Anna Marsh, CEO of production and distribution giant StudioCanal, will give one of the main keynote speeches for this year’s MIPTV, the global TV market confab held in Cannes in April.
Marsh will address the international television industry at Cannes’ Palais des Festivals on Monday, April 17, the opening day of MIPTV 2023. Her Media Mastermind keynote will explore the increasing crossover between different mediums, from film through TV and online, and the opportunities for talent, storytelling and innovative commercial strategies that spring from these.
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“As the European leader in film and series production and distribution, StudioCanal has a responsibility to share its content with even wider and expanding international audiences,” said Marsh. “More than ever in 2023, we are looking to diversify our content and create the successes of tomorrow by strengthening the significant synergies between our film and series activities.”
StudioCanal is a major player in both the film and TV industries. The company operates production divisions in France, the U.K., Germany, Benelux, Spain, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand.
The box office performance of recent French-language releases — including Cédric Jimenez’s terrorism thriller Novembre, starring Jean Dujardin and Anaïs Demoustier; Cédric Klapisch’s dance dramedy Rise; and Philippe Lacheau’s action comedy Superwho? — helped return the company to the number one spot among French distributors last year. Internationally, the studio is probably best known for its family films Paddington and Paddington 2, or more recent English-language features like Netflix holiday film A Boy Called Christmas with Maggie Smith and Henry Lawfull, or Susanna Fogel’s Sundance entry Cat Person starring Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun.
On the TV side, highlights include It’s A Sin and War of the Worlds, from StudioCanal’s British subsidiaries Red Production Company and Urban Myth Films, respectively; Spanish Netflix hit Cable Girls from Bambu Producciones’ and period crime series Shadowplay (aka The Decision) from StudioCanal’s Tandem Productions, which stars Taylor Kitsch, Michael C. Hall and Tár actress Nina Hoss. StudioCanal also holds stakes in Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SunnyMarch TV, producers of Patrick Melrose, and Danish-based SAM Productions (Ride Upon the Storm).
Marsh, a New Zealand native, first joined StudioCanal in 2008 as VP of international sales. She rose through the ranks and became CEO in 2019. She joined the management board of StudioCanal parent company Canal+ Group last year and was appointed Canal+ Deputy CEO in October.
“StudioCanal have both film and TV at their heart, and have consistently challenged the conventions around production and distribution models for each internationally,” said MIPTV director Lucy Smith, explaining this year’s choice of keynote speaker. “Anna is uniquely and ideally placed to help navigate the changing landscape and illustrate the opportunities within and between both.”
The 60th MIPTV will be held in Cannes from April 17-19.
