraps, will be produced by BBC Studios Specialist Factual Productions and Globo, and is based in Brazil,” said Janet Brown, President of Global Content Sales, BBC Studios. Diversity.
Alex Medeiros, Globoplay's drama, documentary and film director, detailed other co-production agreements at Showcase: with Telemundo Studios, the first film to be announced soon; with Beta Film, which was announced last year at Mipcom; with Fremantle in Crime Inc. and with Gaumont USA in Deluxe, a series about the rise and fall of Brazilian high fashion icon Eliana Tranchesi, which starts production this week.
Anything goes
New Globo shows are on fire
In direct sales, Globo licensed “All the Flowers” and “Xuxa,” a documentary about Brazil's biggest pop star, to Argentina's leading network Telefe.
Showcase trailer for Globoplay's latest release Perfect Days, a stylish but quickly disturbing kidnapping thriller selected Diversity Among Mipcom's must-watch series, it has become the most-watched original series on Globoplay of any country since its summer premiere, Colla announced, calling the Anonymous Content Brazil production “an exciting series that still influences me today” and that “shows a different side of our audiovisual work.”
Mipcom's second title, Anything Goes, a slick, fast-paced remake of one of Brazil's biggest telenovelas of the 1980s, reached 56% of the audience when the titular villain was killed off, and the production is Globo's highest-grossing primetime telenovela in Brazil, with 16 brands participating, including BYD. Corona, Uber, Amazon, Paramount and L'Oréal. in 76 branded content actions.
“We are storytellers, and our greatest triumph is our commitment to quality and representing the best qualities of our people – happiness, hard work, creativity, strength and optimism, among other core values,” Colla said at the Mipcom Showcase.
“We always tell stories responsibly, stories that move and engage diverse audiences,” she added. “And diversity lies not only in content or genres, such as telenovelas, series or documentaries, but also in business models, including off-the-shelf content, scripted formats, unscripted formats and co-productions.”
More to come.
