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Can Artificial Intelligence help better restore and preserve heritage cinema?

That was the question asked to a high-level panel on Thursday at the Classic Film Market, which runs alongside Lyon’s Lumière Film Festival, dedicated to heritage film.

Struggling to override the clatter of the heavy downpour hitting the ceiling of the tent set up next to the Lumière Institute for the duration of the festival, participants took part in a heated debate entitled Artificial Intelligence: A Tool for Heritage, in front of a packed room of industry professionals.

Opening the discussion, Barbara Mutz, in charge of legal and regulatory matters at France’s National Audiovisual Institute (Ina), said AI algorithms developed in-house hugely facilitate the archiving and location of its huge catalogue.

“We can index images and sound in a way that allows us to locate them [more easily] at a later stage, both for our own use and that of our users.

Mediawan Rights has expanded its unscripted division with the appointment of former Shine France top executive Jeremy Klif, and is opening up to formats from third-party producers.

Klif has been tapped deputy director of international sales for the unscripted unit which was launched by Mediawan Rights’ managing director Valérie Vleeschhouwer, in April. Klif began his career in the U.S. at Mark Burnett Productions, and later worked as head of sales and acquisitions for Shine France upon his return to Paris. He went on to launch Borderline Media, a production and distribution banner specialized in formats, in 2017. At Mediawan Rights, Klif will work alongside Estelle Bodén, the co-founder of Sweden’s Elk Entertainment, who serves as head of distribution for the division. Like Klif, Bodén has a track record as an entrepreneur and also worked for indies and big groups such as Strix Television.

With Bodén and Klif on board,...

French VFX powerhouse MacGuff – with headquarters in Paris and offices in L.A. – is using proprietary artificial intelligence tools, in particular Face Engine and Body Engine, in a broad range of VFX projects.

Current projects in the pipeline include Season 2 of “Lupin” for Netflix, “Hôtel du temps” for France Télévisions, and Christian Carion’s “Une belle course,” starring Dany Boon. The studio also used AI tools in Éric Rochant’s political thriller series “The Bureau.”

“Hôtel du temps” is a perfect example of the power of Face Engine since it brings historic figures back to life, such as late actor Jean Gabin and Princess Diana, to be interviewed by hard-hitting French journalist Thierry Ardisson.

MacGuff has an in-house R&d department that has been developing proprietary AI tools by mixing open-source software with proprietary code. The AI developments are being overseen by co-founder and joint director Rodolphe Chabrier and MacGuff...

Over recent years France has established itself as a key hub for VFX work, driven by the talent and creativity of local players and extensive public support schemes.

In 2020, the VFX sector was given a further boost by the change to France’s Tax Rebate for International Production (Trip) scheme, which now offers a 40% rebate on all eligible production expenses for international projects whose VFX expenses in France surpass €2 million ($2.27 million).

Pids Enghien – the Paris Images Digital Summit in Enghien-les-Bains – runs from Jan. 26-29, including a series of presentations, round-tables and case studies, and presentation of the Genie Awards.

Yann Marchet, founder and managing director of Pids Enghien, provides an overview of the key trends that will be discussed during the event.

What are the key recent achievements of the French VFX industry?

The two last years have been very important for the French VFX industry. In 2020, for the first time,...

Is it even Mipcom if The Grand is closed and a legion of bamboo planters is blocking off access to a vacant Grand Palais basement? As the global TV market convened in Cannes after two pandemic-stricken years, it was initially hard to say. But despite an understated affair with fewer U.S. delegates and hardly any presence from Asia, Australia and Latin America those who did attend got valuable face-time with key business contacts and a renewed sense of an industry quietly coming back to life.

Here are the 10 top talking points from Cannes:

Squid Game on Top

Few dared to travel to Mipcom without having seen at least a couple of episodes of Netflix’s smash hit from Korea, “Squid Game.” The show was name-dropped in virtually all content sessions, with breathless executives applauding its imagination and investment from the SVOD. Ironically, while Korea normally has a robust presence in Cannes,...

Thierry Ardisson, a famous French TV journalist, host and producer known for roasting some of the biggest stars and political figures in modern history, has teamed up with Mediawan’s 3eme Oeil Productions to resuscitate late icons in “L’hotel du Temps.”

Pioneering the use of an artificial intelligence-generated tool called FaceRetriever, “L’Hotel du Temps” has allowed Ardisson to fulfil his wildest dream: Travel back in time and bring back legendary figures, including Princess Diana, French actor Jean Gabin, comedian Coluche, singer Dalida and former French president Francois Mitterand.

He interviews them in his favorite Parisian palace, the Hotel Meurice. Represented by Mediawan Rights, “L’Hotel du Temps” has been commissioned by French public broadcaster France Televisions’ France 3 channel for primetime.

Ardisson has tapped an extended team of researchers to explore all interviews and statements that each person ever gave and look at other material in order to craft the segments.

The annual TV market Mipcom began its first physical event in two years on Monday in Cannes. The opening session was presented by Avril Blondelot, head of content at Glance. She sat down with Variety to discuss the session, “Global TV Trends: Who Is Watching What, How and Why,” presented with Frédéric Vaulpré, vice president of Glance.

Swedish kings involved in scandalous love affairs with men, Greta Thunberg, dancing avatars, singing contests with twists, a show interviewing dead celebrities, and spectacular, high-tech Japanese productions were among some of the new global projects Blondelot and Vaulpré presented to help bring new ideas to light.

Their findings are based on research covering 550 channels and platforms in 48 markets.

According to Blondelot, there were 6,650 new original series launched in the 2020/21 season, representing an increase of 4%, year on year.

“Original documentaries have increased the most in the past five years, then drama and comedy. Docu-series...

PARIS -- Sixteen independent French television production houses said Thursday that they will join to form a new professional body to "promote and defend the production and creation of television programs" and to ensure "that the profession makes itself heard." The Syndicat des producteurs et createurs d'emissions de television (Syndicate of Producers and Creators of Television Programs), or SPECT, will undertake projects to study the French audiovisual profession and the stakes involved, contribute to the sector's evolution, and play the role of interlocutor between the French government and television companies, the producers said in a statement. The production houses include reality TV producer Arthur's Endemol, producer and talk-show host Emmanuel Chain's Elephant and Co., presenter Thierry Ardisson's Ardisson et Lumieres, and producer Jean-Luc Delarue's Reservoir Prods.