Hot or MIP, April Means TV Docs

April 7

April is a busy month for documentary producers and distributors, with two of the year’s biggest doc markets, Cannes’ MipDoc and Toronto’s Hot Docs, taking place just one week apart. VideoAge got in touch with regular attendees of both markets to find out how MipDoc and Hot Docs measure up.

MipDoc took place prior to MIPTV, ending on Sunday, April 6, while Hot Docs kicks off on April 17 and lasts through the 27th. Sean Farnell, director of Programming for Hot Docs, commented that the proximity of the two markets is less than optimal for event organizers and exhibitors. “The two are as close as they ever get because of the Easter holiday,” he said. “These are not ideal circumstances.” But although the markets happen back to back, they are not competing for exhibitors. Numbers of participants for both events are on the rise, and the consensus amongst buyers and sellers was that MipDoc and Hot Docs complement each other nicely, and are both must-attend events.

MipDoc 2008 boasted 714 attendees from 469 international companies. Over the course of its two days, exhibitors attended pitching seminars, checked out documentary showcases and, of course, closed deals. Production companies view MipDoc primarily as a place to sell finished products to broadcasters. Tanya Kellen, head of Distribution for Canada’s Breakthrough, pointed out that for her company, “MipDoc is for meeting with broadcast parents and is more about what we’re launching and less about early pre-sales.”

On the other hand, Hot Docs, which is North America’s largest documentary market, has more of a financing and co-production focus. One of the event’s most popular components, the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF), connects producers with financers in one enormous pitching session (to be held April 23 and 24). “The TDF is the hub of our industry activities,” said Farnell. “It’s why the broadcasters come”.

Michael Katz, vice president, International Programming and Production for A&E Television Network International (AETN), explained that while his company’s focus at MipDoc is sales and acquisitions, it sends programming executives to Hot Docs specifically to meet with producers. Katz also pinted our that each market targets a slightly different audience, with Hot Docs catering mainly to North America and MipDoc maintaining and international focus.

But while the vents have differing goals, and each attracts a substantial crowd, MipDoc is still the top choice for those who can only attend one or the other. Sabrina Toledo, vice president, Sales and Marketing, for Connecticut-based CABLEready said that her company has participated in both markets in the past, but this year will exhibit only in Cannes. “MipDoc is a much bigger even than Hot Docs, because MITV brings buyers and sellers together from all over the world,” she said. Additionally, she noted that with a digitized computer database of products and a multitude of buyers, MipDoc allows attendees to take full advantage of the two days.

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